The various types of equipment used in a larder are mincing machine and bowl cutter, slicing machine, scaling and weighing machine, grinding machine, butcher’s blocks, various knives, choppers and cleavers, trussing needles, zester, brining syringe and brinometer.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. What is aspic?
Aspic is a translucent gelatinous substance which solidifies on cooling. Aspic was traditionally prepared from either white or brown stock with knuckles, calf’s foot or bacon rind added to increase the gelatine content. Today though aspic is prepared from a powder dissolved in water heated and left to cool.
2. What is chaud-froid?
It is a sauce which contains gelatine, which is enough to set it like aspic. The word in French means hot-cold. It is so called since it is prepared hot but served and consumed cold. White sauces could be
used as a base for chaud-froid including cream sauces, white stock enriched with cream, velouté and mayonnaise. Red sauce is prepared with tomato sauce and paprika while green sauce is prepared from spinach and watercress.
3. What is forcemeat?
It is a seasoned mixture of raw or cooked ingredients which are either chopped or minced. The forcemeat is of three basic types made up of raw meats, cooked meats, and made of bread or vegetables. Forcemeat is prepared from poultry, game, fish, some vegetables, bread and white meat such as veal and pork.
In forcemeat, binding or panada is used which could either be breadcrumbs soaked in water, milk or cream, mashed potatoes, béchamel or velouté.
4. What is the weight of a suckling pig?
The weight of suckling pig is preferably between 9–12 kg.
5. How is meat preserved?
Meat is preserved by salting, drying, smoking, canning, cooling and freezing.
6. What is bacon?
Bacon is prepared from parts of pork other than the hind leg. It is mainly prepared from the back of pork, belly, and collar which is cured and smoked.
7. What is gammon?
It is the hind leg of the pig which has been portioned out, salted, cured and smoked.
8. What is ham?
The entire hind leg of pork which has been salted, cured and smoked.
9. What is green bacon?
Bacon which is cured with lots of salt and neither cooked or smoked is known as raw bacon or green bacon.
10. What are the various types of bacon?
The various types of bacon are Canadian, Streaky, Prime, and Pancetta.
11. What are the various types of ham?
The various types of ham are Bayonne ham, Black Forest ham, Westphalia ham, Prosciutto, Serrano ham.
12. What are the various shapes of sausages?
The various shapes of sausages are rope, linking sausage, chain sausage, looping sausage.
13. What are the various casings used in preparing sausages?
The casings for preparation of sausage are either natural or manufactured (artificial) ones. The natural casing is the intestine of an animal which is cleaned and set apart at the time of slaughter.
The manufactured casings are made from animal collagen, synthetic food grade plastic and polymers.
14. What are the various types of sausages?
The various types of sausages with the country of origin and a brief
description are given below:
15. Which types of wood are used for smoking meat or fish?
The most common woods which are used for smoking are beech, oak, and chestnut.
16. What are the most commonly used curing agents?
The most commonly used curing agents are nitrite, phosphates and ascorbic acid.
17. What is cold smoking?
Smoking carried out at a temperature less than 30°C.
18. What is hot smoking?
Smoking carried out at a temperature of around 65-70°C.
19. What is tripe?
It is the stomach of ruminants especially of oxen, calves or sheep which is used as a food.
20. What is marbled meat?
Red meat in which intra muscular fat is added giving it a marbled effect. The marbling of meat is affected by selective breeding of cattle as well as the time of feed and type of feed.
21. What is rilettes?
It is a preparation made from pork, rabbit, goose, or poultry which is first cooked in lard then pounded into a smooth paste and served as a hors d’oeuvre.
22. Name the various types of caviar.
The various types of caviar with their features are given below:
Beluga: Large grain and light colour (blue-black) Ship: Medium size grain and light colour
Sevruga: Small grain and a little darker colour (grey black) Oscetra: Small grain and darker colour (black colour) 23. What is gravad lax or gravlax (Swedish)?
It is cured raw salmon of Scandinavian origin which is eaten as a starter or main course. The ingredients other than salmon are sea salt, castor sugar, crushed black pepper, and a bunch of fresh dill leaves.
24. What is a terrine?
This is usually prepared in a terrine mould made of porcelain with a lid. It is usually prepared from forcemeats made from meat, poultry or game into which fillets of meat or flesh with seasonings, spices,
herbs are added and then cooked.
25. What is pâté?
This is prepared in a pâté mould which is lined with a pie paste (a dough prepared with fat and flour) lined with a thin layer of larding bacon and a coating of the forcemeat. The forcemeat and the fillet of meat or flesh are placed in alternate layers with the garnishing sprinkled or laid on the fillets till the mould is filled. The top of the mould is then covered with bacon and completed with the pie paste and the edges sealed, the top is decorated with pastry leaves and flowers. The top pastry has one or more holes made through the paste into which a chimney is made with help of paper so as to allow the steam to escape during cooking process. It is then covered with an egg wash to give it a shine and baked in an oven for about half an hour. When the pâté is cold, aspic is put through the holes; it is again cooled, then sliced and served.
26. What is galantine?
It is a dish made from lean pieces of poultry or game mixed with forcemeats containing eggs, spices, and various other ingredients, pressed into a symmetrical shape and then cooked in an aspic stock and served cold as an entrée, glazed with aspic.
27. What is ballottine?
It is a hot or cold dish which is based on meat, poultry or game birds. The meat is deboned then stuffed, rolled and tied with string, either wrapped with the skin or with a muslin cloth and then braised or poached.
28. What are truffles?
They are black, brown, grey or white fungi, of variable size and shape. They are found in chalky soil near certain trees mainly Oak, Chestnut, Hazel, and Beech.
29. What is pâté de foie gras?
Foie gras is goose or duck liver which has been enlarged by fattening the bird. The pâté is prepared from goose liver and hence the name.
30. What are mousse and mousseline?
Mousse is a light soft preparation which could be either savoury or sweet in which the ingredients are whisked, blended or folded together. The mousse is usually set in a mould and served cold. The savoury mousse could be served as an hors d’-oeuvres or as an entrée while the sweet ones are prepared either with fruits or with chocolate and coffee.
A mousseline is similar to a mousse, but in which whipped cream is added in either large or small quantities. A mousseline is served hot or cold.
31. What is a quenelle?
It is a dumpling prepared with forcemeat of either fish or meat which is bound with fat and eggs or panada shaped into an egg or sausage shape and then poached in boiling water.
32. What is a roulade?
It is a thin slice of meat from pork or veal which is spread with forcemeat and then rolled up and braised.
REFERENCES
Bali, P.S., International Cuisine & Food Production Management, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2012.
Leto, M.J. and Bode, W.K.H., The Larder Chef, Third Edition, Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd, London, 1989