Cordon Noir Education / Professional Chef
Chapter
2
Culinary
History
Culinary
Terms
Recipe
Book and Files
Natural products contain the most complete nutrients. They
must however, to become palatable for human beings under go
culinary preparation.
The skilled chef
will decide on the appropriate cooking method, and then refine
the products.
How do we
differentiate between the word cooking and culinary art?
Cooking simply
means:
The preparation
of food applying a cooking method to make it edible and
digestible.
Culinary art
however means:
The refining of food taking the following
points into consideration.
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Culinary
Art can be compared to a rising sun,
Where
you can enjoy perfect harmony.
History of
the Culinary Arts
To understand classic
culinary history, one must consider the culinary arts as they
relate to important cultural eras of western civilization. None
of the arts-architecture, literature, music or the fine arts- can
be fully appreciated without understanding the spirit of the age
in which they were created. The same holds true for the culinary
arts. The important events of an era are reflected in its food
and culinary preferences.
Historical
Developments
The Eras of
European Culture:
| Antiquity |
888
B.C. to A.D. 400 |
| Middle
Ages |
5th
to 15th centuries |
| Renaissance |
16th
and 17th centuries |
| Baroque
and Rococo |
17th
and 18th centuries |
| Industrial
Revolution |
Late
18th and 19th
centuries |
| Modern |
20th
century |
Both historical events and
exceptionally skilled chef’s shaped the culinary arts.
Individual chef’s recorded their knowledge in books and
other publications and often showed off their talent in culinary
salons.
Many historic events are
permanently immortalized in the culinary arts, because dishes
were named in honour of the event or a person associated with it.
Indeed, some states-men are more famous because of a dish named
for them than because of their political exploits. Many famous
musicians, poets, inventors and others also have dishes named
after them.
Ø
Classical Cuisine
Ø
Commoners Cuisine
Ø
Modern Cuisine- Nouvelle Cuisine
Ø
Diet Cuisine
The Classical Cuisine
French
cuisine is known as the classical cuisine> over the past
centuries she has gained perfection. Delivery from past
traditions and their own creation in culinary techniques, they
have achieved excellent results, not only in taste but also in
food presentation. The roots can be mainly traced to the French
Court and Convents, where chefs were already preparing during the
5th but mainly the 17th and 18th
centuries the most incredible dishes.
Newly created
dishes, which are based on the old classical cuisine in their way
of preparation and name, may also be categorized as classical.
Example:
Boeuf a la mode
Selle de veau Orlor
Gigot d’agneau a la boulangere
Poulet roti grand-mere
Carre de porc a l’allemande
Tournedos Dubarry
Blanquette de veau a l’ancienne
The
Commoners Cuisine (farmhouse cooking)
The development
of this cuisine is much simpler but never the less still nice and
tasty. We refer here mainly to the local and regional
specialities also known as home cooking.
Example:
Osso buco
Irish stew
Emencé de veau “zurichoise”
Coque au vin
Goulache
à l’hongroise
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The Modern Cuisine
In
the past centuries not much was discovered as far as proper
nutrition was concerned. It was most important that food tasted
good and that it filled the stomach.
It was a rather
unbalanced diet.
The chemical and
biological discoveries and researching in food science have shown
that it is of great importance to follow a well balanced diet. It
is not necessary to be a vegetarian or only that you eat a full
fibre diet.
The modern cuisine is based on the
classical cuisine adapting the requirements and benefits of
roughage present in fruits and vegetables. There is also a trend
to keep the menus lower in calories but still fulfilling the
needs of the human body.
Example:
Medallion de
veau a la melisse citrine à l’estragon au cerfeuil et au
petit legumes
Selle d’agneau farcie et pois manche tous
Filets de
rouget au …. de courgettes à la vapeur sabayon de Riesling
Medallion de
boeuf au fond de ciboulette Brocoli et carrots au beurre
Nouvelle Cuisine
Over
the past 40 years we have noticed many changes in eating habits.
