Recording kitchen sessions is an important part of the work carried out by development chefs and recipe writers.
Preparing for a practical
Prior to a practical session you need to research recipes and use one as a starting point or framework. Writing a guideline recipe before you start a practical session is good practice and will make recipe writing easier later on. Whether you are working in product development or not, it is vital that you weigh all the ingredients. At this point you should also make a list of the equipment you need. Make sure it is available before you start to cook.
However, you choose to cook here are a few simple tips for recipe writing that will help you with this task. This may help you make a winning entry in one of the Active Kids Get Cooking Activities / Challenges and will help you get organised when preparing for a practical session at school or at home. Remember a well written recipe allows other people to make the delicious combination you have invented and you'll also be able to make it again whenever you want.
Equipment checklist before you start to cook !
- Your recipe or draft recipe;
- Pencil and paper – for recording what you did any changes you made especially if you added more of an ingredient during cooking the oven temperature;
- Weighing scale / measuring jug / teaspoons/tablespoons etc must be used to measure; ingredients so you know how much of each you used;
- If you use yogurt tubs make sure you know the weight as well especially if you are entering your recipe in a competition otherwise it may not be possible for others to use the recipe you have worked hard to develop;
- Stop-clock – so you know how long you cooked each step for;
- A digital camera - (optional) so you can record your result.
Things to do while you are cooking
If you are experimenting with a recipe that you will have to write up as part of your course work you need to record the changes you make. Copy the recipe on notepaper that you can take into the kitchen with you. By writing out the recipe you are also reviewing what you have to do before you start to cook and you can plan your practical session properly.
Tip - To be successful when you are cooking you need to be organised and prepared.
- Using your pencil record any changes you make e.g. if you add an extra spoon of oil (record what sort of oil and what size spoon you used);
- If you decide to use different herbs or spices; what were they and how much did you use;
- Water should also be measured and recorded;
- Use your stop clock to record cooking times – If you had to bake something longer than it stated in the original recipe make sure you record the oven temperature and how long extra it took.
Remember that recipes are guides; food can be a difficult medium to work with as many different factors can affect the end result. Ovens all work slightly differently and there are ranges of temperatures, fan assisted ovens are more efficient and take less time. That’s why in some recipes you will see bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. This gives you a wider chance of success because you can assess readiness by time and appearance. Hand held digital thermometers are also useful tools for cooking food like chicken which could cause food illness if not properly cooked.
Writing up !!
After a practical session in the food technology room write up your recipes as soon as possible while you can still remember what you did.
When writing up your recipe
- Always start your recipe with a title;
- Give preparation and cooking time;
- Serving quantity (e.g. serves 2 / serves 4-6/ serves 2 hungry footballers);
- A short recipe introduction (optional);
- Ingredients list;
- List in order of use but always put salt and pepper (if used) at the end;
- Always use metric measurements;
- List the method in numbered steps;
- It may also be useful to have an equipment list.
Each ingredient should have next to it the preparation method required this allows for preparation of ingredients before you start to cook without having to search the recipe
e.g. 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Give instructions before the method for oven temperatures etc
e.g. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6/ 200ºC (180ºC if fan assisted)/ 400F
Most cook books have conversion charts for weights and measures and oven temperatures.
List each instruction as a point:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the onion and garlic.Reduce the heat to medium when it starts to sizzle.
2. Cook stirring occasionally until soft (3-4 minutes) then add the …….
Looking at books and magazines will give ideas on how to write up your recipes. If you are struggling with a phrase for a certain cooking term they are a good resource to use. On line recipe data bases are also excellent for researching interesting ideas.
Proof reading
It is always a good idea to get someone else to read your work. Editors do this all the time not because they can’t do it properly themselves but because when you write something yourself you don’t always see the errors. Computer spell checkers don’t always pick up errors of the kind that may occur in recipe writing and other specialist work.
First of all check that the ingredients appear in the recipe in the same order in the cooking instruction as they do in the list. So if in the method you say ‘heat the olive oil in a wok’ then olive oil should be the first ingredient. Put a 1 next to the ingredient and then check it appears first in the method and put a 1 next to it there too. Go through the rest of the recipe checking the order and numbering. This helps make sure that all the ingredients in the list have been referred to in the method. This is a common error in recipe writing and by using a simple editing tool like this can be easily rectified. Swop with a friend or the person next to you to double check your work.
Here is a good example of a simple recipe which has been written using this method.
Fresh Apple Buns
An ideal way to gain one of your 5 a day. Delicious eaten warm from the oven.
Ingredients (to make 12 buns)
225g stoneground wholemeal flour
A pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
175g sunflower margarine or butter, at room temperature
50g golden castor sugar
2 medium size apples, washed and grated
50g chopped dried apricots
1 egg, beaten
Method:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 /190ºC/ fan 170ºC/ 375F
1. Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
2. Rub in the sunflower margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and stir in the sugar.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well together using a wooden spoon.
4. Spoon the mixture into 12 heaps on a lined baking sheet and place in the hot oven.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
6. Place on a cooling rack.
Variations: replace the apricots with sultanas, raisins,chopped dates, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Active Kids Get Cooking 2006