Cooking with your child could be fun
By Oluwatoyin Oluwastoyin
Friday, May 18, 2007

Orange •Pix: Sun News Publishing

Appetit Index

It could be fun to work with children in the kitchen. One of the rewards is that you would not have to coerce them to eat the food since you created it together. Have you being finding it hard to convince your wards to take vegetables? They would shock you by gobbling them when they are the ‘authors.’

Children’s day is in two Sundays’ time and a splendid opportunity to allow the future mums and dads mount the kitchen. Mums, be prepared, you are about to discover that you have underrated the potentials of these at the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the secret to being a successful cook is preparation, the children need to be properly briefed to perform optimally. Proper preparation prevents poor performance. So this week, APETIT would educate these young ones on the language of the kitchen.

This is to prevent them from being stuck with unclear terms that mean different things in different settings like ‘toss.’ This is of importance to the children in order for them to accurately read recipes and subsequently prepare the meals well.

Cooking terms
No matter what your age is, this crash course in kitchen talk will make your work more comfortable. Hmmmm ... this recipe says I am supposed to "toss the lettuce salad." Does that mean I am supposed to toss it to my helper across the room? Does it mean I am supposed to toss it out the window or, worse yet, toss it into the garbage can? What does this word "toss" mean? Read on and you will find the answer to that question and explanations of many more cooking terms.

Bake: Cook food in the oven
Beat: Beating is used to add air to a mixture and make it smooth. To beat by hand, mix the food with a fork or a wooden spoon in a fast up-and-down motion. You can also use a rotary beater or electric mixer.

Boil: Cook food on top of the stove over high heat so lots of bubbles form quickly then break at the surface.

Broil: Cook food by direct heat under a broiler in an electric or gas oven.
Brown: Cook food until it starts to look brown on the outside.
Chill: Put food in the refrigerator to make it completely cold.

Chop: Use a sharp knife – ask an adult to help you – and a cutting board. First slice the food evenly, making all the pieces about the same thickness. Then cut the slices into lots of small pieces that are about the same shape, but they should be about the size of peas. You also can chop foods with an electric blender or food processor; again, ask an adult for help.
Combine: Mix ingredients together.

Cool: Let food stand on the counter (on a hot pad or wire cooling rack) until it is no longer hot.
Cover: Put plastic wrap, foil, waxed paper, or a bowl cover over a dish of food to keep the air out. It helps prevent food from spoiling.
Crack an egg: Tap the egg on the side of a bowl. Working over a bowl, pull the eggshell halves apart and let the egg white and yolk fall into the bowl. If eggshell pieces fall into the bowl, lift them out with a spoon.

Dash: A dash of an ingredient is a small amount – much less than 1/8 teaspoon. To add a dash of an ingredient, just sprinkle a little out into your palm. Then add it to the mixture.
Dissolve: Stir a dry ingredient (like sugar) into a liquid (like water) until it disappears.
Drain: Set food in a colander or sieve so the liquid separates form the solid portion.
Fold: Carefully mix two or more foods by stirring gently to avoid removing air from the mixture.
Grate: Rub an ingredient across the smallest holes on a grater to break the ingredient into the smallest pieces possible.

Grease: Put some shortening, butter, or margarine on a small piece of paper towel. Rub the shortening evenly on the inside of the pan. You can also use nonstick cooking spray, which comes in a can. Greasing a pan keeps food from sticking to it. Sometimes a coating of flour is also necessary. Add a small amount of all - purpose flour to the pan after it is greased. Working over the sink, gently rotate and tap the pan until the greased area is coated with flour.

Knead: Working with the dough on the counter, use your hands to push against the dough. Then fold the dough, turn it, and push against it again to make it smooth.
Measure: Allot a specific amount of an ingredient.
Melt: Turn a solid into a liquid by heating it.
Menu: A list of food to be served at a meal. It should include something from each basic food group in the Food Guide Pyramid.

Mix: Stir ingredients together so the mixture looks the same all over.
Peel: Remove the outer skin from vegetables or fruits using a vegetable peeler (as with carrots and potatoes) or your hands (as with oranges and bananas).
Shred: Rub an ingredient across a shredder to make long, thin pieces. (Shredded cheese, for example, is what you put on a pizza.)

Sift: Put a dry mixture (like powdered sugar) through a sifter or sieve to break up the lumps.
Simmer: Cook food on top of the stove over high heat until lots of small bubbles come to the surface and break gently. Then turn the burner to low. Cover the mixture with a lid, if it says to in the recipe.
Slice: Use a sharp knife -- ask an adult to help you – and a cutting board. Holding the food firmly on the board, cut a thin piece off the end. Repeat until all the ingredient is cut into pieces of about the same thickness, like is done with yam.

Stir-fry: Quickly cook food in a small amount of oil in a hot skillet or wok.
Toss: Mix ingredients lightly in a bowl by lifting them with two spoons, two forks, or your hands, then letting them fall back into the bowl.

Reading recipes
Now that most of the kitchen terms have been explained, here is a few words on reading recipes:
• Begin by reading your chosen recipe from start to finish. Make sure you understand exactly what you're supposed to do.

• Make sure you have all the ingredients. If you don't, make a list of what you need.
• Gather all the necessary equipment. Measure the ingredients accurately
• In general, it is a good idea to finish one recipe step before you start another.
• Then practice good food-safety habits.

When you have put away all the ingredients and equipment. Wash and dry the dirty dishes (or load them in the dishwater) and wipe off the counters and tables.
This last statement leads to another pertinent issue to thrash ahead of the children’s day weekend, cleanliness. This is highly essential in ensuring food safety and applies to everything - your hands, the food, equipment, towels, and work surfaces.

The following food-handling tips will make being clean easier:
• Use a plastic cutting board to cut up raw poultry, meat, or fish. Wash the board with hot, soapy water after every use and before using it with another type of food.
• Never put cooked poultry, fish, or meat on the same board or in the same container that held the raw meat, unless you have washed the container well first.

• Wash fresh fruits and vegetables with water only (no soap) before eating or preparing them.
• Use only fresh foods. Spoiled foods can smell, look, and taste normal, but even a small bite could make you ill. If you are in doubt about its freshness, throw it out!

• Do not use cracked or dirty eggs. They may have been contaminated with harmful bacteria. Be sure to wash your hands, the equipment, and the countertop after working with the eggs. Avoid eating raw eggs.
• "Hot! Hot! Hot!" Keep hot foods hot. Raw eggs, fish, poultry, and meat must be cooked well to kill harmful bacteria.

• "Chill Out" If you have leftovers, put them into covered containers and refrigerate or freeze them as soon as possible.

• Keep cold foods cold. Foods that are meant to be refrigerated should be cold when you touch them.
Frozen foods should be extremely cold and hard as a rock.
Thaw foods in the refrigerator not on the countertop

Next week, God willing, is practice time for our children. Keep a date with Appetit.