How do we know if our
food is cooked?
Why is it important to cook our food
thoroughly?
1.
To ensure a good quality dish.
2.
To ensure flavours and textures are correct.
3.
To prevent any food poisoning from undercooked foods.
4.
To keep a good reputation.
Temperature control.
How can we check temperature?
Use a temperature probe to ensure meat
dishes reach a core temperature of 75 degrees
Celsius or above!!
Remember: The core temperature means the
middle of the food - not just the temperature
at the top of the dish.
Visual appearance
We can sometimes use our eyes to judge whether we think a
product is cooked or not. We can look at appearance, colour and
change in texture.
For example, we can see that cheese has melted on cheese on toast.
Cakes – skewer test
Stabbing the centre of a cake with a skewer
can tell us whether a cake is cooked.
If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is
cooked.
If the skewer comes out dirty, the cake is not
cooked.
Cakes – Finger test
Pressing down on a cake can also be an
indication of whether it is cooked or not. If
the sponge springs back up, the cake is
cooked. If the sponge sinks in – it needs
longer!
Bread
Tapping the underneath of
the bread should create a
hollow sound if it has been
cooked for long enough.
If you don’t hear the sound, it
made need a little longer.