Stories behind the scenes
This is where the talks are happening. Stories, news, tips, trends and anything which bothers you about cooking, I surely have an answer for it!
Most threats to food safety can be linked to microorganisms: living creatures, typically consisting of a single cell, that can be seen only with the aid of a microscope. These microbes have colonized our planet in astonishing abundance.
Within the broad range of these microorganisms, several major categories of foodborne pathogens are the main concern of cooks. Each class of microbes presents unique risks and hazards. Cooking and storage methods that thwart one kind of pathogen, for instance, may be useless against another. To maintain good culinary hygiene in the kitchen, a working understanding of the differences and similarities among microbial contaminants is crucial.
Bacterial Groth
All bacteria multiply by cell division. When an individual bacterium reaches a certain point in its growth, it splits into two separate cells. The time required for a new cell to begin dividing depends on local conditions-primarily, the availability of nutrients, the acidity (pH), and the temperature. Bacterial cell division is not as regular as clock- work, but under the right circumstances, it can happen in minutes. If you start with a single bacterial cell, the growth sequence would be one, two, four, eight, 32, 64, and so on. After 10 doublings, that single bacterium would become 1,024. After 20, the population would exceed one million.
The ability of bacterial populations to grow exponentially if food is improperly handled makes pathogenic bacteria particularly dangerous. One of the principal goals in food safety, then, is taking measures when food is stored, prepared, or served to prevent this kind of rapid bacterial replication.
Bacterial replication rates depend strongly on temperature; below a critical threshold, bacteria simply do not reproduce. The same holds for replication above an upper threshold. These critical temperatures vary for different species and environmental conditions. Some bacteria multiply at temperatures just above freezing, albeit slowly. More often, microbe species begin to replicate somewhere between 3 ·c and 12 ·c and as the temperature rises above that range, bacterial reproduction generally accelerates until it reaches a maximum value.
This temperature dependence is the main reason that foods are stored in refrigerators and freezers, where the low temperatures can halt or dramatically slow the replication of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria.
SO! Do not keep your food outside the refrigerator and chill asap, this will reduce the risk already a lot!
As this is another topic is another endless study, there is lots for me to answer if you have questions, just hit the contact button.
At home mostly disregarded as: “Nothings ever happened to us, we will be fine…”. In professional kitchens on the line it’s rather a bothering thing to do with lots of paperwork and painful audits needing to pass. Like it or not, kitchen hygiene is an unavoidable importance we have to face and deal with, seriously!
Let's Talk Hygiene
21.03.2020
In today’s time, one can argue what to eat, since the highest of the food is questionable. Most produce, whether fruits, vegetable, meat, fish or animal sub produce are chemically contaminated or genetically modified. In that case only one rule should apply: Fresh is best!
You are what you eat and knowing the source of the food you put into your mouth is priceless and should not allow any compromise.
Right, having that out of the way, let’s structure. I am not after communicating a complicated life style with an obsession of calculating every kcal. The passion behind this blog is to be vigilant having a minimum education on what’s good for you and what’s not.
Real food is whole, single-ingredient food. It is mostly unprocessed, free of chemical additives and rich in nutrients. In essence, it’s the type of food human beings ate exclusively for thousands of years.
1. Loaded with important nutrients
Unprocessed animal and plant foods provide the vitamins and minerals you need for optimal health.
For instance, 220 grams of red bell peppers, broccoli, or orange slices contains more than 100% of the RDI for vitamin C.
Eggs and liver are especially high in choline, a nutrient essential for proper brain function.
And a single Brazil nut provides all the selenium you need for an entire day.
In fact, most whole foods are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients.
2. Low in sugar
Some research suggests that eating sugary foods can increase your risk of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and heart disease.
Generally speaking, real food is lower in sugar than many processed foods.
Even though fruit contains sugar, it’s also high in water and fibre, making it much healthier than soda and processed foods.
3. Heart healthy
Real food is packed with antioxidants and nutrients that support heart health, including magnesium and healthy fats.
Eating a diet rich in nutritious, unprocessed foods may also help reduce inflammation, which is considered one of the major drivers of heart disease.
4. High in fibre
Fibre provides many health benefits, including boosting digestive function, metabolic health and feelings of fullness.
Foods like avocados, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and blackberries are particularly high in healthy fibre, alongside beans and legumes.
Consuming fibre through whole foods is much better than taking a supplement or eating processed food with added fibre.
5. Helps control blood sugar
According to the International Diabetes Federation, more than 400 million people have diabetes worldwide.
