Some types of mushrooms can be eaten raw, but in most cases, heat treatment is still preferable. Therefore, if your favorite dish is fried mushrooms with potatoes, first, learn not to cook this dish, but to properly process mushrooms.

We sort and process wild mushrooms

What should you do with mushrooms after you come home from the forest? Experts recommend:

Sort the harvested mushrooms (by size and type);
Thoroughly clean each mushroom from debris, dirt and needles;
Check the mushrooms for existing damage/cracks/dents;
Darkened spots and bruises must be removed with a knife;
Sometimes it is necessary to remove a crumpled mushroom cap, especially if we're talking about about boletus or russula, since it is the caps that contain a large amount of alkaloids.

When should mushrooms be processed?

If you want to cook fried mushrooms with potatoes, then ideally process the mushrooms directly on the day they are collected. Why? This is extremely important so that all the beneficial qualities are retained in the mushrooms, even during heat treatment. If for some reason it is not possible to process the mushrooms (sort, sort by type and size, clean) on the day of collection, you can leave them until the morning. But at the same time, it is extremely important to clean the mushrooms at least from dirt and leaves, but under no circumstances wash them. Next, you should place the mushrooms in a cold place (refrigerator, cellar). Mushrooms intended for cooking can be filled with plenty of water.

Wash and soak the collected mushrooms

Washing and soaking the mushrooms is often the first step in any mushroom cooking. If the mushrooms are not intended for cooking, but for drying, under no circumstances should they be washed or soaked! Such mushrooms only need to be cleaned of debris and wiped with a damp, clean cloth. If the mushrooms have been cleaned and washed correctly and on time, then any dish containing them, including fried mushrooms with potatoes, will acquire an amazing taste and aroma!

A few rules for properly washing mushrooms;

Do not wash mushrooms for too long hot water, because if they absorb a lot of water, then during the cooking process you will encounter certain problems (long cooking);
Mushrooms should be washed under running water for 1-2 minutes, and then left on a dry, clean towel (to drain);
Before cooking, porcini mushrooms must be scalded several times with boiling water so that later they do not crumble when slicing and are more resilient and elastic.

Fresh mushrooms are sorted by type and size, wormy ones are separated, and then cut off bottom part legs, contaminated with soil, caps and legs are cleaned of leaves, pine needles, litter, the cap is cut off (except for champignons) and washed thoroughly.

Remove the film covering the plates from the champignons, peel the stems, remove the skin from the caps, cut off the cap, leaving 1.5-2 cm of the stem, and rinse thoroughly with water. To protect against darkening, peeled champignons are placed in water acidified with citric acid or vinegar.

The roots and caps of morels are cut off and soaked in cold water for 20...30 minutes to remove dirt (sand, debris). After this, the morels are washed with water, then poured with hot water and boiled for 5...7 minutes. The resulting decoction is not used.

Processed mushrooms are sorted by size. Mushrooms with large caps are finely chopped and used for minced meat and soups, medium-sized caps, after being separated from the roots, are used for side dishes, and small ones are used for custom dishes and fried whole. The processed mushrooms are immediately sent for thermal cooking.

Dried mushrooms are sorted, removing low-quality specimens, and poured cold water and leave it in it for 10...15 minutes, then wash it several times, changing the water. After this, the washed dried mushrooms are poured with cold water (ratio mushrooms: water - 1: 7) and soaked for 3...4 hours to swell. The increase in the mass of mushrooms occurs due to the hydration of undenatured proteins and polysaccharides and the filling of macro- and microcapillaries with water. Mushrooms are boiled in the same water until tender, then they are removed from the broth, washed and used to prepare soups, sauces and as side dishes. The resulting decoction, into which water-soluble flavoring and aromatic substances have passed, is filtered and used to prepare soups and mushroom sauces.

Salted and pickled mushrooms are freed from the filling liquid, washed, chopped and used for preparing cold appetizers, side dishes and minced meat.

3. GREAT PROCESSING

During mechanical and hydromechanical processing, cereals are sorted (rice, millet, pearl barley, buckwheat - kernels, etc.) or sifted (crushed, semolina) in order to remove flour, impurities, and unhulled kernels. Some cereals (rice, millet, pearl barley) are washed to remove particles of shells, defective hollow kernels, as well as to remove products of hydrolysis and oxidation of fats from the surface. It is recommended to wash the cereals two or three times, changing the water each time. Rice, millet and pearl barley are washed first with warm water (30...40 °C) and then with hot water (55...60 °C). Barley groats are washed only with warm water (not higher than 35...40 °C). The buckwheat group, as well as crushed cereals and Hercules oat flakes, are not washed.

As a result of washing, cereals absorb water (10...30% by dry weight) mainly due to the swelling of proteins, hemicelluloses and partly starch. This leads to an increase in the volume and weight of cereals after washing (up to 30%). The amount of water absorbed by grains during the washing process depends on the duration of the process, the structure of the kernels, their powderiness or glassiness. With increasing washing time, the mass of cereals increases, but the amount of water absorbed by different cereals is not the same. During the same washing time (for example, 10...15 minutes), millet absorbs water most intensively (about 40%), and to a lesser extent, pearl barley (about 30%). To completely saturate pearl barley with water, it requires a long soaking (7...8 hours), while for rice (about 1 hour) and millet (30...40 minutes) much less time is needed. These data indicate significant differences in the structure of the kernels and the properties of the substances contained in the cereals.

The penetration of water into the endosperm of cereals occurs not only at different speeds, but is also characterized by unequal uniformity. Pearl barley is characterized by slow and uniform penetration of water into the kernel, while water penetrates into the kernels of rice grain much faster, but the distribution of water throughout the volume of the kernel is uneven, which leads to noticeable violations of the integrity of the internal structure of the endosperm (formation of cracks) and a decrease in grain hardness.

The hardness of soaked rice cereal compared to unsoaked cereal is reduced by 3.5 times, while that of pearl barley is reduced by only 1.5 times. During the soaking process, the absorbed water loosens the cellular structure of the cereals, which leads to a reduction in the cooking time of the cereals.

When washing cereals, a certain amount of nutrients is lost (starch, sugars, nitrogenous and mineral substances, vitamins). Thus, washing rice cereals before cooking leads to the following loss of vitamins (in% of the original content): thiamine - 6.5; riboflavin – 10.5 and nicotinic acid – 16.0.

4. Fish processing

To enterprises Catering fish used for preparing culinary products may be supplied depending on:

From the thermal state - live, chilled, frozen;

From the method of canning - salted, smoked, dried, dried, in the form of canned food and preserves;

From the method of industrial cutting - undivided, gutted with the head, gutted headless, in the form;

Based on carcass weight – large, medium and small;

According to the method of processing in cooking - scaly, scaleless and sturgeon. Small-scaled fish - navaga, burbot - are processed in the same way as scaleless fish, so they are classified in this group.

Pre-processing of fish (thawing, soaking), cleaning, cutting, preparation of semi-finished products is carried out in fish shops.

Thawing frozen fish. The skin and scales protect the fish from significant losses of nutrients during thawing. During the process of freezing and subsequent storage, complex changes occur in fish, some of which are irreversible. The water contained in the fish meat goes into crystalline state. Ice crystals form primarily between the muscle fibers, and a redistribution of moisture occurs (some of it moves from the muscle fibers into the space between them). When frozen, the volume of water increases by 10%, which can lead to destruction of the structure of muscle fibers. Small crystals that form during rapid freezing change the structure of muscle fibers to a lesser extent. Since rapid freezing reduces water loss from muscle fibers, fish tissue retains its juiciness and elasticity after thawing.

Cell sap is a colloidal solution of proteins that are partially denatured during freezing and storage; after thawing, their original properties are completely restored.

When thawing, the properties of fish cannot be completely restored, as changes in fats occur. These changes occur especially intensively in the temperature range from 1 to –5 °C. Therefore, defrosting should be carried out quickly. Thaw the fish in water at a temperature not exceeding 20 °C with a ratio of the mass of fish and liquid of 1: 2. At the same time, the fish swells and its mass increases by 5–10%. When water thaws, some of its soluble nutrients are lost. To reduce losses, add salt to the water (7–10 g of salt per 1 liter of water). The concentration of salts in water and muscle juices is equalized, and their diffusion decreases. During the defrosting process, the fish must be stirred to avoid freezing of the carcasses. The total duration of thawing is 2–3 hours. Thawing is considered complete if the temperature in the fish depth rises to –1 °C.

Large fish (sturgeon) and fillets are thawed in air. To do this, fish and fillet briquettes are laid out on racks or tables. At a temperature of 20 °C, the duration of thawing of sturgeon fish is 10–24 hours, and fillets in blocks are 24 hours (up to a temperature in the thickness of –1 °C). Defrosting fish in a microwave field is also used.

