VET Cookery - Prepare Salads and Appetisers (SITCH00028)

Composition of a canapé

1. Base

2. Spread

3. Body

4. Garnish

Appetiser

A term used to describe all menu items served at the beginning of a meal.

Starter

An alternative term used in some menu’s instead of appetisers.

Hors D’oeuvres

Small bite-sized items often served upon the arrival of guests.

Canapés

Bite-sized pieces served on a base, usually bread, crackers, or pastry, and served cold.

Entrees

A plated meal before a main course.

Antipasto

Traditionally served as a “meal before a meal”. Usually consists of marinated vegetables, olives, bread, deli meats, seafood and cheeses.

Tapas

A wide variety of appetisers found in Spanish culture.

Why are Tapas served?

To encourage conversation amongst diners.

Things to consider when preparing leafy greens

• Keep greens refrigerated until ready to use

• Wash all greens thoroughly to remove dirt, grit and insects

• Dry greens thoroughly using a salad spinner

• Cover, label, and refrigerate

• Dress greens at last minute before serving

Butter lettuce

Has a fine, loose yellow to pale green leaf. It has a delicate flavour and is great for leafy salads.

Coral lettuce

Has colour shade from pale green at the base to a reddish colour at the tip. The leaves are compact and curly.

Baby Spinach

Very versatile due to it’s mild, subtle flavour.

Radicchio

A round, deep red endive with a contrasting white tip. It looks rather like a large real brussel sprout. Has a bitter flavour.

Bok Choy

A type of Chinese cabbage that has green lead blades with lighter bulbous bottoms. Has a crunchy texture and mild flavours.

Composition of a Salad

1. Base - most commonly some form of salad greens

2. Body - the ingredients that make up the main part of the salad

3. Dressing - liquid that coats the salad ingredients

4. Garnish - added decoration, flavour and colour that is placed on top of the salad

Simple Salad

A salad with one or two basic ingredients, dressing and/or garnish.

Compound Salad

A salad with three or more ingredients with dressing and/or garnish. These salads may have ingredients such as protein, grains, or diary additionally added.

FIFO

First In First Out

Adhesive and Peel Labels

Labels usually made from a durable plastic material and remove cleanly from food preparation and storage containers.

Cold Temperature Labels

Labels ideal for use in very cold temperatures or in ice.

Slightly soft, bruised tomatoes

Can be used in sauce instead of salads and appetisers.

Baby Spinach that is not fresh

Can be used in pastas, risottos and stir-fries instead of salads and appetisers.

Examples of high-risk and Perishable Foods

• Cooked rice

• Fresh and cooked pasta

• Seafood (excluding live) and foods containing seafood

• Prepared fruits and vegetables

What does SOP stand for?

Standard Operating Procedures

Why are SOP’s put in place?

To ensure that the correct hygiene and WH&S procedures are applied for each piece of equipment.

Machine guard

An attachment to a piece of equipment that prevents limbs or clothing from coming into contact with the moving parts of equipment while it is in use.

How should lettuce be cleaned?

Individual leaves should be separated being being submerged in water, to ensure dirt and bacteria are removed.

How should produce with thick skin, such as potatoes, be cleaned?

To remove microbes, produce with thick skin should be scrubbed (but not too hard).

Deep fried appetisers

• Fried calamari

• Wontons

• Spring rolls

• Arancini

• Fried chicken wings

• Chips

Garnishing Methods

• Drizzling

• Dolloping

• Sprinkling

• Placing

Appropriate serviceware for appetisers

• Plates and bowls

• Wooden boards

• Tiered stands

• Shot glasses

• Skewers/toothpicks

Why are thyme or rosemary herbs not suitable for a salad?

Because of their woody texture and strong flavour.

What can happen if a dressing is added to a green salad too long before serving?

• The salad can become soggy

• The flavours can become too intense

• The dressing can drain to the bottom of the bowl

How to minimise wastage when preparing salads and dressing

• Do not overcook ingredients

• Prepare only what is required

• Purchase top quality produce

• Maintain correct methods of storage for ingredients and prepared foods

• Scaling amounts of produce needed

• Using reusable equipment

Mezze

A greek selection of dips, bread, and dolmades

Warm Salad

A combination of ingredients with some form of warm protein and occasionally the dressing is also served warm.

