Every stage of cooking is vital: meal planning, meal preparation and presentation, yet before any of this can take place it is essential to pick the things that you are going to cook. The ability to pick high quality products is also very important. Food deteriorates after a particular length of time so knowing which signs to look for is the art to this specific aspect of cooking.
There are a number of considerations to product selection. For example, the cook has to estimate whether the produce is fresh, ripe or more than ripe. Is the amount of waste associated with this product acceptable? Will this product provide the required amount of nutrients? Do the intended consumers like it or will they like it? Does the cost validate choosing this option?
Balancing all these considerations is really some feat that maybe a billion people carry out every day and perhaps a number of times a day. It is just remarkable. However, the best cooks or household managers need experience to do it correctly most of the time yet you can only get experience by 'doing' and doing involves making mistakes from time to time. There is nothing wrong with that - making mistakes is a standard part of the learning process.
There are in essence three elements to the successful selection of food. These are: 1] the material of which it is composed; 2] its worth or potential to provide energy and or nutrients and vitamins and 3] how readily these qualities can be extracted in a digestible way.
It is only after you have answers to these three questions that you can know whether a product is worth the money. In other words, although you might always know the cost of an item of food, you may not always know its value.
It is clear from the above that the cook who takes his or her task seriously has a mammoth quest on hand to know what human bodies require at the various stages of growth, illness and even just recovery from standard wear and tear; to know what articles of food can supply those needs; how to select foods that are at the peak of condition and how to prepare those foods so that you gain the most of that products potential.
Then there are the other considerations of whether you or your family will eat those products at all or whether they will only eat them if prepared according to certain recipes and finally, whether you can afford those foods.
As far as preparing children to eat or at least try different foodstuffs is concerned, it is important to get started as soon as possible. Children do not know what is healthy for them so allowing them to eat hamburgers and chips every day, because it is 'all they will eat' is nonsense. Children have to be trained to eat what is put in front of them until they are competent to make their own choices.
There are a number of considerations to product selection. For example, the cook has to estimate whether the produce is fresh, ripe or more than ripe. Is the amount of waste associated with this product acceptable? Will this product provide the required amount of nutrients? Do the intended consumers like it or will they like it? Does the cost validate choosing this option?
Balancing all these considerations is really some feat that maybe a billion people carry out every day and perhaps a number of times a day. It is just remarkable. However, the best cooks or household managers need experience to do it correctly most of the time yet you can only get experience by 'doing' and doing involves making mistakes from time to time. There is nothing wrong with that - making mistakes is a standard part of the learning process.
There are in essence three elements to the successful selection of food. These are: 1] the material of which it is composed; 2] its worth or potential to provide energy and or nutrients and vitamins and 3] how readily these qualities can be extracted in a digestible way.
It is only after you have answers to these three questions that you can know whether a product is worth the money. In other words, although you might always know the cost of an item of food, you may not always know its value.
It is clear from the above that the cook who takes his or her task seriously has a mammoth quest on hand to know what human bodies require at the various stages of growth, illness and even just recovery from standard wear and tear; to know what articles of food can supply those needs; how to select foods that are at the peak of condition and how to prepare those foods so that you gain the most of that products potential.
Then there are the other considerations of whether you or your family will eat those products at all or whether they will only eat them if prepared according to certain recipes and finally, whether you can afford those foods.
As far as preparing children to eat or at least try different foodstuffs is concerned, it is important to get started as soon as possible. Children do not know what is healthy for them so allowing them to eat hamburgers and chips every day, because it is 'all they will eat' is nonsense. Children have to be trained to eat what is put in front of them until they are competent to make their own choices.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, and is now involved with how to cook for diabetics. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Cookbooks For Diabetics.
