Preparation Skills
Chapter 47
1
Equipment for Cutting
Knives—mincing, chopping
 Shears– cutting dough, meat
 Pizza wheels– slicing pizza
 Peelers– taking skin off veggies, etc


Page 462 for pictures, figure 47.1
2
Safety Issues with Knives

Fit the knife to the task
– Large blade for dense foods
– Lighter blade for smaller foods

Use cutting boards

Slice away from yourself
3

Best knife has blade well into handle

Tuck fingers in while cutting

Keep knives sharp, dull knives likely to slip

Figure 47.2 shows techniques for cutting
4
Sharpening Knives

Sharp knives are essential. Newer devices
for sharpening knives often leave nicks in
the blade, so most experts recommend a
sharpening steel –a long cylindrical tool
with a brushed metal appearance. Many
cooks sharpen knives this way before each
use.
5
Terms

Pare = to cut skin away from
fruit/vegetable

Chop/mince = cut food into small
irregular pieces

Puree = mash food until it is smooth
6

Slice = cut into thin flat pieces

Cube/dice = cut in 3 directions, slice,
stack, cut in one direction and then
another
Shred/grate = make very small particles
 Page 464, Figure 47.2

7
Hint

To remove skin from foods that resist a
peeler, such as tomatoes and almonds, try
blanching.

Submerge the food in boiling water for 10
to 20 seconds; rinse in cold water. The
skins should peel off quickly and easily.
8
Mixing Foods

Stirring slowly

Stirring vigorously
9
Equipment for Mixing
Figure 47.3
 Mixing spoons = hardwood, plastic,
metal


Rubber scraper = fold ingredients,
gently combine

Electric mixer = blend, beat, whip
10

Mixing bowls = different sizes, metal,
plastic, glass

Rotary mixer = eggs and thin batters

Pastry blender = cut in shortening
11
Tips for Mixing

Choose bowl that is the right size

Choose best tool or appliance

Place wet cloth under bowl to prevent slips
Add dry ingredients to wet and do so in small
amounts
 Use rubber scraper to clean bowl

12
Mixing Terms

Stir = slow mixing in circular motion

Whip = rapid beating, incorporating air

Fold = gently add air-filled ingredient to
mixture

Toss = tumble ingredients lightly together
13

Blend = thoroughly combine two or more
ingredients to mixture, making it uniform
in appearance

Beat = mix ingredients vigorously,
introducing air into mixture
14

Cream = beat shortening in sugar, light
and fluffy.

Cut in = to mix a solid fat with dry
ingredients using a cutting motion

Page 468, Figure 47.4
15
Special Techniques

Separating eggs = divide yolk from
whites
– Egg yolk separator or use egg shells

Breading = covered in light layer of
flour, crumbs, cornmeal before cooking
16
Separating Eggs

When separating more than one egg,
catch each white in a separate bowl
before adding it to the others. That way,
you can keep stray bits of yolk from
making the rest of the whites un-useable.
17
Did You Know?
Choose mixing bowls carefully for beating
egg whites. Using an aluminum bowl will
cause the whites to turn gray.
 Whites may not beat to full volume in
plastic bowls if they still contain any oil
from previous foods.
 Glass and stainless steel are good choices.

18
Real Life Application

Looking through her grandmother’s
recipes. Greta came across a cake recipe
that she wanted to try. The ingredients
included sugar, shortening, eggs, flour,
spices, baking soda, and buttermilk.
However, the directions read simply “Mix
all together.”
19

How might Greta decide now to proceed?

What different tools and techniques might
Greta use to mix these ingredients?
20
What am I? What do I do?
21
What am I? What do I do?
22
What can I cut?
23
What do I do??
24
What do I do??
25
What can I cut??
26
What do I do??
27
What is my function?
28
What is my name??
29
What is my name??
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