That number is expected to surpass 600 million within the next 25 years.
Eating a diet high in fibrous plants and unprocessed animal foods may help reduce blood sugar levels in people who have or are at risk for diabetes.
In one 12-week study, people with diabetes or prediabetes followed a Palaeolithic diet combining fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and nuts. They experienced a 26% reduction in blood sugar levels.
6. Helps lower triglycerides
Blood triglyceride levels are strongly influenced by food intake.
Because triglycerides tend to go up when you eat sugar and refined carbs, it’s best to minimize these foods or cut them out of your diet altogether.
In addition, including unprocessed foods like fatty fish, lean meats, vegetables, and nuts has been shown to significantly reduce triglyceride levels.
7. High in healthy fats
Unlike the trans and processed fats found in vegetable oils and spreads, most naturally occurring fats are healthy.
For example, extra virgin olive oil is a great source of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that promotes heart health.
Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides, which may increase fat burning and assist with weight loss.
What’s more, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids help fight inflammation and protect heart health. Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring and sardines, are excellent sources.
Other real foods that are high in healthy fats include avocados, nuts, seeds, and whole-milk dairy.
8. Good for your gut
Eating real food may be beneficial for your gut microbiome, which refers to the bacteria that live in your digestive tract.
Indeed, many real foods function as prebiotics — food that your gut bacteria ferment into short-chain fatty acids. In addition to promoting gut health, these fatty acids may improve blood sugar control.
Real food sources of prebiotics include garlic, asparagus and cocoa.
The bottom line
Real food is just one component of a healthy lifestyle.
It’s also important to get plenty of exercise, lower your stress levels, and maintain proper nutrition.
But there’s no doubt that eating more real food will go a long way toward improving your health – So: Don’t wait until the next 1st of January, start NOW!
Unfortunately, most people have very little understanding of nutritional value and falling for the dilutional marketing strategies of the big players of the food industry. It’s simple: You want to eat healthy, cook the food yourself!
Fresh is Best!
20.01.2019
The Art of Cooking Meat
09.12.2018
The base of this dish is a good quality product, easily recognizable by a recognized supply chain and origin. There are many ways of getting the cooking on point according to your desired temperature. The technique I used here was a 90-100 ˚C olive oil bath until the core temperature reached 55 -58 ˚C for medium to rare. The advantage on this cooking method is that the meat cooks very slow, allowing to keep the moisture and therefore flavour locked inside the meat, for a juicy and tender texture, packed with natural taste. Follow the below temperatures as an overview if you wish to cook the meat less or more but more importantly, not dry:
Rare: 52 – 54 ˚C core temperature
Medium to Rare: 55 – 58 ˚C core temperature
Medium: 59 – 61 ˚C core temperature
Medium to well: 62 – 67 ˚C core temperature
Well Done: 68 – 71 ˚C core temperature
Everything above 71 ˚C will be dry.
My tip:
This method works with any kind of tender cut from of red meats like lamb, beef, duck etc. Check out my website about cooking temperatures for other meats and fish or contact me for more hints or inquiry: www.moi-photography.com/oui-chef
Getting the meat on point can be very nerve wracking! The following instruction will get you a perfect result every time.
The main reason to switch to this method is to seal the flavors and ingredients into a flexible and heat resistant plastic bag, before cooking in a water bath, preserving the goodness without losing quality even for a few days. Controlling the heat where a single degree matters, is the defining difference to other methods. Two aspects of importance playing a big role: temperature and time, ensuring rather a perfect edge to edge pink or total juiciness after braising, having just broken down the fibers for the meat to melt in the mouth.
Braising (short ribs): 58˚C – 72 hours
Beef filet (200 g): 60˚C – 40 minutes
Chicken leg: 80˚C – 60 minutes
Chicken breast (180 g): 85˚C – 30 minutes
Duck breast (220 g): 60˚C – 2 hours
Salmon filet (180 g): 50˚C – 30 minutes
Octopus (1kg): 95˚C – 6 hours
My tip:
The above list is an indication of preferred suggestions. The list can be endless ranging over veal, pork, more fish varieties, even oysters and vegetable. I don’t think there is a limit of what can be cooked and what not. I you require any more information on the above or temperatures on other ingredients, reach out!: www.moi-photography.com/oui-chef
Michelin star restaurant or home cook, if correctly used, the sous vide method is a safe play solution to a perfect texture, great flavors and easy storing/reheating possibilities.