Culinary Art - The Science of Cooking

Here are some terms used in the science of cooking.

baking - cooking by dry heat in an oven toasting, browning - cooking to a brown crispiness over a fire or on a grill broil, broiling, grilling - cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill) frying, sautéing - cooking in fat or oil in a pan or griddle fusion cooking - cooking that combines ingredients and techniques and seasonings from different cuisines braising - cooking slowly in fat in a closed pot with little moisture poaching - cooking in simmering liquid roasting - cooking (meat) by dry heat in an oven (usually with fat added) simmering, stewing, boiling - cooking in a liquid that has been brought to a boil tenderisation, tenderization - the act of making meat tender by pounding or marinating it percolation - the act of making coffee in a percolator, To cause (liquid, for example) to pass through a porous substance or small holes; filter. seasoning - the act of adding a seasoning to food brown sauce, Chinese brown sauce - a sauce based on soy sauce caramelise, caramelize - be converted into caramel alcoholise, alcoholize - make alcoholic, as by fermenting; "alcoholize prunes" blanching - Blanching is a quick way to cook vegetables while preserving that peak crunch and taste. It involves partially cooking veggies by plunging it into boiling water for a short time, then “shocking” it in ice water to stop the cooking, this retains the greenness and freshness of greens. alcoholise, alcoholize - treat or infuse with alcohol conserve - preserve with sugar pickle - preserve in a pickling liquid which is a solution of brine or vinegar, often spiced, for preserving and flavoring food. salting - preserve with salt marinade, marinate - soak in marinade brine - soak in brine which is a strong solution of salt and water, used for salting and pickling meats, etc fortify, lace, spike - add alcohol to (beverages) fortify - add nutrients to; "fortified milk" boil down, concentrate, reduce - cook until very little liquid is left bake - cook and make edible by putting in a hot oven ovenbake - bake in an oven; "ovenbake this chicken" brown - fry in a pan until it changes color coddle - cook in nearly boiling water fire - bake in a kiln so as to harden farce, stuff - fill with a stuffing while cooking baste - cover with liquid before cooking souse - cook in a marinade  micro-cook, microwave, nuke, zap - cook or heat in a microwave oven crispen, toast, crisp - make brown and crisp by heating shirr - bake (eggs) in their shells until they are set parboil, blanch - cook (vegetables) briefly overboil - boil excessively stew - cook slowly and for a long time in liquid simmer - boil slowly at low temperature roast - cook with dry heat, usually in an oven barbecue, barbeque, cook out - cook outdoors on a barbecue grill

  

Madame Titus! Yes, you got that right it's a fried Titus fish, well cooked and seasoned.

Don't mind this presentation, these babies lives were short lived, as they didn't even survive 1 minute lying on the plate, Yes darlings it was that finger licking lols.

"Always be different until your different becomes people's normal", I always apply everything I hear to food, well that’s because I always think about food. This was part sermon today, and I thought to myself why not fry titus in a different way today, cause aint no body got time to marinate for a long time, oh yeah! When fish is sliced through it becomes easier and faster for the marinate to get in and this results in a much more tastier fish.

Over thirty different species, principally belonging to the family Scombridae, are commonly referred to as mackerel. Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.

Titus amongst many others are species of King Mackerel. The Characteristic and price of the same species of fish differs based on the country of origin i.e., which country the fish is caught. Hence the price of the same specie will differ based on the country of origin of the fish. For example, the Mackerel (TITUS) caught in European waters are more expensive than the Mackerel (KAMPALA) caught in the Mauritanian waters.

Tuna also belongs to the mackerel family.

Given its relatively cheaper cost, fish has become the major source of nutrition for the people of Nigeria, most of who are not economically well off. Fish remains the main product consumed in terms of animal protein in Nigeria  

Processing: How do you like your Titus prepared?

Their raw flesh is grayish, due to its high fat content, these fat contents can be reduced simply dipping the fish in hot water for about two minutes just enough to peel off the skin, and like I will always add, this part is very optional, I love me some skin.

Titus are best prepared by broiling, frying, baking or by smoking.

Whatever method you decide to have it prepared with, The unique taste of Titus remains the same, you should try Air frying too using a non-stick manual air frying, just make sure to lightly grease the surface before applying heat.

Spices and Herbs!

You think you know spices and then you get into an Indian owned grocery store, to find out curry and thyme are just about 1/100th of the spices there is.

We all love KFC chicken, and that's because KFC has a unique blend of over 15 of these spices all added together to give it that yummy taste.

 

A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, berry, bud or vegetable substance primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food.

Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts of leafy green plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer climates, which have more infectious disease, and why the use of spices is prominent in meat, which is particularly susceptible to spoiling. A spice may have other uses, including medicinal, religious ritual, cosmetics or perfume production, or as a vegetable.

Because they tend to have strong flavors and are used in small quantities, spices tend to add few calories to food, even though many spices, especially those made from seeds, contain high portions of fat, protein, and carbohydrate by weight. Many spices, however, can contribute significant portions of micronutrients to the diet.

Most herbs and spices have substantial antioxidant activity, owing primarily to phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, which influence nutrition through many pathways, including affecting the absorption of other nutrients. One study found cumin and fresh ginger to be highest in antioxidant activity. These antioxidants can also act as natural preservatives, preventing or slowing the spoilage of food, leading to a higher nutritional content in stored food.

However, spices don't add much taste to food, and that's why we have "our maggi", I still don't understand how the western people just add salt for taste. Like I'll always tell people, it's all in the maggi.

 

#Wikifacts

I can bake to save my life sha.

