Task 1.

Match a definition and a term.

a conventional oven

heating elements

a convectional oven

mechanical oven

microwave oven

infrared oven

• the most basic form of oven

• gas, electricity

• the main workhorses of high-volume kitchens

• the tray on which the food sits inside the oven

• is used in counter operation and small restaurants

• cooks by using short electromagnetic waves

Task 2.

Make up three or four questions to the text.

Task 3.

Answer the following questions:

1. What does an oven look like?

2. What kinds of heat sources do you know?

3. Describe the conventional oven.

4. Describe the mechanical oven.

5. How does a microwave oven cook?

Unit 2

Key terms

Find out the meaning of the following terms:

a range

an open-grate top

a cooking equipment

a griddle

a broiler

a foodservice operation

a heavy-duty broiler

a salamander

a free-standing broiler

to preheat

a multiple unit

an option

a preheated grill

to pierce

Reading:

RANGES

A range is a multifaceted piece of cooking equipment. The unit can be heated by either gas or electricity, and it is designed to cook food in pots and pans as well as on a flat-topped grill. Further increasing the versatility of this piece of equipment, a range often has an oven and/or a broiler as a base (see Figure 8.9).

A range can have any of several different types of tops or a combination of them, depending on the needs of the operation. A top can be flat, made of a thick piece of cast iron to evenly distribute heat. The advantage of this type of top is that it can be loaded with as many pots as will fit, because the entire top is hot. The disadvan­tage of the flat top is that it takes longer to preheat and it is not very easy to control the heat. Other options are an open-grate top for a gas range and, for an electric range, coils that are individually controlled. The advantages are that these tops do not have to be preheated, which saves energy because they are on only when needed. The disadvantage of the open-grate top is that the number of pans that can be cooking at one time is limited to the number of grates. A third option for a range top is a griddle, a polished metal surface on which food such as pancakes or sandwiches can be cooked directly.

BROILERS

A broiler is used to cook individual portions of meat, poultry, or seafood. Broilers do a very good job of cooking steaks, chicken breasts, and some types of fish. However, they are not very well suited to cooking other types of food items that are large and/or require a long cooking time to break down the connective tissue and make the food tender. The broiler is unique in the crusty, almost charred, character that it imparts to food. The heat for the broiler can be generated from either above or below.

There are a number of different types of broilers used in foodservice operations. The heavy-duty broiler is used in high-vol­ume operations that have to broil large amounts of food. The heat comes from the top, and the food is cooked on a grill that slides out. A broiler can be mounted on an oven, a table, or a stand and is typically placed at a convenient level for the cook to monitor the progress of the food that is cooking (see Figure 8.10).

The salamander, a light-duty broiler, is normally mounted above a range. A salamander is used to melt cheese, to brown the tops of items, or in other cooking jobs that require top heat. Its convenient location above the range uses dead space and allows the cook to be more efficient (see Figure 8.11).

The free-standing broiler is the type most commonly used in table-service restaurants. The heat element, either gas or electric, is placed under a bed of ceramic coals to simulate charcoal cooking. The food is held on a heavy-duty grill that provides the food with distinctive "grill marks" and allows the fat from the product to drain through.

Broilers normally have areas that vary in temperature, owing to the design of the equipment. In a hotel broiler the grill is hotter in the back region, whereas an underfired broiler is hotter in the center and generally cooler around the outside edges. The varying temperatures of the grill are important to cooks. One of the goals of a cook working the broiler station is to have all of the food for a particular table finish cooking at the same time. For instance, in one order there could be a number of different items that cook at different rates: chicken breast, filet mignon, and items that the guests order at different degrees of doneness—rare, medium, and well. The varied temperature range of the grill allows different items to cook simultaneously—and to be ready at the same time (see Figure 8.12).

A broiler must be preheated. Once it is turned on, it is normally left on for the entire meal period. Most broilers have multiple side-by-side units so that the cook has the option to only run one-half or one-third of the grill at a time in order to save energy during slow periods. Heat is transferred to the food in two ways—by conduction from the area on which the food rests on the preheated grill, and by radiation directly from the heat source to the areas of the food that are not in contact with the grill. Because heat comes from only one side, either the top or the bottom, the food must be turned to complete the cooking process. Cooks should avoid turning food with forks that pierce it and cause it to lose some of its juices; long-han­dled tongs are the proper tool. Once the broiling process is com­pleted, the food should be served as soon as possible.