Every stage of cooking is vital: meal planning, meal preparation and presentation, yet before any of this can happen it is essential to choose the items that you are going to cook. The ability to choose high quality products is also very important. Food goes off peak after a particular length of time and knowing which signs to look for is the art to this specific aspect of cooking.
There are a number of considerations to produce selection. For instance, the cook has to estimate whether the produce is fresh, ripe or more than ripe. Is the amount of waste associated with this produce acceptable? Will this product provide the required amount of nutrients? Do the intended consumers like it or will they like it? Does the price validate selecting this alternative?
Balancing all these considerations is quite some feat that maybe a billion people carry out every day and perhaps a number of times a day. It is quite remarkable. However, the best cooks or household managers need experience to carry it off it well most of the time yet you can only get experience by 'doing' and doing involves making gaffs from time to time. There is nothing wrong with that - making mistakes is a standard part of the learning process.
There are in essence three elements to the successful selection of food. These are: 1] the substance of which it is composed; 2] its worth or potential to provide energy and or nutrients and vitamins and 3] how easily these qualities can be extracted in a digestible form.
It is just when you have solutions to these three questions that you can know whether a foodstuff is worth the money. In other words, whilst you might always know the cost of an item of food, you may not always know its value.
It is clear from the above that the cook who takes his or her job seriously has a mammoth task on hand to know what human bodies need at the different stages of growth, illness and even just recovery from regular wear and tear; to know what articles of food can supply those needs; how to select foods that are at the peak of condition and how to prepare those foods so that you gain the most of that products potential.
Then there are the other considerations of whether you or your family will eat those products at all or whether they will only eat them if prepared according to particular recipes and finally, whether you can afford those foods.
As far as preparing children to eat or at least try different foodstuffs is concerned, it is important to get started as soon as possible. Children do not know what is healthy for them so allowing them to eat hamburgers and chips every day, because it is 'all they will eat' is nonsense. Children have to be trained to eat what is put in front of them until they are competent to make their own choices.
There are a number of considerations to produce selection. For instance, the cook has to estimate whether the produce is fresh, ripe or more than ripe. Is the amount of waste associated with this produce acceptable? Will this product provide the required amount of nutrients? Do the intended consumers like it or will they like it? Does the price validate selecting this alternative?
Balancing all these considerations is quite some feat that maybe a billion people carry out every day and perhaps a number of times a day. It is quite remarkable. However, the best cooks or household managers need experience to carry it off it well most of the time yet you can only get experience by 'doing' and doing involves making gaffs from time to time. There is nothing wrong with that - making mistakes is a standard part of the learning process.
There are in essence three elements to the successful selection of food. These are: 1] the substance of which it is composed; 2] its worth or potential to provide energy and or nutrients and vitamins and 3] how easily these qualities can be extracted in a digestible form.
It is just when you have solutions to these three questions that you can know whether a foodstuff is worth the money. In other words, whilst you might always know the cost of an item of food, you may not always know its value.
It is clear from the above that the cook who takes his or her job seriously has a mammoth task on hand to know what human bodies need at the different stages of growth, illness and even just recovery from regular wear and tear; to know what articles of food can supply those needs; how to select foods that are at the peak of condition and how to prepare those foods so that you gain the most of that products potential.
Then there are the other considerations of whether you or your family will eat those products at all or whether they will only eat them if prepared according to particular recipes and finally, whether you can afford those foods.
As far as preparing children to eat or at least try different foodstuffs is concerned, it is important to get started as soon as possible. Children do not know what is healthy for them so allowing them to eat hamburgers and chips every day, because it is 'all they will eat' is nonsense. Children have to be trained to eat what is put in front of them until they are competent to make their own choices.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on many topics, but is currently concerned with French dip sandwich recipes. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Vegetarian Sandwich Recipes.
