Cooking and Storing Vegetables

• This lesson covers cooking and storing vegetables

Learning Objectives for Cooking

• Students should be able to select vegetables based on a menu
• Students should be able to cook vegetable dishes while preserving quality and nutrition
• Students should be able to prepare sauces to serve with vegetable dishes

Factors in Vegetable Selection for Culinary Arts

• Season: Choosing vegetables in season ensures freshness.
• Cooking/Preparation: Consider how the vegetable will be used.
• Storage: Choose vegetables based on available storage.
• Budget/Price: Select vegetables that are within the budget.
• Color: Pick vegetables that are brightly colored and not bruised.
• Firmness: Fresh vegetables should not be withered.
• Nutritional Value: Consider the nutritional benefits of veggies.

How Cooking Affects Vegetables

• Nutrients: Heat can destroy nutrients, like vitamin C which is lost in boiling water.
• Texture: Use little water to cook vegetables to make them crisp.
• Texture: Overcooking can lead to mushy vegetables.
• Color: Well cooked vegetables have good color, overcooked ones are green and unpleasant.
• Flavor: Cooking releases flavor and texture, overcooked vegetables become bland.

Factors Responsible for Nutrients Loss

• High temperature
• Long cooking times
• Leaching, or dissolving out
• Alkalis (baking soda, hard water)
• Plant enzymes active at warm temperatures
• Oxygen

General Rules of Vegetables Cookery

• Don't overcook vegetables
• Cook close to serving time in small quantities, avoid holding on a steam table for extended periods.
• Slightly undercook vegetables if cooking ahead and chill rapidly.
• Reheat at service time.
• Never use baking soda with green vegetables.
• Cut vegetables uniformly so they cook evenly.
• Start with boiling, salted water when boiling green vegetables and vegetables grown above ground.
• Cook green vegetables and strong flavored vegetables uncovered.
• Cook red and white vegetables in slightly acidic liquid to preserve color.
• Cook green vegetables in a neutral liquid.
• Avoid mixing freshly cooked vegetables with batches already cooked and being held on a steam table.

Rules for Green Vegetables

• Precise cooking maintains the bright green color, overcooking makes them dull olive green or yellow.
• Broccoli and cabbage are examples that become discolored when overcooked
• Do not add acid like lemon juice when cooking green vegetables, it can turn them olive green.
• Adding baking soda brightens green vegetables, but destroys vitamins and can make broccoli slimy.

Rules for Orange and Yellow Vegetables

• Avoid overcooking these vegetables as they acquire a mushy appearance and texture.
• Orange and yellow vegetable color is more stable than green.

Standards of Quality in Cooking Vegetables

• Color: Vegetables should have bright, natural colors.
• Color: Green vegetables in particular should be a fresh, bright green, not olive green
• Appearance: Be cut neatly and uniformly.
• Appearance: Be attractively arranged, or mounded on plate/dish.
• Appearance: Not be swimming in cooking water.
• Appearance: Have an imaginative and appropriate combination of garnishes.
• Texture: Be cooked to the right degree of doneness, crisp tender, but not woody/tough.
• Texture: Vegetables intended to be soft should be cooked through, with a pleasant, smooth texture.
• Flavor: Must have a flavor that is full, natural, and includes some sweetness.
• Seasonings: Should complement rather than dominate the garden flavors.
• Sauces: Butter-based sauces should be lightly applied so that veggies aren't greasy.
• Sauces: Other cream sauces shouldn't be too thick and enhance rather than dominate the dish.
• Combinations: Flavors should complement each other while appearing visually pleasing.
• Combinations: Cooked vegetables should be combined carefully to allow for varied cooking times.
• Combinations: Add acid vegetables (like tomatoes) just before serving.

Cooking Methods

Dry Heat Cooking

• Broiling and Grilling
• Broiling and grilling use high heat for quick cooking, retaining its nutritional content and natural flavors.
• Roasting and Baking
• Roasting or baking brings out the natural sweetness and maintains their nutritional content.
• The procedures are the same as those for meats.
• Sauteing
• Sautéed vegetables should be brightly colored, slightly crisp with slight moisture loss
• Prepare ingredients/tools before sautéing due to quick cooking time.
• Pan-Frying
• Pan-frying is not commonly used for vegetables.
• Sometime Green tomatoes are seasoned, floured, and pan-fried.
• Eggplant slices are seasoned, floured, pan-fried, and used for eggplant Parmesan.
• Deep-frying
• Deep-frying is common for potatoes, squashes, and mushrooms.
• They can be served as hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, or with the main dish.