Moulded Salad

Salad that is shaped into a ring mould etc.

Composed/Arranged Salad

Salad with ingredients individually placed in service ware to obtain a colourful and attractive presentation.

Tossed Salad

A salad where individual ingredients are placed loosely in a bowl with a dressing and seasoning, and are the lightly tossed together, using either tongs, a large spoon, or gloved hands to ensure an even distribution of ingredients.

“Salad” origin

Comes from the French word salade of the same meaning.

Stacked Salad

Ingredients are placed in layers in a mould e.g. cucumber, tomato, avocado

Tabbouleh Salad

Salad including parsley, spring onion, mint, tomato, cucumber with burghul, and an olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

Coleslaw Salad

Salad including grated carrot, chiffonade cabbage, and celery tossed with mayonnaise.

Caesar Salad

Salad including cos lettuce, croutons, crispy bacon with a mayonnaise-based dressing, topped with a poached egg, strips of anchovy, and finished with shaved parmesan.

Potato Salad

Salad including steamed or boiled potato and thinly sliced spring onions bound with mayonnaise. May also contain Dijon mustard, boiled egg, bacon pieces, thyme, or other additional ingredients.

Waldorf Salad

Salad including apple, celery, walnuts, grapes, and mayonnaise.

Niçoise Salad

Salad including boiled potatoes, diced tomato, blanched green beans, boiled egg, black olives, pieces of poached tuna, and slithers of anchovies, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Greek Salad

Salad including tomato, olives, red onion, cucumber, feta, with a vinaigrette dressing.

Cobb Salad

Salad including salad greens with cooked bacon, avocado, cooked chicken breast, tomato, hard-boiled eggs, onion, and blue cheese. It can be served with a Dijon mustard dressing/Ranch dressing/Blue cheese dressing.

Garden Salad

Salad including iceberg lettuce or mixed leaves, tomato, radish, and cucumber, with a vinaigrette dressing. It may also include finely sliced red onion.

Toss

Using a large mixing bowl and large serving bowl, lightly flip the ingredients around to combine.

Fold

Using a large spoon, lift the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl and fold over, gently repeating to distribute ingredients evenly.

Blend, combine, mix, or stir

Procedure, where an additional ingredient is added to another ingredient a little at a time. Do not beat; simply stir until all ingredients are well combined.

Steeping

Used for cooked vegetable salads when you want the flavour of a dressing to permeate through or seep into the ingredients.

Mise en place

Everything in its place; all of the menu items and equipment that need to be prepared and assembled prior to food service.

Standard recipe details

• Name of dish

• Number of portions

• Exact quantity of each ingredient in sequential order

• Method of preparation in sequential order

• Equipment required

• Cooking temperature and length of time

• Correct storage details

Iceberg Lettuce

Has a firm, compact head with light green leaves. Used extensively as a base and as an ingredient in a large variety of mixed salads.

Curly Endive Lettuce

Lettuce that forms a spread-out bunch with thin, twisted leaves, curly on the outer edges. Colour shades from dark green outside to pale yellow or white in the centre. Has a slightly bitter taste.

Rocket

Versatile salad green, that has a a delicious spiciness, though the flavouring can become overpoweringly hot in nature plants.

Witlof

A tightly packed, narrow, pointed head with a spear-like shape. White with a pale green/yellow edge.

Cress

Has a pungent flavour and tightly curled leaves.

Watercress

More commonly used as a garnish for salads, fruits and main dishes. Has tiny green leaves and a peppery taste.

Mustard greens

Have a powerful, fiery taste.

Chinese cabbage

Has a long narrow head with green leaves shading to white in the centre. It resembles cabbage in taste but is somewhat milder. Excellent for mixed salads.

Is vinaigrette a permanent or temporary emulsion?

Temporary Emulsion

Is mayonnaise a permanent or temporary emulsion?

Permanent Emulsion

Purposes of salad dressing

• Act as a binder and add moisture

• Improve presentation by giving the salad a gloss, sheen, shine, and colour

• Prevent oxidation of ingredients and leaves

• Bring ingredients together

• Add flavour and improve the taste

Emulsion

A mixture of two liquids that normally don’t combine.