On one hand the fast food industry is flourishing, this mainly
because people do not have the time to eat but many due to the
different ways of up bringing and faster way of life.
On the other hand
there is a trend to cook lighter, eat smaller, but well present
portions, applying modern cooking methods such as steaming,
grilling and cooking in a vacuum. For the modern cuisine only the
best freshest products come into consideration. No wonder that
restaurants know for modern cuisine has a reputation of being
rather expensive. It may be mentioned that success for modern
cuisine can only be obtained if the chef masters the classical
cuisine.
Diet
Cuisine
A doctor applies
this type of cuisine to customers who are ill and in need of a
special diet prescribed.
In the gastronomy
you seldom come across this cuisine. You will mainly find it in
hospitals and sanatoriums or in modern time known in special
hotels with spa facilities.
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1.
Activities
Arroser
To baste a roast
Barder
Barding: covering poultry or game birds with bacon slices
Brider
To truss: tying up poultry, meat or game prior to cooking
Ciseler
Making small cuts or incisions: especially on the back of fish to
hasten it’s cooking
Clarifier
To clarifies a liquid: consommé, butter
Déglacer
Dissolve or dilute the concentrated juices in the pan in which
meat, poultry, fish or game has been roasted or braised
Dégorger
Clean parts of fish such as the brain, roe, etc., in fresh
running water
Dégraisser
To removes excess fat from boiling stock or to cut the fat from
pieces of meat
Désosser
Remove the meat from the bone
Emincer
To cut into small slices
Ficeler
To dress using string; to bind or tie with a string
Mariner
To marinate; to place in a marinade
Paner
To coat meats, fish or potatoes with breadcrumbs
Piquer
To lard meat or poultry
Réduire
To reduce a liquid; to boil down
2.
Food
Abattis
Poultry giblets
Baron
A single roast consisting of the leg and half saddle of lamb
Beurre
manié Butter
with flour, kneaded butter
Blinis
Russian buckwheat – flour cakes
Canapés
Small pieces of toast spread with different meat, fish etc.
Carcasse
Skeleton of poultry
Court-bouillon
Stock of poached fish, sweetbread
Croûtons
Diced or small slices of bread fried in butter
Darne
Centre section of large fish (salmon, sturgeon etc.)
Fleurons
Half moon cuts of puff pastry
Fruits
de mer All kind
of seafood, crustaceans or molluscs
Glace
de viande Thickened stock from bones,
meat, essence or extract
Marinade
The liquid used for marinating
Matelote
Sailor’s dish, made with fish or veal with red wine
Paupiettes
Stuffed slices of meat-rolled
Quenelles
Dumpling of meat, fish, poultry or game
Roux
White mixture of butter and flour
Zeste
Thin peel of lemon, orange or lime
Sachet
d’épieces Spice bag consisting of different
herbs and spices
3.
Objects, Materials
Bain-marie
Water bath
Etamine
Cheese cloth
Papilotte
Paper frills
Sorbetière
Container for ice cream, sherbets and ice
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The food
production system is the key to wholesome and palatable food,
controlled food cost, and satisfied customers.
Standardized
recipes are one of the most important tools for assuring high
quality food production. A standardized recipe is one that has
been tested and developed to meet the needs of a specific
establishment. The available equipment, the skills of the
food-service personnel, and the food budget must be considered.
The yield is calculated for an exact quantity based on the
predicted number of portions required and the specific portion
size. The recipe is tested several times, until at least thee
trials have produced a product of the desired quality and
quantity.
One of most
important tasks of a beginning chef involves compiling a file of
standardized recipes. Similar files should be maintained for
members of the food production staff.
A standardized
format should be used for recording all recipes. The format of
the recipe sheet or card should be designed to meet the
organization’s needs.
A recipe rack to
which the recipe can be attached and placed over the chef’s
workstation is a convenience that will keep the recipe available
and clean.
Nowadays there
are alternatives such as computers, which can also be used to
compile recipes, for example the Calcmenu, Fidelio etc.
