Prepreparation Part 3

Different vegetables are cleaned in different ways. Its type and texture determine the way a vegetable is cleaned:

Hard vegetables such as potatoes and carrots with skins should be scrubbed with a vegetable brush under cold running water. If they are to be peeled they need not be scrubbed, but they should still be washed. You don't want to pass along dirt, sprays, or contamination to cutting surfaces as you peel.

Soft or fragile vegetables-such as tomatoes, asparagus, okra, and corn-and most fruits should be washed carefully in cold running water but not scrubbed.

Leafy vegetables should be broken apart and washed extensively under cold running water to remove dirt from inside.

For large volume it is sometimes essential to clean vegetables by submerging them in water. This is not totally wrong, but using cold running water is of course more desirable. Washing vegetables by submerging them means that you are washing the second item in the dirty water from the first.

When the submersion method is used, the vegetables are placed on large draining racks, which are then submerged in a sink full of water. Leafy vegetables are plunged up and down to force water between the leaves. A raised screen placed on the bottom of the sink allows the dirt to settle. The water is changed frequently. After washing, the racks are removed from the sink and the produce is allowed to drain before storage.

Cold water is used for washing because it keeps vegetables crisp and because warm water wilts them.

Both vegetables and fruits should be washed as close to use time as possible. They are then at their cleanest when used. In addition, some raw products begin to degenerate after washing-mushrooms and berries, for example. Cleaned fresh fruits and vegetables are stored in the cooler, covered, until use.

CUTTING

Cutting terminology: Here are the basic cutting terms defined. You will meet others shortly.

Cut To divide into pieces or to shape using a knife.

Chop To cut into pieces of no specified shape.

Mince To chop very fine.

Dice To cut into small uniform cubes.

Slice To cut into uniform slices, usually across the grain.

Cutting, of course, is the general term that includes all the others. Chopping and mincing involve the same action but refer to different sizes of products-an important distinction. Dicing and slicing create specific kinds of cuts. Notice the word "uniform" in both definitions.

You may also meet some French cutting terms-concasser, emincer.

Concasser (kon-kass-ay) is similar to chop; it means to cut rough-shaped but even-sized pieces.

Emincer (ay-man-say) means to mince; it also means to slice thinly or cut into thin uniform strips.

Mizer, Porter, Sonnier, Food Preparation for the Professional, 1978, Page 41.

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