Boiling assessment

Definition of Boiling: When cooking things in water and you get your first big bubble or you are close to it boiling then your near or at boiling point.

Part 1: Prepare to boil food items
To inspect the appearance of the eggs there shouldn't be any cracks on the outside of the shell and to test for the freshness of the eggs, you should float them in water. If it has a small air cell and it is lying on its side then it's fresh, slightly larger air cell means it is starting to become stale and it's standing upright and an enlarged air cell means it has gone stale, it is starting to float.

A strong odour from the eggs will mean it has gone off and you should not use them because they could be contaminated and cause food poisoning. You also have to make sure it hasn't gone over the used by date because they won't be any good to cook.

Before you go to cook the egg, make sure the water is at 100 degrees at boiling point or you can put the egg into cold water and then bring it to boiling point. Once the water is at 100 degrees boil the eggs and then let them simmer for the duration of cooking.

Part 2: Boil food items
Once you put the eggs on the heat and the water is at 100 degrees then you should start timing them for 5-8 mins between medium boiled and hard boiled. When the time is up, take them out and put them into a bowl of cold water because they will be easier to peel than eggs that have just been boiled. As you peel the egg, look out for a thick layer of egg white and that the yolk is in the centre of the egg, firm and a good even colour.

Part 3: Present food items
We made a Scotch Egg in class, that we boiled the eggs first and then we peeled them after being in a bowl of cold water. We coated them with breadcrumbs and deep fried them to get crunchy brown on the outside.

Scotch Egg recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs (1 raw)

150g sausage meat

1/2 cup white breadcrumbs for coating oil for deep frying

Knife assessment

Handling and Maintaining Knives

1.  As you can see down below the knife I am using is a green knife to cut the vegetables (broccoli,cauliflower etc) and the yellow knife is with the chicken. It´s important to use the correct knife for your preparation incase you cause cross contamination, with using the same knife on every meat/vegetable etc.  

2.   Having a wet cloth underneath your chopping board is important because it is stopping the board from moving and helps you to cut your fruit or veges accurately. 

3. By carrying the knife beside me I´m not putting anyone in danger or myself because I will know where the knife is at all times and I´m not waving it around. 

4.  Before I go to use the knife, I have to make sure it is clean and has been sharpened because then cross contamination may occur with transferring the bacteria and the food particles onto a different piece of food. 

5.  Before you go to cut your fruit,veges meat etc you sharpen the knife with a steel or stone on a 45 degree angle so that you have a better job of cutting or slicing your food and have a less chance of badly cutting yourself.

6.  By sharpening your knife twice on each side will keep it sharp when you are cutting and preparing your fruit/vegetables etc. 

7.  By having the knives set up in a cupboard where they can be facing up on a magnetic strip, the blade will stay sharp whereas having the knives in a draw the blade will go blunt.