Qualitaly_124

AUG. SEP. 2021 XV expectation of good food is increasingly ambitious every day: contests, talent shows, food bloggers and online courses have put the sector under pressure. Even more so with the advent of social media. To remain competitive and successful, restaurants must be able to figure out how to meet and exceed customer expectations. Breaking free from traditional patterns and exploring new avenues of innovation is vital for independent restaurateurs. There is no choice but to keep up to date with new food trends and cooking techniques as these propensities can mean the difference between survival and failure of your outlet. And these trends are not just limited to food sources, but also include methods of food preparation and presentation. The restaurant guest has evolved tremendously over the past 20 years and is now more aware than ever of what they are eating, where it came from and how it was prepared. NEW FRONTIERS OF COOKING Our grandmothers only needed a stove to cook food and a fireplace for polenta... but times have changed and so have technologies. Different methods of heat transmission correspond to different results. Not only that, for matters of taste or health it is necessary to choose the right cooking techniques. But, in which cases is it better to use one cooking in favour of others? Is steaming or boiling in water better? What are the characteristics and advantages of vacuum cooking? What is smoking or pot roasting? VACUUM Roughly translated as “under vacuum,” this French term refers to food that is placed in a plastic bag and immersed in a temperature-controlled water bath for an extended period of time. The process is simple: you place the food in the special bags, create the vacuum and then cook it in hot water or in a steam oven at a not too high temperature, between 50° and 100°. The food is cooked at a low temperature, leaving it tender and complete with all its substances, tasty and rich in nutrients. FLASH FROZEN This ‘molecular gastronomy’ technique has done to the food freezing system what the microwave did to the food cooking/reheating system. During this process, food is frozen almost immediately using liquid nitrogen, allowing the contents of fruits, vegetables and other foods to freeze without the formation of large ice crystals that can alter taste and texture. Instant freezing also prevents freezer burn, preserving the original colour of the food and enhancing its final presentation. DRYING One of the natural methods of preserving fruit and vegetables is drying, a technique that meets all those requirements of sustainability and anti-waste philosophy that are so popular today. The process consists in dehydrating foods by removing 80/90% of their water content, making it an excellent alternative to freezing, bottling and storing in the fridge. Drying comes to our rescue especially during the summer when the vegetable garden produces food in abundance. Advantages: no contraindications such as botulinum, no unnecessary refridgeration, keep intact their flavour, nutrients, vitamins and minerals. SMOKING This is an ancient technique for preserving and cooking food: a food is exposed to the smoke caused by burning wood with a low quantity of resin. Smoking gives food an unmistakable fragrance, flavour and aroma that cannot be replicated in any other way in the kitchen, in fact, barbecue cooking is a concrete example. The foods most suitable for smoking are meat (especially cured meats), fish and some cheeses.