Cooking, which is simply a process of preparing of food
items using a heat treatment, can be considered as one of the most wonderful
activities in every human society. This is a talent unique to humans. It is a
science, it is an art and the most important thing about cooking is that it is
one of the major keys for both physical and mental satisfaction.
Scientific point of view: Cooking is a process where a
series of chemical reactions are carried out. The heat treatment causes key
ingredients in food items like proteins to transform and result easily
digestible compounds so that our body can absorb the required nutrients from
the food that we consume. Pleasant colors, textures, small and flavors
are formed within a food item as a result of these reactions.
Food safety: Food safety plays a major role. Food items
contain pathogenic microorganisms like Salmonella which can cause various
illnesses. A proper heat treatment is required to make sure that
the food items are free from microorganisms. But as the nutrients in the food
items are heat sensitive they tend to be destroyed during the cooking process.
Therefore a proper control in the heat treatment is very critical in produce a
hygienic food with proper nutrients. HTST Specially in food industry High
Temperature Short Time (HTST) is used to produce such food items. Here the food
items are cooked in high temperature for short period of time. This method
ensures that the microorganisms are killed while the nutrients are retained.
This technique is quite popular in sterilization applications.
Hygienic cooking In current society the consumers are very
concerned about food safety. Therefore cooking has to be carried out in a
hygienic manner. The equipment, water or oil has to be clean and be up to the
standard. At the same time the chef has to be clean and should follow the guide
lines issued by relevant authorities.
Cooking techniques People use different techniques to
provide the heating effect which is required in cooking. Early in the human
civilization roasting was the most common method. Eventually boiling, smoking,
baking and frying methods were emerged. And today this has evolved up to
steam injection and microwave heating. The different cooking techniques will
provide different flavors, textures, colors and aromas for the food items.
Cooking is an art: No matter how much nutrients are there in
a food item, nobody will eat it if it does not have an attractive appearance, a
pleasant look and a delicious taste. That is why it has become an art and that
is why there are many methods to cook the same food in different cultures. As a
result great variety of food items are available all around the world by using
different combinations of techniques and ingredients. Everybody can be a
scientist and an artist with cooking. Anyone can do experimenting with cooking
and come out with new foods. For one person it can be a scientific art. For
another it is an artistic science. So there is nothing wrong in saying that this
is the most wonderful activity in our society.
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