Vinaigrette

Composed of 3-parts oil, 1-part vinegar, and seasoning.

How long can vinaigrettes be stored in the refrigerator?

4-6 weeks

Mayonnaise preparation

Prepared by mixing vinegar, egg yolks, mustard, and seasonings in a large bowl and slowly whisking in oil until all is incorporated.

How to restore mayonnaise if split or separates during preparation

1. Add a small amount of hot water at the side of the bowl and whisk until all the split sauce is incorporated, or

2. Whisk one egg yolk and slowly add the split dressing until all of the split sauce is incorporated.

Optimum temperature for mixing oil and egg yolks

20° Celsius

What temperature should mayonnaise be stored at?

In a refrigerator at 1-4° C

How long can mayonnaise be stored in the refrigerator?

Approximately 5 days.

Blue cheese dressing

Creamy dressing that contains blue cheese, garlic, olive oil, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Why is blue cheese dressing not recommended to be stored or used again?

Because the lemon juice can change the texture of the dairy ingredients.

Caesar dressing

Contains anchovies, garlic, eggs, yolks, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Where and how long can caesar dressing be stored for?

In the fridge and consumed within 2-3 days.

Balsamic dressing

Simple vinaigrette made using a 3:1 ratio of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, with a dash of salt and pepper.

Prior to serving Balsamic dressing

Needs to be shaken prior to serving to ensure that the oil and vinegar are properly combined. Must always be shaken before served.

How long can Balsmaic dressing be stored

Can be stored unrefrigerated, for at least a fortnight.

Honey Dijon

Vinaigrette-based, contains olive oil, honey, lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Can be served warm or cold.

Béchamel

Classic white sauce made from first mixing a roux and then adding milk, and seasoning.

Quality

Whether the produce is safe to eat and free from bacteria and other contaminants.

Signs of poor quality when examining food for freshness

• Any food with a strong rancid smell

• Any food that is covered in mould

• Meats and poultry that have a greenish off-colour, look slimy, or have a strong rancid odour

• Fruits and vegetables that are heavily bruised, dull/off-colour, have wrinkled skin, are limp/soft or slimy, are covered in pests or mould, have an off-smell

• Dairy products that are past their use-by dates and have a lumpy texture

• frozen food that is not frozen solid or is leaking

How to use FIFO

1. Locate products with the soonest best before or use-by dates.

2. Remove items that are past these dates or damaged.

3. Place items with the soonest dates at the front.

4. Stock new stock behind older ones; put latest dates at the back.

5. Use/sell stock at the front first.

Food Standards Code (Standard 1.2.5)

All produce that has a shelf life of fewer than 48 months must have a use-by date on the primary packaging.

Use-by date

Identifies the date after which the purchased food is no longer considered edible due to health and safety constraints.

Use-by date is only accurate as long as…

• the produce has not had its packaging compromised before that date

• produce has been stored correctly

Best before date

The date which the produce remains perfectly saleable and will retain any qualities which it is marketed to possess. Beyond the best before date food may still be fine to eat, but will not necessarily be at its peak quality.

Exception of use-by date

If food has been frozen straight after purchase.

Dissolvable labels

Labels that dissolve in water. Easy to use and do not leave messy residue; however they are the most expensive type of label.

Information on labels

• Name of the dish/prepared ingredient

• Name of the person who prepared it

• Prepared date and possibly prepared time

• The date it should be used by

Perishable or high-risk foods (definition)

Foods that can easily spoil and become contaminated.

Temperature perishable foods must be kept at

In fridges between 1-4 °C OR freezers at a minimum temp of -18 °C.

What must you do when working with high-risk or perishable supplies and ingredients?

Check for spoilage or contamination prior to preparation.

Reasons perishable and high-risk foods can become contaminated

• Cooked/ready-to-eat food comes into contact with raw food

• Cross-contamination

• Food comes into contact with chemicals or waste

• Unsafe or unhygienic food handling practices

• Unhygienic and unsafe storage

• Incorrect temperatures during storage

• Food comes into contact with pests

• Food is prepared on contaminated services or with contaminated equipment

Blenders

Electronically powered appliances with blades for the mixing of ingredients in the preparation of purées, smoothies and sauces.