1. FOOD PREPARATION AND MANAGEMENT NTD 403 (1 UNIT)
Sanni, S. A. , PhD
Department of Nutrition & Dietetics
University of Agriculture
Abeokuta
Course requirements:
CAT: 30% Exam: 70%
Class attendance compulsory
*Contact Lecturer ahead of time if any cogent reason will keep you away from lectures.
Present medical reports if absence from lectures/CAT was due to ill health.

2. SYNOPSIS Selection and planning of meals for special occasions
Special techniques in food preparation
Planning adequate diets for the family
Pregnant & lactating mothers
Infants, adolescents
Old members of the family

3. MEAL PLANNING
A good meal should be nourishing and well cooked with a careful blend of foods and flavours. Our enjoyment of food is used by many factors such as appearance, taste and smell: a tasty meal well presented is more enjoyable than an elaborate but unattractive one.
One of the most important aspects of any good meal is a relaxed happy atmosphere; this help us to enjoy our food and makes a meal a pleasurable occasion. Mealtime is often the only time when the whole family is gathered together and it should be an opportunity for relaxation and casual conversation.

4. The digestion of food is easily affected by many psychological if we bolt food in a hurry or if meals are badly cooked without much flavour, our digestive juices fail to function normally.

5. VARIOUS POINTS TO CONSIDER DURING MEAL PLANNING INCLUDE
The occasion
The number of people being catered for
The amount of money available
The ability of the cook
Equipment available e.g. Type of cooker e.t.c.
Time available for preparation
Time of year e.g. foods in season and climactic conditions.
Individual tastes (within reason)
Ingredients available and there nutritive value
Drying facilities.

6. GUIDELINE TO MEAL PLANNING
A meal should look nice, it should be freshly prepared and served so that it looks its best.
Colours can be added to food e.g. garnishing; it improved its appearance or use. Slice of orange or tomato may also be used to improve its appearance.
A meal should smell good. An appetizing aroma is not only pleasant in itself but it stimulates the flow of digestive juices and makes digestion easier. This is one reason for starting a meal with a good smelling soup.
A meal should be interesting. If the same food appears twice in a meal, interest may be lost. Interest and variety may be obtained by including food with strong flavours alongside those with little flavours and by mixing foods with soft ones.
Meals should take account of the season of the year. In hot weather cold dishes should be provided while in cold weather hot sustaining foods are in
Meals should contain some dietary fibre. Although it cannot be digested, fibre prevents constipation and keeps us healthy.
All meals should provide a reasonable amount of water. Ideally water itself is best although it may be provided in the form of hot beverages or juices.
Meals should be eaten in cheerful and relaxing surroundings.
Meals should be eaten with clean and attractive utensils.
Both animal and vegetable protein should be involved in meals regularly.

7. SCHEDULING OF MEAL PREPARATION
Meal preparation is doing many small tasks sequentially and simultaneously to the end that arrangements for dinning will have been completed and all dishes of a meal will be at or near the peak of perfection and ready to be served at the desired moment in time.
Timing the preparation of meals means to order tasks systematically and to assign a time for doing each task. Essentially for making a schedule for meal preparation include:
Either a cook book or a recipe should be use to estimate time required for the cooking of different menu items.
The ability to estimate the time required to accomplish cooking, serving and completing preparation for dining.
A pad and pencil for step- wise problem solving and a clock for careful timing.
It is best to limit things in a schedule to critical moments in food preparations, too many things are usually.
Importantly, meals should be planned around the main dish of the main course.

8. Desserts should always be planned in relation to the main course
Desserts should always be planned in relation to the main course. When the latter is light, the dessert can be sweet and filling; when the main course is rich and filling, the dessert should be light and possibly tart (acid like). The first course should be planned in relation to bolt the main and dessert courses, but it should be light- it should whet the appetite and should satisfy it !
Sequence of Decisions in Meal Planning:
Decide the main dish of the main course.
Select vegetable(s) for texture, aroma and colour
Decide on a salad (optional)
Lastly, plan the dessert and the first course simultaneously to avoid repetitions in foods and flavours
Summary, The goal of satisfying meals is not easy of attainment. It must be achieved within limits imposed by planned uses of money and time.
Not all persons like the same foods and the same meals. Foods and meals are pre judged by then are tested; they must look good and well presented but this does not imply generously in planning of meals, art, artifice and sc are employed to have bolt look and taste good.

