Food Pre-preparation: Part 12

Acid is used to tenderize by breaking down connective tissue. There is some controversy over how much of this an acid can do. Evidence shows that unless meat is marinated for a considerable length of time, little tenderizing takes place. Nevertheless cooks go on marinating less tender cuts of meat with apparent success. Perhaps the meat seems tenderer because of the added flavor.

Marinating can be a matter of minutes or it can take several days. It depends on the purpose and on the nature and size of the product. Cubes of meat for shish kebab need not be marinated as long as a pot roast. Game might be marinated a day or more because it lacks tenderness. Sauerbraten is sometimes marinated a week or longer. Whatever the length of time, it must be taken into account in planning for precooking readiness.

Marinating must be done in a container that is impervious to acid, such as stainless steel, glass, or crockery. Foods being marinated must be kept refrigerated at proper temperatures.

HOLDING AND STORAGE

Now what do you do with all the foods you have cleaned, cut up, breaded, partially cooked, precooked, marinated, and otherwise preprepared while you are pre-preparing other products? You hold or store them.

The terms holding and storage are often used interchangeably, but they actually have distinct meanings. Both refer to the keeping of food products, but the keeping is for different lengths of time and different purposes. Holding is the keeping of a food product for a short period before its intended use at a specific time. Storage is the keeping of a food product for future use for an unspecified period.

Holding

Holding usually applies to a food that has been partly or fully processed. For most foods it is a matter of hours or minutes, though it may extend 24 hours or longer for such items as gelatin salads and hard-cooked eggs. Most foods are held right in the kitchen in equipment designed for this specific purpose. Foods may be held either cold or hot, a major difference between holding and storage.

Foods that are held cold may be fully prepared dishes ready for service, such as salads or cold hors d'oeuvre. Or they may be partially processed items awaiting further processing or cooking, such as peeled vegetables and fruits or breaded items or partially cooked foods awaiting finish cooking, or almost any-thing in process of preparation. Such products are held in the refrigerator or in special cold-food holding boxes, such as the airline caterer uses to deliver cold food to the plane. Cold-food holding equipment must maintain a temperature of 35°F (2°C) to keep foods below 40°F (4°C). The careful cook will check the temperature of holding equipment whenever placing something in it.

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