Combined method defrost some types of uncut ocean fish (squama, goby, sardinops, butterfish, ocean mackerel, Far Eastern mackerel). It is placed in cold water for 30 minutes, salt is added (10 g per 1 liter), then taken out, the water is allowed to drain and defrosted in air until the temperature in the muscle mass reaches 0 °C.

Thawed fish is not stored, but is immediately used for cooking.

Soaking salted fish. During storage, irreversible changes in nutrients occur in the tissues of salted fish, reducing its quality. That's why specific gravity salted fish in the diet is relatively small.

Salted fish supplied to enterprises contains from 6 to 17% salt. Fish intended for frying should contain no more than 1.5–2%, and for cooking – no more than 5% salt. Excess salt is removed by soaking. The fish is placed in cold water to swell, cleaned of scales, the head and fins are cut off and stripped. When fish is soaked, some of the mineral salts, soluble proteins, and flavoring substances pass into the water, which reduces the nutritional value of salted fish dishes. You can soak the fish in replaceable and running water. In the first case, the fish is filled with cold water in a ratio of 1:2.

Since the difference in salt concentration in the fish and in the water at the beginning of soaking is large, diffusion occurs quickly and stops after 1 hour, as concentration equilibrium occurs. As the salt content of the fish decreases, diffusion slows down, so the water can be changed less frequently.

Change the water after 1, 2, 3 and 6 hours. After 12 hours, the salt concentration usually decreases to 5%. Then a test boil is carried out, and, if necessary, soaking is continued, changing the water after 3 hours. The disadvantage of this method is that as salt accumulates in the water between individual water changes, the soaking process slows down. In addition, towards the end of soaking, due to a decrease in the salt concentration in the fish pulp, spoilage may begin.

When soaking in running water, the fish is placed in a bath with a grated flooring, under which there are pipes supplying water. Remove water through a drainage pipe at the top of the bath. Soaking continues for 8–12 hours, after which test cooking is carried out.

The herring is soaked after cutting. To do this, the skin is removed, starting from the head, gutted, the head and tail are cut off, and the spine and rib bones are removed. Dressed carcasses are soaked in water, tea infusion, milk or milk with water. The tea infusion contains tannins that prevent the pulp from softening during soaking. Milk gives herring a special tenderness and aroma. You can also soak uncut herring (in water).

Processing fish with bony skeleton. Mechanical culinary processing of fish with a bone skeleton includes the following operations: cleaning from scales, removing the head, fins, humerus, gutting, washing, cutting and slicing semi-finished products (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Cutting fish with bone skeleton

The fish is descaled manually or with mechanical scrapers. If the scales are difficult to remove (tench, etc.), the carcasses are immersed in boiling water for 25–30 seconds. Flounder that has bugs on its skin is also scalded before cleaning. The cleaned fish is washed. In scaleless fish, the removal of scales is replaced by stripping their surface of mucus.

After removing the scales, the fins of the fish are removed (starting with the dorsal). To do this, the fish is placed on its side and the flesh is cut along the fin, first on one side and then on the other. They press the cut fin with a knife and, holding the fish by the tail, move it to the side, while the fin is easily removed. With this method, a prick on the fin is eliminated, which is especially important when processing pike perch and sea bass. The anal fin is also removed, after which the remaining fins (ventral, pectoral) are cut off or cut off. The fins (all except the caudal fin) are cut off at the level of the skin, and the caudal fin is cut off at a distance of 1–2 cm from the base of its middle rays.

The head is removed along the contour of the gill covers. The humerus bones of headless fish are removed by cutting into the flesh of the fish, partially exposing them, and then separating them. The pulp, removed along with the humerus bones, is subsequently used to prepare broth.

The fish is gutted in two ways: without cutting the belly, but by removing the entrails along with the head; cutting the abdomen from the head to the anus. The entrails are removed carefully so as not to damage the gall bladder, otherwise the fish will have a bitter taste. The internal cavity is cleaned of dark film, as it spoils the presentation, and sometimes is poisonous (marinka fish). After gutting, the carcasses are thoroughly washed with cold water and dried on wire racks for 20–30 minutes.

Depending on size and culinary use, fish can be cut in a variety of ways. This produces a whole fish with or without a head; unlayered; plated fillet with skin and rib bones, with skin without rib bones, without skin and rib bones (pure fillet). In addition, the fish is prepared for stuffing.

Cutting fish for whole use. Herring, smelt, gobies, sabrefish, small trout, navaga, grayling and other fish weighing up to 200 g, as well as larger fish intended for preparing banquet dishes, are cut whole, leaving the head (without gills) or removing it. The fish is cleaned of scales, fins are cut off, gutted and washed. Waste from such cutting is 14–20%, and in the case of removing the head, it increases by another 15%. Sometimes the entrails are removed simultaneously with the gills, without cutting the abdomen (smelt processing).

Cutting fish used unlayered. Almost all types of medium-sized fish (weighing up to 1.5 kg) are cut in this way. The fish is cleaned of scales, the fins are cut off, the head and most of the entrails are removed. Then, without cutting the abdomen, the internal cavity is cleaned, the humerus bones are removed, washed and dried. The entrails can also be removed through an abdominal incision. Waste with this processing method averages 30–40%. Prepared carcasses are used for cutting portioned semi-finished products.

Cutting fish into fillets (layering). Fish weighing more than 1.5 kg is filleted by flattening, and then cut into portions.

To obtain fillets with skin and rib bones, the fish is cleaned of scales, the fins and head are removed, the belly is cut and the entrails are removed, washed and dried. After this (starting from the head or tail), cut off half of the fish (fillet), moving the knife parallel to the spine, but so that there is no pulp left on top.

As a result of plating, two fillets are obtained: with skin and rib bones (upper fillet) and with skin, rib and vertebral bones (lower fillet). To remove the vertebral bone, the lower fillet is turned over, placed on a board, skin side up, and the flesh is cut off from the vertebral bone, leaving the spine on the board. This way you get two fillets with skin and rib bones. The waste amounts to an average of 40–50% (10% is the vertebral bone).

To obtain fillets with skin without rib bones, additional rib bones are cut from each half. To do this, place them across the cutting board, skin side down. The bones are cut off while holding them with the left hand. The waste is increased by removing the rib bones by an additional 5–8%.

To obtain fillets without skin and rib bones (clean fillet), the fish is not scaled so that the skin does not tear when removed. The fish is cut in the same way as for fillets with skin without rib bones. The fillets are then placed across the cutting board, skin side down, tail end facing you. Trim the skin at the tail by 1–1.5 cm, holding it with your left hand, cut off the flesh (Fig. 2). Waste increases by another 5–6% and averages 50–60%.

For all cutting methods, the amount of waste (in%) depends not only on the methods of industrial and culinary processing, the type of fish, but also on its size: the larger the fish, the less waste, as a rule, except for bream and pike perch.

Cutting fish for stuffing. The fish is stuffed whole (pike perch, pike, carp, crab, trust), in portioned pieces and in the form of a loaf.

Rice. 2. Cutting fish into clean fillets:

a – an incision from the base of the pectoral fin to the spine (blood removal); b – cutting the fillet from head to tail above and below the ridge; c – flattening, d – cutting of rib bones

When stuffing whole pike perch, remove scales, being careful not to damage the skin. Then the fins are cut off and deep cuts are made in the back, cutting through the rib bones along the spine. After this, the spine at the tail and head is broken or cut and removed. Thus, a hole is formed on the back of the fish from head to tail, through which the entrails are removed. The fish is washed thoroughly. The flesh and rib bones are cut off with a thin knife, leaving a layer of pulp on the skin of no more than 0.5 cm. The fins and bones inside the fish are cut out with scissors. The gills and eyes are removed from the head. Thoroughly washed fish is filled with minced meat, wrapped in clean gauze, tied with twine and sent for heat treatment.

When stuffing a whole fish, you can cut it differently: the pike is carefully cleaned of scales, the skin is cut around the head and the pulp is removed with the end of a knife. Then with the left hand they hold the fish by the head with a towel, with the other hand they grab the skin and remove it with a “stocking” (Fig. 3) in the direction from the head to the tail, cutting off the flesh near the fins with a knife or scissors. At the tail itself, the flesh and vertebral bone are cut and two parts are obtained: the inverted skin with the tail and the carcass.

Rice. 3. Removing skin with stockings

The skin is washed well, and the carcass is gutted, washed and the pulp is separated from the bones. The pulp is used to prepare minced meat. Then the skin is filled with minced meat, the processed head is placed, wrapped in gauze, tied with twine and sent for heat treatment.

Carp, carp and cod are stuffed in portions. The unfinished fish is cut into round pieces approximately 5 cm thick. Using the end of a knife, cut out the flesh on both sides of the spine so that a layer of pulp 0.3–0.5 cm thick remains on the skin. The hole is filled with minced meat and the prepared fish is sent for heat treatment.

