Cooking and food preparation
What's covered
Key facts
Adapting recipes
Coeliac-safe baking uses gluten-free flour and certified gluten-free ingredients to avoid cross-contamination.
Cooking methods
Different cooking methods destroy different proportions of nutrients (e.g. boiling leaches water-soluble vitamins, steaming retains them).
Cooking safely
Mincing spreads surface bacteria through the meat, so burgers must be cooked until steaming hot all the way through with no pink; whole steaks can be served rarer because bacteria are mainly on the outside, which searing kills.
Hygiene
Hot food should be cooled within 90 minutes (FSA guidance) before being refrigerated.
Knife skills and equipment
A balloon whisk is best for incorporating air into liquids such as cream and egg whites.
Presentation
Plating with contrasting colours improves visual appeal and stimulates appetite.
Sensory evaluation
Tasters should avoid strong flavours (coffee, chewing gum) before a tasting session so the palate is neutral.
Storage
Raw meat stored above cooked food in the fridge risks raw juices dripping onto the cooked food, which is why raw meat goes on the bottom shelf.
Adapting recipes
Coeliac disease requires strict gluten avoidance; naturally gluten-free flours include rice flour, cornflour, and buckwheat.
Cooking methods
Grilling places food on a rack so fat drips away, making it lower in fat than frying.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 98 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
A student with coeliac disease is making a cake. Which flour should they use?
- ✓rice flour
- •self-raising flour
- •strong bread flour
- •wholemeal flour
Which cooking method uses dry heat with hot oil?
- •egg poaching
- •pasta boiling
- ✓shallow frying
- •vegetable steaming
How do you check that a whole chicken is thoroughly cooked?
- ✓juices run clear and no pink flesh
- •steam rises from the cavity
- •the outside feels firm to the touch
- •the skin is golden and crispy
What does the '4 Cs' of food safety stand for?
- •chilling, covering, cooking, checking
- •cleaning, chopping, chilling, cooking
- ✓cleaning, cooking, chilling, cross-contamination
- •cooking, cooling, covering, cleaning
What's a balloon whisk best for?
- •blending vegetable purees smooth
- •chopping firm root vegetables
- ✓incorporating air into liquids
- •stirring thick simmering sauces
Why does plating with contrasting colours improve a dish?
- •it adds extra vitamins to the food
- •it cools the dish down faster
- •it kills bacteria on the plate
- ✓it makes the food more visually appealing
Three minutes a day. Knowledge that sticks.
Practise all 98 Cooking and food preparation questions with spaced repetition, so what you revise today is still there in the exam. Free to use, no card needed.