9. MEAL MANAGEMENT IN THE KITCHEN
Occasions for entertaining differ from country to country and from people to people.
The form of entertaining varies according to customs, local conditions, socio- economic status and occasions.
The different occasions may call for a formal or an informal meal. Special occasions include weddings, birthdays, naming ceremonies etc.
During these occasions, the style of dining and the appointments used on the table may be different from those we use in our day to day dining. Also, the available space and the number of persons that can be conveniently served at a time use to be taken into consideration.

10. Although, help can be hired to prepare and serve the meals if resources are available. Usually, decision about meals for special occasions are based on :
Number of guests, the use of money, the meal service pattern, the use of time and the menu. A decision that puts limits on the use of money requires the use of time human energy and whilst a decision to limit the use of time and human energy requires spending of money.
Furthermore, the number invited and the style of service decided upon affect the use of time.
The meal is best limited to two courses at the table, the main course and the dessert course.
The first course can be served in the hiring room or as the guest arrives.
For effectiveness, consider the guidelines at general menu making. To save cost and time, your best selections and the dishes you prepare very well will do; not exotic or new and different dishes that you are not familiar with. Plan so that you can prepare one or more dishes a day or two days in advance and then refrigerate until the day of the dinner.
Generally, plan a first course that follows the local custom.
Avoid repetitions in foods e.g. do not include same food in the first course, if it will appear in main course, do not serve tomato if tomato will appear in the salad.

11. ENJOY YOUR FOOD
Meals exhibit underlying structures which change little over time.
Although, experiments and innovations may be introduced along with new food products, the meals has to remain recognizably the same.
Ordinary, most people have an idea of what would be acceptable as breakfast or dinner or super and are able to differentiate these meals from snacks.

12. BREAKFAST
This being the first meal of the day, It should be nourishing and digestible.
The quantity depends on the requirement of the individual.
For most people it should be substantial, because the interval between breakfast and
the next meal is usually long and during this time a considerable amount of energy is used up, especially by children of school going age and by manual workers.

13. MIDDLY AND EVENING MEALS
The size and character will vary with the individual and the family.
For many people, lunch is the main meal of the day and it should be planned so as to be satisfying meal.
Whilst evening meals are usually light meals taken before going to bed.

14. GUESTS ENTERTAINING AND MEAL SERVICES
Brunch: This is regarded on a late breakfast, an early lunch or a combination of the two. The meal may be a very sustained late breakfast or it may be an elaborate buffet lunch. Any style of meal service may be followed however; buffet style T table service is commonly used.
Dinners and luncheons: These are special occasions held in the late every and noon periods respectively. Dinners dishers are usually light dishes and usually with no first courses. However, lunches composed at 3 main meals Light refreshment parties, Tea parties, Dessert Parties, Food for late suppers, Cocktail parties

15. MEAL COURSES A meal is composed of courses :
Starter course or Apetizer, Main Course & After course or desert or sweet course. Fluids and beverages usually accompany each meal.
Starter Course: Should be light and not heavy. Should be stimulating and well seasoned. Portion size should be small. Should have low – fat content. Examples : thin soup, salads, pasta, fruits, sea toads etc.
Main Course: This is the bulk of the food. It should be filling containing mostly bulky food items. e.g jollof rice, fried rice, pounded yam & soup, yam porridge, etc.
After Course: The quantity is usually small. They are dishes to make the meal interesting and more tasty. Examples are cakes, puddings, fruit salads, ice- cream, egg custard etc.

16. SERVICES American service European service English service
Family or compromise service
Apartment or Blue parties service
Buffet service
Tray service

17. SPECIAL TECHNIQUES IN FOOD PREPARATION
Food is a complex mixture of many different chemical components.
The study of food preparation modules understanding the changes that occur in these components during preparation as a result of their interaction with one another with the modern of cooking, the technique of cooking and the environment.
It is not enough that food be prepared, it has to be pleasing in appearance and taste so that it can be eaten. Satisfaction good preparation is an important prerequisite of food acceptance and appreciation.