In mass production, the fish is stuffed in the form of a loaf. For this purpose, river and ocean fish are used, the muscles of which have few bones. In this case, part of the fish is cut into fillets without rib bones, and part is cut into clean fillets, which are used to prepare minced meat. The fillet is placed skin side down on the cellophane, and minced fish, close the fillet skin side up on top. The formed loaves are tightly wrapped in cellophane, tied with twine and sent for heat treatment.

To prepare minced meat, fish fillets are minced twice in a meat grinder along with wheat bread (without crusts), soaked in milk or water, sautéed onions and garlic. Add softened margarine, eggs, salt, ground pepper to the minced meat and mix until smooth. You can use frozen commercial minced fish.

The processing of some fish with a bony skeleton has a number of differences.

Burbot, eel. The skin is cut around the head and removed with a “stocking”. Then the belly is cut open and after gutting and washing, the head and tail are cut off and the fins are cut out.

Som. The fish is cleaned of mucus with a knife. In small specimens, the head and fins are cut off, and then gutted and washed. For large specimens, the skin is first removed with a “stocking”.

Eel-pout. The body of the fish is round, tapering towards the tail and covered with sparse small scales, barely noticeable on the dark skin. The skin is rough, so it is removed by removing it with a “stocking”, like that of a burbot.

Lampreys. This fish is not gutted. The mucus that covers the fish can be poisonous and must be removed. To do this, the carcass is thoroughly rubbed with salt and washed well.

Navaga. Frozen navaga is cut without defrosting. In small specimens, the lower jaw with part of the abdomen is cut off, gutted through the resulting hole, leaving caviar in the carcass, the skin is cut along the spine, it is removed from both sides of the carcass, starting from the head, after which the dorsal fin is removed. The head of a large fish is cut off, gutted, the skin is cut along the back, the dorsal fin is cut out, and the skin is removed from the back to the belly. Large fish are stripped.

Cod, haddock. Cod fish are usually supplied without heads and entrails. In this case, their processing consists of removing the black film (on the abdominal cavity), cleaning the scales and washing.

Hake(silver and pacific). The film from the abdominal cavity of the fish is removed. Small specimens (weighing up to 250 g) are cut whole and used for frying. Large specimens are cut without plastering and cut into portions. The skin of hake is rough and it is better to remove it.

Flounder. All flounder fish have a flat body, covered on one side with dark skin and on the other with light skin. On the light side of the fish, the scales are cleaned off. The head and part of the abdomen are removed with an oblique cut. Gutted through the resulting hole, then the fins are cut off and washed. The dark side of the carcass is skinned. Small flounder is cut crosswise into portioned pieces, large flounder is cut lengthwise along the spine, and then cut into portioned pieces. The spines of flounder (kalkan) are removed after cooking.

Saberfish. It has a flat body, so it is not stripped or filleted. The fish arrives gutted. The black film is peeled off and, starting from the tail, the fins are cut off from the back and abdomen along with a strip of flesh. The processed carcass is cut into portions at right angles.

Horse mackerel. The fish is covered with tough scales that adhere tightly to the skin, so it is scalded before cleaning.

Tench. This fish has scales that fit tightly to the skin and are covered with mucus, which is difficult to clean. Therefore, before cleaning, the fish is immersed in boiling water for 20–30 seconds, and then quickly transferred to cold water. The fish is taken out of the water, the mucus and scales are cleaned off with a knife, the fins and entrails are removed and washed.

Processing fish with an osteochondral skeleton. Sturgeon fish, with the exception of sterlet, are supplied frozen and completely gutted. Its processing includes defrosting, removing heads, dorsal bugs, fins, vizigs, dividing into links, scalding, cleaning, washing, and preparing semi-finished products (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Scheme for cutting medium and medium-sized fish

large size fillet without skin and bones

The head of thawed carcasses is cut off along with the pectoral fins and bones of the shoulder girdle using two oblique cuts along the gill covers. After this, the dorsal bugs with the dorsal fin are cut off from the fish, the anal and ventral fins are removed along the line of their base, the caudal fin is separated in a straight line perpendicular to the spine at the level of the beginning of the rays, and the vizig is removed. Sometimes the caudal fin is not cut off until the vizier, the dense cartilage that replaces the spine of sturgeon fish, is removed. At the same time, cut the flesh around the tail and pull it out along with the tail, being careful not to tear it. You can also remove the viziga in another way - after layering the fish, but in this case it can be damaged. In some cases, the fish arrives without vizig, which is removed simultaneously with the entrails during industrial processing.

The fish is flattened by cutting along the middle of the fat layer on the back into two halves - links. Large links are cut in the longitudinal and transverse directions so that the length of the piece does not exceed 60 cm and the weight does not exceed 4–5 kg.

To facilitate further cleaning of fish from bone bugs, the links are scalded by immersing them skin side down in a fish kettle or a special bath with hot water for 2–3 minutes. Moreover, they take such an amount of water that only the lower part of the link with the skin is immersed in it, and the pulp is above the water. Then the link is quickly cleaned of lateral, abdominal bugs and small bone formations, and the abdominal film is removed. Further processing of the links depends on their culinary use.

To boil the whole links, after scalding and stripping, the bugs are washed, the thin abdominal part is tucked in, tied with twine to better preserve the shape, and then placed on the grate of a fish boiler. As a result of scalding, the weight of the links decreases by 5–10%.

When using sturgeon fish links for poaching or frying whole or in portioned pieces with or without skin, the cartilage is first cut off, then scalded and cleaned of bugs.

Before heat treatment, portioned pieces are scalded again. To do this, they are immersed for 1–2 minutes in water at a temperature of 95–97 °C (3–4 liters per 1 kg of fish). After scalding, the pieces are washed in water to wash away any protruding protein clots. During the scalding process, the fish decreases in volume and becomes denser, so during heat treatment its shape is preserved and the breading does not lag behind it when frying. The water with which the fish is scalded a second time can be used to prepare broths.

After thawing, the sterlet, without scalding, is cleaned of bugs, the abdomen is cut, and the entrails, gills and viz are removed. In sterlet intended for poaching as a whole, the dorsal bugs are separated after heat treatment, and in sterlet intended for boiling, poaching, and frying in portions, before it. To prepare portioned pieces, the gutted sterlet is flattened after removing the dorsal bugs, and then cut crosswise into pieces. The amount of waste when processing sterlet is 42%.

The main semi-finished fish products are processed fish carcasses and fillets. Without any additional preparation, they can be sent for heat treatment for cooking. At the same time, fish carcasses and fillets are the basis for the preparation of portioned and small-piece semi-finished products, as well as products from cutlet and dumpling masses (Table 5).

Table 5

Culinary use of semi-finished fish products

End of table 5

Depending on the use, semi-finished products are distinguished for boiling, poaching, frying in the main method, deep-frying, and baking.

For cooking use: whole fish; prepared links of sturgeon fish; portioned pieces from the carcass (round pieces); portioned pieces of layered fish with skin and bones, with skin and without bones. The pieces are cut across the grain, holding the knife at a right angle to the fish. On each piece, to prevent deformation during heat treatment, the skin is cut in two or three places.

For poaching they use: whole fish (mainly for banquets), links (sturgeon fish), portioned pieces of flattened fish with boneless skin, without skin and bones. It is permissible to cut portioned pieces from fish carcasses with flesh that separates well from the bones (flounder, halibut, hake, etc.). Portioned pieces are cut at an acute angle (45°) into wide thin layers. Such pieces are heated evenly in a small amount of liquid. Incisions are made on the skin.

To cut portions of sturgeon fish, prepared links (cleaned of cartilage and bugs) are placed on boards skin side down and cut into pieces at an acute angle, cutting off the flesh from the skin. The resulting pieces are scalded and washed.

For poaching, use the whole sterlet with the head, giving it the shape of a ring. To do this, a cut is made in the tail part, then the fish is placed back up on the table and rolled up in the form of a ring, while the nose is inserted into the cut made in the tail part.

Portioned pieces of layered sterlet are cut with the skin at an acute angle. Small sterlet is cut into portions without plastering.

For frying in the main way, the following are recommended: whole fish, links (of sturgeon fish), portioned pieces of unlayered fish (round fish), portioned pieces of layered fish with skin and bones, with skin without bones, without skin and bones. Portion pieces are cut from fillet at an acute angle, from unlayered fish - at a straight angle. The skin is cut in several places.

Portioned pieces of sturgeon fish are prepared in the same way as for poaching.

Prepared semi-finished products (except for sturgeon fish links) are breaded before frying, i.e. cover their surface with a layer of breading to reduce the loss of juice and nutrients dissolved in it and to form a golden brown crust.

