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Kitchen Weight and Measures
1 pinch = 1/8 teaspoon
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon (teaspoon - tsp/Tablespoon = tbsp.)
2 tablespoons = 1 ounce
1 cup = 8 ounces / 16 tbsp.
¾ cup = 6 ounces / 12 tbsp.
½ cup = 4 ounces / 8 tbsp.
¼ cup = 2 ounces / 4 tbsp.
16 ounces = 1 pound
2 cups = 1 pint / 16 oz.
4 cups = 1 quart / 32 oz.
16 cups = 1 gallon / 128 oz.
2 quarts = ½ gallon / 64 oz.
4 quarts = 1 gallon
Metric Conversions
1 gram = 0.03527 oz.
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds
28.35 grams = 1 ounce / 2 tbsp.
453.6 g. = 1 pound
5 milliliters = 1 teaspoon
15 milliliters = 1 tablespoon
240 milliliters = 1 cup
0.4732 liters = 1 pint
0.951 liters = 1 quart
1 liter = 1.06 quarts
FOOD QUANTITY NEEDED
(1) Number to be served X portions size = number of ounces needed
Number of ounces needed / 16 (ounces per pound) = pounds needed
EXAMPLE: 25 hamburgers, 8 oz. each. SO…. 8 oz. X 25 = 200 ounces needed. So….200oz. / 16oz (1 lb.) = 12.5 pounds of hamburger needed.
RECIPE CONVERSION
Must know: (1) number of servings - recipe yield, and (20) # of servings needed
• More servings than the recipe - recipe yield divided into number of servings needed is the amount needed.
• Less servings needed than the recipe yields - divide number of servings needed divided by recipe yield is the percentage to reduce the recipe by.
EXAMPLES:
(1) Recipe yields 6 servings – you need 24 servings SO… 24 / 6 = 4 times the recipe amounts.
(2) Recipe yields 24 servings and you need 6 servings So…. 6 servings / 24 servings = 25% of recipe ingredients. Or – 6/6 = 1 24/6 = 4 = ratio 1 to 4 or 25%
2.02: Measurement and Conversion Charts
Formulas for Exact Measurement
WHEN YOU KNOW: MULTIPLY BY: TO FIND:
Mass (weight) Ounces 28.35 grams
Pounds 0.45 kilograms
Grams 0.035 ounces
Kilograms 2.2 pounds
Volume (capacity) Teaspoons 5.0 milliliters
Tablespoons 15.0 milliliters
Fluid Ounces 29.57 milliliters
Cups 0.24 liters
Pints 0.47 liters
Quarts 0.95 liters
Gallons 3.785 liters
Milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces
Temperature Fahrenheit 5/9 (after subtracting 32) Celsius
Celsius 9/5 (then add 32) Fahrenheit
Rounded Measurement for Quick Reference
1 oz. = 30 g
4 oz. = 120 g
8 oz. = 240 g
16 oz. = 1 lb. = 480 g
32 oz. = 2 lb. = 960 g
36 oz. = 2¼ lb. = 1000 g (1 kg)
1/4 tsp. = 1/24 fl. oz. = 1 ml
½ tsp. = 1/12 fl. oz. = 2 ml
1 tsp. = 1/6 fl. oz. = 5 ml
1 Tbsp. = 1/2 fl. oz. = 15 ml
1 C. = 8 fl. oz. = 240 ml
2 c. (1 pt.) = 16 fl. oz. = 480 ml
4 c. (1 qt.) = 32 fl. oz. = 960 ml
4 qt. (1 gal.) = 128 fl. oz. = 3.75 It
32°F = 0°c
122°F = 50°c
212°F = 100°c
Conversion Guides
1 gallon 4 quarts
8 pints
16 cups (8 fluid ounces)
128 fluid ounces
1 fifth bottle approximately 1 ½ pints or exactly 26.5 fluid ounces
1 measuring cup 8 fluid ounces (a coffee cup generally holds 6 fluid ounces)
1 large egg white 1 ounce (average)
1 lemon 1 to 1 ¼ fluid ounces of juice
1 orange 3 to 3½ fluid ounces of juice
Scoop Sizes
Scoop Number Level Measure
6 2/3 cup
8 1/2 cup
10 2/5 cup
12 1/3 cup
16 1/4 cup
20 3 1/5 tablespoons
24 2 2/3 tablespoons
30 2 1/5 tablespoons
40 1 3/5 tablespoons
*The number of the scoop determines the number of servings in each quart of a mixture: for example, with a No. 16 scoop, one quart of mixture will yield 16 servings.
Ladle Sizes
Size Portion of a Cup Number per Quart Number per Liter
1 fl. oz. 1/8 32 34
2 fl. oz. 1/4 16 17
2 2/3 fl. oz. 1/3 12 13
4 fl. oz. 1/2 8 8.6
6 fl. oz. 3/4 5 1/3 5.7
Canned Goods
SIZE NO. OF CANS PER CASE AVERAGE WEIGHT AVERAGE NO. CUPS PER CAN
No.¼ 1 & 2 doz. 4 oz. 1/2
No.½ 8 8 oz. 1
No. 300 1 & 2 doz. 14 oz. 1 3/4
No. 1 tall (also known as 303) 2 & 4 doz. 16 oz. 2
No. 2 2 doz. 20 oz. 2 1/2
No. 2½ 2 doz. 28 oz. 3 1/2
No.3 2 doz. 33 oz. 4
No. 3 cylinder 1 doz. 46 oz. 5 2/3
No. 5 1 doz. 3 lb. 8 oz. 5 1/2
No. 10 6 6 lb. 10 oz. 13 | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Baking_and_Pastries_(Rink_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Apendices/2.01%3A_Kitchen_Weight_and_Measures.txt |
What's the difference between buttercream and fondant and ganache? Petal dust? Getting started with baking can be tough when you don't understand all the baking lingo so here's 42 common cake icings, cake decorating and cake accessory terms.
Cake Icings
Buttercream - Smooth and creamy decorator icing (referred to as frosting). It can be made in different consistencies – firm for flower decor, medium for borders and thin for icing or writing letters and words on cakes. It is easily colored or flavored. It melts in extreme heat and is not recommended for hot venues.
Fondant - A type of icing made of corn syrup, sugar and gelatin. It comes in many different colors, has a sweet flavor and is smooth and stiff. It can be rolled out and spread over cakes. Most cakes have a layer of buttercream or ganache underneath the fondant to keep it pliable. Fondant can also be used for sculpted decorations or patterns on cakes. It looks best decorated with marzipan fruits, ribbon or gum paste flowers. It does not need refrigeration.
Royal Icing - Typically a mixture of meringue powder, powdered sugar, & water. It is shiny, hard and does not need to be refrigerated. It is used for latticework and decorations.
Ganache - A type of chocolate with a consistency similar to store bought icing. Very rich, it is created when hot cream is poured over sweet chocolate, which is then beaten until glossy and smooth. It can be poured over cakes for a glass-like finish or used as filling. It is not suitable for hot or humid weather.
Whipped Cream - Made from sugar and heavy cream and whipped to the desired consistency. Whipped cream can be a topping or a filling, but must be kept refrigerated and brought out right before the cake cutting.
Marzipan - A paste made of almonds, sugar and egg whites. It can be used as icing or molded into decorations including flowers or fruits.
Cake Decorations
Gum Paste - Created with gelatin, cornstarch and sugar. It is used for sculpted figurines or decor on cakes. It is edible, but becomes very hard when dried.
Piping - A decorative technique achieved by using a decorator bag and metal tip. Patterns, swirls, lettering and other decor can be ‘piped’ onto cakes. It is ideal for dots, basketweave, latticework and shells.
Pulled Sugar - Boiled sugar, water and corn syrup that is molded into designs including roses and bows.
Dragees - Hard sugar balls painted with silver or gold paint.
Floral Wire - Non-edible decorative wire used to make 3-D decor on cakes.
Gold Leaf - Edible 24 carat gold decoration used as decorative element on cakes.
Edible Images - Using edible ink and edible frosting paper, any type of image can be imprinted on cakes.
Pearls - An edible decoration for cakes that are made to look like real pearls. They are available in different colors, sizes and taste like hard candy.
Sugar Flowers - Used in the place of fresh flowers, usually hand created from a sugar syrup that hardens.
Cake Decorative Techniques
Airbrushing - Using a small air pump to spray food coloring onto the cake.
Basketweave - Pattern made on cakes in a crosshatch pattern giving the cake the appearance of an actual basket. This can be achieved with fondant or buttercream.
Chevron - A pattern involving different colored ‘V’ shapes in repetition, usually created on cakes with fondant.
Damask - A pattern for cakes commonly found on silk textiles. They are usually botanical patterns but can be geometric or animals.
Cornelli - A delicate design that’s created by using an elaborate piping technique to produce a lacelike pattern.
Hand-painted - A decorative technique used on cakes and desserts involving food coloring and paint brushes. The patterns are painted by hand onto the cake to add fine details with brush strokes.
Houndstooth (dogstooth or dogtooth) - A pattern characterized by a series of broken check marks or four-pointed shapes.
Marble - When flavors or colors are “swirled” together to create a “swimming” effect. Often used in cake interiors or with fondant.
Ombre - When tones of color blend into each other, usually graduating from light to dark.
Quatrefoil - A pattern created using four leaves or lobes, resembling a four-leafed clover or a flower.
Ruffles - A design style on cakes made to look like real ruffles using fondant.
Swiss Dots - A pattern created by piping on small, “pearl” dots. Designed to resemble the Swiss dot pattern commonly found on bridal gowns or veils.
Petal dust - Adds sparkle or sheen to a cake.
Cake Accessories
Cake Board - A cardboard piece available in various shapes and sizes and used as a base for cakes. Not edible but can be covered in edible decorations.
Cupcake Stand/ Cupcake Tower - Sometimes used as an alternative to cakes, a cupcake stand or tree features cupcakes on tiered layers. They can be rented for events in different sizes and hold varying amounts of cupcakes.
Pillars - Separators used in a tiered cake. They can be made of plastic or wood in several lengths to achieve the desired look.
Backdrop - Fabric or paper background that is either draped or hung smoothly and used to highlight a wedding cake setting for taking professional pictures.
Cake Circle - Corrugated cardboard rounds sized to provide bases for standard circular cakes. They can be purchased, waxed, unwaxed, patterned or with ruffles.
Side Decoration - Icing decorations used around the sides of a cake such as strings or garland.
Tier Separators - Constructed supports that separate stacked cakes.
Cake Stand - A plate on a pedestal used for displaying cakes.
Wedding Cake Fountain - Independent water fountain of various levels, some are lighted. Usually placed within the levels of a cake.
Cake Topper - Ornaments on the top of the wedding cake.
Wedding Cake Bridges/Stairs - Ornamental bridges or stairs that connect layers of wedding cake or separate cakes.
Alternative Cakes
Miniatures - Individually decorated wedding cakes served to each guests.
Groom’s Cake - A cake that was traditionally richer than the bride's, with the addition of flavors like chocolate and fruit. Groom's cakes are served at the wedding reception but can also be served at the wedding ceremony. It is usually considered proper for the groom's cake to be served separately from the bride's. Many are decorated to reflect the groom's hobbies, such as golfing, fishing, or hunting.
Cupcake - A small cake baked in a cup-shaped container and typically iced. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Baking_and_Pastries_(Rink_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Apendices/2.03%3A_Cake_Terms_-_Icing_Decorating_and_Accessories.txt |
American Culinary Association (ACF), www.acfchefs.org
American Dietetic Association (ADA), www.eatright.org
American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), www.ahla.org
American Institute of Baking (AIB), www.aibonline.org
American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF), www.aiwf.org
American Personal Chef Association (APCA), www.personalchef.com
American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators (ASHFSA), www.ashfsa.org
Black Culinarian Alliance (BCA), www.blackculinarians.com
Bread Bakers Guild of America, www.bbga.org
Club Managers Association of America (CMAA), www.cmaa.org
Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, www.chaineus.org
Dietary Managers Association (DMA), www.dmaonline.org
Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI), www.fcsi.org
Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI), www.feni.org
Food Truck Operation, Foodtruckoperators.com
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), www.ift.org
International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), www.iacp.com
International Caterers Association, www.icacater.org
International Council of Cruise Lines, www.iccl.org
International Council on Hotel and Restaurant Institutional Education (ICHRIE), www.chrie.org
International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA), www.ifsea.com
International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), www.ifmaworld.com
International Inflight Food Service Association (IFSA), www.ifsanet.com
Les Dames d’Escoffier International, www.ldei.org
National Association of College and University Foodservice (NACUFS), www.nacufs.org
National Association of Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM), www.nafem.org
National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), www.fancyfoodshows.com
National Food Processors Association, www.nfpa-food.org
National Ice Carving Association (NICA), www.nica.org
National Restaurant Association, www.restaurant.org
National Society for Healthcare Foodservice Management (HFM), www.hfm.org
Research Chefs Association (RCA), www.culinology.com
Retailer’s Bakery Association (RBA), www.rbanet.com
School Nutrition Association (SNA), www.schoolnutrition.org
Societe Culinaire Philanthropique, www.societeculinaire.com
Society for Foodservice Management (SFM), www.sfm-online.org
United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA), www.uspca.com
Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), www.womensfoodserviceforum.com
Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, www.womenfhefs.org
2.05: Industry Resources
Meats
Agri Beef www.agribeef.com/education/
American Lamb Board www.americanlamb.com/chefs-corner/curriculamb/
Butterball Foodservice www.butterballfoodservice.com
Maple Leaf Farms www.mapleleaffarms.com
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Pork Board www.porkfoodservice.org
National Turkey Federation www.eatturkey.org
North American Meat Institute www.meatinstitute.org
Seafood
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute www.alaskaseafood.org
Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture www.freshfromflorida.com/Recipes/Seafood
National Aquaculture Association thenaa.net
Produce
American Egg Board www.aeb.org
Apricot Producers of California www.califapricot.com
Avocados from Mexico foodservice.avocadosfrommexico.com
California Cling Peach Board www.calclingpeach.com
California Cling Peach Board www.calclingpeach.com
California Avocado Commissionwww.californiaavocado.com
California Dried Plum Board www.californiadriedplums.org
California Endive www.endive.com
California Fig Advisory Board www.californiafigs.com
California Kiwifruit Commission www.kiwifruit.org
California Pear Advisory Board www.calpear.com
California Raisin Marketing Board * Dietary Tool Kit www.calraisins.org
California Strawberry Commission www.calstrawberry.com
California Table Grape Commission www.tablegrape.com
Cherry Marketing Institute www.choosecherries.com
Concord Grape Association www.concordgrape.org
Cranberry Institute www.cranberryinstitute.org
Cranberry Marketing Committee*Tool Kit www.uscranberries.com
Dole Packaged Foods *Cost Savings Calculator www.dolefoodservice.com
Florida Dept. of Citrus www.floridajuice.com
Hass Avocado Board *Tool Kit www.avocadocentral.com
Idaho Potato Commission *Cost & Sizing Guides www.idahopotato.com
Leafy Greens Council www.leafy-greens.org
Leaf Greens Marketing Association www.lgma.ca.gov/ Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission www.sweetpotato.org
Mushroom Council www.mushroomcouncil.org
National Honey Board *Teacher Guide www.honey.com
National Mango Board *Lesson Plans www.mango.org
National Onion Association*Lesson Plans www.onions-usa.org
National Processed Raspberry Council www.redrazz.org
National Watermelon Promotional Board www.watermelon.org
NC Sweet Potato Commission www.ncsweetpotatoes.com
New York Apple Association www.nyapplecountry.com
North American Blueberry Council www.blueberry.org
Northwest Cherry Growers www.nwcherries.com
Olives from Spain olivesfromspain.us/
Oregon Raspberries and Blackberries www.oregon-berries.com
Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service www.eatcannedpears.com/
Pear Bureau Northwestwww.usapears.com
Pomegranate Council www.pomegranates.org
Potatoes USA www.PotatoGoodness.com
Produce for Better Health Foundation www.5aday.com
The Soyfoods Council www.thesoyfoodscouncil.com
U.S. Apple Association www.usapple.org
USA Rice Federation www.menurice.com
Washington Red Raspberry Commission www.red-raspberry.org
Washington State Apple Commission www.bestapples.com
Washington State Potato Commission www.potatoes.com
Wheat Foods Council *Tool kits and classroom materials www.wheatfoods.org
Wild Blueberry Assn. of North America www.wildblueberries.com
Oil, Spices and Seasonings
North American Olive Oil Association *Classroom materials www.aboutoliveoil.org
Nuts and Legumes
Almond Board of California*Tool Kit www.almonds.com/food-professionals
American Pistachio Growers www.americanpistachios.org/
California Walnut Board www.walnuts.org
National Peanut Board www.nationalpeanutboard.org
Dairy Products
Emmi Roth USA *Pairing information us.emmi.com/en
Real CA Milk www.realcaliforniamilk.com/foodservice/
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Pairing guides www.wisdairy.com
Specialty Foods
New York Wine & Grape Foundation www.nywine.com
Popcorn Boardwww.popcorn.org
Baking Ingredients
Guittard Chocolate Company www.guittard.com
Bay State Milling Co. www.baystatemilling.com
Manufacturing/Distributors
Barilla America www.barilla.com/en-us
Bay State Milling Co.
www.baystatemilling.com
Dole Packaged Foods *Cost Savings Calculator www.dolefoodservice.com
Knouse Foods www.knousefoodservice.com
SYSCO www.sysco.com
Unilever Food Solutions www.unileverfoodsolutions.us
Verterra Dinnerware www.verterra.com | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Baking_and_Pastries_(Rink_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Apendices/2.04%3A_Professional_Associations_and_Industry_Resources.txt |
Food Service in the Hospitality Industry
Chapter 1: FOOD SERVICE SEGMENTS
Learning Objectives
• To understand the importance of food service within the hospitality industry
• To differentiate between commercial and non-commercial food service establishments
• To identify segments within commercial food service and the factors used to differentiate segments
• To identify segments within non-commercial food service and the unique features of each segment
• To describe key trends impacting food service establishments
• To articulate professional career options within food service
CHAPTER OUTLINE
• Food service in the hospitality industry
• Commercial food service
• Non-commercial food service
• Trends and emerging issues in food service
• Professional careers in food service
• Conclusion
Key Terms
• Casual Restaurants
• Casual Upscale Restaurants
• Commercial Food Service
• Family Restaurants
• Food Trucks/Street Food
• Hyper-Local Sourcing
• Non-Commercial Food Service
• Quick Casual Restaurants
• Quick Service Restaurants
• Theme Restaurants
• Upscale/Fine Dining Restaurants
Food service is a dominant segment of the hospitality industry that represents a significant proportion of the economy. The restaurant industry is approximately an \$800 billion dollar industry. The average household spends nearly 50% of its food dollars in restaurants. Food service is also a significant employer. Approximately fifteen million individuals are employed in food service establishments, and 10% of the U.S. workforce is employed in restaurants. It is estimated that over one million food service establishments exist in the U.S. This statistic is noteworthy in and of itself, but also in comparison to the 53,000 U.S. lodging establishments.
Given its dominance and importance, students of hospitality management should possess a working understanding of the food service segment of the hospitality industry. As such, the purpose of this chapter is to educate the reader on different segments of food service. Most of this chapter is devoted to discussing commercial food service establishments. A commercial food service establishment is that whose main purpose is creating and selling food and beverage. Non-commercial food service establishments are discussed later in the chapter. A non-commercial foodservice establishment is embedded in an organization where food and beverage is not the primary business focus, such as in healthcare, education, the military, and transportation. Food service is continually evolving, and this chapter will highlight some of the notable trends and emerging issues. Finally, this chapter will discuss a variety of career options that might be of interest to those seeking to pursue a professional career in food service.
Commercial Food Service
The majority of food service establishments are in the commercial sector. These establishments vary in numerous respects, and it is not an easy task to categorize the vast array of establishments into neatly defined segments. There were once clearly defined segments, but today lines across segments are blurred in many respects. These limitations notwithstanding, we will discuss eight primary segments: 1) quick service 2) food trucks/street food 3) quick casual 4) family 5) casual 6) themed 7) casual upscale 8) upscale/fine dining. Each segment will be differentiated by service level, quality of menu offerings, and price point. These attributes will be discussed within each segment along with other unique characteristics.
With McDonald’s alone spending nearly one billion dollars on advertising each year, readers are certainly familiar with the quick-service segment. Quick service restaurants (QSRs), commonly known as fast food by the general public, are those where the customer orders at a counter, pays prior to receiving the product, and picks food up at the counter. Drive-thru service is also commonplace in the QSR segment. The service level is minimal, fast, and efficient. The food quality is low-cost value with average checks under \$8.00. QSR establishments may be open for all three meal periods (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with some operations providing 24-hour service. In 2015, McDonald’s began offering breakfast all day, although the verdict on the success of this rollout is still out. QSR establishments are unquestionably chain dominated and are they child friendly with specific children’s menus. Most “pizza shops” fall into the QSR segment as well. Some establishments may be coined QSR-Plus, such as Chick-fil-A, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and Shake Shack, who provide higher quality offerings and realize higher check averages. Traditionally, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s dominated the QSR segment, but dominance has begun to shift. McDonald’s still occupies the number one position in sales, but the number two and three spots go to Starbucks and Subway.3 Subway tops the list with the most number of units/restaurants. Today there is more competition among key players within QSR, and QSR establishments are competing with the quick casual segment as well.
Years ago, food trucks and street food vendors would not have been included in a textbook chapter, but today they are a popular and steadily growing segment. The famous Halal Guys food cart on 53rd Street and 6th Avenue in New York City is rumored to generate over one million dollars in annual sales. Similar to QSR establishments, food truck/street service is counter-based and limited, due to their small street-side presence. Patrons order and pay at the counter, take their food away, eat right on the sidewalk, or may sit at a few tables nearby. These operations typically have a limited menu; they find a few things to do very well (e.g., falafel, grilled cheese, or crepes). These establishments are not necessarily the hot dog and pretzel stands they once were with a reputation of serving poor quality food (“roach coaches”). Some may still provide lower quality food, but others provide a higher-end menu, sometimes with gourmet offerings. In fact, the trend in food trucks/street food is toward the higher end. Check averages span a few dollars to over \$20. Pepe, a Washington DC-based food truck inspired by Jose Andres, a Spanish trained chef who worked at El Bulli, the number one ranked restaurant in the world for several years, offers a sandwich priced at \$20. Unlike QSRs, food trucks/street food vendors are typically independents, but chains are beginning to emerge, such as The Taco Truck in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Food trucks and street vendors have been innovative using social media as a marketing strategy. Kogi is a famous taco truck in Los Angeles that has utilized social media to amass a cult-like following by tweeting their various locations numerous times throughout a day.
The quick casual (also known as fast casual) segment is fast-growing, exciting, and is taking market share from QSR and the family and casual dining segments. Much of the growth in this segment can be attributed to dominant players such as Chipotle and Panera. Other key players in this segment include Noodles and Company and Pei Wei Asian Market. Service is limited similar to QSR. One of the major points of distinction of quick casual vis-à-vis QSR is the quality of their menu. Chipotle cooks from raw ingredients and prepares items like guacamole from scratch. Panera offers high-quality sandwiches, soups, and salads and fresh baked goods daily. An emphasis is placed on freshness, and many items are prepared in front of the customer. These establishments often have metal versus plastic cutlery, ceramic plates and bowls, and more upscale and trendier décor to further differentiate themselves from QSR. Millennials and other customers are demanding higher quality food, and they are willing to pay a little more for it, choosing quick casual over fast food. Average guest checks for quick causal typically span \$8.00 to \$12.00. The quick casual segment is largely dominated by chains.
The five segments to be discussed next are full-service establishments. Customers no longer order at a counter and take their own food to a table. Rather, they are seated, typically receive menus, and are waited on by servers, who are central in orchestrating the dining experience. Food may now be delivered in courses (appetizer, main course, and dessert). Payment occurs at the end of the meal, and gratuities (tips) are now expected. We see alcohol served in many full-service establishments, although in some states alcohol is served at Chipotle.
Family restaurants include a mix of chains and independents. Notable examples of family restaurant chains include Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, Friendly’s, IHOP, and Perkins. You will also find many independent restaurants, local diners, and “mom and pops” in this segment. Homestyle cooking dominates this segment, and family-style restaurants are typically open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With respect to family restaurant chains, there is limited or no alcohol service, most offer breakfast all day, and many are open 24 hours. These establishments focus on value, and average checks range from \$6.00 to \$12.00. Buffet restaurants can also fall into this category. With the increasing popularity of quick-casual restaurants and greater health consciousness among many Americans, buffet restaurants have been declining in certain regions of the U.S. While Americans once valued the all-you-can-eat for a fixed price concept, they are now more health-conscious than ever before.
In turn, casual restaurant establishments position themselves with a relaxed atmosphere (relative to upscale establishments), moderately priced food, and higher quality than QSR. Typically lunch and dinner are served in casual restaurants, but not breakfast as with family-style establishments. Alcoholic beverages are now introduced broadly in this segment. Popular casual chain restaurants include Applebee’s, Chili’s, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Red Robin, and TGI Friday’s. On the independent side, many ethnic restaurants, such as Chinese and Mexican, and sports bars fall within the casual restaurant segment. Casual restaurants focus heavily on tabletop marketing pieces to entice patrons to order appetizers and specialty alcoholic beverages. In a similar vein, servers are trained and encouraged to “up-sell” appetizers, desserts, and alcoholic beverages. Average guest checks are generally in the range of \$8.00 for lunch and \$15.00 for dinner. While popular, casual restaurants are losing market share to quick casual establishments.
Theme restaurants are an extension of casual restaurants. The major distinction is that theme restaurants focus on a specific theme. For example, Hard Rock Café focuses on rock-and-roll memorabilia, Rainforest Café centers on a jungle theme, and T-Rex is a Prehistoric themed restaurant. These restaurants are chain dominated, but there are a few independents, such as the Jekyll &Hyde Club in New York City.These establishmentsdo serve alcohol, but many arechild-focused given their themes. A major focus ison décor and architectureover food and beverage. In fact, some of these establishmentscostas much as \$15 million to build.These restaurantsare often foundin major shopping malls and major tourist areassothey can draw on high volume. Given the high costs of building these restaurantsand the high cost of real estate, theme check averages are notably higher than casual establishments (in the rage of \$13.00 for lunch and \$23.00 for dinner).
The casual upscale (also known as polished casual) segment is a minor step below upscale restaurants. This segment is arguably one of the most difficult segments for individuals to grasp conceptually. Restaurants in this segment are similar to upscale restaurants in service and food quality with average checks in the range of \$16.00 for lunch and \$50.00 for dinner. A major distinction is that they turn tables quickly in comparison to upscale restaurants where the dining pace is more leisurely. Casual upscale restaurants generally serve lunch and dinner; whereas upscale fine dining restaurants typically only serve dinner. Casual upscale establishments have expensive decor, some may use linen, they have a full bar and a high-quality wine list, and most items are prepared from scratch with the highest quality ingredients. There are numerous independently owned and operated casual upscale restaurants. However, the major players in this segment are chains, including Great American Restaurants, Hillstone Restaurant Group, and J. Alexander’s. For the most part, chain restaurants in this segment do not want the connotation of being a part of a chain, but rather would like to be perceived as unique independent restaurants. Hillstone Restaurant Group, for example, varies the names of its restaurants (e.g., Houston’s, Bandera, and R+D Kitchen), menu, and décor based on location to help achieve a unique independent feel.
Upscale fine dining establishments are at the top of the restaurant “food chain.” Upscale fine dining restaurants have a strong focus on providing the highest level of product and service, and their décor has an upscale look and feel. Upscale restaurants will often have a wine cellar to meet guests’ expectations. (Some wine cellars are rumored to have more than \$7 million worth of inventory.) Upscale establishments employ highly trained professional servers who are typically only responsible for one or two tables at the same time. Average checks can easily exceed \$500.00. Unlike casual upscale, independents dominate the upscale fine-dining segment. High-end steakhouses, such as Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Peter Lugers, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, fall into this segment. Alinea in Chicago and Eleven Madison Park in New York City are other examples of independent upscale fine dining. Many restaurants in this segment have an à la carte or a fixed price (prix fixe) menu. An à la carte menu prices each item separately; whereas everything is included for one price with a fixed price menu. Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry fixed price menu is over \$295 per person at the time of writing this chapter. The French Laundry menu also has several “add-ons” that could easily extend the average check to over \$500, excluding alcohol. Many upscale dining establishments and their chefs strive to earn a coveted Michelin Star, a top spot in one of the several international lists, or a positive review online. Such accolades help these establishments maintain their exclusive status in a highly competitive business environment.
Non-Commercial Food Service
Non-commercial food service can be defined as food service operations where food and beverage are not the primary focus of a business, but rather where food and beverage are present to support or supplement a “host.” A variety of labels have been used for this segment over the years, including institutional, non-commercial, contract feeding, on-site food service, and most recently managed services. Organizations can choose to manage food service themselves, which is referred to as self-operated (self-op), or they can contract food service out to a company that specializes in feeding and related services. Three of the dominant players today in non-commercial food service include Aramark, Compass, and Sodexo. While the success of a commercial restaurant is often determined by its sales volume in dollars, non-commercial success is often rated by participation (volume of people). This is especially true in cases where food is free or partially subsidized by the host company for its employees.
The segment is somewhat misunderstood and sometimes has the connotation of only serving school lunches, hospital food, and meals in a nursing home. This segment does serve these operations, but is more diverse and spans everything from elementary school meals to fine dining. This segment also sometimes has had a reputation of only serving uninspired food. However, companies like Google have highly trained chefs that prepare and serve very high-quality food. They focus on local, organic, and sustainable offerings. Apple Inc., at its new multi-billion dollar headquarters, features a garden where chefs are able to select fruits, vegetables, and herbs from the property. This emerging trend has been coined hyper-local sourcing.
A wide variety of businesses and other organizations house non-commercial food service operations. These segments are discussed briefly below.
• Business and Industry (B & I). When we think B & I, employee cafeterias may come to mind. Clients range from manufacturing plants, remote site feeding (e.g., oil fields on the North Slope in Alaska), to Goldman Sachs in New York City. Services may include vending, self-service convenience stores, cafeterias feeding hourly employees, dining rooms feeding managerial and other white-collar employees, and upscale catered events.
• College and university. The amount and types of food service operations in higher education depend on the size and type of school. Traditionally universities had dining halls where students would go through cafeteria-style filling up their tray as they went through the line. Now there are more options, more stations, and more made-to-order food. We also see smaller tables to mimic eating in a restaurant. Many universities use food service offerings as a recruiting tool to lure prospective students, and it is not uncommon for students and parents to tour state-of-the-art food service facilities during campus visits. In the past, different dining halls on the same campus were basically the same. Today dining halls try to differentiate themselves and compete for student patronage. Universities can be self-operated, or they may contract out their food service operations. Many universities also have retail dining areas or food courts similar to a mall where students can find many familiar QSR brands.
• K-12 education. Kindergarten through twelfth-grade food service primarily involves providing lunches in both public and private schools. These programs are subsidized to various degrees by the U.S. federal government, and nutritional requirements, set by federal regulations, must be met to receive federal dollars. Many schools also offer breakfast and after school snacks, and some even offer dinner to ensure nourishment throughout the day. School nutrition programs are focusing more on purchasing local products and doing nutrition education to help improve the eating behaviors of students. Programs also offer snack foods and catering for school functions to help increase sales. School food service may be either self-operated or contracted out.
• Healthcare. Healthcare feeding in a traditional hospital setting includes patient feeding, employee feeding, and guest feeding. Hospitals may also have catering that can range from casual to large upscale fundraising events. The size and scope of offerings largely depend on the size and location of the hospital. Rehabilitation clinics, long term care facilities, and traditional nursing homes also provide patient feeding.
• Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). CCRCs are a relative newcomer and are becoming more important with the Baby Boomers at or nearing retirement age. Nursing homes may come to mind when you think of a CCRC, but a CCRC is closer to a resort. Many guests are still very active, and CCRCs fulfill individuals’ needs for activities, accommodations, and fine food. There is a growing need for management talent in CCRCs, and many hospitality programs are adding courses in this area to their curricula.
• Sports and entertainment arenas. Sports and entertainment arenas typically contract out their food service operations. Offerings range from popcorn and peanuts to fine dining full-service restaurants. There may also be catering in the box suites. Often the food at an arena mimics an area’s most popular and unique items. In Pittsburgh’s Heinz field, for example, you can find the famous Primanti Bros. sandwich, which is stuffed with coleslaw and fries. AT&T Park’s \$8 Gilroy garlic fries in San Francisco have become famous in their own right. For the Olympics, Aramark is the food service provider, feeding athletes, coaches, staff, officials, and the press. This is food service on a grand scale serving over 3.5 million meals and 10,000 people per hour with diverse dietetic and cultural needs.5
• Parks and recreation. U.S. national parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite contract their food service out to companies like Aramark, Sodexo, or Xanterra, which is the largest operator of park-based hotels, restaurants, and stores. Concessions, upscale dining, and catering are commonly found at most parks. There is an emphasis on sustainability and fitting in with the overall look and feel of a park. Food service at a theme and amusement park may be self-operated or contracted out. Their offerings are as varied as the park themselves, but typically include snack food or “park fare,” casual sit down dining, and upscale formal restaurants.
• Corrections. Correctional facilities must feed inmates and employees, and they typically forbid individuals from bringing food into a facility from the outside. Accordingly, non-commercial food service is an important component of a jail or prison system. Furthermore, food plays an important role in maintaining inmate morale in this environment.
• Military. This segment involves feeding military troops and affiliated support organizations. While much of the feeding is in “mess halls,” there are more upscale dining options offered in officer’s clubs. There are also balls and galas that can be upscale in nature as well. Higher ranking officers such as Generals are often assigned their own culinary team to prepare daily meals and cater to special events.
• Airline. The airline industry has food service in airports, ranging from fast food to casual sit-down restaurants. The Burger King or Subway in the airport is most likely managed by a contracted food service company. In-flight food service is, of course, another area that falls in this category. Two of the major in-flight food service providers are Gate Gourmet and Sky Chefs.
• Trains. Onboard dining options can range from snacks to full-service meals in the dining car, often requiring reservations. On many long-distance trains there may be an attendant with a snack cart who travels from car to car. Bar-buffet cars are a unique part of the train experience, where the quality of the food and wine can rival that of a gourmet restaurant.
• Cruises. One of the first questions asked of someone returning from a cruise is, “How was the food?” Dining on cruise ships has evolved over the years to allow for more options and flexibility with some outlets open 24 hours. Royal Caribbean’s The Allure of the Seas is currently the world’s largest cruise ship with more than 20 dining options, ranging from casual snacks to fine dining (and everything in between). We are now also see branding on cruise ships with concepts like Starbucks.
Trends and Emerging Issues in Food Service
One of the newest trends is the “experience”. Customers now are expecting an authentic interactive experience while patronizing our restaurants. It is no longer enough to merely provide a great product and service. The experience must also be present in everything we do.
Menus and food preferences are always evolving. Today guests are more knowledgeable about food and more adventurous than ever before. This trend is due in part to the proliferation of television programming specifically tailored to food and celebrity chefs (see the Food Network for example). In line with this trend, we now see more adventurous items on today’s menus, such as bone marrow gratin and pig’s blood pappardelle, just to name a few. The National Restaurant Association highlights that we now see a focus on the sustainability, quality, wholesomeness, and calorie content of menu offerings.6 As an example, Sweetgreen is a concept built around serving high quality organic and sustainable products. Sweetgreen promotes its brand by asserting, “We source local and organic ingredients from farmers we know and partners we trust, supporting our communities and creating meaningful relationships with those around us.”
While the human element is still very important in service delivery, technology is continually reshaping the experience. For example, many restaurants already offer services such as mobile payments which enable customers to use their smartphones to pay their bills.8 Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) is another type of technology being used at various resorts. Disney uses RFIDs in the form of MagicBands, which allow guests to leave their wallets elsewhere because everything from bill paying (charging) capabilities to food preferences will be orchestrated through the RFID chip embedded into a wrist band.9 In addition, many restaurants are using electronic tablets for payment and ordering tableside. The ability to pay the bill at the table speeds up the service cycle and helps to ensure the privacy of credit card data.
A hot topic in restaurants is no tipping for front-of-house employees. Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (which includes Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, and The Modern) recently introduced a “hospitality included” policy in select restaurants. Danny Meyer sought a way to achieve greater pay equity between front-of-house and back-of-house employees. At Meyer’s restaurants, the tip will now be built into the price of each and every menu item. Criticism notwithstanding, other restaurants have begun to follow suit. For example, Joe’s Crab Shack has recently announced that it will pilot a no-tipping concept in 18 of its restaurants.
Another hot topic is having restaurant patrons purchase tickets for their dining experience. For the most part, restaurant pricing is the same on a Monday as it is on Saturday regardless of demand. Hotels, airlines, and live theatre all charge different amounts based on supply and demand. Nick Kokonas, cofounder of Alinea and Next developed Tock Tickets, a company that handles the ticketing process for restaurants.10 With Tock Tickets, patrons pay in advance for their reservation much like they would for a concert or Broadway show. The ticket prices vary (dynamic pricing) depending on the time of day or day of the week. This concept enables restaurants with a high demand to maximize their revenues and minimize “no-shows.”
Professional Careers in Food Service
Given the diversity of segments within commercial and non-commercial food service, there are a variety of career options available to students. The most common upon graduation is a restaurant manager or assistant manager in a standalone restaurant. Usually, entry-level management positions are divided into front- or back-of-the-house. One can also pursue entry-level management positions in a hotel or resort as a restaurant, bar, food and beverage, or banquets manager. Individuals then progress toward becoming a general manager in a restaurant or a director of food and beverage in a hotel or resort setting. The next step would be an area or regional manager, followed by an executive position in a corporate office. Recent college graduates also have many opportunities to work in the non-commercial segments of the industry for one of the large managed service companies and move up the career ladder within those organizations. Many also choose to become restaurant entrepreneurs where they can create and implement their own ideas and philosophies.
