Food preparation is an art and applied science that covers but isn’t limited to cooking. 1. What is food preparation? What is the process of food preparation? Art , also known as an art form, one of the arts and is a creative activity or discipline. Culinary art – art of preparing and cooking food items. Included are the kinds of ingredients needed and the proper cooking of the ingredients to prepare the food item to be prepared. Chefs are professional chef who cooks for others. Although the term has come to denote anyone who cooks to earn a living, in the past it’s used to describe an expert who is skilled in all aspects of cooking. Cooking is the act of making food items to be eaten. Cooking can be achieved using a variety of methods, tools and mixtures of ingredients to increase the flavor or the digestibility of food. It usually involves the determination, measurement, and combination of ingredients in a planned procedure in an effort to get the desired result. Cuisine – a specific set cooking traditions and practices, frequently associated with a particular culture. It is usually named after the region or place where its roots are. Baking – the technique of prolonged cooking of food using dry heat and convection. It’s typically done in an oven, however it can also be done with hot ashes or hot stones. Automatic baking is possible with equipment such as the Rotimatic. Blind-baking – baking pastry prior to adding a filling. Boiling refers to the swift melting or heating of liquids. This occurs when the liquid is heated to the point of boiling. It is the temperature at which the liquid’s pressure is the same as that of the surrounding pressure. Blanching – cooking technique which food substance, usually a vegetable or fruit is immersed in boiling water, then removed after a brief, timed interval, before being dipped into iced water or put under cold running water (shocked) to stop the cooking process. Braising – combination cooking method that uses dry and moist heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temp, then cooked in a covered vessel with varying amounts of liquid, resulting in the food having a distinct flavor. Coddling refers to the process of cooking food cooked in water that has been kept below the boiling point. Infusion involves soaking plant matter such as tea leaves, fruits or even tea in water to give it taste. Pressure cooking – cooking in a sealed container that does not permit air or liquids to escape under an established pressure. This permits the liquid in the pot to increase to greater temperatures prior to reaching a boil. Poaching is the process of cooking food in liquids, like stock, milk or wine. Double steaming – Chinese cooking technique where food is covered with water and placed into a covered ceramic jar and the jar is then cooked for several hours. Grilling is a kind of cooking that involves hot, dry flames that are applied to the surface of fooditems, commonly from above or below. Barbecuing – cooking method that involves cooking chicken, meat, and, occasionally, fish using the heat and the hot smoke of a flame, burning wood, or hot charcoal. Frying – cooking food in oil or other fats it is a technique that began in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Deep-frying refers to the process of cooking food submerged in hot oil, or 2 burner gas grills fat. This is done using a deep fryer, or a chip pan. Pan-frying means cooking food in a pot with a little cooking oil or fat, as an agent to transfer heat and to prevent food from sticking. Microwave oven – This oven cooks food quickly and efficiently by using microwaves. But, unlike traditional ovens, a microwave doesn’t brown bread or bake food. They are therefore not suitable for cooking certain foods and unable to achieve certain effects in the kitchen. There are heat sources that can be added to microwave ovens and microwave packaging to achieve these extra effects. Roasting – cooking method that makes use of dry heat whether it’s an open flame, oven, or another heat source. Some believe that roasting will improve the taste of food by caramelizing or Maillard cooking the surface. Grilling – applying dry heat to the surface of food, by cooking it on a grill, grilding pan or grill. Rotisserie – meat is skewered over the spit. It’s a solid, long rod that holds food while cooking it in a fire pit or campfire or in an oven. Searing is a method which can be utilized for grilling, baking and braising, as also for roasting, sauteing, sauteing as well as other cooking techniques. It involves cooking of food until it forms a caramelized crust. Smoking – the process of flavoring, cooking, or preservation of food through exposure to smoke of burning or smoldering plant material mostly wood. While hot smoking may create flavor and cook food however cold smoking will not add flavor to the food. Grating – The use of a grater in order to mix vegetables. Staple food – a food that is «eaten regularly and in such quantities as to constitute the dominant part of the diet , and provides significant amounts of energy and nutrients». Tannahill, Reay. (1995). Food in History. Three Rivers Press. 3. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: Agriculture and Consumer Protection.