The breading and various ways breading. The most common breadings: flour – first grade wheat flour, pre-sifted; red breading - ground wheat bread crackers; white breading - stale wheat bread, without crusts, crushed by rubbing through a sieve (sieve). Sometimes stale wheat bread without crusts, cut into strips, is used as breading. Coconut flakes, chopped almonds, corn flakes, etc. are also used to prepare signature dishes.

In order for the breading to adhere better, the product is moistened in an egg-milk mixture - leison (the word is borrowed from French and means “connection”). To prepare lezon, eggs or melange (670 g) are mixed with water or milk (340 g), salt (10 g) and mixed well.

The most common methods are simple breading, or simple breading, and double breading, or double breading.

Simple breading is used for fish fried in the main way. Before frying, whole fish (navaga, mackerel, crucian carp, smelt, etc.), as well as portioned pieces, are sprinkled with salt, ground pepper and breaded (rolled) in flour or ground breadcrumbs or in a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs. To ensure that salt and pepper are distributed evenly, they are mixed with flour or breadcrumbs during mass cooking. Pieces of fish, cut from skinless and boneless fillets, are breaded in flour, as it retains the juice well.

Double breading is used for deep-fried semi-finished products. Prepared semi-finished products are first breaded in flour, then moistened in lezone and rolled in red or white breading.

For deep-frying, use: portioned pieces of layered fish without skin and bones, small fish (sprat, anchovy, sprat, etc.) in their entirety, with or without the head. Prepared semi-finished products are double-breaded. Sturgeon fish are cut into portioned pieces, as for poaching, and after scalding and washing, they are also double breaded.

When preparing the dish “Pike-perch fried with green butter (colbert),” semi-finished products are given the appearance of figure eights or bows. In the first case, clean fish fillet is cut into a ribbon 4–5 cm wide, 1 cm thick, 15–20 cm long, lightly beaten, double-breaded, rolled into a figure eight, skewered and deep-fried. To obtain semi-finished products in the form of bows, fillet pieces are cut into diamond shapes, a slit is made in the middle, turned inside out, and double-breaded.

When preparing the dish “Fish fried in dough (orli),” clean fillets are cut into cubes 1 cm thick and 5–6 cm long. Then the fish is marinated for 20–30 minutes in vegetable oil mixed with citric acid or lemon juice, salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley. During the marinating process, collagen fibers swell, which accelerates the softening of the fish during heat treatment, giving it delicate taste. Before frying, the fish is dipped in a batter (batter).

For frying on a grill (grilled fish), use: portioned pieces of flattened fish without skin and bones or portioned pieces of sturgeon fish without skin and cartilage. The pieces are cut at an acute angle, marinated with the addition of vegetable oil, citric acid, pepper, salt and chopped parsley for 10–20 minutes, or moistened with melted butter and coated in white breading.

For spit frying, semi-finished products are prepared from sturgeon fish links, cutting off the skin and cartilage. Cut into 2-4 pieces per serving at right angles, scald, wash, dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, string on skewers, grease. Sometimes marinated, as for frying on a grill.

For baking, use: whole fish, portioned pieces of flattened fish with boneless skin, without skin and bones. Portioned pieces of sturgeon fish are prepared in the same way as for poaching.

When preparing semi-finished products from cutlet and dumpling masses It is best to use fish with a small amount of bones (pink salmon, captain fish, chum salmon, hake, silver hake, catfish, pike perch, pike, grayling, etc.). The fish is cut into fillets with skin without bones or without skin and bones (for dumpling mass without skin and bones).

The cutlet mass can be prepared from thawed, well-soaked salted fish and chilled fish. In addition, industrially produced minced meat is used.

Cut the fillet into pieces, add stale wheat bread made from flour of at least 1 grade (without crusts) soaked in milk or water, salt, pepper, mix well, pass through a meat grinder, then mix and beat again.

A raw egg is added to the cutlet mass if it is not viscous enough (from cod, hake, haddock, etc.). In order to increase the looseness of the cutlet mass, which is too viscous, add chilled boiled fish passed through a meat grinder in an amount of 25–30% of the pulp mass raw fish. Fresh fish milk can be added to the cutlet mass, but not more than 6% of the pulp mass by reducing its content.

Cutlet mass is used to prepare cutlets, meatballs, meatballs, fishbread, rolls, zraz, and veal. For the cutlet mass from which meatballs are prepared, bread is taken in smaller quantities, sautéed onions are introduced, passed through a meat grinder along with soaked wheat bread. For fishbread, prepare a cutlet mass (with bread) and add softened butter, egg yolks, salt, pepper and mix thoroughly. Then add, stirring gently, the beaten egg whites. The finished mass is poured into greased molds, filling them to 2/3 of the height.

Give the cutlets an oval-flattened shape with one pointed end; bits - round-flattened shape. Both products are breaded with breadcrumbs. Meatballs are formed into balls with a diameter of 3–4 cm, 3–5 pieces per serving and breaded in flour. To prepare the roll, the cutlet mass is laid out on a wet cloth or cellophane in the form of a rectangle with a layer 1.5–2 cm thick. The minced meat is placed in the middle of the rectangle in the longitudinal direction and, lifting the ends, the edges of the cutlet mass are connected (end-to-end). The roll is rolled onto a greased baking sheet, seam side down, greased with leison, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, sprinkled with oil and several punctures are made so that the vapors generated during cooking do not rupture the shell.

When preparing a vegetable, the cutlet mass is placed on a wet cloth or cellophane in the form of a flat cake, with minced meat placed in the middle. The flatbread is folded in half, giving the flatbread a crescent shape. The semi-finished product is soaked in lezone and breaded in breadcrumbs.

Fish zrazy is prepared from cutlet mass, shaped into an oval. Fresh or dried mushrooms for minced meat are boiled (dried ones are pre-soaked) and chopped. The onions are chopped into strips and sautéed. Finely chop the dill or parsley. All products are combined, breadcrumbs, salt, ground pepper are added and mixed well. You can add finely chopped hard-boiled eggs to the minced meat, as well as chopped boiled viziga and boiled sturgeon cartilage.

Cutlets and meatballs can be cooked without bread. To do this, fish fillets without skin and bones are cut into pieces, sprinkled with salt and pepper, chopped onions are added, mixed and passed through a meat grinder with a large grid. Cutlets are formed from the resulting mass, moistened in a lie-zone and breaded in white breading.

Fish meatballs are prepared from a mass to which finely chopped sautéed onions are added, raw eggs, margarine. They are formed into small balls weighing 12–15 g, 8–10 pieces per serving. Used for poaching or stewing.

Dumpling mass is used to prepare tender and loose products. Clean fish fillets and stale wheat bread (without crusts), soaked in milk, are passed together through a meat grinder with a very fine grid 2-3 times. Then the mass is rubbed, egg whites are added and beaten well, adding milk or cream. A well-beaten mass floats on the surface of the water. At the end of beating, the mass is salted. Instead of stale wheat bread, you can use unleavened puff pastry or choux pastry. The dumpling mass is cut into dumplings and boiled in salted water. It is also used for preparing cold dishes (bouche).

5. Processing of non-fish aquatic raw materials

This group includes non-fish seafood (invertebrates and seaweed) and crayfish. Among commercial marine invertebrates, mollusks (bivalves and cephalopods), crustaceans and echinoderms are of greatest nutritional importance, and among seaweeds, seaweed.

Marine invertebrates. Invertebrate meat has high nutritional value, preventive and medicinal properties. In terms of nutritional value, they are close to eggs and cottage cheese and are significantly superior to the meat of warm-blooded animals and fish. Their meat is distinguished by its high protein content (up to 20%), which is dominated by biologically valuable essential amino acids. Invertebrates are rich in minerals (especially microelements), unsaturated fatty acids, B vitamins, and provitamin D. The use of invertebrates in nutrition helps reduce blood cholesterol, has a positive effect on general metabolism, some of them secrete antimicrobial substances that can kill viruses.

Bivalves. Of this group of invertebrates, mussels, oysters and scallops are of greatest nutritional importance.

Mussels. The edible part of the mussel is the entire body enclosed between the shells (10–15% of the total mass). The body of the mussel inside the shell is covered with a fleshy film - the mantle. During storage, the weight of live mussels decreases as a result of loss of liquid. Fresh mussels should be consumed immediately. Mussels are supplied to public catering establishments in the form of canned food, boiled and frozen in briquettes (without flaps) weighing up to 1 kg and live (in shells). Boiled-frozen meat is prepared from live mussels: they are steamed for 15–20 minutes, the shell is opened, the meat is removed, washed, placed in briquettes and frozen. In briquettes, mussel meat should be whole, gray or pale orange in color with a brown tint. To prepare dishes (appetizers, soups, main courses), the briquettes are thawed in air, then they are carefully inspected, the byssus (the formation with which the mussels are attached to the bottom or other objects) is removed, after which the mussels are washed several times in changing water to completely remove sand, and depending on use, boil or poach.