There are also various options for students who choose not to work in restaurants or foodservice operations. Micros, which is now owned by Oracle, provides many of the point-of-sale terminals throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Micros often hires recent graduates to work in a sales/support role. Ecolab is another company that is often behind the scenes in many restaurants by supplying cleaning and sanitizing equipment and chemicals. Ecolab also typically hires recent graduates to work in a sales/support role. Sysco is the largest foodservice food supplier in the U.S. with over 425,000 customers.11 Recent graduates may begin a career with Sysco in either a sales or sales trainee role to promote Sysco’s various products and services.
Conclusions
Food and beverage without question is a key component of the hospitality experience. Moreover, food service establishments are a dominant player in the U.S. economy. As this chapter highlights, there is a great variety in establishments and segments within commercial and non-commercial food service. These different segments provide unique experiences for customers and guests, and they offer a wealth of career options for those seeking a career in food and beverage. Food service is a challenging and exciting business, and we hope this chapter has provided a useful overview of the breadth of diversity in food service establishments.
References
REVIEW QUESTIONS
• What is the difference between commercial and non-commercial food service?
• What are the key segments within commercial food service? What are examples of restaurants within each segment? What factors can be used to differentiate each segment?
• What are examples of establishments within non-commercial food service?
• What are the key trends impacting food service establishments today?
• What are examples of professional careers within food service?
Review Exercises
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Review Questions
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Learning Objectives:
• Define key terms and recognize basic financial principles related to managing revenue and expense
• Apply the basic formula used to determine profit and ideal expense
• Describe various revenue sources for foodservice operations
• Describe typical expense categories for foodservice operations.
• Calculate cost percentages (express both expenses and profit as a percentage of revenue
• Compare actual operating revenue and expenses with budgeted operating results
• Calculate performance to budget figures
• Appreciate a realistic expected profit figure (percentage) for the restaurant industry.
Key Terms:
• Revenue
• Upselling
• Loyalty programs
• Expense
• Controllable expenses
• Non-controllable expenses
• Profit
• Profit and Loss Statement
• Budget
• Cost percentage
• Ideal expense
• Performance to budget
Introduction to Revenue and Expense
It is not enough to merely provide outstanding products and services in the foodservice industry. Managers must also create and maintain profitable food service operations. Simply put, driving revenue, while controlling expenses.
In the most basic terms, revenue is money or dollars brought in to the operation, also known as sales. Expenses are the costs associated with doing business and must be paid out to suppliers, the landlord, local government, etc. The basic formula is as follows:
Revenue – Expense = Profit
All foodservice operations have expenses, but not all have “sales.” Some non-profit onsite foodservice operations provide their products to guests as part of a larger operation. For example, patients in the hospital don’t pay for each of their meals individually, prisoners don’t pay for their meals, and a few businesses provide an employee cafeteria where the food and beverage are free to the employee. In these situations, the revenue comes from some overall organization budget and participation may be measured instead of revenue. Even in these kinds of operations, managers typically must still work within their revenue budgets.
For example, patients in the hospital don’t pay for each of their meals individually, prisoners don’t pay for their meals, and a few businesses provide an employee cafeteria where the food and beverage are free to the employee. In these situations, the revenue comes from some overall organization budget and participation may be measured instead of revenue. Even in these kinds of operations, managers typically must still work within their revenue budgets.
Revenue Streams
Sales of food and alcohol
The selling of food and beverage is obviously the main source of revenue. Proper marketing of the foodservice operation is also vital. Simply put, there are four different ways to make more money in the food service industry. 1) Bring in more customers. 2) Get them to come back, or purchase more often. 3) Get them to bring others with them. 4) Get them to spend more while they are there (increase the average check).
Upselling
Employees should be trained in proper techniques as they relate to upselling. Upselling is when we get customers to order “extra items”. An example of unsellable items would be: appetizers, desserts, coffee, both alcoholic, and non-alcoholic beverages, or menu add-ons, like mushrooms for their steak, extra or higher priced sides for their meal, such as fries instead of chips, etc. Can you think of a time when a server practiced upselling on you?
Meeting Room Rental Space, or “Buy-outs”
One way that a foodservice operation can bring in more revenue is by collecting money for private dining rooms. Buy-outs are another way that a restaurant can make more money. A buy-out is where the food service operation sells the entire property for the evening. It is important to understand what you would charge on a particular day, to ensure that this would make financial sense.
Off-Premise Catering
Off-premise catering is another area where the operator can bring in additional revenue. Off-premise catering is where the restaurant brings the food, beverage, and service to another location. Another benefit is that the event does not utilize seats in the restaurant. Off-premise catering is also a great way to build the reputation of your business.
Delivery, drive-up
Delivery is a popular service to offer to your customers. Another benefit of delivery is that it does not take up any space in your dining room. Many restaurants offer delivery, and third party delivery is a growth area in the foodservice industry. Many restaurants also take advantage of drive-up as well. This is where the customer can order their food by phone, or online and drive to the property and be met by an employee when they pull up. The employee then brings the food to the car, and can process the payment via a wireless system.
Service Charge
For tax purposes, tips and service charges are two completely different things. A service charge can be added to the guest check, and typical amounts can vary from 15-20%. Often times a portion of the service charge goes to the employee and a portion stays with the “house”. The portion that stays with the house can be considered revenue, and can be utilized in any manner the owner or manager wishes. This money is often used to off-set sales and marketing costs, and can also be added to the employees compensation in the form of “gratuity.” Tips, on the other hand, are money left for the server, should not technically be pooled, nor should a portion be held back from the server. Tips would not be considered a revenue source for the foodservice operation.
Merchandise
Many restaurants bring in additional revenues through the selling of merchandise. This can be as simple as selling hats and t-shirts at the cashier’s station, to operating elaborate stores and online purchases in places like Hard Rock Café, and Cracker Barrel.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are another great way to bring in additional revenue. Many restaurants offer gift cards, and this can be particularly popular during the holiday season, and can also be an “up-sell” item. Another benefit could be that many of the gift cards sold will never be redeemed, and would then be nearly 100% profit.
Revenue/Yield Management
In the past, the prices of menu items were the same whether it was on a Friday or a Monday. Now, restaurants are applying a similar dynamic pricing strategy that is utilized by the airline industry, and hotels. In this model foodservice operations can charge different amounts based on supply and demand. They can even separate the cost of the seating from the food and beverage. For instance, you might pay a premium price for a certain table based on the day of the week, and/or time of the day.
Some foodservice operations even sell “tickets” for a particular time slot. The ticket price would vary based on supply and demand. Foodservice operations can use a company such as Tock Tickets link to Tock Tickets, to handle the ticket purchase/distribution. Typically, this model only works if your restaurant is in high demand such as Per Se, or Eleven Madison Park in NYC.
Some other examples would be non-peak, and seasonal promotions. The classic “early-Bird-special” is one example where a lower price point is offered to entice customers to come in during slower time periods. An operation that is catering to a seasonal crowd like a ski resort, or beach setting, may lower or raise prices depending on the season.
Guest Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are structured marketing strategies designed by merchants to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of businesses associated with each program. [1] These programs exist for most types of commerce, each one having varying features and rewards schemes.
In marketing, generally, and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, advantage card, or club card is a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card, debit card, or digital card that identifies the cardholder as a participant in a loyalty program. [2] Loyalty cards (both physical and digital) relate to the loyalty business-model.
Source: loyalty program page on Wikipedia
Definition of Expense
An expense is an outflow of money to pay for a product or service. The following section describes the most pertinent expenses as they relate to the foodservice industry. Labor and food costs are typically the most significant of all expenses. A manager should possess the knowledge and skill to both understand and control their expenses. Below we will look at the various expenses associated with the food service industry
Types of expenses
Food Cost – The cost associated with preparing food for sale. Not only do we need to account for entrees, and side dishes, but we also need to account for make-up costs as well. Make-up costs are all those little extras that come with a dish, or can be requested by the customer. These can range from the ketchup, mustard, and pickle spear that may come with a sandwich, to the roll and butter that might accompany an entrée. We need to look at the full picture of our costs before we can price an item on our menu appropriately.
Beverage Cost – The cost associated with preparing a beverage for sale, and in many cases we are referring to alcoholic beverages. We need to account for make-up costs here as well. An example may be the olives garnishing a martini, the soda in a mixed drink, or the celery in a bloody Mary.
LaborCost– Labor is one of the two highest expenses of any foodservice operation. Examples of labor costs would be salaries, wages, benefits, unemployment taxes, and any applicable bonuses. If our labor costs are too high then profits will suffer. If our labor costs are too low then customer service will suffer. A skilled manager will be able to determine the amount of labor needed on a daily basis and adjust as needed.
One easy way to see if you need to cut labor is by monitoring the first and last hour of the business day. If employees are standing around, then you could consider staggering in your employees at the start of each day, “punching in” instead of bringing them all in at once. The use of time and attendance software and hardware can also help by setting limits on how early an employee can “punch in” before each shift. You could also have them “punch out” on a staggered basis.
Controlling overtime will also be vital to control labor costs. Managers should only allow employees to go into overtime if it is truly warranted. In many cases, overtime may be warranted, and therefore budgeted accordingly.
Labor costs are on the rise, and attracting, and maintaining a steady workforce is more challenging than ever before. Many operations are investing in equipment that can automate as many tasks as possible. Robotics, which were one time only considered a thing of the future, are now finding their way into operations in many forms.
Other Cost – Other expenses are any expenses except food, beverage, and labor. Together these costs can represent nearly 15% or more of your operation’s revenues. Some examples of other expenses: equipment (both small and large), furniture, tableware, occupancy expenses, repairs and maintenance (deferred and preventative maintenance), administrative costs, and associated marketing costs. Most of the costs will either fall into one of the two categories: “Controllable” or “non-controllable” expenses.
Controllable expenses (aka non-fixed, or variable) – Are expenses that vary depending on how busy or slow the operation is. Food and beverage costs, for instance, should go up when you are busy and serving more customers, and down when you are slower and serving fewer guests. Hourly wages would be another example. An operation would typically have more labor when they are busy than when slow. Utilities, for the most part, should also vary depending on how busy or slow the operation is.
As a manager, you will be responsible for controlling and in many instances reducing the cost of controllable expenses. If for example, your food cost percentage is higher than it should be, you will need to determine why, and fix the issue. Some things to look at would be:
• are you charging enough for the items?
• are you purchasing correctly?
• do you have excessive waste?
• are you utilizing leftovers effectively?
• are you over-portioning?
• do you have any theft?
Non-controllable (aka fixed, or non-variable) expenses are expenses that remain the same despite the volume of business the operation experiences. Salaried managers, for example, are paid the same despite the volume of business. Rent in most cases would be another example of fixed costs. Landscaping and a monthly pest control service would also be examples of fixed costs.
Profit
Profit (aka the bottom line) is the benefit that is gained when revenue exceeds expenses. Revenue minus expense equals profit. The owner, or owners, will decide whether, or how much will be invested back into the operation. Typically the general manager will earn a bonus tied to profits. This creates an incentive to drive revenues while controlling costs. In non-profit onsite foodservice operations revenue exceeding expenses is typically not called profit, but something like net excess/deficit.
Two Basic Financial Documents
Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) or Statement of Activities
A foodservice operation’s profit and loss statement show the revenue (sales) and expenses (costs) for a specific time. This statement can be used weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The foodservice operation’s profit and loss statement typically have three sections.
1. A detailed breakdown of revenues. This will help to determine where there are variances from the budget. For instance, if revenues are down, where are they down? Catering? Food? Beverage? Or perhaps a particular day part, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner?
2. A list of your cost of goods sold, as well as your salaried, and hourly wages.
3. A final section, which includes your operating expenses: insurance, and occupancy costs. This section will vary in non-profit foodservice operations.
The Budget
The budget is simply an estimate of expected revenue, expenses, and profit. This is your “plan” or “roadmap” for the week, month, quarter, or year. This will determine how much revenue you expect to bring in, and how much you expect to spend. Typically foodservice managers are expected to bring in more revenue each year. There are of course exceptions. Will the operation be closing down for a renovation, are new competitors entering the same market, or maybe a major event will not be returning to the area, think Olympics, or a Super Bowl. In these situations, you may actually be budgeting to make less money than you did the prior year. In the onsite foodservice segment, school enrollments could be increasing or decreasing, a business dining operation might be experiencing company growth or a health care facility might be expanding. A formula similar to the one explained earlier also applies to budgeted revenue and expense.
Budgeted Revenue – Budgeted Expense = Budgeted Profit
A manager needs to be constantly monitoring the budget and adjusting accordingly. If for example, revenues are down from what was budgeted, then spending would need to be reduced as well.
Some Basic Financial Analysis Ratios & Calculations
Calculating Cost Percentages (Ratios)
One of the most important ratios used in foodservice operations is the cost percentage of revenue. This ratio compares expenses to revenue to identify what percentage of revenue is going to the different categories of expenses. To calculate any cost percentage the dollar cost (expense) is divided by the revenue dollars for the same period. An example of a common cost percentage that is calculated on a regular basis is food cost percentage. If the food cost for a given month is \$20,000 and the revenue for the same month is \$64,000, the food cost percentage would be 31.25%.
\$ Cost divided by \$ Revenue = Cost Percentage
Profit can also be expressed as a percentage of revenue. The calculation is basically the same as above. Many people are surprised to learn that the profit percentage for commercial foodservice operations is in the range of 2% to 7% (3). Sometimes those in the industry say the average profit is a “nickel on the dollar.”
Profit Dollars divided by Revenue Dollars = Profit Percentage
(3) Biery, M.E. , Forbes, Jan 26, 2018 retrieved from Forbes article
Calculating Ideal Expense
Sometimes it is valuable to be able to figure out how much you can spend on a particular category of expenses or on a menu item given financial goals of the operation. If a foodservice manager has a profit goal and revenue forecast, or a price and a desired cost percentage, then a figure termed ideal expense can be calculated. This is the amount that can be spent on all costs to produce the full menu or just an item.
Example: If the desired profit for the chicken entrée is \$2.00 and the selling price is \$12.00, then the ideal total expense for the chicken entree is \$10.00.
Revenue minus Profit = Ideal Expense
Example: If the selling price of the chicken entrée is \$12.00 and the desired food cost percentage is 30%, then the ideal food expense for the chicken entrée would be \$3.60
Selling price multiplied by desired cost percentage
= Ideal Expense
Calculating Performance to Budget (Ratios)
Since the budget is a plan for an operation’s financial performance, it is useful to monitor the budget from time to time, often on a monthly basis, though it might be done more frequently. One analysis typically performed is a performance to budget calculation. This compares actual revenue and actual expenses to the same categories in the budget for a given time period. The actual amount is divided by the budgeted amount to calculate the performance to budget ratio. An example would be to look at the actual amount spent on labor for a given month, and then compare that to the budget figure for labor in the same month. If a higher amount was spent on labor than was budgeted, then the performance to budget figure would be above 100%. If less money was spent on labor than was budgeted, the performance to the budget would be under 100%.
Actual expense (or revenue) divided by Budgeted expense (or revenue)
equals Performance to Budget ratio
This calculation might also be used to analyze actual revenue and expenditure performance for a portion of a yearly budget. Example: If 50% of the year has passed, has 50% (or more or less) of the budget been spent or has at least 50% of the revenue been received? This type of analysis allows the foodservice manager to make adjustments in the operation during the fiscal year rather than finding out at the end of the year that not enough revenue was generated or too much was spent and there is no profit or net excess for the business.
Summary
This chapter provides a basic overview of the types of revenue, expenses and financial documents that a typical foodservice operation would generate and use as well as some simple calculations that might be performed. All of these topics will be explored in more depth in later sections of this book.
Review Questions:
1. What are some of the key revenue sources for restaurants and other foodservice operations?
2. What are some ways to increase revenue in a foodservice operation?
3. What are the key categories of expenses of foodservice operations, and which are considered controllable, and which are considered non-controllable?
4. Dollars spent are important, but why is it also important to calculate and monitor cost percentages in a foodservice operation?
5. If the performance to budget food expense is over 100% for a particular month, what other data would you want to take a look at when completing your monthly budget analysis?
Review Exercises
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
A simplified annual P & L statement for The Downtown Bakery is shown below.
Use this chart to answer questions 9-12.
[table id=5 /] The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/01%3A_Introduction_to_the_Industry/1.02%3A_Introduction-_Revenue_and_Expense.txt |
Chapter Outline:
• Importance of forecasting
• Using sales history
• Food, beverage and labor forecasting
• Factors affecting forecasting
• Forecasting in the “big picture”
Learning Objectives:
• Define terms related to sales history and forecasting, such as sales, guest count, check average, etc.
• Explain the importance of sales history data, including the types of data to collect
• Explain the importance of forecasting to effectively managing a foodservice operation.
• Describe the use of a popularity index for forecasting production.
• List factors that affect forecasting in a foodservice operation.
Key Terms:
• Sales history
• Customer count or covers
• Guest check average
• Food cost percent
• Popularity index
• Beverage cost percent
• Labor Cost percent
• Over/Under-pouring
• Emergency stock
• Table turns
Forecasting in the Foodservice Operations
The ability to accurately forecast sales and expenses is a necessary skill for a manager or owner to possess. In this chapter, we will look at ways to help you to become more proficient in forecasting both your sales and expenses.
Using the history of past sales in your foodservice operation is critical when attempting to accurately forecast future sales. But, as the famous investing quote states “Past Performance does not guarantee future results”. It is not enough to only look at the past to predict the future. There are just too many variables that can positively or negatively affect our operation. In this unit, we will look at several ways food service operations can attempt to accurately forecast.
Two important figures to track in a foodservice operation’s sales history, in addition to overall sales, are customer count or number of “covers” and check average. Many operations record these figures hourly and use them daily to control both food production and labor usage. These figures are likely part of a computerized sales and accounting system and can be saved for multiple years. Looking back at these records is often the basis for predicting future sales and customer counts. Guest check average is also useful in comparing performance from one time period to another or one unit to another. Guest check average, past customer counts and sales are also critical to developing budgets and other plans for future operations.
Calculating the guest check average is quite simple as long as the proper records are being kept. The check average is just what it says, the average of what each guest spends. It is calculated by dividing the total food and beverage sales by the total number of guests (or covers) in a particular time period. Challenging operators, managers, and even servers to increase the guest check average over a period of time or during a particular meal period can be a way to motivate everyone in the operation to help increase revenue and “grow” the business.
As managers or owners, we must walk a fine line between having enough product or labor, while not having too much. Many companies are now grading individual units based on how much inventory they have on hand, or how much they spent on labor. If you have too much you would be “in the red”. Each company would have its own formula to decide what is too much. It is typically based on how many weeks worth of inventory you have (calculations for this will be covered in a later chapter.) Of course, having a certain “emergency stock” on hand to account for inaccurate forecasts, unexpected crowds (think tour bus), weather emergencies, delays or missed deliveries is usually a good idea, especially before the business is well established. Also, the more remote your property the more emergency stock you would need to keep on hand. Think remote lodge or an oil field on the north slope in Alaska. These facilities would obviously need a great deal of “emergency stock” on hand.
Labor will be judged by how much you spent versus how much revenue you brought in. The productivity of labor should be calculated and evaluated on a regular basis. Setting benchmarks for labor productivity can also help an operator schedule employees based on sales history. Think about food or labor cost percent (from the previous chapter) and the foodservice manager being “graded” on how well these two business ratios are managed.
Why is it important to accurately forecast ?
Food – If we order, and prepare too much food it will negatively affect our bottom line. Waste will attribute to a high food cost, and high food cost %. Even worse, it would be overproducing and serving food that is not at its optimum, which will lead to customer dissatisfaction. Portion control also can affect our forecasting. If we over portion, then we can run out of food. If we under portion, then we short-change our customer. Constantly running out of products can ruin the reputation of your food service operation. Many operations use a concept called a “popularity index” to assist in forecasting how much of each menu item to produce given an overall customer count forecast. Example: The percentage of the total number of entrees sold for each individual entrée is established based on sales history. Then that percentage is applied to the total customer count predicted to be served for a specific meal or day.
A calculation example of a popularity index:
[table id=1 /]
Chapter 3, Figure 1
If the forecast of total customers for a particular day is set at 1200, then the percentage for each entrée is applied to this total forecast (see the right-hand column in chart above.)
Beverage – Accurately forecasting beverage is also vital and in many ways similar to food. There are of course numerous differences as well. Bartenders may “under pour” alcoholic beverages on purpose so they can build up an excess of inventory, and eventually not ring in an item, and pocket the money. They can also intentionally “over pour” in the hopes of getting a bigger tip in return. This will, of course, affect the liquor costs, and liquor cost percent. There are legal ramifications as well. Intentionally over-pouring a beverage can lead to lawsuits if the customer is involved in an accident. Many beverages have expiration dates, and if not used in time, would need to be discarded. This would, of course, negatively impact our bottom line.
Labor – As the cost of labor keeps rising and there is pressure to increase the minimum wage, there has never been a more important time to control labor. Having too much labor will negatively affect food service operation’s profitability. Not having enough labor, will negatively affect the customer service experience. A skilled manager will strive to have just the right amount of labor needed at any given time. Many restaurants will schedule extra servers because they do not cost the restaurant as much as other employees since their wage is low due to receiving tip credit. However, we have to be careful because if we constantly have too many servers on a shift then they will not make as much money, and may eventually leave for a better situation.
Factors affectingforecasting
Using the past to predict the future – One of the first places to look when forecasting is our sales history along with inventory and production records. What did we do on a particular year, quarter, month, week, day, or meal period compared to the prior year, or years, month, or day, even the prior hour or hours?
Weather
To take things even further, we need to look at weather and how it affects forecasting. It is always a good practice to keep track of the weather with our sales history so we can compare one day or period to another. Typically weather will have a negative effect on your operation. There are of course exceptions to this rule. An example is a hotel that is connected by a walkway to a large office building. If the weather is bad, the hotel restaurant gets particularly busy because many employees of the neighboring office building choose to eat at the hotel so they did not have to go outside. Another example is a restaurant with outdoor seating. Rain would decrease the number of customers, but beautiful weather would likely increase sales as the restaurant can serve more customers with the increased seating capacity and because the customer chooses this operation for its patio ambiance. It is a good practice to keep notes about the weather as it relates to your menu mix and sales history.
The Economy
Next, we would consider the economy, especially at the local level. Did we lose or gain any new customers? Is our area or region growing? Are there new housing developments, new industry, new businesses coming to our area or are businesses moving out or closing down around us? Do customers have more or less disposable income than they did in the previous year?
City-wide events
It is important to understand what is going on in your market. A city-wide event could change the dynamic of your business. It can directly or indirectly add, or take away business from your establishment. For example, if there is a college or professional sports team and stadium in your area, game day will bring more potential customers. The better the team is performing the more attendees a stadium would have, thus a higher demand for food and beverages. Can you attract them to your business? It will depend on your menu offerings, the time of the game, and many other factors, but it’s important to know when events such as this, concerts, festivals, etc. are happening in your local area. In sports arenas, we would look at how well the team is doing in comparison to attendance.
Competition
What about a new restaurant opening in your area? Competition or lack thereof will also affect your forecasting. Did you gain or lose competition in your market set? A new chain restaurant will have a formula and model based on previous openings. A first-time non-chain restaurant obviously will have no history to rely on and will need to just make a “best guess” on customers for the first couple of weeks or even months. In this case, you will need to have an estimate of your guest check average, and how many times you plan to turn over your tables. Breaking this down into days of the week and meal periods is recommended. You will typically have more table turns on the weekends than you will during the week. The entrance of new competition into your marketplace may be a time to consider some additional initiatives in your operation related to bringing in and retaining customers.
Operation Initiatives
Any new initiatives or programs implemented in your operation (or by a regional or national chain) are likely to affect your customer counts and forecasting. Most will hopefully increase the number of covers and perhaps the average check with the end result being higher sales/increased revenue. Marketing programs and promotional efforts are designed to increase guest counts, so these need to be taken into consideration when forecasting. Price changes, particularly price increases, can cause a decrease in customer counts or even a reduction in average check and should by carefully monitored, so this type of initiative is usually best paired with a marketing or promotional effort. Other initiatives that can affect forecasting include an improvement in service quality, facility renovations, or “green” initiatives, such as more sustainable sourcing, use of compostable supplies, etc.
Repeat group business
Group business can demonstrate reoccurring trends. In hotels, for instance, there are repeat groups that often develop specific traits that can be used to more accurately forecast their spending habits. Some groups only eat at the hotel restaurant, while others rarely do. Some groups patronize the bar, while other groups do not. By gathering and recording all the information regarding group visits operations can more accurately forecast future visits.
An example of understanding the dynamics of particular groups: One hotel that I worked at was the main hotel for the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival. The biggest names in bodybuilding and powerlifting stayed there during this week-long event. The restaurant could barely keep enough chicken breast and sweet potatoes in the house. The amount of food consumed during that week was unreal. The chef carefully forecasted based on previous years in an attempt to have enough food in house. On the last day of the event, when most athletes already competed the menu changed again. Bodybuilders that were eating clean and cutting weight for weeks, and months now ate pizza, burgers, and ice cream with reckless abandon. If the chef failed to acknowledge the difference in the quantity, and types of foods consumed by these athletes vs a typical group he would have some upset hungry athletes. Contributed by Mr. George Ruth
Segment focus: On-site foodservice
How does all this forecasting information apply to on-site foodservice segments of the industry? The basic principles are the same. Sales histories need to be maintained and food, beverages and labor all need to be forecasted. Since the customer base may be more consistent, things like labor hours scheduled are often more consistent as well. In fact, many operations have unionized employees who are guaranteed a set schedule and a certain number of work hours each pay period. Segments in education such as K-12 and college and university foodservice operations need to look at school enrollments, the academic calendar, current participation rates, and even the exact menu offering of the day could change the forecast for food. Think pizza versus meatloaf (if it’s even served anymore.) If students don’t like a particular item they may elect to brown bag their meal or visit the convenience store on the college campus. The affluence of a school district and its residents may also affect the participation rate from one school to another. School policies can also affect forecasting. For example, does the school permit students to go off-campus to eat during lunch?
A foodservice operation housed within a corporation (business and industry dining) may also look more at participation rates (customer counts) instead of dollar amounts of revenue. Often corporations want to encourage their employees to “stay on campus” or in the building to reduce the amount of time workers are away from their desks. Health care foodservice operations use the “patient census” as the basis for forecasting patient meals, along with percentages typically on special diets, etc. Employee dining operations need to forecast for 24/7 availability of some sort of foodservice. Other on-site operations such as corrections, sporting venues, and convention centers each have their own considerations for forecasting, but on the whole, accurate forecasting is vitally important for all types of foodservice operations
Forecasting in the “big picture”
The better the forecasting, the more efficient and effective the foodservice operation. Whether it be predicting revenue, expenses, amount of food and beverage needed, or working hours to be scheduled. Accurate forecasting also means more efficient production schedules, improved purchasing, maintenance of proper inventory levels and inventory turnover. Budgets are more accurate if long term forecasting is on target and this can lead to more dollars available for projects such as facility maintenance and growth of the operation. If a foodservice operation is effective at forecasting, profits can increase and the customer likely also gains from lower menu prices and better service. This chapter is just a brief introduction to the importance of forecasting and some of the factors that must be considered. Students of foodservice management will most certainly benefit from further study of forecasting methods, models and strategies.
Review Exercise 1
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Review Exercise 2
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Chapter Outline:
• Importance of the menu
• Types and categories of menus
• Advantages and disadvantages of different types of menus
• Principles of menu planning and factors to consider
• Steps in planning menus
• Menu psychology
• Accuracy in menus
Learning Objectives:
• Recognize the importance and use of menus as a management control tool
• Describe categories and characteristics of different types of menus
• List advantages and disadvantages of cycle menus, standard (static) menus, and daily menus
• Describe effective menu planning principles
• Describe various factors to consider when planning menus for customers in a foodservice operation’s target market
• Order the steps in menu planning from start to finish
• Recognize examples of menu psychology common in the industry
• Recall “truth in menu” and menu labeling guidelines for writing menus
Key Terms:
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Cycle menu
• Daily (or single-use) menu
• Static menu
• Theme menu
• Sociocultural factors
• Aesthetics
• Cross-utilization
• “Truth in menu”
• Menu labeling
• Menu psychology
Importance of the Menu
You are a foodservice manager. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the following: appetizers, entrees, desserts, daily specials, ethnic cuisine, fine or casual dining, pricing psychology, trends, cut food costs, reduce your staff, dietary guidelines, government regulations, sustainability, special diets, food delivery, marketing, equipment, customer demand?
Each of the above words probably brought quite a few different thoughts to mind. One word, however, affects—and is affected by—every term on the list: THE MENU.
The importance of the menu to a foodservice operation cannot be emphasized too often or too much. The fact that it is an early topic in this book underscores its importance for those studying the management of foodservice operations. The menu is also called “the driver” of a foodservice operation. This descriptive term indicates that every part of a foodservice operation is affected by the menu and stresses how the menu is a managerial tool for controlling many aspects of a foodservice operation. As you learn more about menus and menu planning, keep in mind menus from your favorite restaurants or your recent meals in other types of foodservice operations.
Types and Categories of Menus
Menus can be categorized in a variety of different ways and there are different types of menus, which are often associated with particular types of foodservice operations. A classic way to categorize menus is by how often they repeat.
Static menus are those that basically stay the same every day and are most typically used in quick service to upscale casual restaurants. These types of menus may be presented on a menu board or in some type of printed format, sometimes laminated so it is easily cleaned, that is handed to the customer. Typical sections of a lunch or dinner static menu include appetizers, salads, entrees (often further divided), sides, desserts and beverages. Choices may be limited, as they are in some quick service, such as McDonalds or Five Guys, and quick casual restaurants, such as Panera and Chipotle, or choices may be extensive requiring a menu that resembles a small book, such as the Cheesecake Factory.
Cycle menus are most often used in non-commercial foodservice operations that serve the same group of customers every day, such as corporate dining (business and industry), healthcare, schools, and long-term care or CCRCs. A cycle menu follows a particular pattern designed to meet the needs of the operations customers and repeats on a regular basis. The length of the cycle should be set with the customer in mind. For instance, a hospital can typically use a shorter cycle menu, perhaps five to seven days, for patients, since most do not stay in the facility for many days. However, a foodservice operation in a continuing care retirement community may need a cycle as long as six weeks since customers may be eating in the CCRC dining room on a daily basis. Cycle menus are often planned seasonally so an operation might have a spring, summer, and fall/winter cycle.
Daily (or single-use) menus change on a daily basis or may be planned for a special event with a one-time use. Daily menus are often used in fine dining or for foodservice operations that feature locally sourced products, which are available in the market on a given day. Alice Water’s Chez Panisse restaurant uses a daily menu to highlight seasonal and locally available foods with a “farm to table” approach. Single-use menus are planned for catered events like banquets or parties, and are also used in many operations for “daily specials.”
Other ways to categorize menus
Menus can also be categorized in a variety of other ways including any of the following:
Function of the menu – such as a tasting menu, catering, hotel room service, dessert, wine or drinks
Meal/Time Period – such as breakfast, lunch, happy hour, or dinner
Style of service – such as American, French (table side cooking), or Russian (platter service)
Pricing styles – such as a la carte (each item is individually priced), table d’hôte (a selection of complete meals offered at set prices), prix fixe (one price for the entire menu), and most commonly seen in U.S. restaurants, a combination of pricing styles to best cater to the target customer of the operation.
Amount of selection – selective (customer has many choices typical of a family or casual restaurant), non-selective (no choice as with many tasting menus, hospital special diet menus, or sit-down banquets), or limited or semi-selective (typical of small operations, fine dining or themed restaurants)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Types of Menus
These different categories overlap among each other and types of foodservice operations, both commercial and non-commercial, and offer both advantages and disadvantages to management and control. For example, static menus would be easiest for forecasting, purchasing and labor scheduling since they are the same every day, but cycle menus have those same advantages over daily menus. However, it can take restaurant chains a year or more to plan or make a change to a static menu. Daily menus are the most flexible and can be easily changed to adjust to product or market price changes. Static, and to an extent cycle menu, offer the customer a predictable dining experience, but daily menus offer a new dining adventure with every visit to the foodservice operation. Of course, foodservice operations often combine elements of these different types of menus to gain the advantages offered by each. For example: many restaurants using a static menu offer daily specials or features, which give some flexibility to offer menu items that are seasonal, or trendy, or use product that needs to be sold and not wasted.
Menu Planning Principles and Factors to Consider
Menu planning principles include balance, nutritional quality, aesthetics, and variety, including color, texture, flavors, shapes and sizes of food. The equipment and personnel available to produce and serve the menu are also important considerations in planning the menu. Along with all of these considerations, the effective foodservice manager also has to consider costs, production and other management issues.
Factors affecting menu planning can be organized into two main areas: customer satisfaction and managementdecisions. Both of these areas must be considered when menus are planned. Having a menu without customers is like having 1000 acres of land for sale—in Antarctica. At the same time, a menu with items that cannot be produced at an acceptable cost will simply put a foodservice operation out of business or drive a noncommercial operation into the red. Most foodservice directors know that this could mean the end of their job.
Four factors related to customer satisfaction include sociocultural background, food habits and preferences, nutritional influence, and aesthetics.
Customer satisfaction. Knowing your customers (and your potential customers) is obviously a key to planning and designing menus. Think about yourself as the customer. What are some of the reasons you like or dislike a menu? You probably have certain preferences— certain foods and combinations of foods—from your experiences growing up. Many of us only like the way mom makes spaghetti sauce or the way dad grills the steaks; or we think that grandma’s sugar cookies are definitely the best. We almost can’t eat tomato soup without grilled cheese sandwiches or meatloaf without mashed potatoes AND gravy. Collecting some market research on our customers and studying food and menu trends can help menu planners to keep the menu fresh and satisfying for our customers. Always keep the sociocultural background and food habits and preferences of the customer in mind when planning menus.
The influence of nutrition and government regulations
Increasingly, our knowledge of nutrition is influencing the way we eat. The U.S. government issues Dietary Guidelines with recommendations about how people should eat. Many nutrition trends, such as smaller portions, ethnic foods, and gluten-free diets also affect menu planning, Think about the new food products that have become available in your grocery store or your local restaurants in the last year. Many of these new items have some nutritional claim that has brought them to the store shelf or the plate. Noncommercial foodservice operations, particularly in schools and in health care settings, have a nutrition mandate from both the government and the customer. When it comes to feeding children and the elderly, many other different issues surface. Some of these issues involve foods and surroundings unfamiliar to kids, and the ability of older patients to chew and swallow. The list goes on. Sometimes customers may be misinformed about nutrition; then we have the bigger job of educating them, as well as trying to feed them a well-balanced, healthy diet. In some settings, the menu also serves as a nutrition education tool.
A few key points to remember for the non-commercial sector:
• A “textbook” approach to menu planning is not enough. As a foodservice or dietetic professional, you have to recognize those unique factors that significantly affect each individual consumer.
• You must design your menus to ensure a balanced, nutritious diet that reflects more of the recipient’s values than your own. The introduction of unusual or unfamiliar foods may cause a customer to lose interest in eating altogether.
• A noncommercial foodservice menu can be used to help a consumer adjust to a new, unfamiliar regimen. But this educational function usually requires an increased menu variety with a greater food production effort and perhaps higher costs.
Aesthetics
Not to be forgotten is the issue of aesthetics. You’ve heard it many times before: we do eat with our eyes. How our food is presented, along with texture, consistency, color, shape, and the preparation method, influences how we feel and what we think about a menu. It can even influence our appetite and our interest in eating.
Management Decisions
When the menu is thought of as a management tool, a number of other factors related to menu planning enter the picture. To plan a good menu you need to consider the following factors:
• food cost and budgetary goals of the foodservice operation
• production capability, including available equipment and personnel
• type of service and food delivery system
• availability of foods
• the philosophy of the business and foodservice operation
Each one of us has probably had at least one experience in our lives when the menu planner failed to consider all of the above factors. One common to many may be Thanksgiving dinner—either at home or in your foodservice operation—and production capability. The oven(s) is full of roasting turkey and perhaps the bread stuffing has been squeezed into the side. Now, what will we do with the baked sweet potatoes, the baked corn, and the green bean casserole, plus the pies and rolls that need to be baked? The experienced and wise menu planner considers production capability and adjusts the menu accordingly. Perhaps the sweet potatoes, corn, and green beans can all be steamed instead of baked, and the pies and rolls can be baked ahead of the turkey.
Another effective menu planning principle to consider is called cross-utilization. This “best practice” involves using one food product in multiple ways. Let’s consider a standard chicken breast as an example. A teriyaki-glazed chicken breast could be a center of the plate item, while a home-style chicken noodle soup, a Napa almond chicken salad, and buffalo chicken pizza could also be menu offerings. This allows the operation to purchase just one product, saving time and reducing costs, while offering a large variety of different dishes. More expensive and more perishable food items, such as fresh meats, poultry, fish and produce items, should be cross-utilized as much as possible when menus are planned to reduce waste and better control costs.
Be sure to think carefully and keep in mind the capabilities of your operation, your production capacity, food availability, employee skills and financial goals when planning menus.
Suggested Steps in Menu Planning
Once it’s time to actually plan the menu, the conventional wisdom is to start with a menu pattern that fits your operation and then work through breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. For instance, if you are planning a lunch menu, will you have soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, full platters, sides, desserts, and beverages? How many selections will you offer in each of your chosen menu categories? Will you have daily specials? Are there any other special options you might want to offer your customers?
