Purpose of Cooking

Some foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are highly palatable when eaten raw. However, most foods must be cooked to be acceptable to the human palatable. The main purpose of cooking food are:

• to improve its natural flavor and palatability;

• to destroy pathogenic organisms and injurious substances which may be found on raw foods;

• to improve its digestibility; and

• to make its maximum nutritive value available in a palatable form.

• Some fruits and vegetables are highly palatable when eaten raw because uncooked and unsoaked foods retain a good portion of their nutritive value and natural texture and color. The effect of cooking on the color and texture is important on its influence in flavor. When the object is to main the origin flavor of the food, the cooking process used should be as short as possible without adding any flavoring materials. For example, fresh and young vegetables should be cooked in a small amount of boiling water.

• When several foods are cooked together, an interesting blend of flavor developed. The cooking process in this case is often comparatively long to allow time enough for the new flavor to develop. For example, casserole dishes, pudding, and the local Sinigang and Nilaga are enjoyed for their interesting blend of different flavors. Overcooking, however, is destructive of flavors and food become soggy or stringy.

• The effect of cooking on the color and texture of food has a great influence on flavor. The methods of cooking used must be those, which are conserving of the natural color of food or developing the new, desired color.

• All foods in their natural state are subject to spoilage or deterioration because of pathogenic organisms and injurious substances found in them. Microorganisms, such as molds, yeasts, and bacteria, grow at certain temperature generally between O degree to 75 degrees. However, with the heat application or exposure to temperatures near the boiling point of water, microorganisms are easily killed.

• Illness may be caused by foods that naturally contain poisonous substances and foods that are contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Cooking, through application of heat, destroy the injurious substances in raw food and renders the food in wholesome and safe form.

• Most cooking methods produce an interior temperature of 140 degrees to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Some baked products my reach a temperature close to 21 degrees Centigrade. The temperature range is one in which many harmful organisms do not grow. All points of food must reach and maintain a certain temperature within this range.

• All foods undergo softening as a result of cooking, which may render food more digestible. Some cooking processes are identical with the process involved in the breakdown of food during digestion. For example; the transformation of starch into dextrins and the hydrolyses that takes place during the cooking of meat break down the protein collagen in a connective tissues.

• Digestibility to a layman, refers not only to the completeness of digestion and absorption but also the general feeling and after effect of eating. When food is hard to digest, it is easily manifested by a feeling of discomfort. Some fruits and vegetables have to be cooked to be palatable, soft and easy to digest.

• Some foods, like fruits and vegetables group, are highly palatable when eaten raw because unc0oked and unsoaked foods retain a good portion of their nutritive value. However, in time of food poisoning outbreak, people are warned not to eat raw or half-cooked food.

• The most important nutritive change, which occurs in natural food through cooking, is the loss of its water soluble nutrients, hence, the retention of these nutrients in foods is directly related to the amount of water used in cooking. Destruction of vitamins may also be brought about by the action of heat. Studies have shown that Ascorbic acid and Thiamine are unfavorably affected by heat. All these, however, are small losses if compared to the significance of the effects of cooking to assure safety from food-borne diseases.

• These are some raw foods that have to be cooked in order that their nutritive value can be used by the body. For example, root crops have to be cooked to fully enjoy their carbohydrates content. The protein content of most fish and meat are fully utilized when cooked.

The aims and objectives of cooking food are as follows:

• Cooking increases palatability. Cooking pleases the eye and is receptive to the palate and helps to stimulate the digestive juices, thereby creating an appetite.

• Cooking helps to provide a balanced meal. The different ingredients combined together in one dish make it easier to provide a balanced meal.

• Cooking sterilizes the food partially. Cooking food can be stored for a longer time and it prevents food poisoning and diseases when stored properly. Some of the disease producing germs is killed by cooking. They are killed because of high temperature during the cooking process. A temperature of 600 degree Celsius applied over 30 or more minutes, kills most of the pathogenic germs.

• Cooking retains, as far as possible, the nutritive and flavoring ingredients. The flavor depends upon the amount and kind of extractive present, and the acid developed. Nutritive value is enhanced if the fat proportion in the meat is more. While cooking, the nutrition could be preserved by using the cooking liquor.

• Nora Narvaez-Soriano (2010), A Guide to Food Selection, Preparation and Preservation, 2nd Edition