18. FOOD ACCEPTANCE
Most foods are accepted when they are cooked when the food flavour will be highly appreciated.
Flavor can be regarded as the sensation caused by and those properties of any substance taken into the mouth which stimulated the sense of taste, smell, texture receptors in the mouth and /or also the general pam, and temperature reception in the mouth.

19. SPECIAL TECHNIQUES IN FOOD PREPARATION
The cooking of food involves heating it in a variety of ways to make it more palatable.
The heat to cook the food comes from a variety of sources, including electric element or hotplates, gas flame from a stove or grill, the heat from a conventional oven;
and heat generated by a microwave oven or in the case of sous vide the heat from the cooking medium is outside the bag.

20. TRANSFER OF HEAT
Heat is transferred to the food and cooking medium (the fat, water, stock or milk) by means of convection, conduction and radiation.
Most foods are cooked by a combination of at least two of the processes of transferring heat not just one.

21. EFFECT OF HEAT ON FOOD Protein
Protein is coagulated by heat. The process is gradual. Overheating will harden the protein, making it tough, unpalatable and shrunken.
The characteristic coagulation of protein when heated is employed in its use as a coating for deep- and shallow-fried foods and in the development of crust in bread, formed by the protein gluten in wheat.

22. EFFECT OF HEAT ON FOOD Carbohydrates
Moist heat on starch causes the starch grains to soften and swell.
Near boiling point the cellulose framework bursts, releasing the starch, which thickens the liquid
Dry heat causes the starch to change colour from creamy white to brown and after prolonged heat, it will carbonise and burn. Water is given off during heating and the starch on the surface is changed to dextrin, a form of sugar, as in toast.
Moist heat causes sugar to dissolve in water – more rapidly in hot water than in cold. On heating it becomes syrup; on further heating it colours then caramelises and will eventually turn to carbon and ash.
Dry heat causes sugar to caramelise quickly and burn

23. FATS
Fats melts to oils when heated. Water is given off with a bubbling noise as heating continues. When all the water has been driven off, a faint blue haze appears; further heating will result in smoking and burning.
The unpleasant smell of burning fat is caused by the presence of fatty acids.

24. VITAMINS
Vitamin A and carotene are insoluble in water so they are not lost by moist methods of cooking, such as boiling and steaming, or by soaking.
Vitamin D is not destroyed by heat or lost by solubility
Thiamine (Vitamin B1) is very soluble in water and about 50% will dissolve in the cooking liquid. High Temperatures (e.g. in pressure cooking) destroy vitamin B1, and alkali (e.g. baking powder) will cause some destruction.

25. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is soluble in water and will dissolve out in the cooking liquid; some is lost in normal cooking but more losses occur in pressure cooking.
Nicotinic acid (niacin) is soluble in water and dissolve to some extent in the cooking liquid. It is stable in the presence of heat but is easily oxidised, which means that the chemical process of the product is adversely affected by talking in oxygen

26. Vitamin C is lost or destroyed very easily in cooking and care must be taken to preserve it as much as possible. It is soluble in water and is easily dissolved in cleaning and cooking water; therefore vegetables containing vitamin C should not be soaked in water and cooking liquid should be made use of. Note: vitamin C oxidises to form a substance that is useless to the body – so take precaution while cooking fruits & vegetable with this vitamin C.

27. WAYS OF COOKING FOOD BOILING POACHING STEAMING STEWING/ CASSEROLE
BRAISING
SOUS VIDE
BAKING
ROASTING
POT ROASTING (poele)
TANDOORI
GRILLING
FRYING (SHALLOW AND DEEP)
PAPER BAG (en papillotte)
MICROWAVE

28. BOILING
Boiling is the method of cooking in which food is immersed in a liquid and cooked at 100oC.
Boiling is one of the most common ways used to cook vegetables in commercial cookery. However, for large-scale operations, the steaming process is preferred for blanching vegetables as this is more productive.