Once you establish your menu categories, it is recommended to plan the main entrees (platters) first, then the sides that go with the entrees. Other entrees, such as sandwiches and entrée salads are planned next, followed by soups, appetizers, additional sides, and any planned daily specials. Desserts and beverages finish off the categories. This sequence of working through the menu categories helps make sure the most expensive dishes are chosen first so the lower-priced items can better fit in the plan and complement the choices offered. Typically the more limited the menu choices, the easier it is to control costs, so it’s not surprising that many successful operations serve only pizza and a few Italian selections while others specialize in burgers and fries, or even just ice cream and frozen treats with a few sandwiches. The menu planner can consider factors such as cross-utilization of products, balance, variety, customer preferences and trends, as well as all those management factors for the entire menu mix. In a later chapter another management tool, menu engineering, a way to analyze the menu offerings and their popularity and profitability, will be discussed.
Menu Psychology
Once the menu is planned, it is typically published in one form or another. This can be anything from a simple menu board or a printed sheet of paper that is easily changed to a lengthy, multiple page laminated “book” that might be used for 18-24 months before any changes are made. Menus are often published on an operation’s website, shared on social media, and reviewed by customers on user-generated content websites, such as TripAdvisor and Yelp. When menus are published, operators have the opportunity to use “menu psychology” in their menu design to try to influence customer choices and purchases. Increasing sales by raising the average check of a restaurant or overall participation or promoting healthier choices for an onsite foodservice operation are typically the overall goals of using menu psychology.
Menu psychology involves using a variety of techniques typically based on research about how people read a menu and make choices about spending money. Some examples of menu psychology in menu design include:
• placing menu items where the customer’s eyes tend to go first or last (see the URL links below),
• using graphics such as boxes and borders to draw attention to menu items,
• displaying prices in a way to encourage customer spending, or
• not using dollar signs, leader dots, or column pricing (where all prices are lined up), which can cause guests to spend less, and
• using descriptive terms for menu items to encourage sales.
Menu Font Style Article
Eye Movement Article
Truth in Menu Best Practices
Menu writers and foodservice operators often use detailed merchandising terms to describe menu items in the hopes of increasing sales of those menu items or commanding higher prices. Using these expressive sales tactics is fine, as long as the terms and descriptions used are true.
“Truth in Menu” also referred to as “accuracy in menus” is a best practice in planning and sharing menus. Though there is no federal law regarding accuracy in menus, in general, there are regulations addressing this issue in various states around the country. Accuracy in menus addresses any and all of the following:
• quantity
• quality
• price
• brand names
• production identification
• points of origin
• merchandizing terms
• food preparation
• verbal and visual presentation, and
• dietary & nutritional concerns
While operators are certainly allowed to merchandize on their menus to encourage sales, lying about the food being offered is not acceptable. Of course, there will always be those operators who stretch the truth with items like mile high meatloaf, or man-hole size nacho platter, and there are items such as English muffins and French toast that obviously aren’t sourced from England or France.
Menu Labeling and Consumer Advisory Regulations
There are some federal rules and regulations that all foodservice operations must be aware of and follow.
Retail Food Establishment Consumer Advisory Requirements
If meat, fish, poultry, shellfish or eggs are served raw, undercooked, or cooked to order, a disclosure identifying the foods, plus a reminder in 11 pt type, must appear on the menu or in a written disclosure declaring that eating the specified types of animal products as raw or undercooked “may increase your risk of food-borne illness”. (1)
Food Labeling Rules
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued food labeling rules for restaurants and similar retail food establishments. The summary of the rule states:
“To implement the nutrition labeling provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act or ACA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is requiring disclosure of certain nutrition information for standard menu items in certain restaurants and retail food establishments. The ACA, in part, amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act), among other things, to require restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items to provide calorie and other nutrition information for standard menu items, including food on display and self-service food. Under provisions of the ACA, restaurants and similar retail food establishments not otherwise covered by the law may elect to become subject to these Federal requirements by registering every other year with FDA. Providing accurate, clear, and consistent nutrition information, including the calorie content of foods, in restaurants and similar retail food establishments will make such nutrition information available to consumers in a direct and accessible manner to enable consumers to make informed and healthful dietary choices.” (2)
Conclusion
Menu planning is a learned skill improved through practice. Effective menus are critical to the financial health of a foodservice operation and serve as a “driver” of the business. Their importance to a successful foodservice operation can not be overstated.
References:
Review exercise 1
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Review exercise 2
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Review exercise 3
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Chapter Outline:
• Why HACCP?
• Retail foodservice operations that should implement HACCP
• Food safety hazards
• HACCP as a food safety management system
• HACCP principles for use in retail foodservice operations
• Process HACCP
Learning Objectives:
• Identify TCS (potentially hazardous) foods that require time and temperature control for safety.
• Use HACCP processes to identify critical control points and limits in the foodservice system
• Describe how to use process HACCP to incorporate critical control points and limits in recipes.
Key Terms:
• HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points
• TCS foods (time temperature control for safety)
• Critical control points (CCPs)
• Critical limits
The Food Code clearly establishes that the implementation of HACCP at retail (foodservice operations) should be a voluntary effort by industry.
If, however, you plan on conducting certain specialized processes that carry a considerably high risk, you should consult your regulatory authority to see if you are required to have a HACCP plan. Examples of specialized processes covered in Chapter 3 of the Food Code include formulating a food so that it is not potentially hazardous or using performance standards to control food safety.
Federal performance standards define public food safety expectations for a product usually in terms of the number of disease-causing microorganisms that need to be destroyed through a process. For example, instead of cooking chicken to 165 ºF for 15 seconds as dictated in the Food Code, performance standards allow you to use a different combination of time and temperature as long as the same level of public safety is achieved. The use of performance standards allows you to use innovative approaches in producing safe products.
What are the retail and food service industries?
Unlike many food processing operations, the retail and food service industries are not easily defined by specific commodities or conditions. These establishments share the following characteristics:
• These industries have a wide range of employee resources, from highly trained executive chefs to entry level front line employees. Employees may have a broad range of education levels and communication skills. It may be difficult to conduct in-house training and maintain a trained staff because employees may speak different languages or there may be high employee turnover.
• Many are start-up businesses operating without the benefit of a large corporate support structure. Having a relatively low-profit margin means they may have less money to work with than other segments of the food industry.
• There is an almost endless number of production techniques, products, menu items, and ingredients used. Suppliers, ingredients, menu items, and specifications may change frequently.
What are food safety hazards?
Hazards are biological, physical, or chemical properties that may cause food to be unsafe for human consumption. The goal of a food safety management system is to control certain factors that lead to out-of-control hazards. Because many foods are agricultural products and have started their journey to your door as animals and plants raised in the environment, they may contain microscopic organisms. Some of these organisms are pathogens, which means that under the right conditions and in the right numbers, they can make someone who eats them sick. Raw animal foods such as meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs often carry bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can be harmful to humans. (These types of foods have been labels as TCS, time and temperature control for safety, foods.
The use of HACCP as a food safety management system
Since the 1960s, food safety professionals have recognized the importance of HACCP principles for controlling risk factors that directly contribute to foodborne illness. The principles of HACCP embody the concept of active managerial control by encouraging participation in a system that ensures foodborne illness risk factors are controlled.
The success of a HACCP program (or plan) is dependent upon both facilities and people. The facilities and equipment should be designed to facilitate safe food preparation and handling practices by employees. Furthermore, the FDA recommends that managers and employees be properly motivated and trained if a HACCP program is to successfully reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors. Instilling food workers and management commitment and dealing with problems like high employee turnover and communication barriers should be considered when designing a food safety management system based on HACCP principles.
Properly implemented, a food safety management system based on HACCP principles may offer you the following other advantages:
• Reduction in product loss
• Increase in product quality
• Better control of product inventory
• Consistency in product preparation
• Increase in profit
• Increase in employee awareness and participation in food safety
How can HACCP principles be used in retail and food service operations?
Within the retail and food service industries, the implementation of HACCP principles varies as much as the products produced. The resources available to help you identify and control risk factors common to your operation may also be limited. Like many other quality assurance programs, the principles of HACCP provide a common-sense approach to identifying and controlling risk factors. Consequently, many food safety management systems at the retail level incorporate some, if not all, of the principles of HACCP. While a complete HACCP system is ideal, many different types of food safety management systems may be implemented to control risk factors. It is also important to recognize that HACCP has no single correct application.
What are the seven HACCP principles?
1. Perform a Hazard Analysis. The first principle is about understanding the operation and determining what food safety hazards are likely to occur. The manager needs to understand how the people, equipment, methods, and foods all affect each other. The processes and procedures used to prepare the food are also considered. This usually involves defining the operational steps (receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, etc.) that occur as food enters and moves through the operation. Additionally, this step involves determining the control measures that can be used to eliminate, prevent, or reduce food safety hazards. Control measures include such activities as an implementation of employee health policies to restrict or exclude ill employees and proper handwashing.
2. Decide on the Critical Control Points (CCPs). Once the control measures in principle #1 are determined, it is necessary to identify which of the control measures are absolutely essential to ensuring safe food. An operational step where control can be applied and is essential for ensuring that a food safety hazard is eliminated, prevented or reduced to an acceptable level is a critical control point (CCP). It is important to know that not all steps are CCPs. Generally, there are only a few CCPs in each food preparation process because CCPs involve only those steps that are absolutely essential to food safety.
3. Determine the Critical Limits. Each CCP must have boundaries that define safety. Critical limits are the parameters that must be achieved to control a food safety hazard. For example, when cooking pork chops, the Food Code sets the critical limit at 145 ºF for 15 seconds. When critical limits are not met, the food may not be safe. Critical limits are measurable and observable.
4. Establish Procedures to Monitor CCPs. Once CCPs and critical limits have been determined, someone needs to keep track of the CCPs as the food flows through the operation. Monitoring involves making direct observations or measurements to see that the CCPs are kept under control by adhering to the established critical limits.
5. Establish Corrective Actions. While monitoring CCPs, occasionally the process or procedure will fail to meet the established critical limits. This step establishes a plan for what happens when a critical limit has not been met at a CCP. The operator decides what the actions will be, communicates those actions to the employees, and trains them in making the right decisions.
6. Establish Verification Procedures. This principle is about making sure that the system is scientifically-sound to effectively control the hazards. Designated individuals like the manager periodically make observations of employees’ monitoring activities, calibrate equipment and temperature measuring devices, review records/actions, and discuss procedures with the employees.
7. Establish a Record Keeping System. There are certain written records or kinds of documentation that are needed in order to verify that the system is working. These records will normally involve the HACCP plan itself and any monitoring, corrective action, or calibration records produced in the operation as a part of the HACCP system.
FDA endorses the voluntary implementation of food safety management systems in retail and food service establishments. Combined with good basic sanitation, a solid employee training program, and other prerequisite programs, HACCP can provide you and your employees a complete food safety management system. The goal in applying HACCP principles in retail and food service is to have you, the operator, take purposeful actions to ensure safe food. You and your regulatory authority have a common objective in mind – providing safe, quality food to consumers.
Managing food safety should be as fully integrated into your operation as those actions that you might take to open in the morning, ensure a profit, or manage cash flow. By putting in place an active, ongoing system, made up of actions intended to create the desired outcome, you can achieve your goal of improving food safety. The application of the HACCP principles provides one system that can help you accomplish that goal.
Check with your local regulatory agency
The FDA Food Code identifies TCS foods and temperatures necessary for keeping food safe. These include receiving and cold holding temperatures, minimum internal cooking temperatures for a variety of foods and cooking methods, hot holding and cooling temperatures. The federal food code is based on scientific evidence and recommended for adoption by states in the U.S., however exact temperatures can vary by states and health departments, so be sure to check the specific regulations in your area.
APPLYING HACCP PRINCIPLES TO RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE
What is the process approach?
Since the early 1980s, retail and food service operators and regulators have been exploring the use of HACCP in restaurants, grocery stores, and other retail food establishments. Most of this exploration has centered on the question of how to stay true to the definitions of HACCP yet still make the principles useful to an industry that encompasses a very broad range of conditions. Through this exploration, HACCP principles have been slightly modified to apply to the varied operations found at retail.
When conducting the hazard analysis, food manufacturers usually use food commodities as an organizational tool and follow the flow of one product. This is a very useful approach for producers or processors since they are usually handling one product at a time. By contrast, in retail and
food service operations, foods of all types are worked together to produce the final product. This makes a different approach to the hazard analysis necessary. Conducting the hazard analysis by using the food preparation processes common to a specific operation is often more efficient and useful for retail and food service operators. This is called the “Process Approach” to HACCP.
The process approach can best be described as dividing the many foods flows in an establishment into broad categories based on activities or stages in the flow of food through your establishment, then analyzing the hazards, and placing managerial controls on each grouping.
What is the flow of food?
The flow of food in a retail or food service establishment is the path that food follows from receiving through service or sale to the consumer. Several activities or stages make up the flow of food and are called operational steps. Examples of operational steps include receiving, storing, preparing, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding, assembling, packaging, serving, and selling. Keep in mind that the terminology used for operational steps may differ between food service and retail food store operations.
What are the three food preparation processes most often used in retail and food service establishments?
Most food items produced in a retail or food service establishment can be categorized into one of three preparation processes based on the number of times the food passes through the temperature danger zone between 41 ºF to 135 ºF:
Process 1: Food Preparation with No Cook Step Example flow: Receive – Store – Prepare – Hold – Serve
(other food flows are included in this process, but there is no cook step to destroy pathogens)
Process 2: Preparation for Same Day Service
Example flow: Receive – Store – Prepare – Cook – Hold – Serve
(other food flows are included in this process, but there is only one trip through the temperature danger zone)
Process 3: Complex Food Preparation
Example flow: Receive – Store – Prepare – Cook – Cool – Reheat – Hot Hold – Serve
(other food flows are included in this process, but there are always two or more complete trips through the temperature danger zone)
Figure 5.1A graph with 3 arrows depict 3 separate trips through the danger zone. Image from the Food and Drug Administration (April 2006).
Long description: A graph with Y axis that goes from 41 degrees Fahrenheit to 135 degrees. 3 arrows are shown. The left arrow is labeled No cook and has a zero above it. It starts on the X axis, goes less than halfway up, then curves and comes back down to the X axis. The middle arrow is labeled Same Day and starts on the X axis and goes straight up and off the graph. The number 1 is beside it. The arrow on the right is composed of 3 separate arrows labeled 1, 2 and 3. Arrow 1 goes straight up and off the graph. Arrow 2 starts at the top where arrow 1 ended and comes down diagonally to the X axis. Arrow 3 is dashed and starts where arrow 2 ended. It goes diagonally up and off the graph.
End long description.
A summary of the three food preparation processes in terms of number of times through the temperature danger zone can be depicted in a Danger Zone diagram. Note that while foods produced using process 1 may enter the danger zone, they are neither cooked to destroy pathogens, nor are they hot held. Foods that go through the danger zone only once are classified as Same Day Service, while foods that go through more than once are classified as Complex food preparation.
The three food preparation processes conducted in retail and food service establishments are not intended to be all-inclusive. For instance, quick service facilities may have “cook and serve” processes specific to their operation. These processes are likely to be different from the “Same Day Service” preparation processes in full-service restaurants since many of their foods are generally cooked and hot held before service. In addition, in retail food stores, operational steps such as packaging and assembly may be included in all of the food preparation processes prior to being sold to the consumer.
It is also very common for a retail or food service operator to have a single menu item (i.e. chicken salad sandwich) that is created by combining several components produced using more than one kind of food preparation process. It is important for you to remember that even though variations of the three food preparation process flows are common, the control measures – actions or activities that can be used to prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards – to be implemented in each process will generally be the same based on the number of times the food goes through the temperature danger zone.
THE HAZARD ANALYSIS
In the “process approach” to HACCP, conducting a hazard analysis on individual food items is time and labor-intensive and is generally unnecessary. Identifying and controlling the hazards in each food preparation process listed above achieves the same control of risk factors as preparing a HACCP plan for each individual product.
Example: An establishment has dozens of food items (including baked chicken and meatloaf) in the “Preparation for Same Day Service” category. Each of the food items may have unique hazards (See Annex 3, Table 1), but regardless of their individual hazards, control via proper cooking and holding will generally ensure the safety of all of the foods in this category. An illustration of this concept follows:
• Even though they have unique hazards, baked chicken and meatloaf are items frequently grouped in the “Same Day Service” category (Process 2).
• Salmonella and Campylobacter, as well as spore-formers, such as Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens, are significant biological hazards in chicken.
• Significant biological hazards in meatloaf include Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7,
• Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens.
• Despite their different hazards, the control measure used to kill pathogens in both these products should be cooking to the proper temperature.
• Additionally, if the products are held after cooking, then proper hot holding or time control is also recommended to prevent the outgrowth of spore-formers that are not destroyed by cooking.
As with product-specific HACCP, critical limits for cooking remain specific to each food item in the process. In the scenario described above, the cooking step for chicken requires a final internal temperature of 165 ºF for 15 seconds to control the pathogen load for Salmonella. Meatloaf, on the other hand, is a ground beef product and requires a final internal temperature of 155 ºF for 15 seconds to control the pathogen load for both Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. Note that there are some operational steps, such as refrigerated storage or hot holding, that have critical limits that apply to all foods.
The following table further illustrates this concept. Note that the only unique control measure applies to the critical limit of the cooking step for each of the products. Other food safety hazards and control measures may exist:
[table id=2 /]
Chapter 5, Figure 2
DETERMINING RISK FACTORS IN PROCESS FLOWS
Several of the most common risk factors associated with each food preparation process are discussed below. Remember that while you should generally focus your food safety management system on these risk factors, there may be other risk factors unique to your operation or process that are not listed here. You should evaluate your operation and the food preparation processes you use independently.
In developing your food safety management system, keep in mind that active managerial control of risk factors common to each process can be achieved by either designating certain operational steps as critical control points (CCPs) or by implementing prerequisite programs. This will be explained in more detail in Chapter 3. The HACCP plans that you will develop using this Manual, in combination with prerequisite programs, will constitute a complete food safety management system.
Facility-wide considerations in order to have active managerial control over personal hygiene and cross-contamination, you must implement certain control measures in all phases of your operation. All of the following control measures should be implemented regardless of the food preparation process used:
• No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods (or use of an approved, alternative procedure) to help prevent the transfer of viruses, bacteria, or parasites from hands
• Proper handwashing to help prevent the transfer of viruses, bacteria, or parasites from hands to food
• Restriction or exclusion of ill employees to help prevent the transfer of viruses, bacteria, or parasites from hands to food
• Prevention of cross-contamination of ready-to-eat food or clean and sanitized food-contact surfaces with soiled cutting boards, utensils, aprons, etc. or raw animal foods
Food Preparation Process 1 – Food Preparation with No Cook Step
Example Flow: RECEIVE – STORE – PREPARE – HOLD – SERVE
Several food flows are represented by this particular process. Many of these food flows are common to both retail food stores and food service facilities, while others only apply to retail operations. Raw, ready-to-eat food like sashimi, raw oysters, and salads are grouped in this category. Components of these foods are received raw and will not be cooked prior to consumption.
Foods cooked at the processing level but that undergo no further cooking at the retail level before being consumed are also represented in this category. Examples of these kinds of foods are deli meats, cheeses, and other pasteurized products. In addition, foods that are received and sold raw but are to be cooked by the consumer after purchase, i.e. hamburger meat, chicken, and steaks, are also included in this category.
All the foods in this category lack a kill (cook) step while at the retail or food service establishment. In other words, there is no complete trip made through the danger zone for the purpose of destroying pathogens. You can ensure that the food received in your establishment is as safe as possible by requiring purchase specifications. Without a kill step to destroy pathogens, your primary responsibility will be to prevent further contamination by ensuring that your employees follow good hygienic practices.
Cross-contamination must be prevented by properly storing your products away from raw animal foods and soiled equipment and utensils. Foodborne illness may result from ready-to-eat food being held at unsafe temperatures for long periods of time due to the outgrowth of bacteria.
In addition to the facility-wide considerations, a food safety management system involving this food preparation process should focus on ensuring that you have active managerial control over the following:
• Cold holding or using time alone to inhibit bacterial growth and toxin production
• Food source (especially for shellfish due to concerns with viruses, natural toxins, and Vibrio and for certain marine finfish intended for raw consumption due to concerns with ciguatera toxin) (See Annex 2, Table 1)
• Receiving temperatures (especially certain species of marine finfish due to concerns with scombrotoxin) (See Annex 2, Table 2)
• Date marking of ready-to-eat PHF held for more than 24 hours to control the growth of Listeria monocytogenes
• Freezing certain species of fish intended for raw consumption due to parasite concerns (See Annex 2, Table 3)
• Cooling from ambient temperature to prevent the outgrowth of spore-forming or toxin-forming bacteria
Food Preparation Process 2 – Preparation for Same Day Service
Example Flow: RECEIVE – STORE – PREPARE – COOK – HOLD – SERVE
In this food preparation process, food passes through the danger zone only once in the retail or food service establishment before it is served or sold to the consumer. Food is usually cooked and held hot until served, i.e. fried chicken, but can also be cooked and served immediately. In addition to the facility-wide considerations, a food safety management system involving this food preparation process should focus on ensuring that you have active managerial control over the following:
• Cooking to destroy bacteria and parasites
• Hot holding or using time alone to prevent the outgrowth of spore-forming bacteria
Approved food source, proper receiving temperatures, and proper cold holding prior to cooking are also important if dealing with certain marine finfish due to concerns with ciguatera toxin and scombrotoxin. Consult Annex 2 of this Manual for special considerations related to seafood.
Food Preparation Process 3 – Complex Food Preparation
Example Flow: RECEIVE – STORE – PREPARE – COOK – COOL – REHEAT – HOT HOLD – SERVE
Foods prepared in large volumes or in advance for next day service usually follow an extended process flow. These foods pass through the temperature danger zone more than one time; thus, the potential for the growth of spore-forming or toxigenic bacteria is greater in this process.
Failure to adequately control food product temperatures is one of the most frequently encountered risk factors contributing to foodborne illness. In addition, foods in this category have the potential to be recontaminated with L. monocytogenes, which could grow during refrigerated storage. FDA recommends that food handlers minimize the time foods are at unsafe temperatures.
In addition to the facility-wide considerations, a food safety management system involving this food preparation process should focus on ensuring that you have active managerial control over the following:
• Cooking to destroy bacteria and parasites
• Cooling to prevent the outgrowth of spore-forming or toxin-forming bacteria
• Hot and cold holding or using time alone to inhibit bacterial growth and toxin formation
• Date marking of ready-to-eat PHF held for more than 24 hours to control the growth of Listeria monocytogenes
• Reheating for hot holding, if applicable
Approved food source, proper receiving temperatures, and proper cold holding prior to cooking are also important if dealing with certain marine finfish due to concerns with ciguatera toxin and scombrotoxin. Consult Annex 2 of this Manual for special considerations related to seafood.
FDA link
Summary
Implementing a HACCP plan in retail and onsite foodservice operations is not always required by regulation, but it is considered a “best practice.” The menu drives the type of systems that need to be implemented. Recipes for each menu item need to be standardized and “HACCP-itized” for each individual operation based on the flow of food, equipment and employees. Effective foodservice managers understand the importance of establishing a food safety culture and HACCP plan within an organization, and also how doing so will help reduce risks, control costs, and improve operations overall.
Definitions from the 2017 U.S. Food Code:
FDA link
“Critical control point” means a point or procedure in a specific FOOD system where loss of control may result in an unacceptable health RISK.
“Critical limit” means the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical parameter must be controlled at a CRITICAL CONTROL POINT to minimize the RISK that the identified FOOD safety HAZARD may occur.
“HACCP plan” means a written document that delineates the formal procedures for following the HAZARD Analysis and CRITICAL CONTROL POINT principles developed by The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.
“Hazard” means a biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause an unacceptable CONSUMER health RISK.
“Time/temperature control for safety food” means a FOOD that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
“Time/temperature control for safety food” includes:
(a) An animal FOOD that is raw or heat-treated; a plant FOOD that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts, cut melons, cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes or mixtures of cut tomatoes that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation, or garlic-in-oil mixtures that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
Review Exercise 1
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
Review Exercise 2
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/02%3A_Menus_and_Recipes/2.02%3A_Process_HACCP_for_Recipes.txt |
Chapter Outline:
• Standardized recipes explained
• Components of a standardized recipe
• Benefits of using standardized recipes
• Recipe yield
• Standard portions
• Kitchen Measurements
• Converting and adjusting recipes
Learning Objectives:
• List the parts of a well-written standardized recipe
• Explain the importance of standardized recipes as a management tool
• Explain advantages of using standardized recipes
• Describe common measurements used on recipes for food production
• Convert recipe and ingredient amounts from one yield to another yield (both larger and smaller)
Key Terms:
• Standardized recipe
• Standard yield
• Standard portion
• Mise en place
• Count
• Volume measurement
• Weight measurement
• Conversion factor
• Conversion factor method
Standardized Recipes
All recipes are not created equal. Some recipes have missing ingredients, faulty seasonings, insufficient or poor instructions causing more work, and some are simply not tested.
A standardized recipe is a set of written instructions used to consistently prepare a known quantity and quality of food for a specific location. A standardized recipe will produce a product that is close to identical in taste and yield every time it is made, no matter who follows the directions.
A good standardized recipe will include:
• Menu item name – the name of the given recipe that should be consistent with the name on the menu
• Total Yield – number of servings, or portions that a recipe produces, and often the total weight or volume of the recipe
• Portion size – amount or size of the individual portion
• Ingredient list/quantity – exact quantities of each ingredient (with the exception of spices that may be added to taste)
• Preparation procedures – Specific directions for the order of operations and types of operations (e.g., blend, fold, mix, sauté)
• Cooking temperatures and times, including HACCP critical control points and limits to ensure the dish is cooked properly and safely
• Special instructions, according to the standard format used in an operation
• Mise en place – a list of small equipment and individual ingredient preparation
• Service instructions, including hot/cold storage
• Plating/garnishing
In addition to the list above, standardized recipes may also include recipe cost, nutritional analysis, variations, garnishing and presentation tips, work simplification tips, suggested accompaniments or companion recipes, and photos.
Standardize recipes can help with work simplification and incorporate HACCP into procedures. Many facilities preparing food in large quantities also batch cook, so the standardized recipes will incorporate those procedures into the instructions. The skill level of employees should also be taken into account when writing recipe procedures or directions. Terminology within the standardized recipes should be at the skill level of employees, for example, instruct an employee to melt butter and whisk with flour instead of saying “make a roux”, if more appropriate for a specific operation. Finally, cooking equipment, temperatures, time, etc. are adjusted for the facility.
A short side note on miseen place – a key component to efficiently producing menu items from recipes is to have “everything in its place.” Many kitchens will have work stations with a standard mise en place set up, which might include a cutting board, salt and pepper, tasting spoons, composting containers, etc. Standardized recipes can help employees produce menu items most efficiently if they also list mise en place for small equipment needed for the recipe, such as measuring tools, preparation tools (knives, peeler), holding pans, cooking utensils, etc. Employees can gather everything they need before starting recipe preparation thus reducing traveling around the kitchen during preparation, kitchen congestion, loss of focus from frequent starting and stopping, and errors from interruptions to their work. Detailing the mise en place for individual ingredients, such as peeling and cutting, with each ingredient can also improve the clarity and efficiency of recipe preparation. Example: Raw white potato, peeled, ½ in. dice
Some things to remember when writing a standardized recipe:
• If you are starting with a home/internet recipe – make it first!
• Standardized recipes are a training tool for employees
• A good recipe is like a well-crafted formula – it has been tested and works every time
• S.A.M.E. – Standardization Always Meets Expectations
Recipes as a Control Tool
Standardized recipes are an important control tool for food service managers and operations. A standardized recipe assures not only that consistent quality and quantity, but also a reliable cost range. In order for an operation to set a menu selling price that allows the operation to make a profit, it’s vital that the cost of each recipe and portion is calculated and relatively consistent.
Benefits of using a standardized recipe include:
• a consistent quality and quantity
• standard portion size/cost
• assuring nutritional content and addressing dietary concerns, such as special diets or food allergies
• helping ensure compliance with “Truth in Menu” requirements
• aiding in forecasting and purchasing
• fewer errors in food orders
• incorporating work simplification principles and aids in cross-training
• assisting in training new employees
• incorporating HACCP principles
• reducing waste
• more easily meeting customer expectations
Arguments often used against standardized recipes can include:
• take too long to use
• employees don’t need them, they know how to do things in establishment
• chef doesn’t want to reveal their secrets
• take too long to write/develop
An effective foodservice manager knows that these arguments against using standardized recipes, even if true in some cases, cannot deter an operation from developing and consistently using standardized recipes. Our profits depend on this very important practice. Our customers must be able to rely on a consistent nutritional quality and allergen content at a minimum, but our customers also deserve to receive the SAME product every time they order a menu item they like and appreciate.
Standard Yields
The yield of a recipe is the number of portions it will produce. Yields can also be expressed as a total volume or total weight the recipe produces. An example would be a soup recipe that yields 24, 8 oz. portions which could also be stated as a yield of six quarts or a 1 ½ gallon. A weight example would be a recipe that yields 20, 4 oz. portions of taco meat or a total yield of 5 pounds.
Standard yields for the main, often higher cost, ingredients such as meat, may also take into consideration portion cost and be determined in part by calculating the cost per cooked portion.
For example, an 11 pound roast might be purchased for \$17 a pound. The cooked roast is to be served in 8 ounce portions as part of a roast beef dinner. After trimming and cooking, the roast will not weigh 11 pounds, but significantly less and will thus yield fewer than 22 portions (11 pounds multiplied by 2 – figuring that a pound (16 ounces) would yield two 8 oz portions.) By running a yield test, the number of portions, cost per portion and unit weight, and the standard yield and yield percentage, can be determined. Yield testing will be discussed later in this book.
Standard Portions
A standard recipe includes the size of the portions that will make up a serving of the recipe. Controlling portion size has two advantages in food management:
• portion costs for the item will be consistent until ingredient or labor costs change, and
• customers receive consistent quantities each time they order a given plate or drink.
Standard portions mean that every plate of a given dish that leaves the kitchen will be almost identical in weight, count, or volume. Only by controlling portions is it possible to control food costs. If one order of bacon and eggs goes out with six strips of bacon and another goes out with three strips, it is impossible to determine the actual cost of the menu item.
Adhering to the principles of standard portions is crucial to keeping food costs in line. Without portion control, there is no consistency. This not only could have drastic effects on your food costs (having no real constant costs to budget for) but also on your customers. Customers appreciate consistency. They expect that the food you prepare will taste good, be presented properly, and be the same portion size every time they order it. Consider how the customer would feel if the portion size fluctuated with the cook’s mood. A cook’s bad mood might mean a smaller portion or, if the cook was in a good mood because the workweek was over, the portion might be very large.
It may be hard to grasp the importance of consistency with one single portion, but consider if fast-food outlets did not have portion control. Their costs, as well as their ordering and inventory systems, would be incredibly inaccurate, all of which would impact negatively on their profit margin.
Strict portion control has several side benefits beyond keeping costs under control. First, customers are more satisfied when they can see that the portion they have is very similar to the portions of the same dish they can see around them. Second, servers are quite happy because they know that if they pick up a dish from the kitchen, it will contain the same portions as another server’s plate of the same order.
Simple methods to control portion include weighing meat before it is served, using the same size juice glasses when juice is served, counting items such as shrimp, and portioning with scoops and ladles that hold a known volume. Another method is using convenience products. These products are received usually frozen and are ready to cook. Portions are consistent in size and presentation and are easily costed out on a per unit basis. This can be helpful when determining the standard portion costs.
Note: Using convenience products is usually more costly than preparing the item in-house. However, some chefs and managers feel that using premade convenience products is easier than hiring and training qualified staff. But always keep in mind that if the quality of the convenience item is not comparable to an in-house made product, the reputation of the restaurant may suffer.
Standard portions are assured if the food operation provides and requires staff to use such tools as scales, measured ladles or spoodles, and standard size scoops. Many operations use a management portion control record for menu items. The control record is posted in the kitchen so cooks and those who plate the dishes know what constitutes standard portions. Some operations also have photographs of each item posted in the kitchen area to remind workers what the final product should look like.
Types of Measurements Used in the Kitchen
There are three types of measurements used to measure ingredients and to serve portions in the restaurant trade.
Measurement can be by volume, by weight, or by count.
Recipes may have all three types of measurement. A recipe may call for 3 eggs (measurement by count), 8 ounces of milk (measurement by volume), and 1 pound of cheese (measurement by weight).
There are formal and informal rules governing which type of measurement should be used. There are also specific procedures to ensure that the measuring is done accurately and consistently.
Number or Count
Number measurement is only used when accurate measurement is not critical and the items to be used are understood to be close in size.
For example, “3 eggs” is a common measurement called for in recipes, not just because 3 is easy to count but also because eggs are graded to specific sizes. Most recipes call for large eggs unless stated otherwise.
Numbers are also used if the final product is countable. For example, 24 pre-made tart shells would be called for if the final product is to be 24 filled tart shells.
Volume
Volume measurement is usually used with liquids or fluids because such items are awkward to weigh. It is also used for dry ingredients in home cooking, but it is less often used for dry measurement in the industry.
Volume is often the measure used when portioning sizes of finished product. For example, portion scoops are used to dole out vegetables, potato salad, and sandwich fillings to keep serving size consistent. Ladles of an exact size are used to portion out soups and sauces. Often scoops and ladles used for portioning are sized by number. On a scoop, such a number refers to the number of full scoops needed to fill a volume of one quart. Ladles and spoodles are sized in ounces.
Weight
Weight is the most accurate way to measure ingredients or portions. When proportions of ingredients are critical, their measurements are always given in weights. This is particularly true in baking where it is common to list all ingredients by weight, including eggs (which, as mentioned earlier, in almost all other applications are called for by count). Whether measuring solids or liquids, measuring by weight is more reliable and consistent.
Weighing is a bit more time consuming and requires the use of scales, but it pays off in accuracy. Digital portion scales are most commonly used in industry and come in various sizes to measure weights up to 11 lbs. This is adequate for most recipes, although larger operations may require scales with a larger capacity.
The reason weight is more accurate than volume is because it takes into account factors such as density, moisture, and temperature that can have an effect on the volume of ingredients. For example, 1 cup of brown sugar (measured by volume) could change drastically depending on whether it is loosely or tightly packed in the vessel. On the other hand, 10 oz of brown sugar, will always be 10 oz. Even flour, which one might think is very consistent, will vary from location to location, and the result will mean an adjustment in the amount of liquid needed to get the same consistency when mixed with a given volume.
Another common mistake is interchanging between volume and weight. The only ingredient that will have the same volume and weight consistently is water: 1 cup water = 8 ounces water.
There is no other ingredient that can be measured interchangeably because of gravity and the density of an item. Every ingredient has a different density and different gravitational weight, which will also change according to location. This is called specific gravity. Water has a specific gravity of 1.0. Liquids that are lighter than water (such as oils that float on water) have a specific gravity of less than 1.0. Those that are heavier than water and will sink, such as molasses, have a specific gravity greater than 1.0. Unless you are measuring water, remember not to use a volume measure for a weight measure, and vice versa.
Converting and Adjusting Recipes and Formulas
Recipes often need to be adjusted to meet the needs of different situations. The most common reason to adjust recipes is to change the number of individual portions that the recipe produces. For example, a standard recipe might be written to prepare 25 portions. If a situation arises where 60 portions of the item are needed, the recipe must be properly adjusted.
Other reasons to adjust recipes include changing portion sizes (which may mean changing the batch size of the recipe) and better utilizing available preparation equipment (for example, you need to divide a recipe to make two half batches due to a lack of oven space).
Conversion Factor Method
The most common way to adjust recipes is to use the conversion factor method. This requires only two steps:
1. Finding a conversion factor
2. Multiplying the ingredients in the original recipe by that factor.
Finding Conversion Factors
To find the appropriate conversion factor to adjust a recipe, follow these steps:
1. Note the yield of the recipe that is to be adjusted. The number of portions is usually included at the top of the recipe (or formulation) or at the bottom of the recipe. This is the information that you HAVE.
2. Decide what yield is required. This is the information you NEED.
3. Obtain the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (from Step 2) by the old yield (from Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield), conversion factor = what you NEED ÷ what you HAVE
If the number of portions and the size of each portion change, you will have to find a conversion factor using a similar approach:
1. Determine the total yield of the recipe by multiplying the number of portions and the size of each portion.
2. Determine the required yield of the recipe by multiplying the new number of portions and the new size of each portion.
3. Find the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (Step 2) by the recipe yield (Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield)
Adjusting Recipes Using Conversion Factors
Now that you have the conversion factor, you can use it to adjust all the ingredients in the recipe. The procedure is to multiply the amount of each ingredient in the original recipe by the conversion factor. Before you begin, there is an important first step:
• Before converting a recipe, express the original ingredients by weight whenever possible.
Converting to weight is particularly important for dry ingredients. Most recipes in commercial kitchens express the ingredients by weight, while most recipes intended for home cooks express the ingredients by volume. If the amounts of some ingredients are too small to weigh (such as spices and seasonings), they may be left as volume measures. Liquid ingredients also are sometimes left as volume measures because it is easier to measure a quart of liquid than it is to weigh it. However, a major exception is measuring liquids with a high sugar content, such as honey and syrup; these should always be measured by weight, not volume.
Converting from volume to weight can be a bit tricky and will require the use of tables that provide the approximate weight of different volume measures of commonly used recipe ingredients. A resource to use in converting volume to weight is the Book of Yields. Once you have all the ingredients in weight, you can then multiply by the conversion factor to adjust the recipe. Often, you must change the quantities of the original recipe into smaller units, then multiply by the conversion factor, then put back into the largest unit that makes sense for the recipe. For example, pounds may need to be expressed as ounces, and cups, pints, quarts, and gallons must be converted into fluid ounces. Example:
Table 6.1 Ingredient Information.
Ingredient Original amount Common unit Conversion Factor New amount New amount expressed in largest unit on recipe
Skim milk
1 ½ cup
12 fl. oz.