Mussels are processed in shells as follows: small stuck shells are removed from the shells, kept in cold water for several hours and washed well in running water. After this, the mussels are poured with water (1: 2) and cooked at low boil for 15–20 minutes (until the valves open and the meat rolls into a ball). The boiled meat attached to the valves is separated, the byssus is removed, and washed until the sand is completely removed. Then, depending on the purpose, the meat is boiled or poached.

Oysters. Oysters, which are a delicacy, have an edible body (10–15% of the total mass), which lies in a deep valve, while the shallow valve is like a lid. Oysters, unlike other bivalves, are eaten alive or cooked. Oysters are supplied to catering establishments alive, in the form of frozen meat briquettes, as well as natural and canned snack foods. The shells, after the same pre-treatment as mussels, are placed on cutting board with the flat side up, from the side of the thickened end (lock), insert a thin knife blade between the flaps and trim the flesh at the upper flat flap. After this, the valves are opened and, depending on the culinary purpose of the mollusk, they are left on the sink or separated and transferred to a bowl. The shells are opened before use; long-term storage is not allowed. The meat of shells that have opened spontaneously during storage is unsuitable for cooking.

Scallop. The covers of the shells of this mollusk are fan-shaped. Between the two valves of the scallop shell there is the body of the mollusk (muscle) in a yellowish-pink film - the mantle. Both the muscle and mantle of the scallop are edible (20–28% of the total mass). Muscle is a particularly delicious product; it is a bundle of muscle fibers of light yellow color and dense consistency. Scallop muscle is supplied to catering establishments in frozen, dried, and canned form. Before cooking, frozen scallop muscle is thawed in cold water or in air at room temperature. Thawed muscle is washed and then boiled or used raw for frying.

Cephalopods. From the mollusks of this group, squid are supplied to public catering establishments. Pacific squid are of greatest industrial importance.

The squid's body consists of a mantle, a caudal fin and a head with tentacles (legs). The mantle makes up 31–32% of the total mass of the mollusk, the caudal fin – 19–20%, the head with tentacles – 20–21%. The edible parts of the squid are the mantle and head with tentacles. The average weight of squid is 200 g.

Frozen squid is supplied to public catering establishments in two types: cut (carcasses) and in the form of fillets (headed squid with skin). Squid blocks are thawed in cold water (it is not recommended to add hot water to avoid staining fabrics). Defrosting is considered complete when the temperature inside the block reaches –1 °C.

From thawed carcasses, the remaining entrails and chitinous plates are removed, if they were left. Carcasses and fillets are immersed for 3–6 minutes in water at a temperature of 60–65 °C (the ratio of water to squid is 3: 1) and the skin (film) is removed with a grass brush. Prepared squid carcasses and fillets are thoroughly washed and sent for heat treatment.

Marine crustaceans. This group of invertebrates includes shrimp, crabs, lobsters and lobsters, and crayfish.

Crayfish They are supplied to public catering establishments in live form. They are washed and placed in boiling water with salt and spices for cooking (10–12 minutes).

Boiled crayfish are used as a snack in their natural form. The edible part of crayfish is the crayfish neck. Therefore, to prepare salads, cold and hot dishes, crayfish are peeled from their shells. Boiled crayfish and crayfish necks are used to decorate fish dishes.

Shrimps. The edible part of a shrimp is the flesh of the tail part (neck). Catering establishments supply raw-frozen or boiled-frozen shrimp. Freeze whole shrimp or just their necks. In addition, shrimp can be supplied dried or canned.

Frozen shrimp are pre-thawed in air at a temperature of 18–20 ° C for 2 hours to divide the block into parts. It is not recommended to completely defrost shrimp, as their heads darken and their appearance deteriorates. After washing, they are boiled.

Dried shrimp are first washed several times in warm water, then filled with hot salted water, brought to a boil and left to swell in the same water.

Crabs– the largest crustaceans, their weight sometimes reaches 5 kg. The body of the crab is covered with a hard shell and consists of a cephalothorax, under which a modified abdomen is folded, two claws and six legs. Edible meat, which is found in the limbs and abdomen, when raw, has the consistency of jelly and its color is grayish; after cooking it becomes white and fibrous. Mostly natural canned food is produced from crabs. During the fishing period, boiled-frozen crabs (whole or separately crab legs), as well as boiled-frozen crab meat in briquettes weighing 250–500 g are also available for sale. The consistency of boiled-frozen crab meat after thawing should be dense and juicy.

Lobsters and lobsters. There are 37 species of lobsters (lobsters). In structure they are close to crayfish and can be up to 50 cm in size. They eat the meat of the neck and claws. They are supplied live in special aquariums or cut up, raw frozen and boiled frozen.

Lobsters are similar to lobsters, but do not have claws; can be up to 60 cm in size. Lobsters are usually delivered to public catering establishments cut (necks with shell), raw frozen or boiled frozen. Frozen lobsters and lobsters (necks with shell) are defrosted in air at a temperature of 18–20 ° C for 2–3 hours until the necks are completely separated from each other and boiled.

Echinoderms. Echinoderms include commercial species such as sea cucumbers, cucumbers, sea urchins, etc. Sea cucumbers are most often used in public catering establishments. Due to their external resemblance to a cucumber, they are often called “sea cucumbers”.

The body of the sea cucumber is covered with growths (spikes, tentacles) and is formed by a muscular membrane, inside which all vital organs are located. The sea cucumber body, freed from its entrails, is a very valuable food product.

Sea cucumbers supplied to public catering establishments in boiled, frozen and dried form. Dried sea cucumber contains no more than 30% moisture and is therefore well preserved. When drying, charcoal powder is used, so the dried sea cucumbers are thoroughly washed with cold water until it becomes clear. Then they are filled with cold water and kept in it for 24–30 hours at a temperature of 18–20 °C, changing the water. 2–3 times. The next day, the water is drained, the sea cucumbers are washed, again filled with cold water and brought to a boil. Then remove from the stove and leave in the broth until the next day. The next day, the broth is drained, the sea cucumbers are washed with cold water and gutted, cutting the abdomen along the entire length with scissors. After gutting the sea cucumbers, they are thoroughly washed, poured with cold water, brought to a boil again, removed from the stove and left in the broth until the next day. If the sea cucumbers have a rubbery, hard consistency, then the process of processing them, followed by washing, is repeated two more times within two days. Store sea cucumbers in cold boiled water with ice in a refrigerator.

Thaw boiled-frozen sea cucumbers in water at a temperature of 15 °C. Defrosting is considered complete when the temperature of the sea cucumbers reaches 1 °C. Defrosting is allowed in water heated to 40 °C, with a weight ratio of water and sea cucumbers of 2: 1 for 40 minutes. Thawed sea cucumbers are cut along the abdomen, cleaned of any remaining entrails and washed.

Before using, the treated sea cucumbers are scalded for 1–2 minutes.

Sea kale(kelp) is the only type of algae that is directly consumed as food. The industry produces dried and frozen seaweed. Dried seaweed practically does not lose its quality and is very convenient for transportation and long-term storage. Before preparing dishes, it is cleaned of mechanical impurities and soaked for 10–12 hours in cold water at a product to water ratio of 1:8. Frozen cabbage is thawed in cold water and washed.

The prepared seaweed is poured with cold water, brought to a boil and cooked for 15–20 minutes. Then the broth is drained, the cabbage is poured with warm water (40–50 °C), brought to a boil and boiled for 15–20 minutes, the broth is drained. The process is repeated again. Cooking three times helps remove excess iodine and improve the taste, smell and color of cabbage. To determine the readiness of the cabbage, you need to squeeze a piece of it with your fingers, and if it is easily deformed, the cabbage is ready. It is important not to overcook the cabbage (in this case, when pressing with your fingers, the tissue will spread).

6. Meat processing

Catering establishments that use raw materials supply chilled meat (with a core temperature of carcasses and bones from 0 to 4 °C) and ice cream (with a core temperature of no higher than –6 °C). Technological process meat processing is represented by a diagram (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Scheme of mechanical processing of meat

Reception and storage of raw materials. When meat arrives, it is checked for good quality and the presence of veterinary and product markings. Meat is a perishable product, and therefore enterprises should have only a minimum supply of it to ensure uninterrupted operation of the enterprise. Meat is stored in a suspended state.

Defrosting. The purpose of thawing is to restore the original properties of meat as much as possible. Defrosting can be slow or fast.

