THREE TYPES OF COLD EQUPMENT COOK CHILL

COOK FREEZE

VACUUM COOK

COOK CHILL

Cook-chill foods are food which have been half cooked and then chilled very quickly to be sold in the shops.

Consumption of cook-chill foods from the

manufactures should be within 5 days maximum.

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STORAGE TEMP……….

To avoid danger zone (5'c-63'c) store at 3.4'c cooked at 70'c or above.

PRINCIPLES OF COOK/CHILL All raw materials will be checked for quality on delivery

as detailed in Code ofPractice No 5.

In order to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, raw food and cooked foodpreparation will be separated by time in the production scheduling.

Cooking will create core temperatures of 75°C.

Cont…………….

Chilling will begin within 30 minutes of the end of cooking and either!!!!!

a) The product will be chilled to 3°C within a further period of 90 minutes. Or,b) In the case of joints of meat, the product will be chilled to 3°C within a furtherperiod of 120 minutes.

Chilled food will be maintained at 3°C. If the temperature during storage exceeds5°C it will be served within 12 hours and if it exceeds 8°C, it will be discarded.

Cont……………

Insulated containers capable of maintaining 3°C should be used for distribution toother sites.

Foods will be regenerated within 30 minutes of removal from chill to a minimumof 75° and used the day after production.

Service should begin within 15 minutes of regeneration and the food maintainedat 63°C. Items to be served cold should be consumed as soon as possible andwithin 30 minutes of removal from chill.

Cont……

Unconsumed reheated food must be destroyed.

Self adhesive labels will be placed on all containers of food prior to chilling.

Cont……………..

Basically this system is to cook food and then rapidly chill to minimisemicrobial growth. To reduce the time that any foods are hot enoughto allow microbial growth.

Cook freeze

Cook-freeze is a specialised food production and distribution system for prolonging the life of prepared and cooked food by rapid freezing, storage at very low temperatures and regenerating (reheating) at the time of service.

Cont…

foods can be stored frozen for several weeks, rather than a few days, food can be bought in season when it is at its best and relatively inexpensive.

To take advantage of cook-freeze, some recipes need to be altered. Sauces, batters, thickened soups, stews and gravies will break down (or separate) unless a special type of flour is used.

Cont……….

Generally, pre-cooked frozen food can be stored up to eight weeks without any significant loss of nutrients or eating quality.

After that time, fish spoils quickly, and foods with a high fat content develop unpleasant flavours. Other foods can be satisfactorily stored for longer periods.

Under similar operating conditions, the running costs of a cook-freeze system are higher than they are for a cook-chill system. More energy is used at each of the following stages

Cont…..

freezing the food.

storing the frozen food at very low temperatures.

transporting the food from the central production unit to the points where it is required. To keep the temperature of the food constant, this has to be done in vehicles that are in effect mobile freezer rooms. For short distances, special insulated containers can be used.

Cont……

reheating the food for service - because the process involves thawing the food and reheating it in one step, the term used for this stage is regeneration.

Perhaps the most important factor in the financial success of a cook-freeze system is making full use of the capacity of the equipment.

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A conventional kitchen, which costs tens of thousands of rand to equip, can operate at half capacity, probably with fewer staff, and still keep going.

A cook-freeze production system, which costs hundreds of thousands of rand, has to operate at almost maximum capacity to be cost-effective.

COOK VACUUM(SOUS VIDE) Without a vacuum machine it is not possible to obtain a

perfect vacuum in a plastic bag or plastic pouch; but it is possible to have a partial "sous vide", enough to realise this method of cooking. This method can be adapted for home cooking or for small restaurants.

You can prepare the food one to two days, or more, in

advance. You can, keep the food in the fridge, or even freeze the preparations, store for a few weeks or a month, then reheat and serve when needed.

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Imagine having a party next week with 10 people coming home. What a big quantity of food to store and handle the last day! You may be overwhelmed by such a task. Using this method, a major part of the job can already be done before the day of the party.

TEMP…………

Let me explain this point about temperature: When you cook the "normal" way, this is higher than 70°C/158°F. In fact, boiling water is 100°C/212°F; when you roast, an average temperature of 200°C/392°F is used, this is with out doubt far higher than 70°C/158°F