8
96 fl. oz. or
12 cups
3 quarts
Cheddar cheese
2 ¼ lbs
36 oz.
3
108 oz.
6 ¾ lbs. or 6 lbs. 12 oz.
Olive Oil
1 qt.
32 fl. oz.
.5
16 fl. oz.
1 pt.
Table 6.1 Ingredient Information
Cautions when Converting Recipes
When converting recipes, conversion calculations do not take into account certain factors:
• Equipment
• Mixing and cooking times – this can be affected if the equipment used to cook or mix is different from the equipment used in the original recipe
• Cooking temperatures
• Shrinkage – the percentage of food lost during its storage and preparation
• Recipe errors
Some other problems that can occur with recipe conversions are:
• Substantially increasing the yield of small home cook recipes can be problematic as all the ingredients are usually given in volume measure, which can be inaccurate, and increasing the amounts dramatically magnifies this problem.
• Spices and seasonings must be increased with caution as doubling or tripling the amount to satisfy a conversion factor can have negative consequences. If possible, it is best to under-season and then adjust just before serving.
The fine adjustments that have to be made when converting a recipe can only be learned from experience, as there are no hard and fast rules. Generally, if you have recipes that you use often, convert them, test them, and then keep copies of the recipes adjusted for different yields.
S.A.M.E.
Remember – Standardization Always Meets Expectations. Foodservice operations need to meet the expectations of their customers, every time they visit. Foodservice operations need to meet expectations for employees, their skill level and training. Foodservice businesses need to meet expectations for costs and profit for all menu items. Standardized recipes are critical to the foodservice industry. They are simply good business!
Review Questions (think about):
Why is using standardized recipes an important cost control tool for foodservice operations?
What are the benefits of using standardized recipes in a foodservice business operation?
Why is it important to understand the difference between volume and weight measurements when developing recipes?
Review Exercise 1
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
Review Exercise 2
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
Think about this: When you produce the expanded chicken tortilla soup recipe in Café Laura, you run out of soup after serving only 30 customers? What are some possible reasons that this happened? The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/02%3A_Menus_and_Recipes/2.03%3A_Standardized_Recipes.txt |
This chapter is remixed from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management by The BC Cook Articulation Committee.
Outline:
• Standard portion costs
• Costing Individual Items on a Plate
• Yield Testing
• Using Yield to Calculate Food Costs
• Yield Tests and Percentages
• Cooking Loss Test
• Calculating quantities to purchase
Learning Objectives:
• Calculate standard portion costs
• Calculate APQ (as purchased quantity) ingredient amounts for both costing and food ordering purposes
• Calculate yield and waste percentages (for both trimming and cooking losses)
• Determine edible portion cost (EPC) or “true cost” of recipe ingredients and menu items
• Determine portions available to serve from (APQ) as purchased quantity
• Complete volume to weight conversions to calculate (APQ) as purchased amounts and (APC) as purchased cost of ingredients
Key Terms:
• Portion cost
• As purchased
• Edible portion
• Yield
• Yield percentage
• Waste
• Waste percentage
• Edible portion cost (“true cost”)
Standard Portion Costs
A standard recipe served in standard portions has a standard portion cost. A standard portion cost is simply the cost of the ingredients (and sometimes labor) found in a standard recipe divided by the number of portions produced by the recipe. Standard portion costs change when food costs change, which means that standard portion costs should be computed and verified regularly, particularly in times of high inflation. If market conditions are fairly constant, computing standard portion costs need not be done more than every few months. Details about recipe costs are not usually found on a standard recipe document but on a special recipe detail and cost sheet or database that lists the cost per unit (kilogram, pound, milliliter, ounce, etc.) and the cost per amount of each ingredient used in the recipe or formula. The standard portion cost can be quickly computed if portions and recipes are standardized. Simply determine the cost of each ingredient used in the recipe and ingredients used for accompaniment or garnish. The ingredients in a standard recipe are often put on a recipe detail sheet (Figure 1). The recipe detail sheet differs from the standard recipe in that room is provided for putting the cost of each ingredient next to the ingredient. Recipe detail sheets often have the cost per portion included as part of their information and need to be updated if ingredient costs change substantially. They can also be built in a POS system database or spreadsheet program that is linked to your inventory to allow for the updating of recipe costs as ingredient costs change.
Menu item: Seafood Newburg
Yield: 10 portions
Portion size: 125 g of seafood
Selling price: \$12.99
Cost/portion: \$4.07
Food cost %: 31.3%
Then include…
Table 7.1 Recipe Details and Cost for Seafood Newburg
Ingredient Quantity Units Cost/Unit Extension
Lobster Meat 500g kg \$38.00 \$19.00
Scallops 250g kg \$25.00 \$6.25
Shrimps 250g kg \$14.00 \$3.50
Sole 250g kg \$8.50 \$2.13
Cream, heavy 250mL L \$4.00 \$1.00
Fish Velouté 750mL L \$1.00
Butter 250g 500g \$2.85 \$1.43
Pepper and Salt
Paprika 5g \$00.15
Sherry 250mL 750mL \$12.00 \$4.00
Egg yolks 6 12 \$2.00 \$1.00
Patty shells 10 each \$00.12 \$1.20
Total \$40.66
Table 7.1 Recipe Details and Cost for Seafood Newburg
Note that the portion cost and selling price used in Table 7.1 is for the Seafood Newburg alone (a true à la carte price) and not the cost of all accompaniments found on the plate when the dish is served. For example, the cost of bread and butter, vegetables, and even garnishes such as a wedge of lemon and a sprig of parsley must be added to the total cost to determine the appropriate selling price for the Seafood Newburg.
Costing Individual Items on a Plate
If you need to determine the total cost of a plate that has multiple components, rather than a recipe, you can follow the procedure in the example below.
Example
Standard order of bacon and eggs: the plate contains two eggs, three strips of bacon, toast, and hash browns.
The cost of ingredients used for accompaniment and garnish can be determined by using the standard portion cost formula, which is the purchase price of a container (often called a unit) divided by the number of portions in the container. That is,
standard portion cost = unit cost/portions in the unit
An example is a carton of eggs. If eggs cost \$2.00 a dozen and a standard portion in a menu breakfast item is two eggs, the standard portion cost can be found.
Recall the equation:
standard portion cost = unit cost/portions in the unit
Now, find the portions in the unit.
portions in the unit = number in unit/number in a portion
= 12/2
= 6
That is, there are six 2-egg portions in a dozen eggs.
Substitute the known quantities into the equation.
standard portion cost = unit cost/portions in unit
= \$2.00/6
= \$0.33
You could get the same answer by calculating how much each egg in the dozen is worth (\$2.00/12 = \$0.17) and then multiplying the cost per egg by the number of eggs needed (\$0.17 x 2 = \$0.34). No matter what method is used, the standard portion of two eggs in this order of bacon and eggs has a standard portion cost of \$0.34.
You can find the standard portion cost of the bacon in the same way. If a 500 g package of bacon contains 20 rashers and costs \$3.75, the standard portion cost of a portion consisting of four rashers can be found quickly:
portions in the unit = 20/4
= 5
standard portion cost = unit cost/portions in unit
= \$3.75/5
= \$0.75
The bacon and eggs on the plate would have a standard portion cost of \$1.09. You could determine the cost of hash browns, toast, jam, and whatever else is on the plate in the same manner.
Often, restaurants will serve the same accompaniments with several dishes. In order to make the costing of the entire plate easier, they may assign a “plate cost,” which would include the average cost of the standard starch and vegetable accompaniments. This makes the process of pricing daily specials or menu items that change frequently easier, as you only need to calculate the cost of the main dish and any specific sauces and garnishes, and then add the basic plate cost to the total to determine the total cost of the plate. Tables 7.2 and 7.3 provide an example for calculating the basic plate cost and the cost of daily features.
Table 7.2 Individual Costs of One Plate
Mashed potatoes, one serving \$.0.50
Mixed vegetables, one serving \$0.75
Demi-glace, one serving \$0.30
Herb garnish \$0.20
Total basic plate cost \$1.75
Table 7.2 Individual Costs of One Plate
Table 7.3 Calculated Cost of Daily Features Using a Basic Plate Cost
Day Feature Feature Cost per Portion Basic Plate Cost Total Cost
Monday Roast Beef \$5.00 + \$1.75 = \$6.75
Tuesday Pork Chop \$3.75 + \$1.75 = \$5.50
Wednesday Half Roast Chicken \$4.00 + \$1.75 = \$5.75
Table 7.3 Calculated Cost of Daily Features Using a Basic Plate Cost
Yield Testing
Yield in culinary terms refers to how much you will have of a finished or processed product. Professional recipes should always state a yield; for example, a tomato soup recipe may yield 4 gallons or 15 L, and a muffin recipe may yield 24 muffins. Yield can also refer to the amount of usable product after it has been processed (peeled, cooked, butchered, etc.) For example, you may be preparing a recipe for carrot soup. The recipe requires 2 lbs or 1 kg of carrots, which you purchase. However, once you have peeled them and removed the tops and tips, you may only have 1.6 lb or 800 grams of carrots left to use. In order to do accurate costing, yield testing must be carried out on all ingredients and recipes. When looking at yields, you must always consider the losses and waste involved in preparation and cooking. There is always a dollar value that is attached to vegetable peel, meat and fish trim, and packaging like brines and syrups. Any waste or loss has been paid for and is still money that has been spent. This cost must always be included in the menu price. Note: Sometimes, this “waste” can be used as a by-product. Bones from meat and fish can be turned into stocks. Trimmings from vegetables can be added to those stocks or if there is enough, made into soup. All products must be measured and yield tested before costing a menu. Ideally, every item on a menu should be yield tested before being processed. Most big establishments will have this information on file, and there are many books that can also be used as a reference for yields, such as The Book of Yields: Accuracy in Food Costing and Purchasing.
The procedure for testing for yields
1. Record the original weight/volume of your item. This is your raw weight or as purchased (AP) weight.
A) Whole tenderloin – 2.5 kg
B) Whole sockeye salmon – 7.75 kg
C) Canned tuna flakes in brine – 750 mL
2. Process your product accordingly, measure and record the waste or trim weight.
A) Tenderloin fat, sinew, chain, etc. – 750 g tenderloin trim
B) Salmon head, bones, skin, etc. – 2.75 kg salmon trim
C) Brine – 300 mL canned tuna waste
3. Subtract the amount of trim weight from the AP weight and you will have what is referred to as your processed or edible product (EP) weight. The formula is: AP weight – waste = EP weight.
A) 2500 g – 750 g = 1750 g processed tenderloin
B) 7750 g – 2750 g = 5000 g processed salmon
C) 750 mL – 300 mL = 400 mL processed canned tuna
4. Get your yield percentage by converting the edible product weight into a percentage. The formula is EP weight ÷ AP weight x 100 = yield %.
A) (1750 ÷ 2500) x 100 = 70% for the tenderloin
B) (5000 ÷ 7750) x 100 = 64.51% for the salmon
C) (400 ÷ 750) x 100 = 53.33% for the canned tuna
Yield percentage is important because it tells you several things: how much usable product you will have after processing; how much raw product to actually order, and the actual cost of the product per dollar spent.
Using Yield to Calculate Food Costs
Once you have your yield percentage, you can translate this information into monetary units. Considering the losses incurred from trimmings and waste, your actual cost for your processed ingredient has gone up from what you originally paid, which was your raw cost or AP cost. These calculations will provide you with your processed cost or EP cost.
The Procedure for Determining EP Cost
1. Record the AP cost, what you paid for the item: A) Whole tenderloin – \$23.00/kg
B) Whole sockeye salmon – \$5.00/kg
C) Canned tuna flakes in brine – \$5.50/750 mL can
2. Obtain your factor. This factor converts all your calculations into percentages. The formula is:
100 ÷ yield % = factor
A) 100 ÷ 70 tenderloin = 1.42
B) 100 ÷ 64.51 salmon = 1.55
C) 100 ÷ 53.33 canned tuna = 1.875
3) Once the factor has been determined, it is now an easy process to determine your EP cost. The formula is:
factor x as purchased cost per (unit) = edible product cost per (unit)
A) Tenderloin \$23.00 x 1.42 = \$32.66/kg
B) Salmon \$5.00 x 1.55 = \$7.75/kg
C) Canned tuna \$5.50 x 1.875 = \$10.78/750 mL
Alternatively, the purchased cost per unit (APC/unit) can be divided by the corresponding yield percentage to calculate the edible portion cost per unit.
Example #1: If the whole turkey costs \$.99 per pound and the EP yield is 36%, then
\$.99 divided by .36 equals \$2.75 per pound. This is also referred to as the “true cost” of the turkey to serve the customer.
If we plan to serve a 5 oz. portion, then we can calculate the edible portion cost per ounce. Divide \$2.75 by 16 = \$.172 per oz. then multiple by 5 oz. = \$.86 or 86 cents.
Example #2: If a whole head of cauliflower costs \$1.29 per pound and the EP yield is 60%, then \$1.29 divided by .60 equals \$2.15 per pound. A 4 oz. portion served to the customer would cost \$.5375
There could be a considerable difference in costs between the raw product and the processed product, which is why it is important to go through all these steps. Once the EP cost is determined, the menu price can be set.
Yield Tests and Percentages
Meat and seafood products tend to be the most expensive part of the menu. They also have significant amounts of waste, which must be accounted for when determining standard portion cost. When the meat is delivered, unless it has been purchased precut, it must be trimmed and cut into portions. The losses due to trimming and cutting must be accounted for in the portion cost of the meat. For example, if a 5 kg roast costing \$8 a kilogram (total cost is \$40) is trimmed of fat and sinew and then weighs 4 kg, the cost of usable meat (the EP cost), basically, has risen from \$8 a kilogram to \$10 a kilogram (\$40/4 kg). The actual determination of portion cost is found by conducting a meat cutting yield test. The test is conducted by the person who breaks down or trims the wholesale cut while keeping track of the weight of the parts. The information is placed in columns on a chart, as shown in Table 7.5. The column names and their functions are discussed below.
The Procedure for Determining EP Cost
Table 7.4 Header for a Larger Table Oriented Around the Yield of Cutting a Pork Tenderloin
Item: Pork Loin Grade: A-1 Date: _____________
Table 7.4 Header for a Larger Table Oriented Around the Yield of Cutting a Pork Tenderloin
Table 7.5 Prices and Percentages for the Meat Cutting Yield Test
Part Weight % of Total Value per Kg Total Value Cost Factor EP Cost(per kg) Portion Size Portion Cost
Whole Piece(AP) 2.5 kg \$12.14 \$30.35
Breakdown
Fat & Gristle 850 g 34% \$0.20 \$0.17
Loss in cutting 100 g 4% 0
Trim 250 g 10% \$7.49 \$1.87
Usable Meat 1300 g 52% \$28.31 1.79 \$21.78 250 g \$5.45
Table 7.5 Prices and Percentages for the Meat Cutting Yield Test
The parts of the meat are listed on the yield test sheet under the heading “Breakdown.” In the example in Table 7.5, a pork loin has been broken down into fat and gristle, loss in cutting, trim, and usable meat. Various measures and calculations are then recorded in the different columns: • Weight: Next to the breakdown column the weights of the individual parts are listed. • Percentage of total weight: The third column contains the percentage of the original piece by weight. The column is headed “% of total weight,” which reminds us how to calculate the percentages. That is, % of total weight = weight of part/total weight. For example, in Table 7.5, the fat and gristle weigh 850 g (or 0.850 kg). The total weight of the pork loin before trimming is 2.5 kg.
Note: The next few charts show meats measured in kg, but this would be the same process if the meat was measured in pounds.
Percentage of Fat and Gristle Equation
% of fat and gristle = weight of part/total weight
= 0.850 kg/2.5 kg
= 0.34
= 34%
Using the same procedure, you can calculate:
% of loss in cutting = 0.100 kg/2.5 kg
= 0.04
= 4%
% of trim = 0.250 kg/2.5 kg
= 0.1
= 10%
% of usable meat = 1.300 kg/2.5 kg
= 0.52
= 52%
Note: The percentage of usable meat is an important concept. It is often referred to as the yield percentage or yield factor. It will be looked at in some detail later in this chapter. • Value per kg: This column of Figure 4 lists the value of the parts per unit of weight. These values are based on what it would cost to purchase similar products from a butcher shop. The tidbits are quite valuable although they are too small to be used as medallions. They might be used, however, in stews or soups. Notice that no value is given to any weight lost in cutting. • Total value: This is determined by multiplying the value per kg column by the weight column. This has to be done carefully as the units must match. For example, the temptation is to simply multiply the weight of the fat and gristle (850 g) by \$0.20 and get \$170 instead of converting the grams into kilograms (850 g = 0.850 kg) and then multiplying to give the actual value of \$0.17.
The entry for the “Usable Meat” in the total value column is determined by subtracting the value of the breakdown parts from the total cost of the pork loin (\$30.35). The total cost is found by multiplying the weight of the whole piece (2.5 kg) by the value per kg (\$12.14).
The total value of the usable meat equation
total value of usable meat = total cost – total value of breakdown parts
= \$30.35 – (\$0.17 + \$1.87)
= \$30.35 – (2.04)
= \$28.31
• Cost of usable kg (or EP cost): cost of a usable kilogram is determined by dividing the total value of the usable meat by the weight of the usable meat as measured in kilograms (see below).
Cost of usable kg (or EP cost) equation
cost per usable kg = total value of usable meat/kg weight of usable meat
= \$28.31/1.3 kg (remember 1300 g = 1.3 kg)
= \$21.78
Notice the difference between the wholesale cost (\$12.14 kg) and the cost of usable meat (\$21.78). This difference shows why the basic formula for determining standard portion costs will not work with meat. • Portion size and portion cost: The last two columns in Figure 4 show portion size and portion cost. Portion size is determined by management; in this example, individual portions of the pork loin weigh 250 g (or 0.250 kg).
The portion cost is determined by multiplying the cost of a usable kg by the portion size.
That is,
portion cost = portion size x cost of usable kg
Using the correct units is very important. The portion size should be converted into kilograms or pounds as the cost per usable kg has been found.
Portion size equation
portion cost = portion size x cost of usable kg
= 0.250 kg x \$21.78/kg
= \$5.44
• Cost factor: If the price of pork loin changes, the monetary values entered on the meat cutting yield sheet become invalid. This column in Figure 4 attempts to reduce the chance that all this work is suddenly for naught. The cost factor will probably not change drastically but the wholesale cost of purchasing the meat might. By having a cost factor on hand, you can quickly apply it to the wholesale price of the purchased product and determine what an appropriate selling price should be. The cost factor per kilogram is determined by dividing the cost per usable kg by the original cost per kilogram (see below).
Cost factor equation
cost factor per kg = cost per usable kg/original cost per kg
In this example,
cost factor per kg = cost per usable kg/original cost per kg
= \$21.78/\$12.14
= 1.79
This cost factor can be used to find the cost of a usable kg or lb if the wholesale cost changes with the following formula.
Finding the cost of usable kg if wholesale cost changes
new cost of usable kg = cost factor per kg x new wholesale cost
For example, if the cost of pork loin should rise to \$13.00 a kilogram from the \$12.14 per kilogram given on the cutting yield test sheet, the new cost per usable kg can be quickly calculated:
new cost of usable kg = cost factor per kg x new wholesale cost
= 1.79 x \$13.00
= \$23.27
Notice the size of the increase is in usable kg cost. The wholesale cost rose by (\$13.00 – \$12.14) \$0.86 a kg, but the new cost of usable meat rose by \$1.49 a kg.
Chart: Cost factor per portion equation
The cost factor per portion is found by multiplying the portion size by the cost factor per kilogram. In this example,
cost factor per portion = portion size x cost factor per kg
= 0.250 kg x 1.79
= 0.45
The cost factor per portion is important because it can be used to find the cost per portion from the wholesale cost of meat. This is done by multiplying the two quantities. For example, if the wholesale price of pork loin should rise to \$13.00 a kg, the portion cost will become:
new portion cost = cost factor per portion x new wholesale cost
= 0.45 x \$13.00
= \$5.85
The cost factor per kilogram or pound and the cost factor per portion are the most important entries on a meat cutting yield test as they can be used to adjust to changing wholesale costs. Today, the meat cutting yield test is losing some of its popularity because of the introduction of pre-portioned meats. But there remain several benefits to performing meat cutting tests: • Exact costs are determined so menu pricing can be more accurate. • Tests done periodically verify that the meat wholesaler is providing meat to stipulated specifications. If the amount of trim and waste rises, so do food costs. • By comparing the results from two or more wholesalers who have provided the same sample cuts, a critical evaluation can be done to determine which one is supplying better meat. • Comparing yields between people doing the cutting will tell you who is being the most efficient. • Since individual pieces of meat or fish may vary slightly, doing yield tests on several of the same items and taking an average will give you the best idea of your standard yield.
Cooking Loss Test
Some meats cannot be accurately portioned until they are cooked. This applies particularly to roasts, which shrink during cooking. The amount lost due to shrinkage can be minimized by incorporating the principles of low-temperature roasting, but some shrinkage is unavoidable. The cooking loss test serves the same function as the meat cutting yield test. Their similarities and differences will become evident in the discussion below. Figure 5 shows a sample cooking loss test form. Cooking Loss Test
Item: Leg of Lamb Portion: 125g Cost factor: 0.2931
Number cooked: One
Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Temperature: 175°C
Table 7.6 Cooking Loss Test Form for a Leg of Lamb
Breakdown Weight % of Total Value (per kg) Total Value EP Cost(per kg) Portion Size Portion Cost Cost Factor (per kg) Cost Factor (per portion)
Original Weight 3750g 100% \$6.50 \$24.38
Trimmed weight 2850 g 76.00% \$24.38
Loss in Trimming 900 g 24% 0
Cooked weight 2350 g 62.67% \$24.38
Loss in cooking 500 g 13.33% 0
Bones and trim 750 g 20.00% 0
Saleable weight 1600 g 43.00% \$24.38 \$15.24 125g \$1.91 2.3446 0.2931
Table 7.6 Cooking Loss Test Form for a Leg of Lamb
When using a cooking loss test form, note the following, referring to Table 7.6:
• The form specifies the time and temperature of the roasting.
• The column headings are similar to the column headings on the meat cutting yield test form (Table 7.5), as you are measuring similar things.
• The first line in Table 7.6 lists the weight and wholesale cost of the roast (total value).
• The trimmed weight is the weight of the roast that is placed in the oven. Some fat and gristle have been trimmed off in the kitchen. In the example, about 900 g have been trimmed. Technically, if the trim has some value, it should be used to reduce the total value of the roast. However, for simplicity, it is ignored in this example.
• After cooking for 2 hours and 30 minutes (the time stated on the test form), the roast is weighed and the cooked weight is entered on the form.
• The weight loss in cooking is determined by subtracting and the value entered on the form.
• The cooked roast is then deboned and trimmed. The weight of this waste is recorded.
• The weight of the remaining roast is determined. This is the amount of cooked roast you have available to sell and which can be divided into portions.
• Notice that the total value (that is, the cost) of the roast remains the same throughout the process. Only the weight of the roast changes.
• The percentage of total weight figures are calculated in the same way they were determined in Figure 4.
• The cost of usable kg is determined by dividing the saleable weight into the total value of the roast.
• Portion size is determined by restaurant managers, and the portion cost is calculated by multiplying the cost of usable kg and the portion size. This is the same procedure used to determine portion cost on the meat cutting yield test form.
• The cost factor per kg is the ratio of the cost of usable kg and the original value per kg.
Equation
cost factor per kg = cost of usable kg/value per kg= \$15.24/\$6.50
= 2.3446
• The cost factor per portion is again found by multiplying the cost factor per kg by the portion size
As with the meat cutting yield test, the most important entries on the cooking loss test sheet are the portion cost and the cost factor per kg as they can be used to directly determine the portion and kilogram costs if the wholesale cost unit price changes.
Yield percentages are the ratio to total weight values found for usable meat on the meat cutting yield test sheet and the saleable weight found on the cooking loss test. Once found, yield percentages (or yield factors as they are sometimes called) are used in quantity calculations.
The general relationship between quantity and yield percentage can be seen in the following equation:
quantity needed = (number of portions x portion size)/yield percentage
Equation
Find the quantity of pork loin needed to serve 50 people 250-g portions if the yield percentage is 52% as in Figure 4. The solution is:quantity needed = (number of portions x portion size)/yield percentage
= (50 x 0.250 kg)/52%
= 12.5 kg/0.52
= 24.03 kg
You need just over 24 kg of untrimmed pork loin to serve 50 portions of 250 g each.
The yield formula can be restated in other ways. For example, if you needed to find how many 125 g portions of lamb can be served from 12 kg of uncooked lamb given a yield factor of 43%, you could use the following procedure:
Equation
number of portions = (quantity on hand x yield percentage)/portion size
= (12 kg x 0.43)/0.125 kg
= 5.16 kg/0.125
= 41.28
As with the inventory sheets, using a spreadsheet to help calculate the yields and factors is helpful. Some sample tools are provided in the Appendix.
Volume to Weight Conversions
Recipes, particularly home size, are often written using volume measures rather than weight measures. When recipes are expanded and used in large quantities, it is more typical and accurate to use weight as the measure for many ingredients. It’s very important to understand that though liquid volumes are measured in fluid ounces (8 fl. oz. in a cup, 32 fl. oz. in a quart, etc.) fluid ounces are not equivalent to “weight” ounces. When ingredient volumes have to be converted to weight for calculating purchase quantities or recipe costing, a volume to weight conversion must be done. The correct weight of each ingredient to use for this conversion can be found in a resource, such as The Book of Yields: Accuracy in Food Costing and Purchasing.
Example: If an Apple Crisp recipe requires 25 cups of peeled, diced Macintosh apples, the weight would be preferred and more accurate for producing the apple crisp. According to The Book of Yields, referenced above, the weight of peeled, diced Macintosh apples is 4 oz. per cup. To convert 25 cups to weight, multiply each cup in the recipe by the weight per cup.
25 cups x 4 oz/cup = 100 oz. This would then be divided by 16 (ounces per pound)
100 divided by 16 = 6.25 lbs. or 6 lbs 4 oz. One of these would be the new amount listed on the recipe.
Additionally, apples are typically purchased by weight (lbs.), so this same volume to weight conversion is done to calculate the edible portion amount of apple that needs to be purchased. Since apples that are peeled and diced have a waste factor, the yield percentage would be used to calculate the APQ (as purchased quantity.) According to the Book of Yields, the yield percentage for peeled, diced Macintosh apples is 72.25%. Following the procedure discussed earlier in this chapter, the edible portion of 6.25 lbs. of apples would be divided by .7225 to get the APQ (as purchased quantity), which equals 8.65 lbs.
Summary
The content in this chapter can seem confusing when it’s first introduced, but observing some examples of trimming meat or produce, actually weighing the waste and edible portion, and practicing the EPQ to APQ calculations will improve understanding of these concepts. It’s important to be able to do these calculations to develop accurate portions costs for recipes and menu items. Once the cost of recipes and menu items are established, the next step to building an operation’s menu is to set menu prices.
Review Questions
• Why is it important to be able to calculate the difference between as purchased (AP) quantities and edible portion (EP) quantities?
• What is the difference between yield percentage and waste percentage?
• What does it mean to calculate the “true cost” of a food product?
• How do you compare the actual price difference between the edible portion of a whole, raw product and a pre-prepared “ready to eat” product.
• What information covered in this chapter is needed to accurately calculate the amount of product to purchase for a forecasted customer count?
Review exercise 1
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Review exercise 2
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This chapter is remixed from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management by The BC Cook Articulation Committee.
Chapter Outline:
• What to consider when pricing a menu
• Calculating menu items costs
• Using food cost percentage to set a menu price
• Calculating and using a mark-up factor
• Calculating menu prices
• Contribution margins
Learning Objectives:
• Describe factors to consider when pricing menu items
• Explain importance of the price/value relationship
• Explain purpose and process of using a blended pricing strategy
• Calculate “base” or minimum selling price for menu items
• Pricing an “all you can eat” menu, such as a buffet or salad bar
• Describe the purpose and use of special pricing situations – bundling, coupons, and value pricing
Key Terms:
• Price/value relationship
• Ambiance
• Menu mix
• Blended pricing
• Food cost percent
• Mark up factor
• Contribution margin
• Plate cost
• Bundling
• Coupons
• Value pricing
Pricing Considerations
Once the total cost and portion cost of a recipe has been established, it’s time to set prices for the menu. There are a multitude of factors to consider, many of which we’ve discussed in previous chapters. Obviously we have to consider our costs, since we are in business to make money (or at least meet our budget or breakeven in the case of some onsite segments.) We have to consider our customers. What do they consider a good value? We know the restaurant business is not just about the food, but also the service, the experience, the ambiance. Customers are typically willing to pay more for a menu item if there are other “added value” features such as convenience (i.e. food that is delivered), superb service (i.e. fine dining, cooking at the table), ambiance (i.e. rotating restaurant with a view of the city), or a special experience (i.e. dinner with a show or a table in the kitchen.) It’s all about the price/value relationship for each individual customer.
The location also affects what customers are willing to pay. Think about the difference in the price of just a bottle of water in a restaurant, a vending machine, or a sporting venue! Prices in the airport are usually higher even for the exact same food from a chain restaurant. Prices usually vary, even for the same menu item, during different meal periods with lunch typically less expensive than dinner. Portions sizes, product quality, and the menu mix are also factors to consider. We will further explore some of these issues in the discussion about menu analysis. Think about how all of these factors affect the setting of menu prices.
Many onsite segments of the industry also have to price a part or all of their menu offerings, with various considerations. K-12 typically sets a meal price at the beginning of the school year and sticks with it all year. Colleges and universities may offer “all you can eat” dining options and set the price at least for a full semester, if not the entire academic year. Hospitals set menu prices for their employee and visitor cafeterias but may try to keep prices low as a sort of employee benefit. Business and industry also may offer menus at very reasonable, below market value, prices to encourage employees to eat on site. Remember that each foodservice operation will be a bit different, so management will have to research and be aware of all the various pricing considerations that apply to that specific operation and the local environment.
Setting the Menu Price
Although you likely have a target overall food cost in your establishment, not every menu item will carry exactly the same food cost percentage. Some items are more costly than others, but most establishments will have a range of prices that all the menu items fit into. Consequently, it is important to balance the menu so that the low and high food cost items work together to help you reach your target food cost. This process is called “blended pricing” and results from using menu engineering or menu analysis. Menu engineering means balancing the high and low food cost items; it also includes strategically featuring or promoting items to help reach your targets.
Calculating Menu Item Costs
The cost per portion derived from yield tests done on the main ingredient of a menu item usually represents the greatest part of the cost of preparing the item (see the section above on yield tests for more information).
However, of equal importance is the portion cost factor. For example, the portion cost factor can be used to determine the cost of a portion of the main ingredient regardless of the price of the meat (which is often the main cost factor) charged by the supplier as long as the restaurant’s preparation of the meat remains unchanged. The cost per portion is determined by multiplying the portion cost factor by the packing house’s price per kilogram (or pound).
Quite often the cost per portion of the main ingredient is used by itself to determine the selling price of a menu item. This works well with items on an à la carte menu as the basic main ingredient (such as a steak) is sold by itself and traditional add-ons (such as a baked potato and other vegetables) are sold separately.
As discussed earlier in this book, in many cases, some of the components will be the same, so a basic plate cost can be used to add to the cost of the main protein to get a total cost for the dish.
In dishes where the main ingredients are not sold as entities but as part of a prepared dish, the cost of all the items in the recipe must be determined to find an accurate portion cost price. In this case, a recipe detail and cost sheet is used to determine the cost price of menu items. (Refer back to the section on costing individual menu items for more information.)
Once the potential cost of a menu item is determined, the selling price of the item can also be calculated by using the food cost percentage.
Food Cost Percentages
As you may recall, food cost percentage is determined by dividing the portion cost by the selling price:
Food cost percentage
If the portion cost is \$4.80 and the selling price is \$14.00, the food cost percentage is:
food cost percentage = portion cost/selling price
= \$4.80/\$14.00
= 0.34285
= 34.285%
= 34% (rounded off)
Another way of expressing the food cost is as a cost mark-up.
Cost mark-up
The cost mark-up is determined by reversing the food cost percentage equation:
cost mark-up = selling price/portion cost
The cost mark-up can also be determined by dividing the food cost percentage into 1. The equation then becomes:
cost mark-up = 1/food cost percentage
In the example above, where the portion cost is \$1.20 and the selling price is \$3.50, the cost mark-up can be solved in the following ways:
cost mark-up = selling price/portion cost
= \$14.00/\$4.80
= 2.9166
= 2.92
or cost mark-up = 1/food cost percentage
= 1/34.285%
= 1/0.34285
= 2.91674
= 2.92
The cost mark-up can be used to determine a selling price when a portion cost is known by multiplying the cost mark-up and the portion cost:
Determine a selling price
selling price = portion cost x cost mark-up. For example, if the ingredients for a portion of soup costs \$1.05 and the restaurant has a cost mark-up of 3.6, the menu price of the soup is:
selling price = portion cost x cost mark-up
= \$1.05 x 3.6
= \$3.78
The restaurant would charge at least \$3.78 for the menu item if it wants to keep its mark-up margin at 3.6, which is about a 28% food cost percentage. This price might be adjusted because of competition selling the same item for a different price, price rounding policies of the restaurant or the whims of management. For example, many restaurants have prices that end in 5 or 9 (such as \$4.99 or \$5.95). Prices on such menus tend to be rounded to the nearest number ending in 5 or 9. No matter what the final menu price is, at least a base price has been established.
The problem with the above approach is it doesn’t explain how to select a food percentage or a selling price from which to derive the percentage. In many cases, the food percentage is based on past experiences of the manager, or by a supposed awareness of industry averages. For example, many people simply set their food percentage at 30% and never work out a more appropriate figure. Similarly, the selling price of a menu item is often the product of guessing what the market will bear: \$4.50 for a bowl of soup may seem like a good deal or as much as a reasonable person might pay in that restaurant. Unfortunately, none of these methods takes into account the unique situations affecting most restaurants.
A more accurate way of computing a target food cost percentage is to estimate total sales, labor costs, and hoped-for profits. These figures are used to determine allowed food costs. The total of projected food costs is divided by the projected sales to produce a food cost percentage. The food cost percentage can be turned into a mark-up margin by dividing the percentage into 1, as shown above.
Example
For example, to determine the food cost percentage of a restaurant that has projected sales of \$10 000 and labor costs of \$6000, overhead of \$1000, and a goal of before-tax profits of \$500, the following procedure is used: food costs = sales – (labor costs + overhead + profit)
= \$10 000 – (\$6000 + \$1000 + \$500)
= \$10 000 – (\$7500)
= \$2500
food percentage = food costs/sales
= \$2500/\$10 000
= 0.25
= 25%
mark-up margin = 1/food percentage
= 1/25%
= 1/0.25
= 4
In this example, the menu prices would be determined by multiplying the portion costs of each item by the mark-up margin of 4. Adjustments would then be made to better fit the prices to local market conditions.
If the application of the derived mark-up margin produces unreasonable prices, then one or more of the projected sales, labor costs, overhead, or profits are probably unreasonable. The advantage of using this system is that it points out (but does not pinpoint) such problem assumptions early in the process.
A similar approach uses a worksheet as shown in Figure 8.1.
Figure 8.1 Worksheet to Calculate Menu Prices. Image from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management. –(CC BY 4.0)
Long description: From the top of the form to bottom:
Name of Item:
Known costs (per sales dollar)
Operating cost as a percentage
Labor cost as a percentage
Profit wanted as a percentage
Total as a percentage
Subtract this Total from 100 to arrive at TARGET FOOD COST as a percentage
Determine mark-up margin (1 divided by food cost percentage)
Next section is Food Cost
One complete serving includes…
Yield…
Or total recipe includes…
Portions…
Next section is an empty table with 3 columns: Amount, Item and Cost
The bottom section has 3 items:
Total food cost
Mark-up margin (above)
Multiply food cost by mark-up to arrive at: MENU PRICE
End long description.
In the middle section of the worksheet in Figure 8.1, a food cost percentage is determined by subtracting other known cost percentages from 100%. Food costs are then determined in the bottom half of the sheet and a menu price derived by multiplying the total cost by the mark-up margin.
In this pricing method, a “profit wanted” percentage is added to the cost of each menu item. This builds some potential profit into the menu prices. If you were to price everything according to costs only, the restaurant would only ever be able to break even and never turn a profit.
Contribution Margins
On the surface, it seems that the lower the food cost, the more room there is for profit. In one sense this is true, as the percentage profit is obviously greater for an item that has a food cost percentage of 25% (or 75% percentage profit) than an item that has a food percentage cost of 45% (or 55% percentage profit). However, in terms of monetary profit, the issue is not that straightforward. What has to be determined is how much money the menu item generates. This calculation involves finding the contribution margin of each item.
Contribution Margins
Contribution margin is determined by subtracting the cost from the selling price. An item that costs \$2.00 to make and sells for \$3.00 has a contribution margin of:
contribution margin = selling price – cost price
= \$3.00 – \$2.00
= \$1.00
Consider the contribution margin of two menu items that have different food costs and food cost percentages shown in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1 Compares Chicken and Steak on Food Cost, Selling Price, Food Cost Percentage and Contribution Margin
Item Food Cost Selling Price Food Cost % Contribution Margin
Chicken \$4.50 \$16.50 27% \$12.00
Steak \$9.00 \$24.00 38% \$15.00
Table 8.1 Compares Chicken and Steak on Food Cost, Selling Price, Food Cost Percentage and Contribution Margin
In terms of percentage profit, the chicken is higher. However, in terms of money in the till, the steak creates more money that can be used to pay bills. The key to a good menu is not necessarily to just keep food cost percentages low; it is to also to keep contribution margins high.
