Cooking Town introduces the reader to the development of modern and popular cookery and contains information on the preparation of and recipes for sauces, soups, salads, pastas and other first courses, fish and other seafood, poultry, beef, lamb, pork, veal, miscellaneous meats, vegetables, and various cold foods. There are hundreds of ways to prepare food, but they all can fall into 10 methods of food preparation: Baked Food, Bar-B-Que, Boiled Food, Deep Fried Food, Dried Food, Fermented Foods, Fried Food, Raw Food, Roasted Food and Steamed Food. There are certain guidelines to follow when you prepare food:  

Food Handling

Wash and dry hands thoroughly before handling food. When you can, use clean kitchen utensils not fingers for handling foods.

Keep raw and cooked food apart at all times. In particular keep raw meat, fish, poultry and other raw foods away from cooked foods and ready-to-eat foods (such as salads, bread and sandwiches).

Wash and dry hands, utensils – including chopping boards and knives – and surfaces thoroughly after preparing raw meat, fish, poultry and other raw foods and before contact with other food. Ideally use separate chopping boards for raw and cooked foods.

Never put cooked food onto a plate which has previously held these raw foods until it has been thoroughly washed.

Do not use the same utensil to stir or serve a cooked meal that was used to prepare the raw ingredients.

Root vegetables such as potatoes, leeks and carrots often have traces of soil on them which can contain harmful bacteria, so wash them thoroughly before use. Don't forget to wash other fruit and veg too, especially if they are going to be eaten raw.

Defrosting

When cooking pre-packaged frozen foods always follow instructions on defrosting and/or cooking from frozen.

If cooking from frozen allow sufficient time for food to be thoroughly cooked and check it before serving.

When defrosting foods make sure they are fully defrosted before cooking.

Allow food enough time to thaw. Never re-freeze food once it has started to thaw. Thaw food by placing it on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a container to catch any juices. These juices can be contaminated so wash dishes – and hands – thoroughly after use.

Cooking

Follow recipes and label instructions on cooking times and temperatures. Remember to pre-heat the oven properly.

Cook all foods until they are piping hot. Double check that sausages, burgers and poultry are cooked right through; they should not be 'rare' or pink in the middle and when pierced with a knife any juices that run out of the meat should be clear, not bloody.

Elderly or sick people, babies, young children and pregnant women should only eat eggs cooked until both yolk and white are solid and should not eat raw or partially cooked fish and shellfish.

Lamb and beef (except when minced or rolled) can be eaten rare - but make sure the outer surface is thoroughly cooked to kill any germs on the surface of the meat.

Don't cook foods too far in advance. Once cooked, keep foods covered and piping hot (above 63oC) until it's time to eat them. Keep prepared cold foods in the fridge until it's time to eat.

When using a microwave, stir foods and drinks and allow them to stand for a couple of minutes to avoid hot or cold spots. Check food is piping hot throughout before serving.

Reheat foods until they are piping hot right through. Don't reheat foods more than once.

Cooling

Do not put hot food directly into the fridge or freezer, let it cool sufficiently first; but remember that cooling should be completed within one or two hours after cooking. To speed cooling divide foods into smaller portions, place in a wide dish and stand this in a shallow tray of cold water.