Yup! Yup!! Yup!!! Just Holup

My first buttercream rose swirl piping cake. I had so much fun doing this, next time will add some colour chrome to it. Wanna learn how to do this??

my friend go to YouTube and watch videos. 

When your salad is finer than some girls make up

For salad lovers

Salad is a usually cold dish consisting of vegetables, as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, covered with a dressing and sometimes containing seafood, meat, or eggs.

If I can be any food in this world, I'd be a salad, I'll look great and be healthy. All ingredient can be seen, what was special about this salad was the dressing used, which was a mixture of mayo, cheese cream and more sweeteners.

I don't believe in a particular array of vegetables for salad, salad is anything you can think of, any mixture or assortment. 
P.S. I love me some protein and carbs in my salad, if I had my way I will even add diced fried yam wedges to my salad, it makes the salad almost a balanced diet, in as much as kids hate the regular vegetable salad, mine wont, not that I have any at the moment lols.

Preparing a Stir Fry BEAN A.K.A Fried BEANS

First things first

Ever had baked beans and wondered why it just melts in your mouth? stop wondering jare, its the effect of pressure pot. Before you continue reading this post you might want to go get a pressure pot first and then continue, if you already have one then your in luck don't stop reading.

So here's the very washed beans pressure cooked and ready to be stir-fried.

That was real easy, pick beans or just wash like I do, bad habit, but when your a pro at washing beans without leaving a stone in it you can skip picking the beans, but for now, hey pick your beans and then wash until you feel the beans is washed enough, this has to be like after 5 times, the fifth time with warm or hot water. This is done because once its pressure cooked it doesn't have to be washed anymore and also to avoid the horrible smell of bean bag, you know that smell nau and also to eliminate the presence of oligosaccharides, pressure pot also eliminates these factors by expelling them out as vapor.

Pour washed beans into a pressure pot/cooker add sufficient amount of water to the pot, cover up and allow to cook for say 20 to 25 minutes for really tender beans lovers. When beans is ready set aside.

Now make a gravy, using diced onion

                                   diced fresh tomatoes

                                   ground fresh pepper

                                   grounded crayfish

                                   Maggi crayfish

                                   1 cup stock

                                   salt and additional seasonings

                                   handful of fresh Titus or tuna fish *very optional

                                   Palm oil

Okay, add ingredients to hot oil in a large skillet allow to fry for 20 mins using low heat and then pour cooked beans into pan, stir fry, then add fish and allow to cook for another 5 mins to allow ingredients fuse into beans. Cut veggies if need be to garnish beans. serve with long slices of fried plantain.
Voila! Bon appetite.

I'm all about the BEAN

Bean (/ˈbiːn/) is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Leguminosae which are used for human or animal food

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Beans are one of nature’s healthiest foods, they are naturally low in total fat, contain no saturated fat or cholesterol, and provide important nutrients such as fiber, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium.

Beans have significant amounts of fiber and soluble fiber with one cup of cooked beans providing between 9 and 13 grams of fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol, Meat, on the other hand, contains no fiber at all. This difference in fiber content means that meat is digested fairly quickly, whereas beans are digested slowly, keeping you satisfied longer. Plus, beans are low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger. When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you get the added bonus of a decrease in saturated fat, Beans are also high in protein, complex carbohydrates, folate and iron.

More than just a meat substitute, beans are so nutritious that the latest dietary guidelines recommend we triple our current intake from 1 to 3 cups per week. What makes beans so good for us? Here's what the experts have to say:

Chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease all have something in common. Being overweight increases your chances of developing them and makes your prognosis worse. Which means that trimming your waistline does more for you than make your pants look better. Mark Brick, PhD, a professor in the department of soil and crop sciences at Colorado State University, is investigating the ability of different bean varieties to prevent cancer and diabetes. Bean carbohydrates have been proven to drastically improve the stability of blood sugar levels in diabetics. Many adult-onset diabetics have been able to greatly reduce or eliminate their dependence on insulin through diets containing substantial amounts of beans.

The mischief-maker behind the bean’s reputation as a “musical fruit” is a group of complex sugars called oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes; instead, our intestinal bacteria ferment them during digestion, causing most of the gas attributable to beans. Luckily, it’s possible to mitigate the gas-making effects of beans through controlling factors such as cooking method and duration, complementary ingredients, and the variety of bean used.

Here's how to:

Beans are infamous for producing excess intestinal gas, but proper preparation can mitigate this problem. Instead of buying canned beans, get dry beans and soak them for at least six hours before cooking them. Soaking beans and discarding the soaking water eliminates the majority of the oligosaccharides that cannot be digested, reducing bacterial fermentation and intestinal gas. If you do buy canned beans rinse them thoroughly, since most of the oligosaccharides will be in the canning liquid.

No better way to emphasis how important it is to have Bean in your diet, I personally would eat beans anytime and any day, no wonder I grew up calling Beans "Bance" lols. I know a dozen of people don't like Bean as much as I do and I know the reason to that - Your mama didn't make you a proper nice bowl of beans as a child, thank God for Akara and Moi Moi which are really good alternatives to the generic bean porridge. Bean can be used in so many other ways which I'll delve into in the coming posts. But first a quick idea, for salads and fried rice as garnish, switch from the kidney bean to a the regular bean or brown bean, ensure it's cooked properly in a pressure pot to allow for singleness of the bean.

Bean is all in the preparation, once you get it right, you got to love Bean. Many people still have difficulty preparing a delicious pot of beans, this has to stop. 

In the next article I'd show you why my bean meal is so special and why you should try it out, wait for it.

Enough tips now, lets get to cooking BEANS