Pricing “all you can eat” menus
Menu offerings such as buffets and salad bars offer a different challenge when it comes to pricing. Actually the pricing can be done using the calculations described previously. The challenge is calculating the unit cost or “plate cost” which has to be established prior to setting a price. The simple formula for “plate cost” is dividing the total food cost by the number of customers served. Calculating the total food cost requires keeping track of what is used on the buffet or salad bar on an average day or meal period. To do this track product usage by recording the number of servings at the beginning of the serving period, adding any additional servings as needed during the service time, and then subtract the number of portions left at the end of the serving period. Multiply the total number of servings (portions) used by the cost per serving for a total food cost for each offer on the buffet or salad bar. Then calculate the total dollar amount of product used and divide by the number of customers served. See the sample chart below.
Example: Buffet Menu Offerings
Table 8.2 Calculating Menu Item’s Total Production Cost
Menu Item
Number of portions at start
Number of portions added
Number of portions at close
Total portions used
Recipe cost per portion
Total product cost
Macaroni & Cheese
50
25
5
70
\$.75
\$52.50
Chicken Wings
50
50
8
92
\$.80
\$72.00
BBQ Ribs
50
40
3
87
\$1.10
\$95.70
Potato Salad
40
20
10
50
\$.60
\$30.00
Macaroni Salad
30
20
5
45
\$.50
\$22.50
Tossed Salad
25
10
5
30
\$.70
\$21.00
Total Buffet Cost
blank
blank
blank
blank
blank
\$293.70
Table 8.2 Calculating Menu Item’s Total Production Cost
Once the total cost of the buffet is established, divide by the number of customers served. Example: \$293.70 divided by 66 customers = \$4.45 (This is the plate cost or cost per serving that should be used for setting the menu price for the buffet.)
Special Pricing Strategies
Various pricing strategies are also used to drive business in a foodservice operation. These include things like bundling (combo meals), value pricing and couponing, all of which are probably familiar concepts to most. These pricing approaches strive to either increase the number of customers patronizing the operation or increase the average check or the amount each customer spends. The end goal – increase revenue!
Bundling
Bundling is combining a group of menu items, typically an entrée, side and beverage, and selling the items together for one price, sometimes called a combo meal. The combined price is typically a bit cheaper than if the menu items were purchased separately, but the “bundle” price often increases the average check for each customer, thus bringing in more revenue overall for the operation. The availability of combo meals could also positively influence a customer’s decision to visit a foodservice operation.
Value Pricing
An example of value pricing is the \$1(or \$2) menu. These are items that will contribute a reduced contribution margin to the foodservice business and are sometimes called “loss leaders.” The idea is that the price of a few popular menu items is reduced to encourage customers to visit the operation for these great values thus increasing the total number of customers for the operation. Happy hour at many bars and restaurants often has some sort of value pricing on a few beverage options. The intended result is more customers which leads to more revenue. The hope with the value pricing of menu and beverage items is that customers will also purchase other menu items with a higher contribution margin and increase profits overall.
Couponing
Can you think of some examples of different types of coupons used by restaurants and other foodservice operations? How about “buy one, get one free (or second item half price), or 20% off an entrée between the hours of 4pm to 5pm or on Monday evenings (typically slower times for restaurants.) Coupons may be paper or electronic. This pricing strategy allows a foodservice operation to target the general public, perhaps in an attempt to gain new customers, or reward a specific customer, perhaps those who are part of a loyalty program or celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday. Either way, the overall goal of couponing is typically to increase the number of customers, thus increasing overall revenue.
The Pricing Challenge
Foodservice managers responsible for pricing menu items will find that they need to draw on not only the math of recipe costing and pricing factors but also the psychology behind designing the actual physical menu, which is a major marketing tool in this business. Understanding the target customers’ needs and wants along with the price/value relationship for those customers is a significant responsibility for whoever makes the final decision on menu prices for a foodservice operation.
Review Questions:
• What factors should be considered in addition to costs when setting menu prices?
• Why are using a mark-up factor and using a food cost percentage to set a minimum selling price basically the same?
• What are some situations where using couponing, bundling and value pricing could be “good practices” for a restaurant?
• Why is it important to consider the price-value relationship when setting menu prices?
• Why is it important to consider both food cost percentages and contribution margins when deciding on a menu mix? How do these two types of data analysis relate to blended pricing?
• How is calculating a plate cost and pricing a salad bar or buffet related?
Review Exercises
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This chapter is remixed from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management by The BC Cook Articulation Committee.
Chapter Outline:
• Introduction to menu analysis
• Calculating average contribution margin
• Profitability of menu items
• Calculating average popularity
• Menu revisions
• Using specials and feature items
• Arranging items on the menu
Learning Objectives:
• Explain menu analysis using the contribution margin method
• Suggest marketing and menu mix strategies for menu items based on menu analysis (high and low contribution margins combined with popularity)
• Suggest strategies for managing food cost and revenue based on a menu analysis
Key Terms:
• Menu analysis
• Contribution margin
• Profitability
• Popularity
Menu Analysis
A basic menu analysis determines how often each item on the menu is sold. This basic statistic can be used with cost percentages, menu prices, and sales values to make generalizations about the relative value of each menu item. Figure 1 shows a menu analysis worksheet for a lunch menu. Most POS systems can generate this type of information at the end of a shift, day, week, or month.
[table id=3 /]
Chapter 9, Figure 1
*C.M.= contribution margin
The statistics provided in a menu analysis have several uses. For example, the total sold statistics can be used to predict what future sales numbers will be. This information is valuable for ordering supplies and organizing the kitchen and kitchen staff to produce the predicted number of items.
Even more important than popularity is the contribution margin of each item. Often an average contribution margin is found and compared with the contribution margin of individual items.
Average Contribution Margin
The average contribution margin in the example above is found by dividing the total contribution margin (total of Column I) by the number of sales (total of Column B):
average margin = total margin/number of sales= \$415.25/50= \$8.31
The contribution margin for each item is found by subtracting the cost of the item from the selling price. In the example in Figure 1, the contribution margins are given in Column F.
Some decisions can be made comparing items:
• The hamburgers, cheeseburgers, BLTs, and ham sandwiches are below the average contribution margin. The first three items are good sellers and account for over half of the sales (30/50 = 60%) and they may be able to pull their weight by slightly increasing their prices. By adding \$0.50 to the menu price of each of these items, they would each have a contribution margin above or close to \$8.31.
• The ham sandwich is significantly lower than the average margin and is also low in sales. It might be best to drop this item from the menu and replace it with something else.
• The fried chicken has a good contribution margin but its sales are a little on the low side. To increase sales, the chicken might be given more prominence on the menu or might be offered as part of a special with a small salad for a slight increase in price. As long as the additions have a reasonable food cost percentage and are inexpensive compared to the portion cost of the chicken, the increase in sales should have a positive impact on the total contribution margin (the values in Column I).
The type of menu analysis must be tempered with common sense. Because averages are used to determine an acceptable margin or level of sales, some menu items will automatically be under the average just as some will have to be above the average. If items that are under the average are replaced, the next time a menu analysis is done there will be a new average and other items under that average. Taken logically, your menu options will run out before you have every item being exactly at the average!
Given that menu items are usually broken down into categories, this type of analysis is most effective when comparing similar items. An analysis of all of the desserts or starters to compare their margins is much more effective than comparing the margin of a dessert against a lobster dinner, which by the very nature of its price and cost will always have a higher contribution margin.
Profitability
You want to sell menu items that have a high margin of profitability. The relative profitability of an item is calculated by comparing its contribution margin to the average contribution margin (ACM) of all items. The contribution margin is the selling price of a menu item minus the standard food cost of the item. This is the amount that the item contributes to the labor cost, other costs of doing business, and profit. The ACM equals the total contribution margin divided by total numbers of items sold. Profitable items have a contribution margin equal to or higher than the ACM.
Desserts and appetizers may have lower contribution margins than entrées. This is because these items generally have lower prices and cannot contribute the same dollar value of contribution margin, even though their food cost percentage may be lower than entrée items. Also, the restaurant may wish to tempt patrons to add these items to their purchase, increasing the average cheque size. If you can sell more to an individual guest, you increase the revenues without increasing the labor costs and other costs to the same extent.
For example, if the customer orders and appetizer before the entrée, he or she does not take up any more time in the restaurant (that is, the customer does not decrease seat turnover) because the appetizer is served and eaten during the normal waiting time for preparing the main dish. As well, the additional labor of the server is minimal because even without ordering an appetizer service may still be needed to provide additional bread or refill water glasses. Thus, the sale of the appetizer will increase the profitability of the restaurant even though the contribution margin is not as high.
Desserts may also have a low contribution margin. Often desserts are purchased ready-made (e.g., cakes and cheesecakes). There may be little labor cost in serving these items so the overall contribution of the dessert item to profitability is high.
Items that require little preparation (that is, have a low labor cost) may still generate a significant contribution to margin even when their food costs are higher. Even if the food cost of the item was very high and the CM low, you would want to keep this item because the combined labor cost and food cost is low. Thus the amount this item contributes to the fixed cost of the business is high.
Potential Profitability of Menu Items
To determine the potential profit in a menu item, you must have a good idea of the potential cost of producing the item. Pre-costing the menu means you determine the cost of producing every item on the menu under ideal conditions. The assumption is that cooks will follow directions, the portions will be accurately measured, and all the portions will be sold. The results are the optimum costs; in reality, costs could be higher.
Popularity
Another factor to consider when reviewing your menus is the popularity of an item. Popularity is determined by comparing sales of items to expected popularity. The expected popularity is the predicted menu mix (sometimes called the sales mix) if each of the menu items in a category were equally popular.
An example is provided in Figure 2, which lists seven appetizers. The expected popularity would be 100% divided by 7 (the number of menu items) or 14.3%. Menu analysis assumes that popular items have sales of 70% or more of the expected popularity. In the example, appetizers would have to exceed 10% (70% of 14.3%) of appetizer sales in order to be considered popular. Which of the items is popular?
[table id=4 /]
*C.M.= contribution margin
You can see at a glance that Dry Ribs is the most popular appetizer, followed by Thai Salad and Cajun Caesar. Nachos and Soup & Salad fall just slightly over the 10% boundary. Thai Wings and Calamari show dismal results in terms of popularity with only 4.63% and 2.84% of appetizer sales.
Sales of menu items are analyzed to put menu items in four categories:
• Popular and profitable
• Popular but not profitable
• Not popular but profitable
• Neither popular nor profitable
Figure 3 displays a graph showing the popularity of the appetizers from the example over these four categories. The graph shows popularity on the vertical axis and contribution margin on the horizontal axis. A line is drawn vertically to indicate the ACM and horizontally to show 70% of expected popularity. This allows you to see at a glance which category an item falls into.
Figure 9.1 Analysis of popularity and profitability.
Long description:
The graph has an X axis, and a Y axis. The X axis is labeled “Contribution Margin (\$)”, starts at 0, ends at 10, and is incremented in intervals of 1. The Y axis is labeled “Popularity (%), starts at 0, ends at 40, and is incremented in intervals of five. Both Axis start at 0 and do not go negative. Within the graph are 4 subsections of the graph. Popular Less Profitable (upper left section), Popular and Profitable (upper right section), unpopular unprofitable(bottom left), and unpopular profitable (bottom right). These subsections are used as a key to determining what menu item falls where.
End long description
The graph shows that Thai Wings and Calamari were very unpopular menu items, but it also provides information on profitability? Thai Wings has a contribution margin that is lower than the ACM for appetizers. Calamari has a contribution margin that is higher than the ACM.
Computer programs may automatically calculate contribution margins and popularity. The information may be presented in tables or spreadsheets as shown above, or in a four-box analysis, with less detail, as shown in Table 9.1.
Table 9.1 Profitability of Popular and Unpopular Items
Popularity Unprofitable Profitable
Popular Thai Salad – (4.65, 19.28)
Soup and Salad – (4.40,11.66)
Dry Ribs – (5.03,31.54)
Cajun Caesar – (5.19, 19.43)
Nachos – (5.43, 10.61)
Unpopular Thai Wings Calamari
Table 9.1 Profitability of Popular and Unpopular Items
Menu Revisions
Popular and profitable items are ones you want to maintain on your menu. Maintain the specifications of the item rigidly. Do not change the quality of the product served. Feature the item in a prominent location on the menu. You want to sell this item, so make sure that customers see it. Have servers suggestively sell the item. For example, when asked for suggestions, they could say, “You may want to try our Linguine Chicken. It is very popular. It has a cream sauce with lots of fresh basil.” Test the possibility of increasing prices by raising the price slightly.
If an item is popular but not profitable, you want to see if you can increase the contribution margin without reducing its popularity. Increase prices carefully and gradually. If the item is attractive because of its high value, it may still be a good value after a price increase. You could also increase the contribution margin by reducing the cost of the accompaniments. For example, you might substitute less costly vegetables. You might also try to reduce costs by decreasing the portion size. If you are unable to improve the item’s popularity, you may want to relocate it to a lower profile part of the menu. If the item has a very low labor cost, you may be able to justify the lower contribution margin because less revenue is needed to compensate for the labor cost.
Not popular but profitable items are often a puzzle. You want to sell these items, but your challenge is to encourage the guests to buy them. Shift demand to these items by repositioning them on the menu. Encourage servers to suggestively sell these items. Consider decreasing the price slightly or adding value by offering a larger portion size, more expensive accompaniments or garnishes. However, you need to be cautious so that you do not change the item into a popular but unprofitable item.
Items that are neither popular nor profitable are obvious candidates to remove from the menu. They are not pulling their weight. The only time such an item might be left on the menu is if it provides an opportunity to use leftovers and has low labor costs associated with its preparation.
Using Specials and Feature Items
Another way to balance the menu is by using daily specials and feature items. For example, assume you have been tracking your food costs using a daily food cost control sheet (refer to Chapter 8, Figure 3)… It is halfway through the month and you are running a slightly higher than average food cost for the month so far. Choosing to run specials that have lower food costs or having the staff feature and promote better food cost items should help to bring the targets in line by the end of the month.
Arranging Items on the Menu
Another way of engineering the menu is by strategically arranging the items on the menu. Some menus use callout or feature boxes to highlight certain items, others have pictures featuring certain menu items, and others may note an item as a house specialty. These are all ways to attract the attention of the customer, and in most cases, you will find that it is these items that sell the best. If these items also have high contribution margins and/or low food costs, they will increase profitability. Featuring the items with the lowest margins and highest food costs will have the opposite effect, and likely mean that you will not be in business for very long. There are also some psychological reasons that things will sell on a menu. Often the most expensive or the least expensive item will not sell as well as other items on the menu because customers do not want to appear either extravagant or cheap in front of their guests. Using descriptions that entice the customer (e.g., “award-winning,” “best in the city”) will increase the sale of a particular item, but make sure you can deliver on the promise! All in all, balancing the menu is something that takes time and experience to do well, but is a skill that you will need to run a profitable kitchen.
Review Questions
• What is the difference between food cost % menu analysis and contribution margin menu analysis?
• Why must the total contribution margin for all menu items be calculated in order to calculate the average contribution margin for a full menu? OR (Why can’t the average contribution margin be calculated by taking the average of the individual contribution margins for each menu item?)
• What actions might a foodservice manager take regarding various menu items after completing a menu analysis?
• Why should menu analysis be tempered with common sense?
• Why can it be a good idea to try to sell appetizers and desserts even though they may have a lower than average contribution margin?
• How are menu analysis (engineering) and menu psychology related?
Review Exercises
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
Dessert Strategy Question:
Based on the following menu analysis, the management team divided the four dessert items into four categories. Match menu items with an appropriate strategy to increase the profitability of this dessert cafe: [table id=15 /] The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/02%3A_Menus_and_Recipes/2.06%3A_Menu_Analysis_%28Engineering%29.txt |
This chapter is remixed from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management by The BC Cook Articulation Committee.
Chapter Outline:
• Basic inventory procedures
• Systems to track and record inventory
• Receiving inventory and invoices
• Requisition systems
• Inventory record keeping
• Computerized inventory control
• Pricing and costing for physical inventory
• Factors affecting inventory levels
• Inventory turnover
• Days of inventory on hand
• Procurement Process
• Purchasing defined – buying versus ordering
• Three ways to increase your value (as a buyer/customer)
• Market sourcing
• Choosing suppliers
• Factors that Impact Prices
• Product Specifications
• Contract Buying
• Purchasing Procedures
• Production Control Chart
Learning Objectives:
Inventory and Inventory Control
• Describe inventory systems and procedures used in foodservice operations
• Calculate and explain the importance of inventory valuation
• Calculate and explain the meaning of inventory turnover ratio
• List factors in determining amount of inventory to carry
• List “best practices” related to managing inventory (Eg. Frequency of performing physical inventory, etc.)
Receiving
• List critical steps in receiving process
• Explain relationship between purchasing, food specifications and receiving function
• Describe how things can go wrong…where money can be lost in the process?
• Explain purpose and importance of the supplier invoice in the receiving process
Storage and Issuing
• Define FIFO
• List best practices for issuing procedures to control costs in a foodservice operation
Procurement/ Purchasing
• Describe the key “players” in the procurement process
• Explain how inventory and purchasing functions are related
• Explain the steps in the purchasing process
• Describe characteristics of a valued “customer” buyer
• List factors to consider in choosing suppliers
• Explain concept of “good service” from a supplier/vendor.
• List factors impacting food and supply prices
• Describe importance and key components of product specifications
• Explain steps in the ordering process.
• Determine amount to order given inventory (par level and on hand amount)
• List information typically included on a purchase order
• Recognize ethical issues related to purchasing
Key Terms:
• Inventory
• Receiving
• Invoice
• Requisition
• Perpetual inventory
• Physical inventory
• Par stock
• Inventory price extension
• Point-of-Sale (POS) system
• Holding cost
• Ordering cost
• Shortage cost
• Inventory turnover
• Procurement
• Purchasing
• Buying
• Ordering
• Cherry-picking
• Vendor
• Distributor
• Broker
• Manufacturer
• Specifications
• Contract Buying
• Par levels
• Amount on hand
• Line item bid award
• Market basket bid award
• Purchase order
Preface
This chapter has a sort of circular nature to it. It begins by discussing inventory and inventory control, but of course, there is no inventory if the procurement process has not been completed. The product is purchased, ordered, received, and stored, which brings us back to inventory control.
Basic Inventory Procedures
A key component in effective kitchen management is inventory control. By knowing what supplies are on hand at a given time, the manager will be able to plan food orders, calculate food costs since the previous inventory, and make menu item changes if needed. By keeping an eye on inventory, it is possible to note potential problems with pilferage and waste.
Managing inventory is like checking a bank account. Just as you are interested in how much money you have in the bank and whether that money is paying you enough in interest, so the manager should be interested in the value of the supplies in the storeroom and in the kitchen.
An inventory is everything that is found within your establishment. Produce, dry stores, pots and pans, uniforms, liquor, linens, or anything that costs money to the business should be counted as part of inventory. Kitchen items should be counted separately from the front of the house and bar inventory and so forth.
Regardless of the size of your operation, the principles of inventory control are the same. In larger operations there will be more people and sometimes even whole teams involved with the various steps, and in a small operation, all responsibility for managing the inventory may fall on one or two key people. Effective inventory control can be broken down into a few important steps:
• Set up systems to track and record inventory
• Develop specifications and procedures for ordering and purchasing
• Develop standards and procedures to efficiently receive deliveries
• Determine the frequency and processes for reconciling inventory
• Analyze inventory data and determine any areas for improvement
Setting Up Systems to Track and Record Inventory
One of the reasons you take inventory is to determine food costs and to work out cost percentages. There are several procedures that simplify finding the value of goods in storage. These techniques are based on keeping good records of how much supplies cost and when supplies were purchased. The temptation in small operations is to treat inventory control casually. Perhaps there are only one or two people doing the purchasing and they are usually aware of the supplies that are on hand. This doesn’t eliminate the need to track purchases against sales to see if you are managing your costs as well as you can.
Almost all inventory control procedures are time-consuming. Moreover, such records must be kept up-to-date and done accurately. Trying to save a few hours by cutting back on the time needed to keep inventory records may be money poorly saved. The simplest method for tracking inventory is using a spreadsheet. A simple spreadsheet might list all of the products that are regularly purchased, with the current prices and the numbers on hand at the last inventory count. The prices can be updated regularly as invoices are processed for payment, and a schedule can be set to count the product on hand.
In large operations, the systems need to be more sophisticated as there are more people involved. Purchases might be made by a separate department, inventory records might be kept by a storeroom clerk, and the tracking and counting of inventory might be tied to a system using scanners and barcodes, which in turn may be linked with your sales system so that there is always a record of what should be in stock. No matter the depth of detail used, having a system to track inventory gives managers a good idea of supplies on hand and a tool to use to manage costs.
Incoming Inventory
The primary reason for establishing a consistent method for accepting ordered goods is to ensure that the establishment receives exactly what has been ordered. Errors frequently occur, and unless the quantity and quality of the items delivered are carefully checked against what was ordered, substantial losses can take place. When receiving procedures are carefully performed, mistakes that could cost the restaurant time and money are avoided. In addition, an effective receiving method encourages honesty on the part of suppliers and delivery people.
Invoices
The most important document in determining if the goods received are the goods ordered is the invoice. An invoice is an itemized list of the goods or products delivered to a food preparation premise. An invoice shows the quantity, quality, price per pound or unit, and, in some cases, the complete extension of the cost chargeable. Only by carefully comparing and checking can you be sure that the information on the invoice tallies with the products received. This comparison may require that items be weighed and/or counted.
Whenever possible, the receiver should check the invoice against the purchase order or purchase request slips. This will ensure that the quantity and price of the goods shipped match those listed on the order form. If the invoice is not checked against the purchase order when the goods arrive, there is the potential that you will be missing products you need or receive products that were not ordered or are in incorrect quantities.
In addition, the quality of the goods should be determined before they are accepted. For example, boxes of fresh produce and frozen foods should be opened and inspected to ensure quality. When you are satisfied that the delivery is in order, sign the invoice.
In most cases, the invoice is in duplicate or triplicate: you keep the original and the delivery driver retains the other copy or copies. Once you have signed, you have relieved the delivery company of its responsibilities and the supplies now belong to your company. You may, therefore, become responsible for any discrepancies between what is on the invoice and what has been delivered. It is good practice to bring any discrepancies or errors to the attention of the driver and have him or her acknowledge the mistake by signing the invoice. If a credit note is issued, that should also be marked on the invoice by the driver.
Do not sign the invoice until you are sure that all discrepancies have been taken care of and recorded on the invoice. Take the signed invoice and give it to whoever is responsible for collecting invoices for the company.
The receiving of deliveries can be time-consuming for both the food establishment and the delivery service. Often the delivery people (particularly if they are not the supplier) will not want to wait while these checks are done. In this case, it is important that your company has an understanding with the supplier that faults discovered after the delivery service has left are the supplier’s problems, not yours. Once the invoices have been signed, put the delivered products in the proper locations. If you are required to track incoming inventory, do so at the same time.
Outgoing Inventory
When a supply leaves the storeroom or cooler, a record must be kept to track where it has gone. This is often done using an internal requisition form. In most small operations, the supplies go directly to the kitchen where they are used to produce the menu items. In an ideal world, accurate records of incoming and outgoing supplies are kept, so knowing what is on hand is a simple matter of subtraction.
Unfortunately, systems aren’t always that simple. In a smaller operation, knowing what has arrived and what gets used every day can easily be reconciled by doing a regular count of inventory. In larger operations and hotels, the storage rooms and coolers may be on a different floor than the kitchen, and therefore a system is needed that requires each department and the kitchens to requisition food from the storeroom or purchasing department, much like a small restaurant would do directly from the supplier. In this model, the hotel would purchase all of the food and keep it in a central storage area, and individual departments would then “order” their food from the storerooms.
Requisitions
To control inventory and to determine daily menu costs in a larger operation, it is necessary to set up a requisition procedure where anything transferred from storage to the kitchen is done by a request in writing. The requisition form should include the name and quantity of the items needed by the kitchen. These forms often have space for the storeroom clerk or whoever handles the storeroom inventory to enter the unit price and total cost of each requested item (Figure 1). In an efficiently run operation, separate requisition forms should be used by serving personnel to replace table supplies such as sugar, salt, and pepper. However, often personnel resist using requisition forms because they find it much easier and quicker to simply enter the storage room and grab what is needed, but this practice leaves no record and makes accurate record-keeping impossible. To reduce the possibility of this occurring, the storage area should be secure with only a few people having the right to enter the rooms, storage freezers, or storage refrigerators.
Date: ____________________________
Department: Food Service
Table 10.1 Calculating Unit and Total Cost of Items
Quantity Description Unit Cost Total Cost
6 #10 cans Kernel Corn
55 lbs Sugar
44 lbs Ground Beef
6 each Kernel Corn
Table 10.1 Calculating Unit and Total Cost of Items
Not only does the requisition keep tabs on inventory, but it also can be used to determine the dollar value of foods requested by each department and so be used to determine expenses. In a larger operation where purchases may be made from different suppliers at different prices, it may be necessary to tag all staples with their costs and date of arrival. Expensive items such as meats are often tagged with a form that contains information about weight, cost per unit (piece, pound or kilogram), date of purchase, and name of supplier. Pricing all items is time consuming, but that time will soon be recovered when requisition forms are being filled out or when the stock has to be given a monetary value. In addition, having prices on goods may help to remind staff that waste is costly.
Inventory Record Keeping
There are two basic record-keeping methods to track inventory. The first is taking perpetual inventory. A perpetual inventory is simply a running balance of what is on hand. Perpetual inventory is best done by keeping records for each product that is in storage, as shown in Table 10.5.
Table 10.2 Reorder Point of Canned Peaches
Item: Canned Peaches
Reorder Point: 10
Table 10.2 Reorder Point of Canned Peaches. The table displays the first half of the full table header. The full table is made up of two halves. Each half has two tables in it, 4 total displayed. This half of the table header shows the item and reorder point.
Table 10.3 Purchase UniteSize and Par Stock of Canned Peaches
Purchase Unit Size: #10 Can
Par Stock: 15
Table 10.3 Purchase Unit Size and Par Stock of Canned Peaches. The second (right) half of the table header that displays the size of the unit being re-ordered, and the par stock.
Table 10.4 Recording Dates of the Inventory, How Much of That Item the Business Received(in), Sold(out), and Total Balance.
Carried Forward From 6/15
Date In Out Balance
6/16 3 12
6/17 3 9
6/18 6 15
6/19 2 13
Table 10.4 Recording Dates of the Inventory, How Much of That Item the Business Received(in), Sold(out), and Total Balance. The second part of the first (left) table half. Displayed below the first part of the table header, this part features dates of the inventory recorded along with how many of that item the business received(in), sold(out), and total balance.
Table 10.5 Recording In, Out, and Balance of the Unit Size of the Item Being Purchased.
Carried Forward From ______
Date In Out Balance
Table 10.5 Recording In, Out, and Balance of the Unit Size of the Item Being Purchased. The second part to the second (right) half of the full table featured, this part features blank space intended to be used for recording in, out, and balance of the unit size of the item being purchased.
When more of the product is received, the number of cans or items is recorded and added to the inventory on hand; when some of the product is requisitioned, the number going out is recorded and the balance is reduced. In addition, the perpetual inventory form can indicate when the product should be reordered (the reorder point) and how much of the product should ideally be on hand at a given time (par stock). In large operations, this record-keeping is likely all computerized. In small operations, a perpetual inventory is usually only kept for expensive items as the time (and cost) of keeping up the records can be substantial. This system is often based on an ABC inventory analysis where “A” items are the most expensive, perhaps top 20%, “B” items in the middle 50%, and the least expensive, perhaps 30%, “C” items. “A” items are prioritized and may be carefully tracked and physically counted on a weekly or even daily basis, whereas “B” and “C” items may only be counted on a monthly basis and may not be tracked with a perpetual inventory.
The second inventory record-keeping system is taking a physical inventory. A physical inventory requires that all items in storage be counted periodically. To be an effective control, physical inventory should be taken at least monthly. The inventory records are kept in a spreadsheet or in another system reserved for that purpose. The inventory sheet (Table 10.6) can list the items alphabetically or in the order they will appear on the shelves in the storage areas.
Month: March
Table 10.6 Physical Inventory Form
Product Unit Count Unit Price Total Value
Lima Beans 6 #10 Can 4 1/3 \$23.00 \$99.60
Green Beans 6 #10 Can 3 5/6 \$28.95 \$110.98
Flour 55 lbs 3 \$14.85 \$44.55
Rice 110.2 lbs 1 \$32.50 \$32.50
Total \$593.68
Table 10.6 Physical Inventory Form. The table displays a product and its unit, count, unit price, and total price. four items are listed, then a total of all the products. called a physical inventory form.
In addition to the quantity of items, the inventory usually has room for the unit cost and total value of each item in storage. The total values of the items are added together to give the total dollar value of the inventory. This is also known as extending the inventory. The total value of the inventory is known as the closing inventory for the day the inventory was taken. This amount will also be used as the opening inventory to compare with the next physical inventory. If the inventory is taken on the same day of each month, the figures can be used to accurately determine the monthly food cost. The physical inventory is used to verify the accuracy of the perpetual inventory. For example, if 15 whole beef tenderloins are counted during a physical inventory, but the perpetual inventory suggests that there should be 20 tenderloins on hand, then a control problem exists and you need to find the reason for the variance.
Computerized Inventory Control
Most people today use computerized systems to calculate, track, and extend inventory. These systems enable the restaurant to have much tighter and more accurate control over the inventory on hand and the costs of that inventory. Having access to information such as ordering history and the best price paid is just one of the benefits of these systems. They can also help the purchaser predict demand levels throughout the year. These programs in many cases are also integrated with the point-of-sale (POS) system used to track sales, and can even remove an item from a computerized inventory list when the waiter registers the sale of any menu item on the restaurant terminal. That is if a customer orders one chicken dish from the menu, all the items required to make one portion of the chicken are discounted from inventory. This provides management with a constant up-to-date perpetual inventory of most inventory items.
Smaller operations will use a spreadsheet application to manage inventory, so you should also be familiar with a program like Microsoft Excel if you are responsible for ordering and inventory. The information required for the program to do the calculations properly is available from the invoices received with your supplies. That is, the quantities and prices of the goods you most recently received should be entered into the computer program either by you or by the restaurant’s purchaser. These prices and quantities are automatically used to calculate the cost of the goods on hand. This automated process can save you an enormous amount of time and, if the information entered into the computer is accurate, may also save you money. In any inventory system, there is always a possibility for error, but with computerized assistance, this risk is minimized.
Pricing and Costing for Physical Inventory
The cost of items purchased can vary widely between orders. For example, cans of pineapple might cost \$2.25 one week, \$2.15 the second week, and \$2.60 another week. The daily inventory reports will reflect the changes in price, but unless the individual cans have been marked, it is difficult to decide what to use as a cost on the physical inventory form. There are several different ways to view the cost of the stock on the shelves if the actual cost of each item is difficult to determine. Most commonly, the last price paid for the product is used to determine the value of the stock on hand. For example, if canned pineapple last cost \$2.60 a can and there are 25 cans on hand, the total value of the pineapple is assumed to be \$65 (25 x \$2.60) even though not all of the cans may have been bought at \$2.60 per can. Another method for costing assumes the stock has rotated properly and is known as the FIFO (first-in-first-out) system. Then, if records have been kept up-to-date, it is possible to more accurately determine the value of the stock on hand. Here is an example showing how the FIFO system works.
Example
The daily inventory shows the following:
Opening Inventory 15 cans @ \$2.15 = \$32.25
Received on 8th of month 24 cans @ \$2.25 = \$54.00
Received on 15th of month 24 cans @ \$2.15 – \$51.60
Received on 23rd of month 12 cans @ \$2.60 – \$31.20
If the stock has rotated according to FIFO, you should have used all of the opening inventory, all of the product received on the 8th, and some of the product received on the 15th. The 25 remaining cans must consist of the 12 cans received on the 23rd and 13 of the cans received on the 15th. The value of these cans is then
12 cans @ 2.60 = \$31.20
13 cans @ 2.15 = \$27.95
Total = \$59.15
As you can see, the choice of costing method can have a marked effect on the value of the stock on hand. It is always advisable to use the method that best reflects the actual cost of the products.
Key Point – Once a method is adopted, the same method must be used consistently or the statistical data generated will be invalid.
Costing Prepared or Processed Items
When you are building your inventory forms, be sure to calculate the costs of any processed items. For instance, sauces and stocks that you make from raw ingredients need to be costed accurately and recorded on the spreadsheet along with purchased products so that when you are counting your inventory you are able to reflect the value of all supplies on the premises that have not been sold.
Costs Associated with Maintaining Inventory
It should be obvious by now that it is important to maintain an inventory of many types of products in a foodservice operation. There are, however, costs associated with procuring and maintaining that inventory, including holding costs, ordering costs and shortage costs.
Holding cost represents the cost of storing the material (electricity, insurance, security, data processing, handling), financial costs reflect the money that is tied up in inventory, and then there are costs related to deterioration and damage.
Ordering costs are any costs associated with ordering and receiving inventory. These costs consist of salaries of the purchasing and accounting departments, wages in the receiving area, and transportation. For example, if you purchase your weekly food and supplies from four different vendors, you have to place orders with four different salespeople, receive four different trucks, process four different purchase orders and pay four different invoices. If you purchase from only one weekly supplier, these functions are reduced accordingly. This area can also represent a cost-saving, since it may not take any longer to order and process payment for 200 cases than it does to do the same for two cases of a particular item.
Shortage costs are those that occur when the demand exceeds the supply. Shortages may occur when there is an unexpectedly high demand before new stock items are received. Although some shortages are inevitable, customers are not always understanding when they don’t receive the meal they anticipated. While they may not voice their dissatisfaction to the foodservice department, they may tell their friends that the menu you print in your operation is not always the one that is served. This type of comment leads to a negative view of your foodservice operation. Shortages may also lead to paying a higher price for a needed item from another supplier.
Factors Affecting Inventory Levels
There are a variety of factors that affect how much inventory should be kept on hand some of which were mentioned previously in the forecasting chapter. The menu, the frequency of deliveries and lead time needed from order to delivery, the amount of storage space, including cold storage, the location and size of the operation are all examples of factors to consider. Some smaller operations may need to carry higher inventory levels in order to reduce the number of deliveries so that each delivery is large enough to make it worthwhile for a supplier to run a truck to the operation or to avoid shipping costs
Some operations can operate with a “just in time” inventory – based on the working stock needed for the menu. Many operations will be graded on how much inventory they are carrying. Even though the inventory has value, tying up your money in inventory is not wise. It does not gain interest, as your money would if it were invested in other places. The quality of many products will degrade over time, and you may be forced to throw it away. Too much product can also lead to increased theft. Employees will be more tempted if they see that we are carrying an excess of something.
Inventory Turnover
When accurate inventory records are kept, it is possible to use the data in the records to determine the inventory turnover rate. The inventory turnover rate shows the number of times in a given period (usually a month) that the inventory is turned into revenue. Inventory turnover of 1.5 means that the inventory turns over about 1.5 times a month, or 18 times a year. In this case, you would have about three weeks of supplies in inventory at any given time (actually 2.88 weeks, which is 52 weeks/18). Generally, an inventory turnover every one to two weeks (or two to three times per month) is considered normal.
A common method used to determine inventory turnover is to find the average food inventory for a month and divide it into the total food cost for the same month. The total food cost is calculated by adding the daily food purchases (found on the daily receiving reports) to the value of the food inventory at the beginning of the month and subtracting the value of the food inventory at the end of the month.
That is,
average food inventory = (beginning inventory + ending inventory)/2
cost of food = beginning inventory + purchases – ending inventory
inventory turnover = (cost of food)/(average food inventory)
Example
A restaurant has a beginning inventory of \$8000 and an ending inventory of \$8500. The daily receiving reports show that purchases for the month totaled \$12 000. Determine the cost of food and inventory turnover.
Cost of food = \$8000 + \$12 000 – \$8500 = \$11 500
Average food inventory = (\$8000 + \$8500)/2 = \$8250
Inventory turnover = \$11 500/\$8250 = 1.4
The turnover rate in the example would be considered low and would suggest that the business has invested too much money in inventory. Having a lot of inventory on hand can lead to spoilage, high capital costs, increased storage space requirements, and other costs.
Inventory turnover rates are not exact, for a few reasons. One is that in many food operations, accurate inventory records are usually kept only for more expensive items. Another is that the simple food cost used in the calculation does not truly reflect the actual food cost. (Food costs are discussed in another chapter in this book.) In addition, not all inventory turns over at the same rate. For example, perishables turn over as quickly as they arrive while canned goods turn over more slowly.
Even though turnover rates are not exact, they do give managers at least a rough idea of how much inventory they are keeping on hand.
Calculating Days of Inventory on Hand
There are two approaches to use to find the days of inventory on hand. If you select the first method, divide the average inventory for the year or other accounting period by the corresponding cost of goods sold (COGS); multiply the result by 365. The cost of goods sold is reported on the firm’s income statement. Compute the average inventory by adding the amount of inventory at the end of the previous year to the value of inventory at the end of the current year and dividing by two.
Inventory figures are stated on the company’s balance sheet. Suppose the company reports COGS of \$2.5 million and an average inventory of \$250,000. Divide \$250,000 by \$2.5 million, and multiply by 365. You have 36.5 days of inventory on hand.
Procurement Process
The major goal of the procurement process is to assure the availability of food and supplies in the quantity and quality consistent with operational standards at the most favorable price.
The purchasing process is an essential part of every food service operation. All competent cooks should be skilled in buying the appropriate ingredients, in accurate amounts, at the right time, and at the best price. Every kitchen operation has different purchasing procedures. But there is one rule that should always be followed:
• Buy only as much as it is anticipated will be needed until the next delivery.
This will ensure that foods stay fresh and will create a high inventory turnover. All foods deteriorate in time, some more quickly than others. It is the job of the purchaser to ensure that only those quantities that will be used immediately or in the near future are purchased.