Moist Heat Cooking

• Blanching and Parboiling
• Blanching and parboiling differ in cooking time and can be followed by other cooking methods.
• Blanching
• Blanching is used to extract hard/bitter tastes, soften solid foods, loosen skins for peeling.
• Blanching preps vegetables for further cooking.
• Parboiling
• Parboiling takes longer than blanching.
• Parboiling softens vegetables and shortens cooking time.
• Parboiling preps root vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli, and winter squashes.
• Boiling
• Boiling cooks most vegetables.
• Boiled vegetables can be prepared by sautéing, pureeing, or mashing with other ingredients.
• Steaming
• To steam vegetables, use either a convection steamer or a basket/rack over boiling liquid.
• Microwaving
• Microwaving vegetables retains their flavors and crisp texture.
• Microwave vegetables without added liquid to preserve nutrients.
• Pureeing
• Pureeing uses cooked vegetables (served as is).
• Additionally, is an ingredient for pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, or vegetable soufflés.

Storing Vegetables

Learning Objectives

• Students should be able to store vegetables with correct location and temperature.
• Students should be able to demonstrate vegetable storage with FIFO.
• Students should be able to follow standard safety and hygiene procedures.

Techniques

• Fresh Vegetables
• Store potatoes, onions, and winter squash in a cold dark location
• Put other vegetables in the fridge to avoid attracting mold.
• Make sure there is air circulation.
• Cover or wrap vegetables to prevent them from drying.
• Wrap peeled/cut vegetables to prevent spoilage and drying.
• Treat potatoes/eggplants with acid or antioxidant to keep them from turning brown.
• Can also blanch to wipe out the enzymes that cause browning.
• Since fresh vegetables can lose quality when dried quickly, store properly and quickly.
• Peas and corn lose sweetness even after a few hours in storage.
• Frozen Vegetables
• Store at 0°F (-18°C) or colder, in original container, until ready for use.
• Avoid refreezing to maintain quality.
• Dried Vegetables
• Store in a dry, well-ventilated place (less than 75°F/24°C).
• Keep dried vegetables in a sealed container.
• Canned Vegetables
• Keep in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight, and off the floor.
• Discard cans with signs of damage or spoilage.
• Leftover Vegetables
• Avoid producing leftovers by planning and small batch cooking.
• Do not mix batches.
• Store leftover creamed vegetables for one day.
• Cool the vegetable immediately by placing it in a container with ice before storing.

Safety Procedures for Vegetables

• Handling and storing promote food safety.
• Prevent food combination and food borne illness.
• Select fresh vegetables without damage/bruises.
• Refrigerate pre-cut pieces or them in a container/ice.
• Rinse all vegetables well before eating.
• To avoid premature spoilage, rinse vegetables before preparing/eating.
• Do not mix vegetables with raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
• Separate from any cooking tools or surfaces that may have come into contact with raw food.
• Throw away any vegetable that has come into contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
• Refrigerate cut, peeled, or cooked vegetables within 2 hours.
• Harmful bacteria may breed and cause food borne illnesses if left out.
• Store root crops in a cool, dark place to prevent mold. A moist environment can cause them to sprout.
• Leafy vegetables lose moisture during storage, resulting in loss of vitamin C. Store them for a short time in a cool place and in a sealed container/plastic bag.

FIFO (First In, First Out)

• FIFO is an accounting practice in which the first assets purchased are the first ones disposed of
• Is an accounting method in which assets purchased or acquired last are FIRST IN, and FIRST OUT disposed of first.
• Locate products with the soonest best before/use-by dates.
• Remove items with past dates or are damaged.
• Place items with the soonest dates at the front.
• Put new items behind older items.
• Dates should be at the back.
• Use/sell stock at the front first.

Benefits of FIFO

• Reduced wastage: Eco-friendly and less waste/money.
• Safer food storage: Better food hygiene standards.
• Helps comply with HACCP: Follows food safety law.
• Customer satisfaction: Food is easier to navigate and of good quality.
• Easier to reduce products near their end-date, resulting in more sales/less waste.
• Efficient workflow in commercial kitchens: Enables chefs to locate food with ease.
• Foundation upon which a successful food business is built/run.