1. Vegetables

2. Cooking Vegetables
Cooking affects…
Texture
Flavor
Color
Nutrients

3. Texture Fiber- gives shape and firmness Cellulose, Pectins
Made firmer with
Acids, sugars
Softened with
Heat, alkalis

4. Starch The amount of starch also affects texture
Ripening- conversion of starch to sugar

5. Flavor Loss To control loss Cook for a short time Boiling salted water
Do not use too much water
Steam vegetables

6. Color Loss White vegetables- flavones Acid- keeps white
Alkaline- turns yellow
Holding in steam table will turn dull and gray

7. Color Loss Red Vegetables- anthocyanins Add acid to improve color
Alkalis turn blue-ish
Dissolve easily in water, so use as little as possible
Use cooking liquid as part of the sauce

8. Color Loss Green Vegetables- chlorophyll
Acids- turn green dull and mushy, avoid
Baking soda retains green color but will aid in the loss of nutrients and vitamins
Should be tender yet crisp

9. Color Loss Orange/ Yellow- Carotenoids Very stable
Little effect from acids or alkalis
Overcooking can dull the color

10. Nutrient Loss Factors Responsible High temperature Long cooking
Leaching
Alkalis
Plant enzymes
oxygen

11. Rules Do not overcook Cook as close to service as possible
Do not mix batches of old and new

12. Handling Veggies Washing- wash all vegetables
Soaking- soak to remove insects, or restore crispness
Peeling- as thin as possible
Veggies that brown, hold under water or use an acid

13. Packaging Veggies Bulk- sold by weight Tough items, loose packaging
potatoes

14. Packaging Produce
Layer- sold by count
Most expensive
Kiwis, mangos

15. Packaging Produce
Flat- sold by volume, not weight
strawberries

16. Peak Season
Time of year when produce is most abundent, best quality, and lowest price

17. Starch reserve Certain fruits will ripen after being picked
Kiwi, apple, banana, avacado, pears, papaya, mango

18. Packaging Tomatoes Bulk- Globe, salad, plum, Italian Flats- cherry
Layered- beefsteak, vine ripened

19. Fruit vs veggie Fruit can reproduce within itself
Seeds are primary means of reproduction
Exceptions- potatoes- sprout from eye
Pineapples- cutting fruit top and planting

20. Vegetable
Veggies must mature to the flowering stage to obtain seeds for reproduction

21. Peppers Bell Pepper- green- red- yellow Banana- Italian Hot- 100 types
Hybrids- white, orange, purple
Banana- Italian
Hot- 100 types
Degree of heat is determined by alkalis

22. Squash
Summer
Soft shell, this skin, short shelf life, picked young
Yellow, zucchini, cucumber
Winter
Hard shell, thick skin, no refrigeration required, long shelf life (1-4 months), grown to maturity
Butternut, acorn

23. Mushrooms Fungus Small plant with stem and umbrella cap
38000 varieties
1-2% deadly

24. Fungi Over 2000 plants with no green color, leaves or flowers
Often found in damp, shady areas on dead organic matter

25. Market forms of Mushrooms
Wild
cultivated or domesticated
Fresh
Dried- most flavor (have to rehydrate)
Canned

26. Mushrooms 80-90% water 8% carbohydrates 1% fat
Good for riboflavin, calcium, protein, potassium

27. Quality indicators No signs of water damage or decay No discoloration
Stems and caps well formed
Check where the cap meets the stem, look for the gills to be intact and covered with intact veil