The quality of the food and materials purchased is a major factor in determining the quality of the menu served in any foodservice operation. Food items can be purchased in many stages of preparation from raw to ready-to-serve. The food buyer must purchase the appropriate market form to meet the menu requirements and operation’s quality standards.
Food and materials are a major expense in the restaurant or foodservice department’s budget. To meet budgetary goals, a foodservice operation must have a well-organized purchasing program that provides a complete supply of food items, in the amounts needed, at a fair price.
Purchasing is defined as the determination of needs and the placement of the orders with suppliers. The purchasing process can be divided into two activities: buying and ordering. Buying involves decisions regarding where to place orders on the basis of quality, price, and service. Buying is a management function. Therefore, the foodservice manager or director usually assumes responsibility for deciding on the suppliers from which to purchase food and supplies. Ordering is the determination of the quality and quantity of food and supplies required to satisfy menu requirements, at a price within budgetary guidelines. Ordering is usually a supervisory function, and a foodservice supervisor is often given responsibility for ordering. Ordering may also be done by a skilled employee such as an experienced cook, especially in smaller operations.
The individuals responsible for ordering must be familiar with menu requirements; the quantities of food needed; market forms of food; grades and standards; seasons for foods; the food marketing system; and reliable sources of market information. In addition, a food buyer must have some knowledge and understanding of legal responsibilities and ethical practices. Sound business principles and well-stated purchasing policies are the foundation of a good purchasing program. Fairness, honesty, and trust between the food buyer and the supplier are essential to a good working relationship.
The customer and the supplier depend on each other. The foodservice cannot operate without the merchandise, and the supplier must have a market for his goods. Therefore, a satisfactory “deal” is one that benefits both parties.
The customer, however, needs more than just the product offered by the supplier: (s)he needs the supplier’s expertise and his/her reliable service. To ensure himself/herself the benefits of the buyer/supplier relationship, the buyer should try to be a valued customer. Reliable vendors will always try to protect their valued customers by extending them with the best possible quality, price, and service.
Three Ways to Increase Your Value
A customer can increase his/her value to a supplier in at least three important ways.
First
He/she should place orders of a reasonable size. Because delivery services cost money, most suppliers establish minimum size requirements for orders. In other words, the order has to be big enough to make it worth the supplier’s while to deliver. The buyer should learn what these minimum size requirements are and try to stay above them. Of course, a good supplier will usually help out in an emergency that requires a rush delivery or a small order, but don’t ask for these special favors too often or you’ll end up paying for it.
Second
A customer should not place his/her orders too often. In fact, spacing-out orders help assure that they are kept to acceptable sizes. Very frequent or small orders indicate inexperience and poor planning on the part of a buyer. Careful planning and accuracy in estimating needs are necessary to build a good relationship with a supplier. If the foodservice operation is large enough, the supplier may be willing to make frequent deliveries, but will usually pass added expenses on to the buyer as the price for the buyer’s inefficiency. The acceptable frequency of delivery varies from place to place and is determined principally by the accessibility of the goods and the distance the supplier has to travel to make his deliveries. In large cities, for example, daily deliveries are common. Nevertheless, if a buyer does a fairly small volume of business with a supplier, the buyer should try to place orders only two or three times a week to minimize the supplier’s expenses. In rural areas deliveries may be made only once or twice a month, so that it may be necessary for the foodservice operation to maintain an inventory somewhat larger than would normally be desirable. (It is, of course, economically advantageous to keep the inventory as low as possible. Large inventories involve investment insurance, storage, and spoilage expenses.)
Third
A customer should not spread his/her business among too many suppliers. The wise buyer will confine business to a limited number of suppliers who provide acceptable service. This is not to say that the buyer should never order from other companies. It does mean, however, that a few suppliers in each food category should receive the lion’s share of the business. A buyer may occasionally order from other suppliers, especially if they have something new or interesting to offer, but it is wise to check with the current supplier first before looking elsewhere. “Cherry picking” should be avoided. This is a practice of buying each item from whichever supplier has the lowest cost, no matter the size of the overall order. In some smaller operations, the buyer may choose to use one supplier in each food category; in most cases, it is wise to have more than one supplier.
Market Sourcing
Sources of supply vary considerably from location to location. Large cities have a greater number and variety of suppliers than do small towns and isolated communities. Purchasers should establish contact with available suppliers/vendors such as wholesalers, distributors, local producers and packers, retailers, cooperative associations, as well as brokers, and food importers. In most instances, the person in charge of buying will contact several suppliers to obtain the necessary foods. Some wholesalers diversify their product lines in order to meet all food-related kitchen needs. Food products are obtained from various sources of supply. For example, a packing house supplies meat and meat products, while a food wholesaler supplies dry goods. Once the business is established with a supplier, all transactions should be well documented and kept readily available on file. There are two major food categories: perishables and non-perishables
Perishables
Perishable items include fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and shellfish, fresh meats, poultry, and dairy products. As a rule, perishables are bought frequently to ensure freshness. Frozen foods, such as vegetables, fish and meat products, have a longer lifespan and can be ordered less frequently and stored in a freezer.
Non-perishables
Non-perishable items include dry goods, flour, cereals, and miscellaneous items such as olives, pickles, and other condiments. These can be ordered on a weekly or monthly basis.
Keep in mind that just because something does not go bad isn’t a reason to buy it in quantities larger than you need. Every item in your inventory is equal to a dollar amount that you could be saving or spending on something else. Consider that a case of 1000 sheets of parchment paper may cost \$250. If you have a case and a half sitting in your inventory, but only use a few sheets a day, that is a lot of money sitting in your storeroom.
Choosing Suppliers
When selecting a supplier, it is not enough to consider only the prices, since these, after all, do not necessarily reflect the quality and reliability of goods and services offered by the supplier.
In the very competitive business of foodservice, the quality of one’s product is always of paramount importance. From the buyer’s standpoint, however, quality does not necessarily always mean “the best.” In terms of purchasing, quality means getting the best quality commensurate with the intended use of the product. If, for example, the menu includes soup, the buyer would purchase less expensive, skinless tomatoes rather than the higher quality, more expensive whole tomatoes with skins, which are much too expensive to be used in soup. Similarly, meat that is to be served as an expensive steak should be the best meat available, whereas meat for Swiss steak can be obtained from a variety of inexpensive cuts—and the choice may well depend on their relative cost.
In addition to the criterion of intended use, buyers must consider the product’s own characteristics rather than just the recognition of the supplier’s brand name. Some packers spend a great deal of money on their brand-name promotions, but a buyer should never let the brand name alone influence his or her purchasing decisions unless (s)he, in turn, intends to advertise the product to customers by the brand name. (S)he must study the products carefully to determine which provides the best quality for the money. In any market, it takes time to learn which suppliers and labels yield the best results, but in the long run, it is time well spent.
Although most buyers are aware of the importance of considering the price of the product they are buying, they often fail to put a price into a proper perspective with other factors that affect the suitability of particular products. Consequently, they put too much emphasis on buying the cheapest product and may, as a result, actually end up paying more in terms of cost-per-portion and preparation time. For example, in one particular market area, there were three suppliers of a roast round of beef. Two of them consistently offered an inside round at a lower price than the third, but careful yield-testing of the product—that is, determining how many portions were obtained for the total dollar cost—indicated that the company with the highest price was really offering the best buy. Their roasts had the excess fat and bones trimmed more closely than those of the other suppliers.
Canned products should also be evaluated according to the price-yield ratio. One brand may have prices considerably lower than its competitors’ but may contain substantially less fruit or vegetables, with more juice or water making up the weight. Or the quality itself may be inferior. This is not to say, of course, that lower-priced commodities are always inferior, but rather that buyers should conduct tests to determine quality and yield for themselves.
The only way to judge canned products effectively is by opening a can and inspecting the contents. If the buyer finds, for example, that a can of peaches contains fruit with several bruises, (s)he will know that those peaches are not suitable for use in a salad, where appearance is an important factor. Consequently, (s)he will reject that particular product as unsatisfactory for its intended use. To measure the yield of a canned product, the buyer should determine the net drained weight of that product—the weight of the fruit or vegetable after the liquid has been drained off. The cost-per-can divided by the net drained weight in ounces gives the cost per usable ounce. Therefore, when a buyer considers the price of a product, (s)he must consider the price in relation to the amount of the actual product, not just price per weight or volume.
Furthermore, shopping for price alone can cause a loss of trust between the salesperson and the buyer. Salespeople may bypass “price shoppers” on the really good buys because they are not considered to be good customers.
The food buyers’ objective should be to purchase food and supplies from reputable suppliers who meet the following essential criteria:
• They must offer a competitive price structure for a specified quality.
• They must be able to provide good delivery service
• products must arrive in good condition;
• drivers must be courteous
• food and supplies must be delivered on schedule
• They must have specified items in stock, thus avoiding shorts.
• They must be able to provide new product information; nutritional information related to food purchased; and information on market conditions affecting you.
• Rather than favors, the concept of “good service” refers to a positive attitude on the part of the supplier and the ways in which this attitude benefits the entire foodservice operation–not just the individual employee. The supplier who gives good service is the one who will deliver as frequently as the foodservice operation needs deliveries and at conveniently scheduled times (not during meal service periods).
• has courteous delivery agents who are willing to transport deliveries to the receiving area and check the accuracy of the order.
• consistently provides the quality that the buyer has asked for, or informs the buyer when the quality of the product falls below his or her normal standards and provides the option of canceling the order or accepting the best deal possible.
• keeps prices in line with the market, even without being checked on.
• provides new product information and nutritional information relating to food purchased.
• keeps the buyer informed of market conditions so (s)he can stock up on a required item or alter his or her menu.
• is concerned about the reputation of his or her firm and strives to maintain high standards and quality service.
Service, then, is the kind of consideration the buyer can expect from one who is conducting a business, values clients, and works hard to keep them satisfied. Friendship is a wonderful thing, but service is what you are paying for.
You should keep in mind, however, that this is a two-way street. You expect good service, but you should also show consideration to the supplier. In the case of an emergency such as a strike, bad weather conditions, or a move to a new warehouse, the supplier may ask you to modify your schedule somewhat. Try to be understanding and cooperative since you will also expect equal consideration.
From Canadian book…
Factors That Impact Prices
Food products, in particular, fluctuate in price over the year, due to many factors:
• Seasonality: When food is in season, there is more of it available in the local food supply, bringing prices down. Additionally, foods in season are usually of higher quality and have a longer shelf life than those that are out of season and need to be transported long distances to market.
• Weather: Severe weather can have a huge impact on the cost of food. Drought, flooding, and unseasonable frost have all affected major produce-supplying areas of the world in recent years, causing a rise in prices for many items.
• Cost of transportation: If the cost of fuel or transportation rises so does the cost of food that needs to travel to the market.
• Commodity prices: A number of foods are traded on the commodity market, such as meats and grains. These prices fluctuate as buyers who trade in these products in large volumes buy and sell, much like the stock market.
Before purchasing any food items, ask the following questions.
• When is the item to be used?
• Which supplier has the best price and the best quality? Where an item is purchased should be determined by the price and the quality of the available supplies. When ordering supplies, it is advisable to get prices from at least three sources, then purchase from the supplier who quotes the best price for a comparable quality.
• When will the item be delivered? Depending on the distance of the food service establishment from the supplier, the delivery may take hours or days. Remember, it is extremely difficult to maintain food quality and consistency if you do not know when your order will be delivered. For this reason, menu planning and a running inventory are two of the most important aspects of purchasing procedures.
Product Specifications
Specifications should be written for nearly every item that is purchased. This is critical is the foodservice operation receives federal funding as is the case for some education and healthcare facilities. Writing specifications can be a demanding and time-consuming job, especially for many different food and supply items, equipment, chemicals, and so on.
Meat, seafood, poultry, processed fruits and vegetables, and fresh fruits and vegetables can be ordered under different specifications. For example,
• Meats can be ordered by grade, cut, weight/thickness, fat limitation, age, whether fresh or frozen, and type of packaging.
• Seafood can be ordered by type (e.g., finfish/shellfish), species, market form, condition, grade, place of origin, whether fresh or frozen, count, size, and packaging,
• Poultry can be ordered by type, grade, class (e.g., broiler, fryer), style (e.g., breasts, wings), size, whether fresh or frozen, and packaging.
• Processed fruits and vegetables can be ordered by grade (sometimes), variety, packaging size and type, drained weight, count per case, packing medium, and whether canned or frozen.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables can be ordered by grade (sometimes), variety, size, weight per container, growing area, and count per container
Below adapted from Canadian book…
Table 10.7 shows an example of a purchasing specification sheet for beef that might be kept in a commercial kitchen or receiving area.
Table 10.7 A Sample Purchasing Specification
Beef
Grade
Weight, Size, and Cut Specifications
Prime rib
Choice
15 lb, fully trimmed
New York strip
Prime
13 lb, Bone out, fully trimmed, max 6 in. width, min 2 in. depth
Tenderloin
Prime
6 lb, fully trimmed to silverside
Roast sirloin
Select
15 lb, boneless butt
Short loins
Prime
13 lb, fully trimmed, 2 in. from eye
Table 10.7 A Sample Purchasing Specification. The table shows different kinds of beef with their grade, weight, and cut specifications.
Additional Resources
The following websites are useful resources for additional information on food product specifications
These books are great resources for purchase specifications:
The Visual Food Encyclopedia
The Visual Food Lover’s Guide: Includes essential information on how to buy, prepare, and store over 1000 types of food
Chef’s Book of Formulas, Yields and Sizes
Purchasing Procedures
In most restaurant kitchens, purchasing and ordering are done by the chef and sous-chefs, although in larger hotels there may be purchasing departments assigned this responsibility. In most self-operated on-site foodservice operations, the foodservice manager/director is responsible for purchasing, though if the foodservice is contracted to managed services, the operation will likely be part of contract buying. Most kitchens will have a list of suppliers, contacts, delivery dates and schedules, and order sheets with par stock levels to make purchasing easier. For a special function or event, such as a banquet, it may also be necessary to determine the required supplies for that function alone.
Production Control Chart
To calculate the quantities of food items to be ordered for any size banquet, a portion control chart must be consulted first. Most establishments will have a portion control chart similar to the one shown in Table 10.8. The chart indicates the portions to be used per person for any given menu item.
Table 10.8 Portion Control Chart.
Food Item Menu Item Portion Size
Shrimp Shrimp cocktail 80 g (2.82 oz.)
Lemon Shrimp cocktail 1 wedge (6/lemon)
Cocktail sauce Shrimp cocktail 60 mL (2.11 oz.)
Head lettuce Tossed salad 1/4 head
Tomato Tossed salad 1/2 each
Dressing Tossed salad 60 mL (2.11 oz.)
Prime rib, raw, trimmed ready Prime rib 500 g (17.6 oz.)
Potato Baked potato 1 each (100 count)
Green beans Green beans 80 g (2.82 oz.)
Carrots Carrots 80 g (2.82 oz.)
Strawberries Fresh strawberries 100 g (3.52 oz.)
Whipping cream Berries and cream 60 mL (2.11 oz.)
Coffee Coffee 500 g (17.6 oz.) for 75 people
Coffee creamCoffee60 mL (2.11 oz.)
Table 10.8 Portion Control Chart. The table displays a food item, a menu item containing that food, and the portion size of the food item.
One use for a portion control chart is to estimate the quantity of major ingredients and supplies needed to produce a predicted number of menu servings.
Example
You need to prepare shrimp cocktails and prime rib for a 100-person banquet. Using the portion control chart in Figure 5, you can quickly determine what amounts of major ingredients (Figure 6).
Table 10.9 Calculating Purchase Amounts
Required Servings Amount to Order
100 x 80 g shrimp 8000 g or 8 kg (17.6 lbs.) shrimp
100 x 1 wedge of lemon 100 wedges = 17 lemons (6 wedges per lemon)
100 x 1/4 head of lettuce 25 heads lettuce
100 x 500 g prime rib raw oven ready 50 kg (110 lbs.) prime rib
Table 10.9 Calculating Purchase Amounts. The table displays how one would calculate the cost of shrimp cocktails for a one hundred person banquet.
Purchasing Methods
Purchasing policies and procedures vary depending on the ownership and size of the organization. In health care facilities and large school districts, it is common to have centralized purchasing of all materials and supplies—including food—done by one department.
Contract Buying
Some restaurants and hotels, particularly those belonging to chains, will have contracts in place for the purchasing of all products or for certain items. This may mean that the property can only purchase from a specific supplier, but in return, it will have negotiated set pricing for the duration of the contract. This has advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, the contract price remains stable and the job of managing food costs becomes more consistent since there are no price fluctuations. On the negative side, contract buying takes away the opportunity to compare prices between suppliers and take advantage of specials that may be offered.
Centralized purchasing is also used by management companies that operate a chain of nursing homes and small hospitals or a number of school districts or a combination of all the aforementioned organizations. In this case, the unit managers may be responsible for ordering only dairy and bread directly from suppliers and ordering the remaining products through the management company’s central purchasing system. In a large segment of the industry, however, foodservice managers/directors decide on the purchasing methods that best suit their needs.
Purchasing methods can be divided into informal—often called open-marketbuying and formalbid buying.
Informal purchasing is basically working with suppliers to identify the appropriate products, ordering the correct quantities, and then receiving and storing the product. Getting the best price for the quality of the product desired is just as it’s called – informal.
Line item awards simply choose and purchase from the supplier with the lowest price. This is why it’s important to develop tight specifications for products and inspect the product carefully when receiving. You have to make sure you are getting exactly the product you want and checking that is what is delivered. Line item bidding works in very large operations purchasing large quantities of products, but it may be difficult for smaller operations to make sure their delivery is large enough to be the “valued customer/buyer” desired.
A “market basket” approach groups similar items, or items that would logically be purchased from a single supplier, such as produce. The amount of each product is forecasted and is multiplied by the bid price from each bidding supplier to get an extended price for that product. This extended price is calculated for all items in the market basket and the bid (business) is awarded to the supplier with the overall lowest price for the whole group of products. See the following example where the entire bid/order would be awarded to Supplier C.
Table 10.11 Food Product’s Forecasted Amount and Purchasing Information for Three Different Suppliers
Product Fore-cast Amt. Supplier A Total \$ Supplier B Total \$ Supplier C Total \$
Romaine Lettuce, cs
3
\$24.00/cs
\$72
\$25.00/cs
\$75
\$22.00/cs
\$66
5×6 Tomatoes, cs
1
\$30.00/cs
\$30
\$32.00/cs
\$32
\$31.00/cs
\$31
Cucumbers, cs
2
\$12.00/cs
\$24
\$13.00/cs
\$26
\$10.00/cs
\$20
Red Peppers, cs
4
\$32.00/cs
\$128
\$31.00/cs
\$124
\$30.00/cs
\$120
TOTAL BID
\$254
\$257
\$237
Table 10.11 Food Product’s Forecasted Amount and Purchasing Information for Three Different Suppliers
Additional Resource for K-12 Procurement
Cost-plus buying
Another type of buying is called cost-plus buying. This is a purchasing procedure commonly used by large food chains. An arrangement is made with a supplier to purchase all of a certain kind of food at a specific percentage mark-up over the supplier’s cost. The advantage of this method is that the mark-up is smaller than it would otherwise be. In addition to the cost savings realized for a lower mark-up, the purchasing agent saves time contacting other suppliers to get price quotations. The disadvantage of this system is that it is usually impossible for a purchasing agent to verify the supplier’s cost unless the supplier agrees to unannounced inspections of the firm’s books.
Another variation of cost-plus buying is the use of a prime vendor. The advantages and disadvantages of prime vendor purchasing are the same as cost-plus; however, some organizations need to be cautious in their use of these methods because of the purchasing regulations they are required to follow. This is particularly true of school systems since they are public institutions supported by taxpayers and must use competitive bidding.
It is important for foodservice managers, especially those in smaller operations, to understand the benefits of a group or cooperative purchasing. Cooperative buying involves similar operations joining together to purchase products. It is commonly referred to as group purchasing. The organization of these units may be based on a number of considerations: membership in a regional hospital or educational association or council, the proximity of other institutions wishing to participate, a common religious affiliation or some other allegiance, or membership in a national purchasing program.
The obvious benefit of group purchasing is that it enables a relatively small facility to reap the same cost benefits it would enjoy if it were receiving mass purchasing discounts. In order to realize volume discounts, however, the group must agree to minimize the number of different items ordered. This tends to limit flexibility in menu planning. Often facilities that belong to a group purchasing program also go to a local secondary supplier.
Institutions can increase their food cost savings and tighten their control over group purchasing procedures by designating a representative–preferably someone with purchasing experience–to keep an eye on the group’s policies and standards. Collectively, members of the group can develop purchasing specifications to be used, in turn, by their purchasing agent in obtaining bids or quotations from food vendors. The formulation of these specifications would, in fact, be an obvious fringe benefit to the small operation with no specifications of its own to define the quality of food it requires. The membership representative might also participate in taste panels, yield tests, and examination of can contents—activities that encourage more objective and thorough purchasing decisions but are inconvenient and impractical for a single facility to conduct on its own.
Purchase Order Chart with Par Levels
The primary purpose of using a purchasing standard is to ensure that sufficient quantities of all food are on hand to meet daily requirements. To establish and maintain these standards, food inventory must become a daily routine. Having set par levels (the amount you should have on hand to get through to the next order) will help in this regard.
There are three main things you need to know:
• Amount required (par level)
• Amount on hand
• Amount to order
To find the amount to order, subtract the amount on hand from the amount required (Figure 7).
Par stock is a term used to describe the amount of a particular item required to meet an operation’s needs during a specified period of time. Once a buyer determines that amount, a par stock can be established and used as an ordering guide.
In some cases, you may have to order a minimum amount based on the package size, so will need to round your quantity up (such as the whole tub of garlic and full cases of mushrooms, apples, and lettuce in Figure 7).
Table 10.12 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Meats
Meat Amount Required (Par Level) Amount on Hand Amount to Order Actual Order
Corned beef 10 kg 2 kg 8 kg 8 kg
Ribs of beef 20 kg 5 kg 15 kg 15 kg
Ground beef 10 kg 10 kg 10 kg
Veal liver 5 kg 500 g 4.5 kg 4.5 kg
Pork loin 10 kg 3 kg 7 kg 7 kg
Table 10.12 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Meats
Table 10.13 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of A Sole Fillet Fish
Fish Amount Required (Par Level) Amount on Hand Amount to Order Actual Order
Sole Fillet 25 kg 5 kg 20 kg 20 kg
Table 10.13 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of A Sole Fillet Fish
Table 10.14 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Vegetables
Vegetable Amount Required (Par Level) Amount on Hand Amount to Order Actual Order
Garlic, peeled 2 kg tub 250 g 1.750 kg 2 kg tub
Mushrooms 5 kg case 500 g 4.5 kg 5 kg case
Lettuce 2 cases (24/case) 12 (1/2 case) 1 1/2 cases 2 cases
Table 10.14 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Vegetables
Table 10.15 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Fruits
Fruits Amount Required (Par Level) Amount on Hand Amount to Order Actual Order
Apples 2 cases 1/2 case 1 1/2 cases 2 cases
Strawberries 10 kg 10 kg
Oranges 1 Case 2 Cases
Table 10.15 Calculating the Actual Order Amount of Different Fruits
Integrating these par levels into your regular ordering sheets or your ordering system will make it very easy to manage inventory coming in. More and more suppliers are moving to online ordering systems, which have current prices, case sizes, and often your purchase history available to you when placing an order. Online ordering can often be more convenient as the person placing the order does not have to make a call into an order desk during regular office hours.
Ordering Process
The amount of food to order depends on the number of people to be served (including customers, patients, employees and staff, students, retail operations, and catering), the portion size, and the number of times an item is on the menu. For example, canned tomatoes could be used in a number of menu items during the order period. Other factors that affect the purchase amount include the amount of food on hand, the frequency of food deliveries, and the storage space available for inventory, as previously discussed.
Steps in the Ordering Process
Table 10.16 The Four Steps in the Ordering Process
Step 1: Make a list of all the food items required for the menu. Estimate the demand for each menu item based on records of past experience.
Step 2: Refer to standardized recipes to determine the required amounts of various ingredients.
Step 3: Translate quantities needed into purchase units, e.g., No. 10 cans.
Step 4: Take inventory of food on hand and subtract this amount from the total amount required to determine the amount to purchase.
Table 10.16 The Four Steps in the Ordering Process
Once the supplier is chosen and the order compiled, typically a purchase order is prepared. The purchase order lists information for both the purchasing organization and the supplier, the products ordered, with the amounts, bid price and extended price and the total for the purchase order. Several copies are typically prepared so that the purchaser, supplier, accounting office and receiving clerk all have copies.
Receiving
When the quality and quantity of incoming merchandise is not carefully inspected, the benefits of detailed purchase specifications and careful buying practices are eliminated. A key player in this procedure is the staff member who handles the receiving in your facility. In large operations, this may be a receiving clerk whose job is to concentrate solely on the receiving (and often storage) activity. In smaller operations receiving may be handled by the foodservice manager or a head cook or lead worker in a kitchen.
Obviously, training for completing the receiving and storage tasks is extremely important and must emphasize accuracy and conscientious adherence to proper procedures. Training may be completed on-the-job and should include the following functions:
• checking the quality, quantity, and weight of the incoming deliveries against the purchase order and specifications; (It is not possible to check each piece of fruit, for example, so a random inspection is recommended to assure quality.) Hint: Occasionally turn the case over and check the bottom layer or produce!
• inspecting for the specified quality;
• recording deliveries received in the daily record;
• monitoring critical control points for all potentially hazardous foods;
• knowing what action to take if a problem occurs with a delivered product;
• following procedures and preparing paperwork for returning unsatisfactory merchandise;
• handling invoices;
• marking cartons for storage;
• delivering merchandise to the storeroom or kitchen for storage or use; and
• proper procedures for storing food and rotating inventory.
Storage
Foodservice storage forms an important link between receiving and food preparation in all foodservice operations. Thus, the quality of the storage system directly affects the quality of the product used in food preparation. The amount of storage required depends on the frequency of deliveries and the turnover of the product. Storage is vital for another reason: it is one part of the operation where management can exert effective control without appreciably increasing time and personnel costs. In other words, good storage management, in the form of effective controls on shrinkage, theft and pilferage, and unnecessary food handling, can help keep foodservice costs down. Now we’re back to controlling inventory!
Professional Ethics
Always act in a professional manner in dealing with suppliers. Your actions affect both your reputation and the reputation of your facility. Be available to talk to salespeople at scheduled times; don’t discuss internal problems with salespeople; don’t gossip about other salespeople; and don’t discuss price quotations given by competitors. Use the time spent with salespeople wisely; discuss market conditions, get price quotations, and learn about new products. Preparing the order while the salesperson waits in your office is discourteous and wastes his or her time. You should never give a salesperson responsibility for determining your order size. The food buyer has responsibility for estimating order sizes based on purchasing guidelines. A supplier will lose respect for the disorganized buyer who allows a salesperson to make out the order (who may take advantage of the situation by overstocking the inventory). Be sure you are aware of any rules and regulations governing purchasing for your foodservice operation.
The Managing Procurement and Inventory Control Circle is Completed
As you read this chapter you may have thought, “I think I already learned something about this!”, and you would be correct. The entire procurement process flows from one aspect of the foodservice operation to another and then back or around again. Inventory control underlies the entire process. The overall lesson is to understand that managing and controlling inventory, purchasing, buying, ordering, receiving, storage and everything in between is critical to controlling costs in any foodservice operation.
Review Questions:
• Why is it important to understand the various “players” and their roles in the procurement process?
• How are inventory, inventory records and the procurement process related?
• What are the characteristics of a valued “customer” buyer?
• What factors should be considered, along with prices, in choosing suppliers?
• What factors impact food and supply prices for foodservice operations?
• Why are product specifications an important part of the procurement process?
• What are some ethical considerations that interface with the procurement process?
Review Exercises
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The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/03%3A_Managing_Procurement_and_Food_Production/3.01%3A_Managing_Inventory_Control_and_Procurement.txt |
Outline:
• Planning and Analyzing Production
• Production Schedules
• Batch Cooking
• Ingredient Assembly
• Managing carryovers
• Reducing Actual Food & Beverage Cost (dollars)
• Portion Control (overserving)
• Overcooking (shrinkage)
• Waste
• Yield
• Shelf-life
• Incorrect Production Quantity
Learning Objectives:
• Describe management tools to use in planning and analyzing production
• Explain how production decisions—including planning, forecasting and production, and quality demand—affect cost objectives of an operation
• Describe how and why to use a food production record
• Explain the importance of carefully managing carryover
• Recognize the overlap of managing production with forecasting, procurement and inventory functions
• Explain key factors of control in the food production process, such as portion control, overcooking, and waste.
Key Terms
• Production schedule
• Forecasting
• Activity analysis
• Batch cooking
• Carryover
• Portion control
• Overcooking
• Waste
Planning and Analyzing Production
Production planning basically means taking the resources of your foodservice operation and turning out products and services. There are many decisions to be made and this requires a manager who can handle planning, organizing, and controlling the various aspects of production. Balancing quantity, quality, and cost objectives usually involves several layers of management and must also include consideration of the customer’s needs and wants.
While most foodservice professionals recognize the importance of controlling the use of ingredients, the key area of pre-production is sometimes overlooked. Pre-production or production planning includes all food handling activities completed prior to production or heating, such as thawing, pre-processing, and preliminary assembly, sometimes called “pre-prep.” Controlling the amount of ingredients processed and using correct food handling techniques during this step can be critical. For example, if you thaw too many fish fillets and don’t cook them that day, they will have substandard quality when finally cooked. When fresh vegetables are not handled carefully during pre-processing, they may spoil more quickly and suffer larger nutrient losses. If fresh vegetables and fruits are not carefully prepped the expected yield may also be lower, which can lead to a shortage of product and increased costs. Excessive waste can occur from poor handling and overproduction, and that raises food costs.
An earlier chapter in this book discussed the importance of forecasting and described forecasting tools. The more choices offered on a menu, the more difficult it is to forecast, but sales history records and management experience, along with a computerized forecasting system set up for the specific foodservice operation can make this critical task more manageable.
The production schedule is a major tool for the foodservice manager in controlling quantity food production and labor. The type of information that needs to be included in a production schedule will depend on the operation, but it is basically a list of menu items with the foodservice staff and equipment assigned to each item, along with the time of day assigned for producing the menu item. Table 11.1 is a simplified example of a production schedule. Meeting with production employees to review the production schedule, which may often be done for a week at a time, offers employees a chance to have input into the schedule. Employees may have suggestions to improve productivity and further control costs.
Table 11.1 Production Schedules
11am-11:30
11:30-noon
Noon-12:30
12:30-1:00pm
1pm-1:30
Chicken Soup (30 svg)
Sal/Grill (chicken)
Sal/Steam-jacketed kettle
Sal/on service line
Sal/Serve Soup & Pizza
Sal/Clean soup
Mushroom Pizza(24 svg)
Sal/St. 1 prep mush.
Sal/Oven Bake pizza
Sal/ clean pizza
Baked Salmon(72 svg)
Ken/St. 2
Pre-prep
Ken/
Convect Oven
Ken/
Batch
cook
Ken/
Clean BOH
Barley Pilaf (72 svg)
Sue/
St. 3
Prep
Sue/Steamer
Pilaf on service line
Grilled Vegetables(72 svg)
Sue/St. 3
Prep Veg
Sue/
Grill Veg
Sue/Serve
Homestyle
Sue/
Clean
Servery
Italian Grinder(24 svg)
Bob/
slicer
Cold hold
Ingred.
Bob/St. 4
Prep veg for sandwich
Bob/Set
up deli
station
Bob/Serve
Deli/Grill
Bob/
Clean Deli/Grill
Quesadilla(36 svg)
Joo/
St. 5
Prep
Joo/Set up Action St
Joo/Serve
Action Station
Joo/
Clean Action St.
Spanish Rice(36 svg)
Bob/
Steamer
Rice to thermodyne
Chopped Salad(see SOPs)
Jan/
St 6
Prep
Jan/Set up Salad
Station
Jan/Serve
Chopped Salad
Jan/
Clean Salad
Table 11.1 Production Schedules. The table shows the prep time and cook time for different meals.
If total control of a production system could be obtained by using only standardized recipes, a manager’s job would be fairly easy. Unfortunately, we must also decide how to schedule equipment and employees so all of the necessary daily tasks are accomplished. Employees and equipment are important resources that need to be managed. For example, given a menu that includes baked potatoes, the manager must assign at least one employee to complete each step of the preparation of the potatoes. Someone must wash the potatoes, place them in the oven, check for doneness, remove them from the oven, and place them in a warmer or transport them to the serving line. The manager may assign one or more employees to complete these tasks. If the manager assigns both head cooks on duty to complete these activities, (s)he is using a limited resource both in skill and number when (s)he could have assigned a foodservice worker who is less skilled and generally more available. The example in Table 11.1 illustrates resource allocation: the assignment of limited resources to the activities necessary to achieve operational goals. This assignment of resources may be accomplished randomly—as in the example—or purposefully, which usually results in better use of resources. The final result of resource allocation is a production schedule that can be highly useful for managers. In a foodservice system, resource allocation can be accomplished by completing the following steps:
1. Use well-written, standardized recipes.
2. Review job descriptions for all positions.
3. List production tasks to be completed; identify type of resource required.
4. Determine the time necessary to complete each task.
5. Assign tasks to personnel and equipment using a production schedule.
1. Use well-written, standardized recipes. As you learned in an earlier chapter, standardized recipes with carefully written instructions/procedures help identify the tasks to be completed and the length of time necessary to complete the task. For example, if you are making an apple cake, unpared apples will require more time to prepare than canned sliced apples. If a recipe states, “cream sugar and butter for five minutes,” you know exactly how long the employee and mixer are required. When the recipe states, “cream sugar and butter until fluffy,” the exact length of time required to complete the task is unknown and you will have to time the creaming process to determine the time required for that activity. Identification of the specific piece of equipment to be assigned also helps. If the recipe lists, “potatoes, sliced,” but doesn’t say the vegetable chopper is to be used, the employee may decide to perform the slicing by hand. This change in task time will cause an alteration in the planned production schedule. More detail on recipe standardization and adjustment processes is covered in a previous chapter in this book.
2. Review job descriptions for all positions. Job descriptions list the types of tasks that can be assigned to a particular job position. In some operations, cooks are the only employees who may combine ingredients in the preparation of entrees. Foodservice workers may gather ingredients and complete mise en place but are not allowed to use main production equipment.
3. List production tasks to be completed and identify the type of resource required. Production tasks can be listed for each meal using the information acquired in steps 1 and 2. The standardized recipes will supply information on the tasks required. The type of activity, like gathering ingredients or portioning, will indicate the type of employee to be assigned. The type of equipment required will be indicated on the recipe.
4. Determine the time necessary to complete each task. The duration of some tasks, such as baking, roasting, or mixing time, may be given in the recipe. However, the length of time required for pre-preparation activities—scraping carrots, shaping meatloaves, and portioning pies—is not usually stated on recipes. These times can be determined either by completing a time study or activity analysis. In a time study, a foodservice manager watches the activity on several (2 to 3) occasions and obtains an average time for the activity.
In an executive approach to activity analysis, a committee of two or three employees, such as cooks and supervisors or managers, determines the time required for specific activities based on their experience. Standard times can be set for routine activities, like transporting the finished product to the service area, cleaning steam kettles, and obtaining ingredients from the specific storage areas. A later chapter in this book will discuss labor productivity, which is another consideration for analyzing the effective use of labor hours in producing meals and serving guests.
An example of using the executive approach to activity analysis in the production area of foodservice is to apply it to a standardized recipe. By adding space for times in the procedure area of the recipe, you will create a very helpful tool, useful when planning production schedules or making a purchasing decision of whether to make or buy a specific product or menu item. This information will also be valuable when it comes to other labor issues such as staffing and productivity cover in a later chapter in this book. Table 11.2 is an example of an activity analysis for a recipe, which could be used for planning a production schedule.
Recipe with an activity analysis
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Table 11.2 An Activity Analysis Example for a Recipe
Portions: 50
Yield: 25 lbs.
Portion size: 8 oz.
Prep time: 50 min.
Baking time: 35 min.
Table 11.2 An Activity Analysis Example for a Recipe. The table shows an example of an activity analysis for a recipe that shows general cooking information about the dish including, portions produced, yield amount, portion size, prep time, and bake time.
Table 11.3 Utensils and Tools Needed For Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Mise en Place: 8 qt saucepan, 1 qt. saucepan, 2” perforated hotel pan, 2-4” full hotel pans, 2-4” half pans, 2-6” 1/6 pans, 2 qt. plastic container, Measuring utensils: T., liquid gallon, scale, table knife, long-handled wire whisk, long-handled rubber spatula
Table 11.3 Utensils and Tools Needed For Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
Table 11.4 Ingredients Needed for Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients Amount Unit
Elbow Macaroni, uncooked
3 1/2
lbs
Margarine
8 oz
A.P. Flour 8 oz
Salt, kosher 1 T
Milk, skin 1 gal
Cheddar cheese, grated 1 1/2 lbs
American cheese, grated 1 1/2 lbs
Paprika 1 T
Worcestershire sauce 2 T
Mustard, dry 1 T
Bread crumbs, panko 12 oz
Margarine, melted 4 oz
Table 11.4 Ingredients Needed for Baked Macaroni and Cheese. The table displays how much of an ingredient is included. The ingredients listed are sectioned so that they coincide with the steps featured in the next table to the right.
Table 11.5 Recipe Instructions for Making Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Procedures Time Required
1. Cook macaroni until tender. (While macaroni is cooking, prepare white sauce and bread topping.)
2. Drain macaroni.
3. Pour macaroni into two full hotel pans.
30 min.(step 1)
10 min.(step 2)
2 min.(step 3)
4. Prepare white sauce. Melt margarine in 8 qt. sauce pan, whisk in flour and cook roux until lightly browned. Add salt and skim milk. Bring to light boil, then simmer until thickened (to coat back of spoon) (15 of 30 min. above)
5. Add cheeses, paprika, Worchestershire sauce and dry mustard to white sauce. Stir until smooth.
6. Pour sauce over macaroni. Mix well.
(10 of 30 min. above)
6 min.