When slowly defrosting the carcass , half carcasses or quarters are hung on hooks in special chambers so that they do not come into contact with each other, with the walls and floor. Humidity in the chambers is maintained within 90–95%. The air temperature is gradually increased from 0 to 6–8 °C. The process lasts 3–5 days and is considered complete when the temperature in the meat reaches 0…1 °C. In this mode, the ice crystals melt slowly, and the resulting moisture has time to be absorbed into the muscle fibers, which swell and largely restore their properties. However, this method is very time-consuming, and since it requires refrigeration chambers, it can only be used in large enterprises.

When quickly defrosting meat (carcasses, half-carcasses and quarters), it is placed in special chambers into which air is supplied at a temperature of 20–25 °C and a humidity of 85–95%. Under such conditions, defrosting lasts only 12–24 hours. Rapid defrosting can be carried out directly in the workshops. To do this, carcasses or half-carcasses are thawed at room temperature, and then placed in refrigeration chambers with a temperature of 0 to 2 ° C and kept there for about 24 hours at a relative humidity of 80–85%.

To equalize the temperature in all parts of the carcass and complete the hydration process, exposure is required. It helps reduce the loss of meat juice during cutting. Loss of meat juice and reduction in meat weight during slow defrosting in air environment ranges from 0.5 to 3%, with fast - up to 12%. Meat juice contains: water - about 88%, proteins - 8%, extractive and mineral substances - about 3% and B vitamins - up to 12% of the total content in meat.

It is not recommended to defrost meat in water, as well as to cut carcasses, half-carcasses and quarters to speed up their thawing into smaller pieces, as this leads to even more significant losses of meat juice, a decrease in the nutritional value of meat and a deterioration in the quality of semi-finished products.

Washing and drying. In the thickness of the muscles, the meat is almost sterile, and its surface is heavily contaminated. During further processing, microorganisms can get inside the semi-finished products and cause them to spoil. To reduce bacterial contamination and remove mechanical contamination, carcasses (or parts thereof) are washed. Washing with warm water (20–30 °C) reduces surface microbial contamination by 95–99%. Using the same water to repeatedly wash meat is unacceptable. The meat is hung on hooks and washed with clean running water from a fire nozzle, hose or a special shower brush. You can also wash the meat in baths with nylon or grass brushes. Washed carcasses are washed with cold water (temperature 12–15 °C) for cooling. Then they are dried and cut.

The carcasses are dried with circulating air passed through filters, the temperature of which is from 1 to 6 °C. In small enterprises, meat is placed on grates located above washing baths, or hung on hooks and dried in air or with cotton napkins. Drying prevents the growth of microbes; in addition, when cutting the meat does not slip in your hands.

Division into parts. After drying, the carcasses are divided into parts (cuts) depending on the properties of muscle and connective tissue (suitable for frying, boiling, stewing, preparing meat, etc.) and on the characteristics of the anatomical structure (loin of small livestock carcasses with rib bones - for preparing natural and chopped cutlets, whole brisket - for stuffing, boneless pulp - for cutting portioned and small-sized semi-finished products, etc.).

Boning. Individual parts of the carcass are subjected to full or partial boning (removal of tubular, pelvic, scapular bones, etc.).

Trimming and cleaning. After deboning, trimming is performed - removing coarse films and tendons and stripping - leveling the pieces of resulting meat.

General techniques for preparing semi-finished meat products. Semi-finished meat products are divided into the following groups:

Large pieces (stuffed brisket; thick edge, thin edge - roast beef, etc.);

Portioned semi-finished products, consisting of one or two pieces, prepared for heat treatment, can be natural (steaks, fillets, natural cutlets, etc.) and breaded (schnitzels, rump steaks, chops, etc.);

Small pieces (beef stroganoff, stew, goulash, azu, etc.);

Chopped (from natural chopping and cutlet mass).

When preparing them, a number of special techniques are used (cutting, loosening, beating, etc.).

Slicing. Semi-finished products are cut across the fibers of muscle tissue, which causes less deformation of the pieces during heat treatment and easier chewing. In this case, muscles with a simple structure (tenderloin) are cut at an angle of 90°; muscles that have a single-pinnate structure (thick and thin edges, etc.) - at an angle of 45°; muscles of a more complex structure (the shoulder part or triceps muscle, the lateral piece of the hip part, etc.) are cut by changing the angle of the knife depending on the direction of the fibers.

Loosening, beating. When preparing semi-finished products, parts of the meat that have coarser connective tissues are loosened. To do this, they are beaten using special hammers, hoes, etc. or the surface is cut with a knife or special devices (machines for loosening meat). In the latter case, shallow cuts are made on the surface, the piece is turned over and cuts are made on the other side at an angle of 90°. Loosening allows you to mechanically destroy the structure of the perimysium in parts of the carcass, which makes it easier to bite and chew the finished product. During the beating process, the thickness of the pieces is equalized and their surface is smoothed, which promotes uniform heating of semi-finished products and, in addition, they better retain their shape during heat treatment.

Breading. To reduce moisture loss and obtain a beautiful crust on the surface of the product during frying, breading (coating) is used. Semi-finished meat products are breaded: in flour (meatballs, etc.); in ground breadcrumbs or grated stale wheat bread.

6.1. Cutting beef sides and quarters

Division into cuts. Beef half carcasses are divided into the following cuts: shoulder, neck, brisket, back-costal (forequarter), as well as hip and lumbar (hindquarter).

Cutting a half carcass begins with dividing it into two quarters - fore and hind. The division line runs along the last rib and between the 13th and 14th vertebrae, with all ribs remaining in the anterior part (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Beef half carcass

1 – cervical part; 2 – subscapular part; 3 – dorsal part of the longissimus dorsi muscle, or thick edge; 4 – lumbar part of the longissimus dorsi muscle, or thin edge; 5 – tenderloin; 6 – hip part (a – inner piece; b – outer piece; c – side piece; d – upper piece); 7 – flank; 8 – edge;

9 – brisket; 10 – scapular part (e – shoulder; e – shoulder)

To do this, cut through the flesh of the flank against the 13th (last rib), then along the back line of this rib the flesh is cut to the spine, cutting it at the joint of the 13th and 14th vertebrae.

The scapular part is separated along its contour. To do this, cut the muscles connecting the scapular part with the brisket, cut the muscles located along the line that runs from the ulnar tubercle to the upper corner of the posterior edge of the scapular part, and the muscles lying along the upper and anterior edges of the scapular part, then the scapular part is pulled away from the body and cut the muscles located under the humerus and scapula bones.

The cervical part is separated along a line passing between the last cervical and 1st dorsal vertebrae. To do this, cut through the flesh to the spine along the line of the spinous process of the 1st dorsal vertebra to the protrusion of the sternum, then cut the articulations of the last cervical vertebra with the 1st dorsal vertebra.

The brisket is cut along a line running from the end of the 1st rib to the end of the last (at the junction of the cartilage with the ribs).

The dorsal costal part remains after the separation of the scapular, cervical parts, and brisket and includes the dorsal part of the longissimus dorsi muscle (thick edge), the subscapular part and the edge. The lines of separation of the dorso-costal part are: anterior - in a straight line at the last cervical vertebra; posterior - along the last rib and between the last dorsal and 1st lumbar vertebrae; lower - along a line running from the end of the 1st rib to the end of the last (at the junction of the cartilage with the ribs).

The hip part is separated along a line passing directly in front of the maklak (iliac tubercle) between the last lumbar and 1st sacral vertebrae in the direction of the knee joint of the hind leg. In this case, the flank and other adjacent muscles are cut along the contour of the leg in the direction

ilium to the spine, then cut the joints of the latter

lumbar vertebra with the 1st sacral vertebra.

Lumbar part - part of the longissimus dorsi muscle (thin edge) with the flank remains after separation of the hip part from the hind quarter of the carcass.

The resulting cuts are deboned, divided into parts, trimmed and trimmed.

Boning and trimming the forequarter of a beef carcass. The scapular part is placed on the table outer side down, cut off the meat and tendons from the radius and ulna bones. After this, the joints of these bones with the humerus are cut and separated, then the meat is cut off from the edges of the humerus, the joints with the humerus are cut and broken, separating the scapula. To do this, they rest their left hand on the humerus, and with their right hand they tear off the shoulder blade from the meat. After separating the shoulder blade, the humerus is cut out of the meat. From the resulting pulp, cut off the sinewy part taken from the radius and ulna bones. The rest of the meat is cut into two large pieces - the shoulder part, separated from the humerus and the back edge of the scapula, and the shoulder part, removed from the scapula.

Large pieces of the shoulder part, after deboning, are veined and cleaned, highlighting: the shoulder part (wedge-shaped muscle); shoulder part (two oblong muscles connected by a film).

The neck part is processed as follows: the meat is cut off in a whole layer, trying to completely separate it from the vertebrae; cut meat is veined - tendons and remnants of periosteum are removed.

The brisket is separated by cutting off the flesh in one layer from the breast bone and costal cartilages.

