Food Selection and Preparation

Book excerpt: Knowledge, skill, and art are the three words to remember when working with foods. They are also the focus of the second edition of Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, which guides students through the fundamentals and basic principles of food preparation, from the recipe to the table, from the raw ingredients to the final product. This manual equips students with a working knowledge of the nature of ingredients and how they function in particular foods. A wide range of exercises--addressing topics from food preservation to frozen desserts, measuring techniques to fats and emulsions, fruit selection to egg cookery, breads and pastry to meat and poultry--guide students through standard recipes, with clear and complete directions for handling ingredients and cooking foods. Throughout, vocabularies introduce technical words essential to understanding food products and preparation. Questions to test students' knowledge follow each exercise. The text also includes discussion of laboratory procedures, sanitation in the kitchen, emergency substitutions, identification of meat cuts, the safe storage of food, and the care and cleaning of small appliances. New to this edition are over 50 additional recipes, which reflect the many tastes that influence today's palate. All recipes have been reviewed and updated to ensure healthful and nutritious food preparation, as well as product quality and performance. Students and instructors alike will find the new and improved recipes and updated nutritional and food facts of Food Selection and Preparation, Second Edition a truly satisfying full course.