29. PURPOSE OF BOILING
Makes food pleasant to eat
Makes food have a suitable texture
Makes food easy to digest and safe to eat

30. POACHING
Poaching is the cooking of food in a liquid at just below boiling point.
For most foods, poaching liquid is heated first.
Poaching liquids include – milk, stock, stock syrup and court bouillon
There are two ways of poaching – shallow and deep

31. STEAMING
Steaming is another moist heat method of cooking. Food is cooked in the steam produced by a boiling liquid (rather than placing the food itself in the boiling liquid).
Methods of steaming are
Atmospheric steaming
High pressure steaming
Combination steaming

32. STEWING/ CASSEROLE
Stewing is a slow, gentle, moist heat method of cooking in which the food is completely covered by a liquid.
Stewing is a cooking method that is nearly identical to braising but generally involves smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time
Casserole refers to both a baking dish and the ingredient it contains – meat, vegetable, beans, rice, etc

33. BRAISING
Braising is a moist heat method of cooking larger pieces of food, on the stove-top or in the oven where the liquid only half covers the food.
With braising, food is cooked very slowly, using very low temperatures, in a pan with a tightly fitted lid. A combination of steaming and stewing cooks the food.
Two methods of braising exists – brown braising used for joint & portion sized cuts of meat; and white braising used for vegetables & sweetbreads

34. SOUS VIDE
Sous vide is a professional cooking method that employs plastic oxygen barriers and precise temperature controls to reduce oxidisation and extend the useable shelf life of inventory by diminishing contact with aerobic bacteria. The result is a final product with superior texture, amplified flavours and enhanced visual qualities.

35. BAKING Dry baking Baking with increased humidity
Baking is the cooking of food with dry heat in an oven; steam plays a big part in this method of cookery.
All products that are baked contain water
Steam is an important and integral part of the baking process
Types of baking include:
Dry baking
Baking with increased humidity
Baking with heat modification

36. ROASTING
Roasting is cooking in dry heat with the aid of fat or oil in an oven or on a spit.
Radiant heat is the means of cooking when using a spit
Oven roasting is a combination of convection and radiation heat
Method of roasting are
Placing prepared foods (meat, poultry) on a rotating spit over or in front of fierce radiated heat
Placing prepared foods in an oven with either: applied dry heat; forced air-convected heat; convected heat combined with microwave energy

37. POT ROASTING
Pot roasting (poele) is cooking on a bed of root vegetables in a covered pan. This method retains the maximum flavour of all ingredients
This is done by placing the food on a bed of roots and herbs, coat generously with butter or oil, cover with lid and cook in an oven.
Use medium pan (not too large or too small)
Use the vegetable and herbs with a good stock as a base for the sauce

38. GRILLING
This is a fast method of cookery from radiant heat, sometimes known as broiling.
Grilled foods can be cooked:
Over heat (charcoal, barbecues, gas or electric heated grills/griddle)
Under heat (gas or electric salamanders)
Between heat (electrically heated grill bars or plates)

39. SHALLOW - FRYING
Shallow-frying is the cooking of food in a small quantity of preheated fat or oil in a shallow pan or on a flat surface (griddle plate)
There are 4 methods of frying using a shallow amount of fat or oil:
Shallow-fry
Saute
Griddle
Stir-fry

40. DEEP - FRYING
Deep-frying is classified as a dry method of cookery because it has a dry effect on the food.
To deep-fry food, small tender pieces of food are totally immersed in hot fat or oil, and cooked quickly.
Most deep-fried foods need to be coated in a batter to protect them from the effects of the extremely high temperature of the fat or oil.
Fatty foods are not suitable to be deep-fried; if the fat from these foods enters the frying medium used it must be able to withstand very high temperature

41. PAPER BAG COOKING This is also known as en papillotte
This is a method of cookery in which food is tightly sealed in oiled greaseproof paper or foil so that no steam escapes during cooking, and maximum natural flavour and nutritive value is retained