The remaining dorsal costal part is deboned, cutting through the flesh along the spine along the spinous processes to the base of the ribs. Then the flesh is gradually cut off from the ribs in a whole layer. The removed pulp is divided into the subscapular part, the thick edge, and the hem.

At the thick edge, all adjacent muscles and tendons, including the superficial shiny tendon, are separated. When trimmed, the thick edge is a layer of meat of an irregular rectangular shape; hem – a thin muscle layer of a rectangular shape; the subscapular part is square in shape.

Boning and trimming the hind quarter of a beef carcass. The lumbar part of the longissimus dorsi muscle is cut from the lumbar vertebrae. To do this, cut the meat along the spinous processes to the spine, then cut it off the bones in a whole layer along with the flank. The removed layer of pulp is cut along a line passing 1 cm below the transverse processes, dividing it into a thin edge and flank. Selected large-piece semi-finished products live. At the thin edge, all adjacent muscles and tendons, including the superficial shiny tendon, are separated. When trimmed, the thin edge is a rectangular layer of meat.

Flank is a muscle layer located in the lower abdominal part of the carcass.

Hip part. The meat and tendons of the tibia, starting from its outer end, are cut, the articulations of this bone with the femur are cut, after which the tibia is separated, the meat and tendons are cut off from it, then the ilium is separated and, cutting the meat from the bone, it is separated. Next, the meat is cut along the thigh bone and the muscle located on the back of the bone (the inside of the leg) is separated, after which the thigh bone is cut out. The rest of the pulp is cut into three parts: side, outer, top. The lateral part is located on the front side of the femur; outer - on the outside of the same bone, upper - on top, on the ilium of the pelvis.

After separating the bones, pieces of meat are cleaned of tendons, excess fat and edges. The stringy meat is cut off from the outer part and the coarse tendons are removed from inside. At the top, the rough tendons and inner tendon layer are cut off, and the thin surface film is left. The intermuscular connective tissue is left at the inner part.

As a result of cutting, deboning and trimming of beef sides, the following large-piece semi-finished products are distinguished: shoulder (shoulder and shoulder), brisket flesh, dorsal part of the longissimus dorsi muscle (thick edge), subscapular part, trim (for carcasses of the I fatness category), tenderloin (iliac muscle ), lumbar part of the longissimus dorsi muscle (thin edge), upper, inner, outer and side pieces of the hip part, cutlet meat.

Cutlet meat includes: neck meat, flank meat, trimmings obtained by deboning the carcass and stripping large-sized semi-finished products, as well as trimmings from carcasses of the II fatness category.

Culinary uses of beef parts. Cleaned meat is sorted according to culinary use. The culinary use of carcass parts depends on the quantity, structure, and composition of connective tissue.

Tenderloin is the most tender part of the carcass; it is used for frying whole, in natural portions and small pieces.

Thick and thin edges fry

Fungi are exposed high temperatures in order to completely or partially eliminate their toxicity, bitter taste or bad smell. It should be remembered that such processing impairs the nutritional quality of the mushrooms, as well as weakens their aroma and taste. Therefore, if there is such an opportunity, it is better not to cook the mushrooms at all, but to fry them in natural, fresh. This is quite possible with , and young people, as well as many and . Let's say even more: some varieties of mushrooms acquire viscosity after boiling. This happens, for example, with, as well as legs and. It’s worth knowing about these features when preparing mushroom dishes.

But with some mushrooms you can’t do without cooking. You have to sacrifice nutritional value to dissolve in water harmful substances. These mushrooms include: tremors ( and ), some russula ( and ), milk mushrooms ( and ). They need to be boiled for about 15-30 minutes, and then be sure to pour out the broth. The bitter taste of some mushrooms (and also some) is removed by short cooking (5-15 minutes is enough). But cooking it is generally useless - the bitterness will never go away.

Stage one— primary processing of mushrooms. Consists of several sequential steps:

1) Sort. Different types of mushrooms differ not only in taste, but also in cooking technology. Therefore, pre-sorting will not hurt at all. For example, you can separate mushrooms that need to be boiled from those that can be thrown into the pan fresh. To make it easier to process the mushrooms, it is recommended to arrange them into piles, depending on their size.

2) Clear away debris. Along with the mushrooms, we bring from the forest leaves, pine needles, pieces of moss and twigs that have stuck to the caps and legs. All this inedible garbage, of course, needs to be removed - scraped off kitchen knife or gently clean with a clean cloth. You should be especially careful with mushrooms that are planned to be dried for the winter. Here you can clean the entire surface of the mushroom with a brush without missing a single wrinkle.

3) Peel with a knife. Some parts of the mushroom are definitely not suitable for food. They must be carefully cut with a knife so as not to risk your health. These are, for example, all softened, damaged or darkened areas. If the mushroom is old, then the inside of the cap should be removed. It is recommended to cut off the stem of some mushrooms so that the dish does not turn out sticky. And the cap of late and russula is cleaned - there the skin becomes slimy and bitter during the cooking process.

4) Rinse with running water. The time for washing mushrooms should be short so as not to spoil the taste of this product. If you plan to fry the mushrooms, then just rinse them with cold water. Mushrooms for drying are not washed at all. All other processing methods require a quick wash in cold water and draining in a colander to drain excess liquid. For these purposes, by the way, a sieve or flat board without grooves or depressions is also suitable. Some mushrooms are different uneven surface, dust and sand often collect in their folds. These are hedgehogs, stitches, morels and some others. Naturally, these types need to be washed a little longer to remove all the debris. True, experts say that you still can’t completely get rid of sand with plain water, and they recommend boiling the mushrooms in boiling water for five minutes, and then draining the water and rinsing in a colander.

5) Soak. This is done in order to remove bitter or salty notes from the mushrooms in taste. In this case, it is recommended to change the water once an hour so that harmful substances leave faster. Soaking also helps restore dried mushrooms to their original moisture. This water can be used as a base for mushroom broth.

6) Slice. Large mushrooms that cannot be cooked whole require this. Many people separate the caps from the stems and cook them separately to make the dish or canned food in a jar more attractive. The hat is cut into an even number of parts (two, four, six - it all depends on the size). The leg is carefully cut across, making sure that the pieces do not turn out too thick.

Stage II— subsequent (thermal) processing of mushrooms. Includes several methods for your choice:

1) Boiling. You must first boil the water, add salt to your taste and add mushrooms. The foam formed during the cooking process must be removed. Cook the mushrooms for about 15-30 minutes. The finished product is placed in a colander or cooled in cold water.

2) Boiling. Initially, the mushrooms are placed in cold salted water and brought to a boil as quickly as possible. Immediately after boiling, remove the dishes from the stove. The mushrooms can be gradually cooled in the same water in which they were boiled, or doused with cold water. When the mushrooms have cooled, they must be placed in a cloth bag or on a sieve to remove any remaining moisture. You cannot squeeze mushrooms: with this method, useful substances are irretrievably removed from the product along with water.

3) Scalding (or blanching). First, the mushrooms are thoroughly washed, and then placed on a sieve or in a colander and doused with very hot water. After this, immerse it in boiling water for a short time (you can hold it over a pan of boiling water). Blanching is the most quick way heat treatment. After it, the mushrooms do not break, which is very important if you are going to salt or marinate them. As a rule, saffron milk caps or russulas with a flat or simply large cap are subjected to scalding.

Summary

Not all mushrooms (even edible ones!) are suitable for food. For example, old or overgrown specimens are soft, flabby and have an extremely unappetizing aroma. It’s better not to risk your health and throw away such mushrooms without regret. But the problem is that even young mushrooms quickly deteriorate if they are not processed immediately after returning from the forest. If this is not possible, then processing can be postponed until the next day, but not later. It is advisable to clean the mushrooms from debris, but under no circumstances cut or wash them. It is best to keep the gifts of the forest in a wide basket or other flat container. Mushrooms need coolness and good air ventilation. Therefore, a basement, corridor, shed or underground - optimal place for storage. In urban conditions, a refrigerator is also suitable. Just don't forget to put temperature regime+2° - +6°. If you plan to boil the mushrooms, you can fill them with cold water during storage.

What to do if you couldn’t process the mushrooms the next day? There is a proven way to extend their “life”. The product must be washed with cold water, allowed to drain (a colander or sieve is suitable for this purpose), poured with boiling water, and then placed in neat rows in a bowl and sprinkled with table salt. The container must be glass or enamel, and it must be placed on ice. In this form, the mushrooms will retain their freshness for another week.

I play vegetables very much important role in human nutrition: improve the digestion process, maintain acid-base balance and fluid metabolism in the body.

They are the main source of vitamins.

At POP, vegetables are used to prepare sauces, soups, vegetable dishes and side dishes.

Vegetables are divided into groups.