7. Combine bread crumbs and melted margarine. (5 of 30 min. above)
8. Sprinkle crumbs over macaroni and cheese mixture. 2 min.
9. Bake in 350 F convection oven for 35 minutes. 35 min.
Table 11.5 Recipe Instructions. The table displays the steps to make baked macaroni and cheese. The steps coincide with the ingredients, and ingredient amount featured before in the table to the left. The first three steps are intended for the elbow macaroni ingredient. The fourth step refers to the margarine, flour, salt, and milk. The fifth and sixth step instructions refer to the american and cheddar cheese ingredients, the paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and the mustard. Finally, the last three steps refer to the melted margarine and panko bread crumb ingredients.
5. Assign tasks to personnel and equipment using a production schedule. Now you have the information necessary to complete an accurate daily production schedule. To begin, set desired completion times or the times the food items must be sent to the serving or expediting line or distributed to other areas. These become the most important times in the day. We know food quality deteriorates as food is held; therefore, we begin with the latest time we need to complete the activities in order to ensure the highest possible food quality. We then work backward from this deadline. For the macaroni and cheese example in Table 11.5, if serving time starts at 11 am, the first pan should be on the line by 10:50 am for the quality assurance check, so the recipe would need to be started by 9:25 am. You will have to make decisions as to which product has priority if two items require the same resource. For example, if a chicken and rice casserole and roast beef both should be cooked in the convection oven and there is not enough shelf space, which one should be cooked first?
Table 11.1 is an example of the completed production schedule that will be beneficial for employees and management. As you can see, the production schedule is based on serving time for lunch in a cafeteria, and production times are scheduled backward from these times. Note that a schedule with 15-minute time slots might be preferred to the example that has 30-minute time slots. As you assign the times for production, you can decide who will be assigned to prepare the food and what equipment will be used. In addition, you can also identify equipment conflicts, employee overloading, or excessive employee free time.
Advantages of a Production Schedule
A well-planned production schedule helps a manager avoid crisis management. If problems can be anticipated, alternative methods can be implemented. For example, using the production schedule shown, if the manager surveys the production area at 9:30 am and finds that the vegetables for 11:00 am service have been cooked already, (s)he knows that they will not be a quality product. The manager can also check to make sure that all production is running on time and intervene with additional help or troubleshooting if a menu item is running behind. The production schedule will also identify those time periods when employees are not required to be working. This may occur either because there is nothing for the employees to do or because they are waiting for a piece of equipment. The schedule can show times when pre-preparation can be completed for the next day and how well equipment and employees are utilized. An entire week’s production schedule will answer the questions: Do some menus require more oven space than is available, and on other days the menus require no ovens? How often is the mixer utilized? Is the tilt kettle overbooked, and so on?
Batch Cooking
Ingredient Assembly
Many large foodservice operations use centralized ingredient assembly, such as an ingredient room, to better control ingredient access and particularly to control food and labor costs. When an ingredient room is used, the issuing system is simplified as all ingredients go from the storeroom directly to the ingredient room based on the recipes to be prepped for a given period of time. A modification of this concept can even be used in small operations where one person is responsible for setting up the ingredients (mise en place), perhaps on carts, for each of the other employees. This can be utilized in a variety of ways and may be a significant time-saver if properly organized in many types of foodservice operations.
Managing Carryover
Carryover is another word for leftovers or overproduction, though unintentional. Effective foodservice operations want to minimize overproduction and carryovers as much as possible, but since forecasting is not perfect, and underproduction can also be costly, especially in terms of customer satisfaction, carryovers are a fact of life for the foodservice manager. If a menu has been planned with careful consideration for cross-utilization, this can help minimize the waste (and cost) of carryovers. Some carryovers, as long as they are handled with strict food safety protocols, can be reheated and served at another meal. Batch cooking can also help with carryover management. If full menu items or even parts of recipes are pre-prepped, but not cooked, they are typically much easier to re-use at a later time. Additional ways to use leftovers may be staff meals or donating to a soup kitchen. However, the best managers know the key to managing carryovers is to work toward making sure all food products purchased are sold and generate revenue for the operation.
Reducing Food and Beverage Costs with Effective Management
A number of effective management practices to reduce and control food and beverage production costs have already been introduced in this and previous chapters, but a review seems appropriate here.
Portion Control
Standardized recipes and/or standard serving procedures list planned portion sizes. It’s important for servers to follow these recipes and procedures and use proper portion control tools when serving customers. This standardization helps meet customer expectations with every purchase. Portion control also assures that the recipe will yield the planned portions and that the portion cost established for the recipe stays in the expected range. Since the price of a menu item is based, at least in part, on the cost of that item, it’s critical to serve the proper portion to maintain the item portion cost and food cost percentage. For example, if the macaroni and cheese recipe is supposed to serve 50 people an 8 oz. portion with a \$4.00 food cost, but a 10 oz. portion is served instead, the recipe will now only serve 40 people and the cost per portion will increase to \$5.00. That’s a \$1.00 (25%) increase in food cost on each menu item. This also means instead of bringing in revenue from 50 customers, there is only revenue from 40. Poor portion control can impact both sides of the profit equation by decreasing revenue AND increasing costs per portion!
Overcooking
Waste
There are numerous ways waste can occur in a foodservice operation. Food, labor, and other resources can be wasted, but for now, we will concentrate just on food.
We learned earlier about the yield of many food products, such as various cuts of meat (the butcher’s yield test), fish, poultry, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The effective foodservice manager monitors yields and investigates variances when the edible portion is not within the expected range. For example, if the beef roast is supposed to yield an 80% edible portion and the cook trims and/or cuts incorrectly so that the edible portion yield is only 75%, that 5% loss is waste and does not generate revenue for the operation. This becomes a training issue for the foodservice manager. Another possibility is that the beef roast has more fat and sinew that had to be trimmed away to provide a great quality product for the customer and consequently had a lower yield. This is a procurement issue and may require a revision of product specifications, better-receiving practices, or a new supplier.
Another factor to consider under this topic is the shelf life of products, both prior to production and after production. The first intervention to prevent an issue with product spoilage and waste is to implement FIFO, first in, first out for all food inventory as was discussed in an earlier chapter. If a product does approach its “use by” date and the excess raw product has been purchased and cannot be used while fresh, there are situations where the product may be able to be cooked or processed and frozen for later use.
Incorrect Production Quantity
Earlier in this chapter overproduction and underproduction were discussed as they relate to the importance of accurate forecasting and production records. Overproduction leads to carryovers, which were discussed previously. Obviously the shelf life of any already cooked product must be considered for both food safety and quality reasons. Remember the practice of “batch cooking” to prevent overproduction of cooked products that may be more difficult to sell and end up as waste. The previous examples in this section are why managing production and carryovers is a critical responsibility of the foodservice manager and the “daily special” menu becomes a significant tool for reducing waste and generating revenue.
Underproduction can be just as big of an issue as overproduction as it can negatively affect customer service and satisfaction. If a menu item has to be 86’d (removed) from the daily offerings in the operation, customers can become disappointed, frustrated and perhaps unwilling to return. Service recovery, in this case, can cost the operation with both increased costs and decreased revenue.
A secondary topic that must be raised in this chapter is the issue of employees being allowed to take home leftover food. Though it may seem like a good idea to allow employees to make use of leftover food instead of throwing it out and wasting the food, the problem often becomes one of the planned overproduction. If employees get used to the “reward” of leftover food, they tend to make sure there are regular leftovers by intentionally preparing and cooking more product that will be needed. This is yet another example of both an increased cost and loss of sales for the foodservice operation.
It all comes down to mistakes
If we take a look at all of the above ways to save food and beverage costs it becomes clear that many of the problems come down to mistakes by employees. This means one of the best ways to reduce costs and prevent mistakes is employee training along with vigilant and consistent management by the foodservice manager.
Review Questions
• What are some of the tools or systems an effective foodservice manager should use to better control food and beverage production?
• How does forecasting affect production costs?
• How can a foodservice operation lose money during “pre-production.”
• What are some of the negative effects of overproduction and underproduction?
• Why is effectively managing carryover important to controlling costs?
• How can completing an activity analysis of a recipe assist a foodservice manager in controlling costs?
• What are some of the key production factors that allow a foodservice manager to control food and beverage costs?
Review Exercises
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The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/03%3A_Managing_Procurement_and_Food_Production/3.02%3A_Managing_Food_and_Beverage_Production.txt |
Learning Objectives:
• Determine the cost of food sold and the cost of food consumed (or used) and explain the difference between the two
• Describe and calculate the impact of free or reduced-cost employee meals and transfers on the cost of food sold calculations
• Calculate the food cost percentage – Cost of Food Sold / Food Sales or Cost of Food Portion/Menu Price
• Explain how errors in inventory will affect the cost of food used or sold calculations
• Calculate an operational efficiency ratio
• Explain the meaning of the operational efficiency ratio
• Identify acceptable and unacceptable variances in food cost
Key Terms:
• Food & Beverage Cost of Goods Sold
• Food & Beverage Cost of Goods Consumed (used)
• Beginning Inventory
• Ending Inventory
• Credits and transfers
• Food to beverage or beverage to food
• Standard food & beverage cost
• Attainable food & beverage cost
• Direct purchases
• Requisition voucher
• Adjustments
• Operational efficiency ratio
• Variance
Introduction
The effective manager has to manage and control all the various operating expenses in a foodservice operation. In the end, the goal is typically to make a profit. Food and beverage expenses combined are one of the largest expense categories for foodservice operations. One of the key figures needed each month (or even more often) is the cost of goods sold. The food & beverage cost of goods sold is the dollar amount spent on items actually used to provide the menu items sold to the guests. The amount may significantly differ from the total spent on food purchase since:
• Items purchased in bulk are not entirely used during the accounting period (refer to the section on inventory)
• Items are consumed but not always sold to guests (employee meals, complimentary meals served for promotion purposes, etc.)
The food & beverage cost of goods sold (usually referred to as Food & Beverage Cost in the industry) is expressed as both a dollar amount and a percentage of food & beverage revenues.
Determining Actual Food Expenses
Food & b everage i nventory revisited
From an accounting and financial standpoint, a restaurant inventory is the dollar value of the food and beverage items that are held in storage. While in storage, the inventoried items are not considered a cost until used or sold. Just like cash, food and beverage inventory is a company asset. Unlike cash, however, inventory values may decrease since food and beverage items are perishable and subject to spoilage and theft.
Holding inventory has the potential to incur significant expenditures including operating expenses (such as spoilage, obsolescence, theft, and facility expenses) and capital investments (such as the construction of the premises and refrigeration equipment.) Additionally, operations immobilizing too much cash in inventory could eventually need to borrow money to pay for other expenses.
Accordingly, managers need to implement stringent inventory management systems to protect the value of their inventory with procedures that avoid over-ordering (cash spending) and spoilage, including security measures for accessing the premises, proper requisition procedures for removing inventoried products, and adequate rotation of perishable items.
Components of food and beverage cost calculations
Beginning Inventory
The beginning inventory is the dollar value of the food and beverage items held in storage at the beginning of an accounting period.
Ending Inventory
The ending inventory is the dollar value of the food and beverage items held in storage at the end of an accounting period.
The ending inventory of a particular period becomes the beginning inventory of the next accounting period. Example: In cases where a company implements monthly accounting periods, the November 30th ending inventory becomes the December 1st beginning inventory.
Purchase s
Purchases sum up the dollar value of all food and beverage items acquired during the accounting period. These include direct purchases, which are usually fresh products that are delivered and used on a daily basis, or par items, products that are held in storage, or items such as salt, sugar, flour that are ordered cyclically to maintain a permanent minimum amount in inventory.
Credits and transfers (inventory items that are not directly used to generate sales)
Credits: Some inventoried food and beverage products are not used to produce items that generate sales. One example is when hotels and restaurants provide employees with free or heavily discounted meals.
Transfersin or out: Multi-unit operations such as restaurant chains or hotels with several restaurants, bars, or other foodservice operations, such as catering, may move inventory items from one unit to another based on the needs or particular sales patterns of the various outlets. “Transfers in” are additions to purchases for the receiving outlet while the issuing outlet would account for the inventory reduction as a “transfer out.”
Other Adjustments :
Food to beverage or beverage to food: Food and beverage costs are usually presented separately in addition to the overall Food and Beverage Cost of Sales (F&B Cost). Food recipes routinely call for alcohol such as wine or brandy (beverage to food), while cocktails often include food items such as olives, or lemons, or come with a side of peanuts (food to beverage). Food to beverage is credited (subtracted from) the food cost and imputed (added to) to the beverage cost. Beverage to food credit similarly reduces the beverage cost and increases the food cost.
Additional adjustments include credits for returned products or discounts and price adjustments from the purveyor/supplier.
Cost of Goods Sold
Food & Beverage Cost of Goods Sold is the cost that is directly attributable to the production of food and beverage items that were sold to guests. As previously mentioned, this differs from the Costof Goods Consumed, which includes the cost of products that were used to produce items that were not associated with corresponding sales.
The following formula determines the Food & Beverage Cost of Goods Consumed:
Beginning Inventory + Purchases – Ending Inventory = Cost of Goods Consumed
Figure 12.1 Inventory Equation
Long description:
An equation at the top that adds “Purchases” to “Beginning Inventory” and subtracts it from “Ending Inventory” which totals the “Cost of Goods Consumed”. Below the equation is an example equation that adds “Goods in the store at the beginning of the accounting period” and Goods added through purchases and subtracts “Goods left in the store at the end of the accounting period” to get the “Total goods used during the accounting period”.
End long description.
The formula for Food &BeverageCost of Goods Sold removes the components of Cost of Goods Consumed that are not directly associated with sales.
Beginning Inventory (\$)
+ Purchases (\$)
+ Transfers In (\$)
Transfers Out (\$)
= Cost of Goods Available for sale (\$)
– Ending Inventory (\$)
Employee meals (\$)
= Cost of G oods S old (\$)
Some operations allow managers and marketing personnel to offer complimentary meals. The Cost of Goods sold is further adjusted by deducting the corresponding costs that are subsequently imputed to the relevant accounts, such as administrative or marketing.
Inventory issues
Ending Inventory is a credit to food and beverage cost (i.e. it is subtracted from the overall cost of sales}. The higher the ending inventory amount, the lower the food and beverage cost. This creates a temptation to overstate the inventory value (known as “inventory padding”) for employees, such as managers or chefs, whose bonus and often job preservation, depend on the F&B cost figure. Several methods may be used to unethically overstate inventory values such as:
• Creating false entries (non-existing products);
• Manipulating numbers (quantity, prices);
• Valuing spoiled or past due products that should be discarded;
• Counting off-menu products that are in storage but not likely to be used ever again;
• Moving products from one outlet to another in order to inflate inventory figures.
Food & Beverage Cost of Goods Sold Percentage (%)
Food and beverage costs are usually expressed in percentage of sales (revenue) when evaluating performance or setting up goals in a budget since sales and cost dollar amounts fluctuate significantly. For the same reason, food cost percentages allow managers to compare numbers over time and benchmark their performances against industry standards and comparable operations.
Food Cost Percentage (%) = Cost of food sold (\$) divided by Food Sales \$
Beverage Cost Perc entage (%) = Cost of beverage sold (\$) divided by Beverage Sales \$
F&B Cost Percentage (%) = Cost of Food and B everage sold (\$) divided by Food & Beverage Sales \$
Accordingly, restaurant profit and loss statements display both the dollar amount and percentage of sales of the food and beverage costs from an operation.
Restaurant X Y Z Statement of Income: Fiscal Year 2018
Covers served: 56,346
Seat Turnover per Day Open: 1.54
Average Check (Combined F & B): \$28.01
[table id=6 /]
Food Cost: \$473,447.91 / \$1,213,966.46 = 39.0%
Beverage Cost: \$80,123.65 / \$364,189.94 = 22.0%
Food & Beverage Cost: \$553,571.56 / \$1,578,156.40 = 35.1%
[table id=7 /]
The National Restaurant Association publishes an Industry Operations Report that allows restaurant operators to benchmark their performances. (See note about chart below.)
NOTE: We may need to eliminate the above chart as it’s part of a report that is sold by the NRA.
Monitoring and C ontrolling Food & Beverage C ost
Best practices require restaurant managers to (1) monitor food & beverage costs at regular intervals (daily or weekly), and (2) benchmark the actual cost against the standard or attainable cost, which is an “ideal” figure derived from the standardized recipes.
Restaurants and other types of foodservice operations produce a periodic food costreport that usually includes the following:
• Direct Purchases: The amount for the ingredients, mostly fresh products that are delivered and directly transformed every day. The person in charge of purchasing the products (usually the chef or foodservice director) would fill-out a “market list” and place the order a day or two in advance. The market list (or the invoice if provided with the delivery) serves as the supporting document for direct purchases. Much of this documentation is likely managed using computer systems.
• Well managed operations require that a requisitionvoucher be filled out for every item removed from storage.
• Likewise, each adjustment (employee and complimentary meals, transfers in or out, etc.) must be documented, again likely documented in the back of the house computer system.
The following is an example of a simple cumulative daily food cost report:
[table id=8 /]
In larger operations, the report can break the products down by category:
[table id=9 /]
Standard, or “attainable “Cost
A “standardized recipe” detailing ingredient quantity, unit cost and cooking procedures (discussed earlier in the chapter on Standardized Recipes) is written for each menu item. The standardized recipes summarize the forecasted cost per portion of a particular menu item.
As a result, food and beverage operations determine a standard or attainable dollar food cost by (1) multiplying the number items sold (from a sales report) by the cost from the relevant standardized recipes. They then sum up the costs of all the items sold. Once again, this would be calculated on a daily, weekly and/or monthly basis by a computer system.
[table id=10 /]
The Standard Food Cost is obtained by adding the fourth column, Standard Cost, which equals \$340.50.
The standard cost assumes that the kitchen staff is able to produce a recipe using the exact amounts of ingredients listed in the standardized recipes. This is often not the case since ingredients may vary (shape, unit size, weight) and mistakes occur (inaccurate yields, peeling waste, cutting technique, burned or dropped ingredients…). Standard costs primarily serve to determine purchasing volumes, minimum recommended menu prices, and as a benchmark to measure the difference between the actual and the ideal (theoretically perfect) costs.
Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency is a measure of the extent to which the actual and standard (Ideal) costs differ. It is expressed as the ratio of Actual Cost to Standard Cost:
Actual F&B Cost (\$) divided by Standard F&B Cost (\$) = Operational Efficiency Ratio (%)
\$391.60 divided by \$340.50 times 100 = 115%
In this case, actual exceeds the standard cost by 15%, prompting a management team to conduct a thorough investigation.
An operational efficiency ratio below 100% (actual is less than standard) could be interpreted as a positive performance. Such is the case for example when market prices for products drop. However, this could also result from the use of inferior products or smaller portion sizes, which could negatively affect customer perception and endanger the operation.
Variance Analysis
Cost variance (the difference between the standard and actual cost) results from differences in purchasing price, expected versus actual yields, quantity used, and/or changes in menu mix. The foodservice manager is responsible for defining the acceptable amount of variance and understanding its origin given the fact that waste and price variations are inevitable.
As a rule of thumb, a 10% variance may be acceptable. However, no established guideline exits for defining the “right” degree of variance. It depends on the nature of the operation and the value of the food product. Think of the cost difference between something like beef tenderloin and cucumbers. Foodservice operations using convenience food products such are pre-cut and pre-portioned ingredients should experience little variances, while operations working with fresh products have to manage AP/EP yields (As-Purchased/Edible Portion), preparation procedures and thus incur more cost variability.
The following table summarizes the most common sources of cost variances.
[table id=11 /]
Variance and Inventory Control
Analyzing the variances between the three methods used to calculate food and beverage costs provides initial clues as to whether cost problems originate from efficiency or other loss issues such as inventory mismanagement or theft.
Figure 12.2 What’s a manager to do?
Long description:
A box labeled “Standard food Cost” is at the top. Below that is a box labeled “Direct invoices and Requisitions”. On the bottom is a box labeled “Actual food cost”. On the left is the question “Where does the variance come from?” and is linked to the top and bottom boxes. On the right are 2 pieces of text. The first is “Inefficiency? Prices? Menu mix?” and is linked to the top 2 boxes. The second is “Inventory issues (waste…) Theft?” and is linked to the bottom 2 boxes.
End long description.
What’s a Manager to Do?
Managing and controlling food and beverage expenses involves collecting lots of data related to the foodservice operation. Then that data has to be analyzed on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Issues and problems are identified through this analysis, then the effective manager works to find solutions that bring costs “in line” with revenue. It’s a constantly changing and challenging, but rewarding task.
Review Questions
• What is the difference between cost of food consumed (or used) and cost of food sold?
• Why does offering free employee meals or complimentary meals or drinks affect the cost of food and beverage sold (and the resulting food and beverage cost percentage?
• How will an error in the physical inventory or inventory value affect an operation’s food cost percentage?
• Why would a foodservice manager want to calculate an operational efficiency ratio?
• How does variance analysis help a foodservice manager better manage food and beverage expenses?
• How should a foodservice manager determine if a variance is acceptable or unacceptable?
Review Exercises
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/04%3A_Managing_and_Controlling_Operating_Expenses/4.01%3A_Analyzing_and_Managing_Food_and_Beverage_Expense.txt |
This chapter is remixed from Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management by The BC Cook Articulation Committee.
Chapter Outline:
• Introduction to Labor Costs
• Identifying Labor Costs
• Defining and Measuring Productivity
• Factors Affecting Workplace Performance
• Improving Productivity
• Productivity Standards
• Staffing Guide
• Fixed Labor Costs
• Variable Labor Costs
• Scheduling Staff
• Staying within Budgeted Labor Cost
• Position Performance Analysis
Learning Objectives:
• Identify the costs included in total labor cost
• Define labor cost terminology
• Describe factors that affect productivity and ways of increasing productivity
• Identify several different productivity measures
• Use labor productivity measures to determine foodservice operation staffing.
• Recognize the link between accurate forecasting and labor scheduling (and labor cost)
• Identify best practices for controlling and reducing labor costs
Key Terms:
• Fringe benefits
• Overtime
• Minimum staff
• Variable labor/payroll cost
• Fixed labor/payroll cost
• Productivity
• Employee turnover
Introduction to Labor Costs
Controlling food costs is an important component of ensuring the profitability of your food service operation. However, food costs are only part of the picture. It is also necessary to control labor costs and forecast labor demands accurately if your business is to succeed. If you have more staff than is required, your labor costs will be too high and the company will lose money. If you have insufficient staff for a particular time period, customer service will suffer. Your goal in planning staffing and scheduling needs is to match labor supply with customer volume so that you can provide quality service without excessive cost.
The food service industry is labor intensive. Technology has not replaced people with equipment (though some foodservice operations are experimenting with robots which cook and assist in service.) Unlike an automobile manufacturing plant, a restaurant cannot store its product until tomorrow or the next day if customers are not buying today. The same seat in the restaurant can only be sold a fixed number of times, based on the operating hours and number of turns (rate of turnover of customers). Therefore, it is critical to be able to forecast the number of customers you will have, the peak customer periods, and the staffing needed to provide service to those customers.
Sound human resource management policies can increase the productivity of staff. You must first choose qualified, interested, and trainable employees. Once these employees have been recruited, they must go through an orientation period in which they learn about the job and their responsibilities, the company’s way of doing things, and the required level of product quality. During this initial period, the employee’s productivity might be low.
Accurate job descriptions, a good orientation to the job, adequate on-the-job training, and good supervision with lots of feedback about job performance will assist employees in becoming productive as soon as possible (but human resources management is a different course of study.)
Identifying Labor Costs
Labor costs in the foodservice industry continue to increase from year to year. This can be due to an increasing minimum wage and pressure to pay all employees a “living wage” rather than relying on tipping to make up the difference. In addition, costs have increased because of the stiff competition for skilled service employees, which has not only increased wages but also fringe benefits covered by the employer.
Most students understand that wages and salaries are labor costs, but there are many other labor-related costs in addition to the wages/salaries paid. Employee benefits or “fringe benefits” include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries.[1]
This list includes such costs as
• Social security taxes (employer share)
• Medicare taxes (required employer tax)
• Unemployment taxes
• Worker’s compensation
• Group Insurance, such as health, dental, vision, life, etc.
• Vacation, personal and sick leave
• Disability income protection
• Retirement benefits
• Uniforms and laundry
• Employee meals (free or discounted)
• Employee training
• Tuition reimbursement or employer student loan contributions
• Use of a company car, or even company housing or a housing allowance
• Mileage for using a personal car for business
• Daycare (free or subsidized)
• Moving expenses
• Profit sharing
Some operations may even have other labor-related costs not included in the above list. The real cost of an hour of work is not simple to compute because of the fringe benefits and hidden costs. The first step to identifying labor costs is to categorize costs so they can be picked up as labor costs. For example, employee meals and laundering of employee uniforms are fringe benefits that may be hidden in other cost categories.
Labor costs may be divided into the following categories:
• Management (fixed labor/payroll cost)
• Full-time employees (fixed labor/payroll cost)
• Overtime/substitute employees (variable labor/payroll cost)
• Part-time employees (variable labor/payroll cost)
• Fringe benefits
Overtime should be nonexistent or nearly nonexistent. Management needs to keep an eye on those employees whose time is nearing 40 hours. Money spent on overtime usually indicates poor management and inefficiency.
There is much to learn from calculating the real cost of a labor hour. For instance, it is shocking when you consider that in some cases only about 50% of the labor hour is spent productively. It helps when evaluating labor costs to break down the costs by 15-minute intervals and relate the cost to the amount of work that can be produced. When management looks at the cost of a break, idle time, and “leaning” time, it is easy to see the value of training in efficiency, good scheduling of employees, and planning work carefully.
Average Cost of a Labor Hour
The real cost of a labor hour is not the hourly wage, but the real cost may be 20-60% greater when the costs of fringe benefits are added. Figure 13.1 illustrates the cost of one full-time employee when all the fringe benefits are included. A salary based on \$8.50 per hour really costs \$14.19 per hour. Foodservice operations try to avoid full-time employment and thereby reduce the fringe benefit costs substantially. Figure 13.2 compares the real cost of a full-time cook with that of a part-time cook. The value of the two employees’ work must be considered. For example, the value/quantity/quality of the full-time employee’s work may be twice that of the part-time employee’s work. For one thing, the supervision required by the part-time employee may be much greater. All of these factors are not shown when one compares the hourly wages.
Figure 13.1
Real Cost of a Full-time Employee
1. Salary based on \$8.50 per hour, 40 hours per week: \$17,680
2. Cost of a substitute at \$7.25 per hour and 12% employer taxes for the days employee is off: 10 days per year sick, 10 days paid vacation, 5 holidays = 200 hours at \$7.25 = \$1450
\$1,200.12 taxes = 1741,624
3. Fringe Benefits:
• Employee meals valued at \$3 each 260780
• Employer taxes 2,122
• Health insurance (employer pays 50% of premium) 1,680
• Retirement 1,768
• Uniforms and laundry 616
• Worker’s Compensation and Employment Commission 414
4. TOTAL LABOR COSTS FOR YEAR \$ 26,684
5. Number of days employee actually works per year: 235
6. Total labor costs divided by number of days worked =\$113.55/day
7. Daily labor costs \$113.55 divided by 8-hour day =\$ 14.19/hour
—————————————————————————————————
8. If this employee is productive only 50% of the time,
the real cost of an hour of productive time = \$ 28.38/hour
Figure 13.2
Cost of Part-time Employee (or Substitute) Compared with a Full-time Employee
1. Salary based on \$7.25 per hour 8 hours per day\$ 58.00
2. Cost of a substitute for days off: 0
3. Fringe Benefits:
• Employee meals valued at \$3 each (if 8 hours worked) 3.00
• Employer taxes (7.65%) 4.44
• Health insurance: 0
• Retirement: 0
• Uniforms and laundry: 2.80
• Worker’s Compensation and Employment Commission: \$0.80
4. TOTAL LABOR COSTS FOR DAY \$ 69.04 per day
5. Number of hours substitute worked: 8 hours
6. Total labor costs per day divided by number of hours worked = \$8.63 per hour
7. If the part-time employee is productive 50% of the time, the real cost of an hour of productive time = \$8.63 times 2 = \$17.26
8. If the part-time employee is only productive 33.3% of the time, the real cost of an hour of productive time = \$8.63 times 3 = \$25.89
Note: Something crucial that this exercise does not compare is the quality of the products produced and of the work. The full-time, trained employee will produce more than the untrained employee.
Definingand MeasuringProductivity
Productivity is defined as the amount of output gained from a given amount of input. For instance, it could be the amount of food produced and served for each labor hour worked. Measuring productivity helps management evaluate the efficiency of the staff. These measures are generally used for the entire staff as a group rather than to measure individual productivity, since it really is a team effort to produce and serve meals to customers. There are several criteria for evaluating efficiency, such as:
• Number of transactions (or covers) per labor hour
• Revenue (or sales) per labor hour
• Meal equivalents produced and served per labor hour
• Number of guests served per labor dollar
• Labor dollars per guest served
• Labor cost percentage (of revenue)
The productivity formula is the ratio of output (jobs done) to input (employee time):
Output (food and service) divided by Input (labor hours)
equals Productivity Rate (eg. meals per labor hour)
Output can be expressed in number of meals, transactions, or customers, labor dollars spent, or in amount of sales. Restaurants frequently use number of covers or dollars in sales, whereas a hospital or school/college operation would typically express it in number of meals. Input is the number of labor hours worked or scheduled during the period of time or the number of labor dollars spent.
An indirect approach to measuring productivity is determining the percentage of revenue spent for labor (labor cost percentage.)
Factors Affecting Workplace Performance
In addition to sound human resource management, other factors influence the required amount of labor. These factors include:
• Menu items
• Use of convenience foods
• Type, level and hours of service
• Quantity of meals and number of meal periods
• Facility layout and design and production equipment
• Work environment and number of hours worked (scheduling)
• Standardization – recipes, procedures, and production planning
• Employee skill level, training and supervision
Menu Items
The number and complexity of menu items affect the production hours needed. If you have a menu with many items requiring difficult production techniques, you will require more preparation time per item. If your menu consists of a limited number of items requiring minimal preparation, you will require less time.
Use of Convenience Foods
Foods prepared on-site require more preparation than similar menu items made with convenience foods, such as pre-portioned meats or desserts. You can reduce your labor costs by using convenience foods. However, you must consider two other factors: convenience foods can increase your food costs and may affect the quality of your product.
The second factor – affecting the quality of the product – is not always evident. Convenience foods made with high-quality ingredients and prepared exactly as recommended by the manufacturer can provide uniform portions of very good quality.
Type, Level, and Hours of Service
A restaurant featuring complex dishes with multiple components will require more labor than a cafeteria-style operation or a fast-food restaurant. Also, a restaurant that requires a higher level of skill to prepare complex dishes will require more experienced staff, which in turn means higher wages.
Added next section
The level of service provided to guests will also affect productivity. For example, a fine dining restaurant that provides a high level of attention to guests will have lower server productivity than a quick casual restaurant that doesn’t provide table service, guests pick up their food at a counter and bus their own tables.
The hours open for service are yet another productivity factor. If the foodservice operation closes during slow periods between meals or is only open for breakfast and lunch the labor productivity should be higher than an operation which is open all day or even 24 hours a day.
Canadian book starts again
Quantity of Meals and Number of Meal Periods
The volume of business will affect the amount of labor required. Each restaurant will have a minimum staffing level without which it cannot operate. If it serves fewer people than this minimum staffing level can handle, the labor costs will be very high.
The number of meal periods can affect the productivity of the foodservice operation if different menus for each period require set-up and tear-down time. As well, different menus will usually mean a larger number of menu items, also affecting labor.
Facility Layout and Design and Production Equipment
Restaurant and other foodservice operation kitchens are often designed last, after all of the seating areas have been designed (or the rest of the school or dining hall, etc.) As a result, the space may be awkward and inefficiently laid out. To work efficiently, all work surfaces and storage areas required to produce an item should be located close together, as shown in Figure 13.3. This includes dry storage, refrigerated storage, freezers, storage for plates and glassware, work counters, grills, fryers, and ovens.
Figure 13.3 Kitchen layout can affect productivity
Long description:
A work counter is at the bottom. Opposite that is another work area which has a counter area on the left, a deep fryer on its right, another work counter and a range oven on the right. Refrigerated storage is below the counters.
End long description
Poor kitchen layout can limit the number of individuals who can work efficiently. It may require time-consuming trips to distant storage areas to obtain food items or dishes. If the layout of the kitchen is too spread out, the minimum staff needed to operate each station may increase. For example, if a salad preparation station is located away from the main kitchen, you may require a salad preparation person even when the restaurant is not busy.
Production equipment such as mechanical peelers, choppers, and mixers can reduce the amount of time spent doing these tasks. The key to selecting the appropriate facility design and equipment is to match these parameters to the expected volume of business. For example, if you purchase too large a mixer for the volume of business, the work involved in cleaning the machine after use will not warrant the extra expense of purchasing the equipment. On the other hand, too small a mixer will reduce efficiency as you will be unable to mix the quantities needed in a single batch. The type of dishwashing system (or higher use of disposables) will also affect employee productivity.
Similarly, if your kitchen layout is very compact, you may be able to run efficiently with only one cook. However, you may be unable to meet the demands of a high volume of sales because the kitchen is too small to accommodate more than a couple of staff.
Work Environment, Number of Hours Worked, Breaks
A hot, humid, noisy environment reduces comfort and increases stress and may negatively affect performance. Long hours and hard work without reasonable breaks can lead to reduced productivity. The same is true if you are understaffed. Not having enough staff means that everyone else has to work harder or for longer hours, resulting in tired staff and reduced productivity. Managers and supervisors also need to understand how to motivate employees and improve morale to get the highest level of productivity from their staff.
Scheduling employees is an art. How long should it take an employee to do a job? Unfortunately, there is no book that provides the answers. Each manager needs to determine the time required and this requires research. For instance, some managers do direct labor time analysis by putting the most efficient employee on the job and timing him or her to determine how much time it should take to do the job. When scheduling employees:
• Schedule your best employees first to open the restaurant or foodservice each day.
• Schedule other employees as they are needed.
• Schedule employees according to work to be done.
• Avoid the need for using overtime.
• Train full-time employees to do more than one job.
S tandardization – recipes, procedures , and production planning
When tasks are done the same way every time, employees are more productive. Station set-ups should be designed for maximum efficiency and then written into standard procedures. A standard recipe format, clear and concise mise en place, and work simplification strategies incorporated into recipes and production schedules help employees be more efficient. For instance, if six different recipes for one day need diced onions, then it’s more efficient for one person to prepare all the onions at once, than several different cooks all dicing onions. In this case, a food chopper may also be used, which makes the task even more efficient. Production schedules provide the organization (mise en place) and standardized recipes provide all the details needed to increase efficiency.
Employee skill level, training , and supervision
How well employees are trained to do their jobs, including knowing how to do multiple jobs in the foodservice operation (called cross-training) affects how productive they are and the efficiency of the operation as a whole. This is one of the reasons employee turnover is so costly. It takes time, effort and money to get an employee “up to speed” on any foodservice job, not to mention the specifics of each operation, including the menu, recipes, standard operating procedures, etc. When employees leave, new ones need to be trained, adding to decreased productivity and increased costs. Effective supervision keeps employees on task, motivated to do their jobs, and provides intrinsic rewards for a job well done.
Improving Productivity
In many situations there has been a lack of emphasis and training devoted to increasing productivity by foodservice managers. Labor costs are an issue today and foodservice operators who are placing emphasis on increasing productivity will be better able to remain competitive.
Management, being aware of productivity, can easily spot ways to improve. For example, it is not uncommon to see employees talking to each other because business is slow—this is poor use of paid time, and it is due to overstaffing or poor scheduling. “Standing time” should never be idle time.
Tasks should be set up that will “store up labor.” “Store up labor” means tasks that can be done when business is slow for use at peak times. For example, a cook can prepare nonperishable food items such as croutons, or grate cheese for later use; the waitstaff can wrap silver.
Today less and less “from scratch” cooking, particularly baking, is being done in the individual foodservices. Fine restaurants are even going outside to purchase dinner rolls, croissants, and gourmet desserts (also “signature” items—those items the foodservice operation is known for).
It is wise for management to compare the costs of convenience foods with preparing “from scratch.” A substantial number of preparation and cooking hours can be eliminated through the use of convenience foods. Convenience foods available can be sampled, and then the same items made from raw ingredients can be precosted and postcosted to determine how much time they take. Could one produce the items for less and will they be better than purchased? Is the frozen, prepared product more expensive? Can labor costs be reduced?
Ways of Increasing Productivity
To improve the productivity of employees, management must know what the existing productivity rate is, and what it should be, what affects productivity, and must set realistic goals for increasing productivity. Cutting the number of labor hours would seemingly increase productivity; however, that could mean that the job doesn’t get done. Increases in productivity don’t just happen and don’t come overnight. Setting standards, monitoring and adjusting any or all of the above workplace performance factors can all be ways of increasing productivity.
Productivity Standards
A first step in determining staffing needs is to establish productivity standards. These standards must take into account the amount of time necessary to produce food of the required quality. The standards are based on procedures dictated by standard recipes.
Productivity standards are measured in labor dollars or labor hours. Labor dollars measure productivity in terms of the number of dollars that must be paid out in labor to generate a certain revenue. The advantage of this approach is that budgets and financial statements are also expressed in dollars so comparisons can be easily made. However, it can be very time-consuming to calculate the labor dollars given different wage and salary scales. Labor hours must still be calculated because the number of hours determines wages.
