Roasting is a method of cooking food:
1.
In an open pot over a glowing fire, e.g. roasted
ground nuts.
2.
On a grid over smokeless cinders or charcoal,
e.g. roasted plantains.
3.
In hot ash or sand, e.g. roasted sweet potatoes
or cassava.
4.
In a little oil in a pot (pot roasting,
e.g. Chicken, whole pieces of meat.
Grilling is a method of cooking under, in front of or over
an open smokeless fire. It may also be done by means of heat from an electric
element or gas burner directed down on to the food. It is a quick method of
cooking. Grilling is mostly used for meat and fish.
General Rules For Roasting And Grilling
2.
Use only tender cuts of meat and small pieces of
fish cut meat into thin pieces to ensure through cooking.
3.
Use a hot glowing, smokeless fire to brown the
food quickly.
4.
Heat the grid before using; this helps to brown
the food quickly.
5.
Grease wet foods before placing on the grid,
e.g. fish and meat. This prevents them from sticking and also from drying up .
6.
Turn food repeatedly to prevent
over-cooking on one side.
7.
See that the pot or sand used for roasting is
clean.
8.
Use a wooden spoon for stirring groundnuts in a
pot, so as to ensure even roasting. A
handful of clean sand put in the pot when roasting groundnuts helps to give
good results.
9.
Food roasted in sand or ash should not be peeled
before roasting. The skin acts as a protective covering.
Baking
Baking is method of cooking by heat in an enclosed space;
the enclosed air is heated and the hot air cooks the food.
Usually
an oven is use for baking. In some parts
of west African people use large flat – bottomed iron pots, placed over a slow fire. Small pieces of lighted firewood
are placed on the top of the cover of the pot. This is to brown the top of the
food. This method is suitable for baking cakes. It is a slow method and it
wastes much time.
General rules for baking
1.
Heat the oven to the correct temperature before
putting in the food. Test with pieces of paper if there is no thermostatic
control.
2.
Plan to do a lot of baking in one day and save
fuel.
3.
Avoid crowding the oven, as this prevents that
hot air from circulating.
4.
Avoid
baking food that gives off moisture (e.g. meat) with foods that should
be crisp when baked (e.g. pastry). The moisture soften the pastry and spoils
the good result.
5.
Bake together foods which takes about the same
length of time to avoid frequent opening of the oven, as this reduces the
temperature in the oven.
6.
Avoid banging the oven door, t prevent an inrush
of cold air.
Meat and poultry can be cooked in an oven if one is
available. This method of cooking is called oven roasting.
Pressure cooking
Pressure cooking is rapidly gaining favour in the average
home. The speed with which the food cooks has several advantages:
1.
The food cooks so quickly that more of the
valuable nutrients are retained than by any other method of cooking.
2.
Cooking time is saved considerably.
3.
Led fuel is used because after the cooker has been heated up to cooking
pressure the heat is reduced for further cooking.
Foods that are pressure cooked are cooked in steam under
pressure. The temperature is therefore above the boiling points of water. The
pressure is usually 15 Ib per square inch higher than atmospheric pressure.
Pressure
cookers are heavy aluminum pans having tight-fitting lids which prevents the
steam from escaping until a certain pressure has been reached. The food cooks
quickly in the super-heated steam. There is very little water.
There
are several brands of pressure cookers and complete instructions for use are
supplied by each manufacturer. Each makes has its distinct features and for
best results the instructions should be
studied carefully before using the pressure cooker.
Some people
think that these cookers are a bit dangerous, but in reality they are no more
dangerous than any cooking utensil used to prepare boiling or hot food,
provided you follow the instructions for use.
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