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Stewing Stewing is a method of cooking food slowly and for a long time in a little liquid, in a well covered pan. Reasons for Stewing 1) To keep the food tender, usually tough pieces of meat, dried meat or fish, old and fibrous vegetables or hard under-ripe fruits are used. 2) By slow, gentle, moist heating, the connecting tissues of meat become gelatinized and fall apart. 3) The protein coagulates without over-hardening. 4) The soluble nutrients and flavor come into the liquid that is served with it. General Rules for Stewing 1) Cut food in small pieces in order to expose as much surface as possible. 2) Use a saucepan with a cover to prevent evaporation and loss of flavor. 3) Bring to boiling point then reduce heat and allow to simmer : never let it boil. 4) Use just enough liquid to last throughout the cooking. 5) Avoid uncovering the saucepan frequently, in order to prevent the flavor from escaping. 6) Season well. Advantages of Stewing 1) Stewing is the most econom...

General Rules for Frying 1) Use clean oil or fat 2) Heat the oil to the proper temperature before putting in the food to be fried. If the oil is over-heated it will spoil the color and flavor of the food. 3) Oil is at its proper temperature when it ceases to sizzle and a light blue haze appears over the pan. 4)Fry only a small quantity at a time. 5) Dry such foods as fish, meat and plantains before frying to avoid mixing cold water with the hot oil. 6) When possible, coat the protein foods before frying to seal in the juices. 7) Avoid frequent stirring of food as this causes it to break. 8) Re-heat the oil and bring it back to the proper temperature before frying the next quantity. 9)Drain the food first in the frying pan, then in crumpled kitchen paper or in a sieve, to get rid of the excess oil, which makes fried foods unattractive and indigestable, and also to save the oil. 10) Fried food should be served hot as the flavor deteriorates when it becomes cold. 11) If fried food is cov...