Tubers

Roots

Brassicas

Tomato

Spicy Cereals Dessert Pumpkin

Mechanical culinary processing of vegetables consists of sequential operations.

1. Sorting and sizing promotes the rational use of vegetables and reduces waste during mechanical processing.

2. Washing vegetables in a vegetable washing machines or manually in order to remove residual soil and dirt from their surface.

3. Peeling vegetables in vegetable washing machines or by hand to remove parts with reduced nutritional value.

4. Slicing vegetables promotes uniform cooking, gives dishes a beautiful appearance, and improves taste.

They cut vegetables mechanically or manually, cut vegetables in simple and complex ways.

Bars.

culinary processing vegetable dish

Circles.

Squares (checkers).

Rings and half rings.

Scallops, sprockets, gears.

Barrels, pears, nuts, balls.

Chopping (small).

Mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are classified according to their structure: spongy mushrooms - porcini mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms; lamellar - champignons, russula, chanterelles, honey mushrooms; marsupials - morels, lines.

Catering establishments supply mushrooms fresh, salted, dried, and pickled.

Fresh mushrooms. Used for food edible mushrooms young, they are immediately subjected to culinary processing, as they quickly deteriorate. Primary processing of mushrooms consists of the following operations: cleaning, washing, sorting and slicing.

Porcini mushrooms, aspen mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, chanterelles, and russula are processed in the same way: they are cleaned of leaves, needles and blades of grass, the lower part of the stem and damaged areas are cut off, the contaminated skin is scraped off and washed thoroughly 3-4 times. When processing russula, the skin is removed from the cap. To do this, they are first scalded with boiling water. The legs of butterflies are cleaned and cut off from the cap, damaged and wormy areas are cut out, the mucous skin is removed from the cap and washed.

Mushrooms are sorted by size into small, medium and large. Small mushrooms and the caps of medium mushrooms are used whole, large ones are chopped or chopped. Porcini mushrooms are doused with boiling water two or three times, the remaining mushrooms are boiled for 4-5 minutes so that they are soft and do not crumble when slicing.

Champignons should not be overgrown, with plates on the underside of the cap pale pink. When processing champignons, remove the film covering the plate, peel the root, remove the skin from the cap and wash with the addition of citric acid or vinegar so that they do not darken.

The morels and strings are sorted out, the roots are cut off, placed in cold water for 30-40 minutes to soak the sand and debris, and washed several times. Then the mushrooms are boiled for 10-15 minutes. large quantities water to destroy and remove the toxic substance - gelvelic acid, which turns into a decoction when cooked. After boiling, the mushrooms are washed with hot water, and the broth must be poured out.

When processing fresh mushrooms, it is necessary to carefully select the mushrooms, as they are similar to some inedible and poisonous mushrooms.

Dried mushrooms. The best dried mushrooms are porcini mushrooms, as they produce an aromatic and tasty decoction when cooked. Boletus, boletus, and boletus darken when dried, so they are not very suitable for broths. Dried mushrooms are sorted, washed several times, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours, then the water is drained, filtered and used for cooking mushrooms. After soaking, the mushrooms are washed.

Salted and pickled mushrooms. They are separated from the brine, sorted by size and quality, spices are removed, and large specimens are cut. Very salty or spicy mushrooms are washed with cold boiled water, sometimes soaked. In order to preserve the good qualities of salted and pickled mushrooms, you need to keep an eye on them. so that before processing the mushrooms are completely covered with brine or marinade.

Porcini mushroom has an exceptional taste and smell, which is why it is actively used in cooking. It retains its original appearance during cooking and is often canned and added to various dishes.

This type It has a fleshy cap and is low in calories. It contains vitamins such as A, B1, D, C. It should be taken into account that mushrooms that have grown next to busy roads should not be eaten.

White ones absorb toxic substances well, so eating them can be hazardous to health. Almost all people try to find as many porcini mushrooms as possible. Collecting them is interesting and simple, however, after that you will have to move on to cleaning, and this is not so exciting.

Cleaning whites is a must and should be taken seriously.

Firstly, the taste of the mushrooms depends on this - if leaves, needles or dirt remain on them, then the dish will be unpleasant.

Secondly, if the porcini mushroom is not cleaned well enough, a person may become poisoned, since not only poisonous varieties are dangerous to health.

If you wish, you can peel the porcini mushroom directly in the forest to save time. This is done in two stages, but only the first of them can be carried out outside the home. This is a kind of pre-processing, and it cannot be done alone.

You will have to peel porcini mushrooms with your hands and a knife, which you should always have with you when going to the forest. As soon as the porcini mushroom has been picked, you should shake off pine twigs, leaves, adhering dirt, stones, sand and any foreign objects.

The stem can be trimmed a little before sending the basket. However, if the mushroom is wormy, then the damaged part should be cut off. If the worms have eaten almost the entire cap, it is better to throw away the porcini mushroom.

This concludes the preparation before the second stage of cleaning, since it will be difficult to carry out washing and other procedures in the forest.

Cleaning porcini mushrooms at home

As you know, porcini mushrooms grow on dry and practically uncontaminated surfaces, so many people wonder whether they really need to be cleaned before cooking or whether just rinsing them is enough.

Experts say that the porcini mushroom must be cleaned, since its stem may contain dangerous bacteria that can cause botulism. Even heat treatment will not help destroy it.

Before you start peeling mushrooms, you need to decide what they will be used for later. Eat different variants: drying, pickling, frying, salting. If you need to dry or fry them, it is not necessary to wash them.

Many people experienced in this matter strongly advise buying a special brush (sold in every household goods store) and brushing it over the entire surface of the ingredient.

You can even use a simple toothbrush with medium hardness if you cannot purchase a special one.

A knife is also useful, however, it can only eliminate wormholes and cut off darkened areas.

After this, you can start rinsing the ingredients. To do this, it is recommended to use cool tap water.

There is one caveat here - you need to rinse it quickly, since if the mushroom is in contact with water for a long time, it will lose a lot beneficial properties and may even lose its excellent taste. Then it won't be so pleasant to cook.

When washing, you must carefully inspect the cap from above and below. You can even cut it in half to make sure there is no darkening inside. The cap can even be torn off from the stem, since in most cases these parts are prepared separately.

After rinsing, place them on a sieve or sieve so that the remaining water can drain. You need to keep them until they become completely dry.

In the forest you may come across hard specimens that raise doubts about the quality. In this case, you can boil them for about 10 minutes in salted water if you need to freeze them afterwards.

If in plans, then you just need to scald it with boiling water. It should be remembered that mushrooms need to be cleaned immediately upon arriving home.

It is highly advisable that they be prepared 5 hours after collection. If it happens that you cannot peel the mushrooms right away, you can soak them in cold water, adding citric acid and a little salt. However, you cannot leave them in this state for a long time, for a maximum of one night.

Mushroom slicing and cooking

Since porcini mushrooms can be eaten together with the stem, they need to be cut completely, and it is recommended to cook the stems separately. To begin with, the cap is cut into approximately equal pieces - into 4 or 6 parts, depending on the size. Then they move on to the leg - it is recommended to cut it into thin slices.

White ones do not need heat treatment before cooking, as they are not poisonous and do not have a bitter taste. As a rule, russula, milk mushrooms and trumpet mushrooms are cooked.

However, if you want to play it safe, you can carry out this procedure. However, it should be borne in mind that processing will affect the quality of the product, and whites may lose some of their beneficial properties and become less tasty and aromatic.

There is no need to additionally prepare the product for heat treatment; simply cutting them is enough. Cook in plenty of salted water for 5 to 15 minutes, no more. If you increase the time to 30 minutes, then pleasant taste may completely disappear, and then the mushrooms can simply be thrown away.

When cooking is finished, the broth can be poured out or frozen for future use.

Options for preparing porcini mushrooms

You can cook porcini mushrooms in different ways, as they are great for canning, frying, drying, and soups. They are almost universal, however, according to some recipes, white ones turn out better and tastier.

Perhaps drying is the easiest option, since a person is required to do almost nothing. Before cooking, you just need to cut each porcini mushroom, put it on a sieve and place it in a sunny, well-ventilated place.

Also possible for the winter. Before cooking, you will need to wash all the ingredients, put them in a pan and cook for about half an hour. It is not recommended to salt them at this time. After cooking, place the mushrooms in a colander to drain all the liquid.

Then you need to pour water into the pan, add sea ​​salt or plain, vinegar, pepper, cloves, a little sugar, cinnamon and a few bay leaves. The contents need to be brought to a boil, then put the mushrooms into it. It will take about 5 minutes to cook them.

After this, the mushrooms should be placed in sterilized jars and filled with broth. You also need to add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. You don’t need to prepare anything else, you just need to roll up the jars and leave them in a cool room for at least 2 months.

If everything is done correctly, the canned food will turn out incredibly tasty.