42. MICROWAVE COOKING
This is a method of cooking and reheating food using electromagnetic waves in a microwave oven powered by electricity.
The microwave activates the water molecules or particles of food and agitate them, causing heat by friction, which cooks or reheats the food.
Microwave cooking can be used for cooking raw food, reheating cooked food and defrosting frozen foods

43. TANDOORI COOKING
Tandoori cooking is by dry heat in a clay oven called a tandoor
Heat source is at the base of the oven and the heat is evenly distributed because of the clay.
No fat or oil is used
The food is cooked quickly and the flavour is similar to that of barbecued food
Oven temperatures reach 375oc
Depending on the type, food may be marinated for 20 minutes to 2 hours before being cooked and in some cases, the food is brushed with the marinade during cooking.

44. FOOD-BASED DIETARY GUIDELINES
No single food by itself (except breast-milk) provides all the nutrients in the right amount that will promote growth and maintain life. To achieve good nutrition therefore, it is necessary to consume as wide a variety of foods as possible from the age of 6 months.
Infants (0-6 months): Start exclusive breast-feeding immediately after birth and continue for 6 months. There should be no bottle-feeding.
Infants (6-12 months): Continue breast feeding. Introduce complementary feeds made from a variety of cereals, tubers, legumes, fruits, animal foods and give with cup and spoon.

45. Toddlers (12-24 months): continue to breast-feed until child is 2 years
Giver enriched pap or mashed foods twice daily
Give family diet made soft with less pepper and spices
Give fruits and vegetables in season
Children (25-60 months): Give diet that contains a variety of foods in adequate amounts.
Add palm oil or vegetable oil to raise the energy level of complementary foods. Gradually increase food intake to 4-5 times daily as baby gets older. Provide dark green leafy vegetables, yellow/orange coloured fruits, citrus fruits, cereals, legumes, tubers and foods of animal origin. Limit the consumption of sugary food. Continue feeding even when child is ill.

46. School-Aged Children (6-11 years):
Give diet that contains a variety of foods in adequate amounts. Encourage consumption of good quality snacks, but limit the consumption of sugary snacks.
Adolescents (12-18 years):
Continue diet containing a variety of foods. Most of the energy should be derived from roots/tubers, legumes, cereals, vegetables and less from animal foods. An increase in total food intake is very important at this stage, so is the need to enjoy family meals. Snacks especially pastry and carbonated drinks should not replace main meals. If you must eat out, make wise food choices.

47. Adults (Male and Female): Total food intake should take into consideration the level of physical activity. Individuals who do manual work need to consume more food than those who do sedentary work.
Limit the fat intake from animal foods
Diet should consist of as wide as variety of foods as possible e.g. cereals, legumes, roots/tubers, fruits, veg, fish, lean meat, local cheese (wara).
Limit intake of salt, bullion cubes and sugar
Liberal consumption of whatever fruits that are in season is encouraged.

48. Pregnant women:
Eat diet that contains a variety of foods in adequate amounts. Consume enough food to ensure adequate weight gain. Eat more of cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and animal foods. Take iron and folic acid supplements as prescribed. Avoid alcohol, addictive substances and smoking.
Breast-Feeding Mothers:
Eat diet that contains a variety of available food items like cereals, tubers, legumes, meat, fish, milk, fruits, vegetables etc. consume more of foods rich in iron such as liver, fish, beef, etc. Eat fruits in season at every meal. Consume green leafy vegetables liberally. Consume fluids as needed to quench thirst. Avoid alcohol, addictive substances and smoking.
The Elderly:
Eat diets that are prepared from variety of available foods e.g. cereals, tubers, fruits, vegetables, etc. Increase consumption of fish and fish-based diets. Eat more of fruits and vegetables. Eat more frequently.

49. FURTHER READINGS
King, F. S. and Burgess (2000). Nutrition for Developing Countries. Second Edition. 461 pp.
Campbell, J., Foskett, D., and Ceserani, V. (2008). Practical Cookery, 11th Edition, Hodder Education, UK, 7-39.
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for Nigeria. A Guide to Healthy Eating. Nutrition Division of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja/WHO. March 1999.