Labor hours indicate the number of hours of labor needed to produce a given number of meals or generate a certain amount of sales income. When you use labor hours as a standard, it is less time-consuming to calculate. As well, some simple tasks may take the same amount of time to complete, whether they are performed by a chef or a dishwasher. Using labor hours as the input for a productivity measure is a “true measure” of productivity because it is not affected by sales dollars or wage rates.
Determining Requirements
The productivity standard is determined by comparing the number of labor hours scheduled to meals served or to sales income generated. It can be produced by department, by shift, by position, or by position and shift. More detailed standards make it easier to pinpoint problem areas and take corrective action. The most detailed is to prepare productivity standards by position and shift. This allows you to examine the efficiency of each staff member.
It makes sense to look at each position and shift. For example, a breakfast cook working with a limited breakfast menu and items that are easy to prepare can produce many more meals in an hour than the cook on your evening shift who has a large number of menu items with more elaborate preparation needed. Generally, more servers are needed than cooks for a given number of meals. Fewer dishwashers may be required. If only a single labor standard is developed for the restaurant, it will be harder to pinpoint problems with labor costs.
Staffing Guide
Staffing guidelines are helpful for the task of staffing with just enough labor. However, the most exact method of staffing involves direct labor time analysis. Management generally is careful to hire only a basic core full-time crew and add flexible-hour employees as needed.
A staffing guide tells the manager how many labor hours are needed for each position and shift to produce and serve a given number of meals in the given restaurant. It incorporates the productivity standards. It tells managers what number of labor hours are needed for the volume of business forecast for a given meal period. The labor hours can be converted into labor dollars to establish standard labor costs.
The staffing guide serves as a tool for planning work schedules and controlling labor costs. The labor hours in the guide can be converted into labor dollars and standard labor costs by multiplying the labor hours for each position by the wage scale for that position. The staffing guide should be based on the performance of good employees. When scheduling new employees who have not completed an orientation training period, allowances will have to be made for their lower productivity.
This form of staffing guide is much more useful than industry guidelines that do not take into account the specific factors which affect the productivity in your workplace. It may still be useful to compare your staffing guide to other properties in order to assess how competitive you are.
An example of a staffing guide is shown in Table 13.1. Note that the staffing guide shows the minimum number of staff per peak service period.
[table id=12 /]
Fixed Labor Costs
One factor that must be considered before developing a staffing guide is fixed costs. Fixed costs refer to the costs of running the operation that does not vary depending on the volume of business. For many businesses, the cost of the building, heating, lighting, insurance, and other similar costs are fixed. They do not change if the restaurant is busy or half empty. In fact, they continue even when the restaurant is closed.
Some labor costs are also fixed. If a restaurant has salaried employees, these costs are fixed and do not change depending on the volume of business. The business must pay the salary of these employees, even if the restaurant is not busy. In most restaurants, management positions, including the chef and sous-chefs, are salaried employees.
Variable Labor Costs
Variable costs must also be accounted for. Variable costs are costs that change based on the volume of the business. Food costs are the most obvious example of variable costs. Provided that the restaurant has not overstocked food, food costs will increase in a direct correlation with the volume of business. Labor hours above the salaried staffing levels are also variable costs. As the volume of business increases, hourly labor costs will increase proportionately.
Peak Periods
When the staffing guide is used to develop a staff schedule, the supervisor needs to consider the peak periods. For example, if the volume reaches 150 meals, 10.5 labor hours may be needed in the kitchen. An analysis of sales shows that the busiest period is between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The supervisor might schedule the cooks so that the first cook comes in from 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and the second cook comes in from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. This would ensure that there are two cooks available to prepare meals throughout the busiest period.
Scheduling Staff
The scheduling of staff is based on the labor hours needed to meet the projected sales volume. The supervisor also needs to keep an eye on labor dollars by considering whether staff on a lower wage scale could be scheduled. For example, on holidays or other times when overtime rates must be paid, it would be less costly to bring in a new employee who is not eligible for statutory holiday pay. Other factors to consider when developing schedules include the following:
Staggered work schedules can be used to meet the demand over peak periods without incurring additional labor costs throughout the full shift.
Part-time staff can be used to work short shifts of four or five hours to reduce overall labor costs.
Full-time staff are usually used to cover all key administrative positions; sometimes full-time positions can consist of a mix of supervisory and front-line tasks in order to make up a full-time job.
Temporary employees can be used to meet labor needs that are temporary in nature such as banquets, employee illness, or vacation relief.
Legal considerations such as the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act and provisions of any collective agreement must be kept in mind.
Staff capabilities should be taken into consideration; some employees may thrive in a stressful dinner rush while others perform well under less stressful situations. Some employees may have additional skills (e.g., hosting, bartending), which can be used effectively when sales volume is low if collective agreements or staff policies permit.
Employee’s preferences should also be accounted for in the schedule. Policies should be in place for requesting shift preferences or exchanging shifts between staff members.
No matter how well you have planned the schedule, problems can arise. A staff member may call in sick or fail to show up without warning. The volume of sales may be lower or higher than anticipated. You must have contingency plans to deal with these problems. You could have a staff member (or a casual employee) on call in case he or she is needed. You also have to know the capabilities of your staff. On a night when you have mostly experienced, capable servers and cooks who can handle stressful situations, you may be able to get by with one fewer staff than your staffing guide calls for.
When demand is lower than expected, you must know what limitations there are on sending staff home early, while still maintaining the minimum staffing needed to remain open. Of course, you must comply with collective agreements and all legislation that affects your workplace. If you understand the agreements and the Fair Labor Standards Act (2) well, you will know what flexibility you have to adjust to the situations that arise in the workplace.
Staying within Budgeted Labor Cost
A comparison of actual to budgeted labor costs can be used to plan future expenses. If your labor costs are higher than desired, you need to find ways to reduce them. One method of analyzing labor costs is to look at the actual and budgeted labor cost percentage. The projected labor cost percentage is calculated by dividing labor dollars by the projected volume of sales. The actual labor cost percentage is the actual labor dollars spent for a given time period divided by the actual volume of sales.
Example
A small restaurant has the standard labor hours and rates of pay shown in Table 13.2
[table id=13 /]
Table 13.2: Labor Planning and Cost Sheet
Based on previous sales figures for a Tuesday night, the manager expected 77 customers on a particular Tuesday evening. The projected revenue for this evening was \$1500.25. The manager developed a staff schedule based on the labor hours for 75 meals. The labor dollars were computed by multiplying the scheduled hours for each position by the hourly rate. The total labor cost for the evening was \$437.30. The projected labor cost percentage was:
\$437.30 ÷ \$1500.25 x 100 = 29.1%
On this evening, the sales were down. Although 76 customers were served, very close to the number expected, the average cheque size was lower. Only \$1425.95 worth of menu items were sold. The actual labor cost percentage was:
\$437.30 ÷ \$1425.95 x 100 = 30.7%
One of the best ways to improve productivity is to continually review and revise performance standards. Use the problem-solving process to identify the problem, generate alternatives, evaluate the alternatives, choose the best ideas, and implement them. Some questions you might ask yourself are:
• Can a particular task be eliminated?
• Is training or cross-training needed to improve the skills of staff?
• Can a task be reassigned to a person who is not as busy (e.g., could the dishwasher assist with some pre-preparation of items early in the shift)?
• Can slow periods be utilized more effectively to prepare for high-volume times?
• Does the menu need to be simplified?
• Is there standardization or simplification that can be done for systems of the operation?
• Do menu or volume changes require changes in facility layout?
• Would convenience items reduce costs without reducing the required quality?
• Should more part-time workers or temporary workers be used? Or is there a need for more flexible schedules or split shifts?
• Is overtime being used carefully or not at all?
• Is there an opportunity to introduce self-service or vending somewhere in the operation?
• Are the activities of another part of the operation affecting the performance of this department (e.g., the catering department has opened a new conference room some distance from the kitchen which requires food service)?
• Have there been changes in volume and peak times that need to be considered? Is the time open for service being maximized or does it need to be adjusted?
• Has paperwork been reduced as much as possible through computerization?
After considering all of these factors, you may still not be able to reduce your labor costs. You may have to raise your menu prices to improve the profitability of your operation. Of course, you need to consider the price the market will bear and the prices charged by your competitors before taking such an action.
It is often useful to look at both your food costs and labor costs when deciding whether a price increase is needed. If your labor costs are a little higher than anticipated and your food costs are lower, there may not be a problem. Some companies use a figure of 70% to 80% as a target for the sum of labor and food costs. Another strategy is to have lower contribution margins but increase your volume. This makes sense because the more volume you have, the more money is contributed toward meeting your fixed costs of doing business.
Position Performance Analysis
Productivity standards are developed by considering the labor hours needed to perform assigned tasks. During a designated observation period, employees are asked to perform their jobs, adhering carefully to all established policies and procedures. They are carefully observed to ensure compliance. For example, cooks would be expected to follow all standard recipes, take scheduled rest breaks, and meet the required quality standards. This process of analyzing productivity is called a position performance analysis.
The employee is observed over several shifts. At the end of each shift, the supervisor completes a report, as shown in Figure 13.4, which indicates the name of the employee observed, the meal period considered, the number of meals prepared, the number of hours worked, and number of guests per labor hour. The supervisor also records comments on workflow, adequacy of service, problems that arose, etc.
Figure 13.4 Position Performance Analysis
Position:
Name of employee:
Shift:
[table id=14 /]
Supervisor comments:
General comments:
Recommended meals/ labor hour for this position 30
Performance review by:
Restaurant Manager
Figure 13.4: Position performance analysis
Tools like this can help you identify the productivity of each staff member. Perhaps one cook is capable of producing 40 meals to the same standard in the time it takes another cook to produce 30. The first cook is more productive, and therefore a better choice to schedule on the busier evenings. You may also use this analysis to set goals and identify development options.
Controlling labor costs is critical
All in all, food costs and labor costs make up the bulk of the costs in running a successful kitchen. Having a solid understanding of both and how to manage them will be key in running a successful food service operation, whether it be a food truck or a major hotel.
Review Questions
• What are some examples of labor costs other than just salaries and wages?
• How is “minimum staff” different than an effective staffing plan for providing high-quality customer service?
• How would you define labor productivity?
• Describe factors that can be controlled by the foodservice manager that affect workplace performance and productivity.
• What are some factors to consider in choosing a productivity measure to use as a benchmark for a foodservice operation?
• How are sales forecasting and labor scheduling related?
• Why is service labor in a foodservice operation considered a “perishable” expense?
• What are some best practices for reducing labor costs, but maintaining high-quality customer service?
Review Exercises
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
References:
(1) “BLS Information”. Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
(2) Fair Labor Standards Act, retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/hrg.htm
Author, The BC Cook Articulation Committee, Sep 2015. Basic Inventory Procedures. In Pressbooks Edition 1.0. Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/04%3A_Managing_and_Controlling_Operating_Expenses/4.02%3A_Managing_Labor_Costs.txt |
Chapter Outline:
• What are Other Expenses?
• Controllable Expenses
• Non-controllable Expenses
• Fixed versus Variable Expenses
• Managing and Controlling Other Expenses
• Contracting
• Technology Tools
• Occupancy Costs and Interest Expense
Learning Objectives:
• Define “other expenses” or expense items that are not directly related to Food & Beverage or Labor
• Categorize “other expenses” in a typical foodservice operation profit and loss statement
• Explain the sources of “other expenses” and the variations that may result from the ownership structure of a restaurant
• Distinguish between variable, fixed, mixed, controllable and non-controllable expenses
• Describe strategies to control “other expenses”
Key Terms:
• Other Expenses
• Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants
• Statement of Profit and Loss or “Income Statement”
• Controllable versus Non-Controllable Expenses
• Controllable Profit
• Fixed versus Variable expenses
• Budget
Which line items are considered “Other Expenses”?
The Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants published by the National Restaurant Association provides a standardized account classification system that is used by most restaurant operators. Other Expenses are categorized as controllable or non-controllable. The Uniform System advocates the following presentation for the Statement of Profit and Loss or “Income Statement” (Other Expenses are highlighted):
Revenue
• subtract Cost of Sales
• subtract Payroll & Employee Benefits
• subtract Controllable Expenses
• equals Controllable Profit
• subtract Occupancy & Depreciation Expenses
• add Other non-operating Income
• subtract Interest Expenses
• equals Net Income Before Taxes
The Other Expenses category regroups all expenses that do not directly relate to Cost of Goods Sold and Employee Payroll & Benefits. A detailed list of Other Expenses line items is presented in the list below. However, restaurants have customized lists that suit the nature of their operations.
On-site foodservice operations, such as those in education, healthcare, etc. may not follow the Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants, but all segments in the industry have some accounting system that separates food & beverage, labor and “other” expenses. Those foodservice operations in non-profit settings may not pay occupancy expenses and taxes, but they may have expenses considered “indirect” costs or other similar categories. No matter what the category of operation, other expenses are part of the picture and must be controlled to manage the “bottom line.”
Controllable Expenses
Controllable expenses adjust as a result of managerial decisions. These costs can be increased or decreased within a reasonably short period and include such categories as:
• Direct Operating Expenses (uniforms, laundry, tableware, paper supplies, cleaning supplies, contract cleaning, etc.)
• Music & Entertainment
• Sales & Marketing
• Utilities
• General & Administrative
• Repairs & Maintenance
As an example “Flowers and Decorations”, which is a line item under Direct Operating Expenses, is a controllable expense insofar as the related cost is directly under the control of a manager who can modify the amount at will.
Non-Controllable Expenses
Non-controllable expenses tend to be fixed in nature and cannot usually be changed within the normal rhythm of business (or fiscal year) and include costs under the following categories:
• Occupancy Costs (Rent, building insurance, real estate and property taxes, equipment leases, etc.)
• Depreciation & Amortization
• Corporate Overhead
• Interest Expense
• Taxes (local, state and federal)
Rent comes under “Occupancy Cost” and is an example of a non-controllable cost. While it is possible to renegotiate more favorable conditions, the outcome would take a long time and involve the decisions of multiple stakeholders.
Other Expenses: Controllable:
• Direct Operating Expenses:
• Auto or Truck Expenses
• Banquet and Catering
• Bar Supplies
• Cleaning Supplies
• Contract Cleaning
• Equipment/Other Rentals
• Flowers and Decorations
• Guest Supplies
• Kitchen Utensils and Supplies
• Laundry and Dry Cleaning
• Linen and Linen Rental
• Menus and Drink Lists
• Miscellaneous
• Paper and Packaging
• Parking
• Tableware /Smallwares
• Uniforms
• General & Administrative :
• Accounting and Payroll
• Bad Debts
• Bank Charges
• Cash (Over) / Short
• Claims and Damages Paid
• Collection Fees
• Consulting and Coaching Services
• Credit Card Charges
• Directors’ or Officers’ Fees
• Dues and Subscriptions
• Franchise Fees
• Insurance – Liability and General
• Licenses and Permits
• Miscellaneous
• Office Printing and Supplies
• Personnel
• Postage
• Professional Services
• Security and Deposit Services
• Telephone and Communications
• Training
• Repairs & Maintenance:
• Building and Structure
• Equipment and Furniture
• Grounds and Parking Lot
• Total Repairs & Maintenance
• Music & Entertainment:
• Audio Broadcast Service
• Bands and Musicians
• Comedians and Entertainers
• Meals Served to Musicians and Entertainers
• Music Licensing Fees
• Television Broadcast Service
• Marketing:
• Advertising
• Direct Response Marketing
• Public Relations and Publicity
• Research
• Other
• Utilities:
• Electricity
• Gas
• Heating Oil and Other Fuel
• Recycling Credits
• Trash Removal
• Water and Sewage
Other Expenses: Non Controllable
• Occupancy Costs :
• Rent (facility, parking…)
• Common Area Maintenance
• Insurance of Building and Contents
• Other Municipal Taxes
• Personal Property Taxes
• Real Estate Taxes
• Equipment lease, Depreciation & Amortization, Interest Expense
• Notes
• Long-term Debt
• Other
The list is provided as an example, restaurants have their customized list that reflects their operation.
Fixed versus Variable Expenses
For management and control purposes, expenses are further categorized as fixed, variable or semi-variable depending on how they vary as the activity level of an operation fluctuates:
• Food cost is an example of variable expense as it fluctuates in direct proportion to increases and decreases in sales (volume of business or number of customers)
• Rent is a fixed cost that stays the same irrespective of changes in revenues or volume of business
• Energy is a semi-variable expense. Security lights, refrigeration, and air-conditioning or heat stay on when the restaurant is closed. Energy costs increase when the restaurant resumes operation and things like ovens, grills, and lighting are operating at peak levels.
Managing and C ontrolling Other Expenses
Other Expenses are expressed in either Percentage of Total Sales:
Other Expenses (\$) divided by Total Sales (\$) equals Other Expenses %
and/or Dollar Cost per Guest:
Other Expenses (\$) divided by Number of Guests equals \$ Cost per Guest
Individually, the “other expenses” line items represent a small percentage of total revenues and are often overlooked. According to a study by the National Restaurant Association, Direct Operating Expenses (c.f. previous definition) account for 3% to 5% of revenues. However, restaurant operations are low margin businesses and 3% to 5% of revenues could also represent the net income (or profit). Therefore, restaurant managers need to pay attention to each line of expense.
According to the formula stated above, in order to reduce the other expenses percentage, either sales have to go up or expenses have to decrease. Controlling other expenses requires managers to monitor and reduce the variable portion of these other costs where appropriate. However, controllable expense items are mostly semi-variable. In an on-going operation, some costs will decrease but a fixed portion will continue to occur when the activity slows down or even closes. Maintenance and reduced cleaning schedules will still be enforced, advertising will be reduced but not eliminated, guest supplies will be stocked for re-opening, a person will need to keep on taking reservations, security lights and refrigeration will still be switched on.
As previously mentioned, variable costs are influenced by managerial decisions and policy. Therefore, establishing and enforcing operating procedures is an essential part of controlling other expenses.
Example: Utility Policies and Expenses
[table id=16 /]
Utilities in restaurants represent 3.5% to 5.5% of revenues. Cooking-related activities (water heating, cooking, and refrigeration) account for approximately 70% of total energy expenses.
Restaurants manage energy costs by combining proper management and maintenance policies with technology. Checklists are provided to employees responsible for turning off cooking equipment, exhaust fans, lights, computers, and office equipment. The following checklist is an example of an energy-saving program.
Equipment and Energy Saving Program
• Switch off the door heater on your reach-in refrigerator or freezer
• Check the temperature setting in refrigerators and freezers
• Temperatures that drift below recommended levels waste energy
• Clean refrigerator coils regularly
• Reduce defrost cycles in refrigerators
• Inspect refrigerator and freezer doors to prevent leakage of cool air
• Upgrade your walk-in refrigerator and freezer
• Adding strip curtains cut air infiltration by 75 percent, automatic door closers are inexpensive
• Shift ice production time in ice machines
• Timers shift ice production to nighttime off-peak hours
• Replace incandescent light fixtures with LEDs
• Install occupancy sensors
• Replace air filters in air-conditioning (AC) systems
• Check AC temperatures
• Maintain panels on rooftop AC units
• Maximize location of kitchen appliances
• Group heavy-duty appliances, such as charbroilers under the center of the hood, and place ovens at the ends
• Install a low-flow pre-rinse sprayer valve
• Set your hot water temperature at around 130 ̊F
• Fix leaks
• Maximize efficiency of dishwashers
Longer-Term Solutions
• Invest in connectionless steamers for cooking
• Install a variable-speed (exhaust) hood controller
• Install fan controllers for walk-in coolers and freezers
• Retrofit the defrost controller
• Invest in remote air-cooled ice machines
• Invest in a high-efficiency, condensing water heater
• Consider low-flow toilet fixtures
• Install energy-efficient windows
• Paint the exterior in a light color
The above energy-saving program is an example of the type of program and decisions that foodservice managers need to consider in controlling costs. Procurement and buying decisions for direct operating expenses (see Table 14.1) need to be carefully researched and considered to be sure that other expenses that are controllable are being managed as carefully as possible.
Contracting
Food service operations farm out numerous services to suppliers. These may include maintenance (kitchen equipment, building mechanical, etc.), pest control, grounds services (landscaping, snow removal), uniform rental and cleaning, insurance, communication, printed material, and various guest supplies. To ensure that the operation benefits from the most competitive rates, contracts should be awarded through a request for proposal (RFP) or bid process and re-examined periodically.
Technology Tools
Restaurant operations are increasingly reliant on technology for the front of the house operations with the use of such systems as reservation management, kiosks and tabletop tablets, digital point of sales, and loyalty programs, or back of the house with inventory and ordering systems, energy management, maintenance records, and scheduling.
While technology assists management decision processes optimizing revenues and expenses, it also generates significant costs (investment, equipment and software maintenance and upgrade, obsolescence, etc.) and a related investment should be the subject of a detailed cost/benefit analysis.
Occupancy Costs & Interest Expense
Occupancy and Interest expenses include such items as rent (ground, facility, parking), common area maintenance, insurance of building and contents, taxes (municipal, personal property, real-estate) and interest expenses on long-term debt (generally mortgages.) Occupancy and interest expense, therefore, depend on the ownership structure of the operation. Does the operator own or lease the facility? If owned, is the mortgage paid-off?
This expense category is fixed and non-controllable. It can only be changed in the long run through lease renegotiations, loan refinancing or repayment, or an appeal for real estate tax revision.
If the foodservice operation is part of a non-profit business or institution, indirect costs and budget categories that cover overhead costs may be beyond the control of the foodservice director, but they are still costs that need to be covered by revenue generated by the operation.
A n ote of c aution :
• While a manager has little power of decision over non-controllable expenses, he/she is still accountable for producing enough revenues to cover them.
• Controlling expenses is not synonymous with cost-cutting. Indiscriminately cutting costs can result in using inferior products, constant breaking down of equipment, run-down facilities, outdated décor, etc. which can also lead to low employee morale, being understaffed or left with unskilled workers, all of which could damage guest experience and ultimately ruin a business.
It’s a Constant Balancing Act
Controlling expenses consist of aligning an operation’s expense level with the service standard and price point that is advertised (and hopefully delivered) to the guests. Therefore, proper control requires a manager to forecast the desirable expense level and benchmark the actual costs against forecasts that are materialized in a budget (c.f. Budgeting chapter). It’s a managerial skill that takes experience and practice to develop.
Review Questions
• What is the difference between controllable, non-controllable, fixed and variable other expenses?
• Where should a foodservice manager spend most of their time and energy when trying to control other expenses?
• Describe two ways to analyze the other expense category when making management decisions.
• What are some best practices for controlling equipment and energy expenses?
• What kinds of responsibilities might be contracted out to other suppliers and why would a foodservice manager decide to do this?
• Which types of “other expenses” are different for non-profit foodservice operations?
Review Exercises
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The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/04%3A_Managing_and_Controlling_Operating_Expenses/4.03%3A_Managing_and_Controlling_Other_Expenses.txt |
Chapter Outline:
– Introduction to CVP analysis
– Calculations for a CVP analysis
– Using a CVP to target a desired profit
– Break-even point explained
– Computing the break-even point
Learning Objectives
• Explain how Cost-Volume Profit (CVP) analysis is related to planning for a profitable business
• Describe the relationship between sales volume, costs and profit
• Describe the notion of costs behavior (variable vs. fixed)
• List the assumptions behind a CVP analysis
• Calculate a CVP analysis using a step-by-step process
• Explain the concept of a Break-Even Point
• Calculate break-even points for both sales/revenue dollars and number of units sold.
Key Terms and Concepts
• CVP analysis
• revenues and sales volume
• contribution margin income statement
• contribution margin
• contribution margin percentage
• variable costs/ expenses
• fixed costs/expenses
• operating income
• break-even point
• break-even sales
• break-even number of units sold
Introduction
CVP analysis looks at the effect of sales volume variations on costs and operating profit. The analysis is based on the classification of expenses as variable (expenses that vary in direct proportion to sales volume) or fixed (expenses that remain unchanged over the long term, irrespective of the sales volume). Accordingly, operating income is defined as follows:
Operating Income = Sales – Variable Costs Fixed Costs
A CVP analysis is used to determine the sales volume required to achieve a specified profit level. Therefore, the analysis reveals the break-even point where the sales volume yields a net operating income of zero and the sales cutoff amount that generates the first dollar of profit.
Cost-volume profit analysis is an essential tool used to guide managerial, financial and investment decisions.
Cost-Volume Profit Analysis
Contribution Margin and Contribution Margin Percentage
The first step required to perform a CVP analysis is to display the revenue and expense line items in a Contribution Margin Income Statement and compute the Contribution Margin Ratio.
A simplified Contribution Margin Income Statement classifies the line items and ratios as follows:
Contribution Margin Income Statement
Table 15.1 Contribution Margin Income Statement
Statement Item
Amount
Percent of Income
Sales
$100 100% (Deduction) Variable Costs$60
60%
(Total) Contribution Margin
$40 40%* (Deduction) Fixed Costs$30
30%
(Total) Operating Income
$10 10% Table 15.1 Contribution Margin Income Statement. The table shows the percent of income for sales, contribution margin, and operating income are observed as totals, after variable and fixed cost deductions. * Contribution Margin Percentage The method relies on the following assumptions: • Sales price per unit is constant (i.e. each unit is sold at the same price); • Variable costs per unit are constant (i.e. each unit costs the same amount); • Total fixed costs are constant (i.e. costs such as rent, property taxes or insurance do not vary with sales over the long term); • Everything produced is sold; • Costs are only affected because activity changes. The equation: Operating Income = Sales – Variable Costs Fixed Costs Sales = units sold X price per unit Variable Costs = units sold X cost per unit The first equation above can be expanded to highlight the components of each line item: Operating Income = (units sold X price per unit) – (units sold X cost per unit) – Fixed Cost The contribution margin is defined as Sales – Variable Costs. Therefore, Contribution Margin ($) = (units sold X price per unit) – (units sold X cost per unit)
And the Contribution Margin Percentage (CM%) is computed as follows:
CM% = Contribution Margin ($) / Sales ($)
Accordingly, the following is another way to express the relationship between contribution margin, CM percentage, and sales:
Contribution Margin $= Sales$ X Contribution Margin %
The contribution margin percentage indicates the portion each dollar of sales generates to pay for fixed expenses (in our example, each dollar of sales generates $.40 that is available to cover the fixed costs). As variable costs change in direct proportion (i.e. in %) of revenue, the contribution margin also changes in direct proportion to revenues, However, the contribution margin percentage remains the same. Example: Revenues$100 – (20 units X $5) Var. Costs$60 – 60% (20 units X 60%)
CM $40 – 40% The equation above demonstrates 100 percent of income ($100) minus $60 from variable costs equals$40 contribution margin. the equation below demonstrates revenues doubling to $200 and deducting fixed costs of$120, that results in $80 contribution margin. If revenues double : Revenues$200 – (40 units X $5) Fixed Costs$120 – 60% (40 units X 60%)
CM $80 – 40% Targeted Profit CVP analysis is conducted to determine a revenue level required to achieve a specified profit. The revenue may be expressed in number of units sold or in dollar amounts. Income Statement Table 15.2 Income Statement Statement Item Amount Percent of Income Sales (20 units X$5)
$100 100% (Deduction) Variable Costs (20 units X$3)
($60) (60%) (Total) Contribution Margin$40
40%
(Deduction) Fixed Costs
($30) (30%) (Total) Operating Income$10
10%
Table 15.2 Income Statement. The table shows an income statement that observes total income from sales, contribution margin total after variable cost deduction, and operating income total after fixed cost deduction.
How much sales is required to achieve a $20 profit? This can be answered by finding the number of units sold or the sales dollar amount. 1. Required n umber of u nits sold: Profit = Revenues – Variable Costs – Fixed Costs$20 = (Units Sold X $5) – (Units Sold X$3) – $30$50 = (Units Sold X $5) – (Units Sold X$3)
Sales deducted from Variable Costs is the definition of contribution margin
$50 = (Units Sold) X ($5-$3) ($5-$3=$2 which is the $contribution margin per unit)$50/$2 = 25 Units sold needed to achieve$20 in profit
$\huge{\frac{(\text{Fixed Costs Dollar + Targeted Profit Dollar})}{\text{Contribution Margin Dollar Per Unit}}}$
Verification:
Income Statement
Table 15.3 Income Statement
Statement Item Dollar Amount Percent of Income
Sales (25 units X $5)$125
100%
(Deduction) Variable Costs (25 units X $3) ($75)
(60%)
(Total) Contribution Margin(25 units X $2)$50
40%
(Deduction) Fixed Costs
($30) (30%) (Total) Targeted Operating Income$20
10%
Table 15.3 Income Statement. The table shows an income statement that observes sales, contribution margin, and targeted operating income totals, after variable and fixed cost deductions.
Not e : while O perating I ncome doubled, (from $10 to$20) only 5 additional unit s sold (+25%) were required as only variable costs changed while fixed costs remained at $30 . 2. Required s ales dollar amount Profit$ = sales $– Variable Costs$Fixed Costs $and Sales$ – Variable Costs $= Contribution Margin$
So,
Profit $= Contribution Margin$ – Fixed Costs $We saw earlier that Contribution Margin$ can be expressed as:
Sales X Contribution Margin %
Contribution Margin $= (Sales$ x Contribution Margin %)
Profit $= (Sales$ x Contribution Margin%) – Fixed Costs $Profit$ + Fixed Costs $= (Sales$ x Contribution Margin %)
(Targeted Profit $+ Fixed Expense$) / Contribution Margin % = Sales $The previous equation for Sales$ is calculated by adding Targeted Profit $and Fixes Expense$, divided by Contribution Margin percentage
Verification:
Sales Required to achieve $20 in targeted profit: ($20 + $30) / 40% =$125
The example equation reads: $20 +$30, divided by 40 percent equals $125 CVP formulas to be remembered: • Required sales based on units sold to yield a targeted operating income: Required number of units sold For Targeted Profit = $\huge{\frac{(\text{Fixed Costs Dollar + Targeted Profit Dollar})}{\text{Contribution Margin Dollar Per Unit}}}$ The previous equation reads: Required number of units sold for targeted profit equals fixed costs dollar plus targeted profit dollar, divided by Contribution Margin dollar per unit. • Required sales based on contribution margin percentage to yield a targeted operating income: Required Dollar Sales For Targeted Profit = $\huge{\frac{(\text{Fixed Costs Dollar + Targeted Profit Dollar})}{\text{Contribution Margin Percentage}}}$ The previos equation reads: Required dollar sales for targeted profit equals fixed costs dollar plus targeted profit dollar, divided by Contribution Margin percentage. Break-even Point The break-even point is reached when total costs and total revenues are equal, generating no gain or loss (Operating Income of$0). Business operators use the calculation to determine how many product units they need to sell at a given price point to break even or to produce the first dollar of profit.
Break-even analysis is also used in cost/profit analyses to verify how much incremental sales (or revenue) is needed to justify new investments.
The following graph illustrates the break-even point based on the number of covers sold in a restaurant
Figure 15.1 Break-even point based on the number of covers sold in a restaurant
Long description:
A line graph with covers sold on the x axis. the x axis starts at 0, and has increment markers in intervals of 50, increasing to a maximum of 400. There is a label for loss indicated from the start of the x axis ( 0 ) to the fifth interval marker ( 250 ). There is a label for profit indicated on the x axis starting after the 250 marker. The Y axis is labeled for revenues, also starting at 0, incrementing by one thousand dollars every marker, to a maximum of six thousand dollars. There are four lines graphed. One of which is a line representing total sales, which increases at linear rate, starting point (0 , $0), and ending point (400,$6000). Another line represents the total costs, which also increases at a linear rate. Its starting point is (0 , $2500), and its ending point is (400,$5000). The total sales and total costs lines that are graphed, intersect at the point (250, $4000) which is labeled as the break even point. the intersection of these two lines emphasize (as the x axis profit label does, which was mentioned earlier in this description) that profit occurs after 250 covers are sold. A fixed cost line is represented in this graph as well.Starting point ( 0 ,$2500), and ending point (400, $2500). Showing that fixed costs are static and not dependent on covers sold. The last line represents variable costs, starting point ( 0,$0) and ending point (400, $2500). Notice the ending point of the total costs line equals the fixed cost and variable cost totals. End long description. • The Sales line starts at the origin (0 revenue for 0 covers) and grows in direct proportion to the number of covers sold; • Variable costs grow in direct proportion to Sales but at a slower rate. The line starts at the origin since no variable cost arises if no sale occurs; • The Fixed Costs line remains flat (unchanged irrespective of the number of covers sold). The operation incurs Fixed Costs such as rent whether the operation operates (is open for business) or not; • Total Cost grows at the same rate as Variable Costs. The Total Cost minimum is represented by the Fixed Costs line; • The Break-Even point occurs where the Total Sales line crosses the Total Costs line. In this illustration, the operation starts being profitable when selling exceeds 250 covers. Computing the Break-Even Point Computing the break-even point is equivalent to finding the sales that yield a targeted profit of zero. Example The average check (selling price per cover) for the Roadside Exotic BBQ Restaurant is$16. The restaurant averages 85 covers sold a day or 2,250 covers per month. The restaurant currently loses money as indicated in the following statement:
RoadsideExotic BBQ RestaurantIncome Statement
Table 15.4 Income Statement for an Exotic Barbecue Restaurant
Statement Item Dollar Amount Percent of Income
Sales (2,250Coversx$16)$40,800
100%
(Deduction) Variable Costs
($29,376) (72%) (Total) Contribution Margin$11,424
28%
(Deduction) Fixed Costs
($13,464) (30%) (Total) Operating Income ($2,040)
(5%)
Table 15.4 Income Statement for an Exotic Barbecue Restaurant.
The owner wants to know the sales volume required in terms of both dollars ($) and the number of covers for the restaurant to break even considering its current expense structure. 1. $\huge{\frac{(\text{Fixed Costs Dollar + Targeted Profit Dollar})}{\text{Contribution Margin Dollar Per Unit}}}$ The equation just shown is meant to be read as: fixed costs dollar plus targeted profit dollar, divided by contribution margin dollar per unit In this case, • Targeted Profit = zero (definition of Break-even) • Contribution Margin per unit:$16 X 28% (CM%) = $4.48 $\huge{\frac{\text{Fixed Cost Dollar}}{\text{Contribution Margin Dollar /unit}} = \frac{\ 13,464}{\ 4.48}}$ 100.18 (101) covers per day. Verification RoadsideExotic BBQ RestaurantIncome Statement Table 15.5 Income Statement of an Exotic Barbecue Restaurant Statement Item Dollar Ammount Percent of Income Sales (3,005.36 Coversx$16)
$48,086 100% (Deduction) Variable Costs ($34,622)
(72%)
(Total) Contribution Margin
$13,464 28% (Deduction) Fixed Costs ($13,464)
(28%)
(Total) Operating Income
($0) (0%) Table 15.5 Income Statement of an Exotic Barbecue Restaurant 2. Required Sales Sales$ = Targeted Profit $+ Fixed Expense$
Contribution Margin %
Since targeted profit is zero, the formula for the Break-Even Sales is:
Fixed Expense $=$13,464 = $48,086 Contribution Margin % 28% Break-Even formulas to be remembered: • Break-Even number of Units sold Break-Even number of units sold = (Fixed CostsDollar/ Contribution Margin Dollar per unit) • Break-Even Sales Break-Even Sales$ =
(Fixed Costs Dollar / Contribution Margin Percentage)
Summary
The break-even point calculation allows food service operators to calculate the number of covers (or units sold) or total sales needed to cover all costs of the operation given the level of business generated. Once the break-even point is met, additional revenue (or sales) starts to generate a profit, which is typically at least one purpose of running a business. Cost volume profit analysis allows the food service operator to calculate similar figures but with a targeted profit in mind. This CVP analysis is an essential tool in guiding managerial, financial and investment decisions for current operations or future business ideas or plans.
Review Questions
Short Answer
1. How would conducting a cost volume profit analysis help a food service operator make decisions about future business ideas?
2. What sort of assumptions need to be made about a food service operation in order to complete a cost volume profit analysis
3. How might calculating a break-even point be useful to a food service manager?
Matching
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Multiple Choice
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Learning Objectives
• define budgeting and financial management terminology
• recognize the importance of planning, including accurate budgeting, in the operational and financial success of a food & beverage operation
• analyze the economic and competitive environment confronting a business (when involved in the budgeting process)
• identify the specific characteristics that provide a competitive advantage (or disadvantage) to a particular operation
• explain how budget figures are developed based on previous years data and projected increases or decreases in activity
• recognize restaurant revenue and cost drivers
• Number of covers
• Average Check
• Contribution Margin
• Prime Cost
• Variable and fixed costs
• explain how revenues and expenses flow through the financial statements analyze budget figures to compare projections to actuals
• describe the difference between
• net income and operating cash flow
• cash versus operating budget
Key Terms and Concepts
• operating budget
• cash budget
• capital budget
• restaurant revenue and cost drivers
• Number of covers
• Average Check
• Contribution Margin
• Prime Cost
• Variable and fixed costs
• net income
• operating cash flow
Introduction to budgeting for business
Budgeting and Cost-Volume-Profit (Breakeven) analysis are two main tools available to food service managers when planning for profit. This chapter will explore developing and analyzing the budget. In its simplest form, a budget is a projection of anticipated revenues and expenses over a specific period of time. In the case of businesses, this is typically on a monthly, yearly and multi-year basis. The budget functions as a plan materializing what a business expects to achieve during the stated period.
A budget details the operational direction and the anticipated financial results of an operation. It provides a basis for continuously monitoring the operational and financial conditions and trends of an entity. The budget also defines the operational and financial limits of the operation. The budget serves as a benchmark against which actual results are measured. As such, the budget is a tool supporting managerial decisions regarding resource allocation in order to achieve the goals of the organization.
A budget allows the operator to:
• conduct a critical review and learn from past performance
• involve those responsible for future performance in the forecasting process.
• be aware of how revenues, expenses, and cash flow interact in a restaurant
• plan for future cash events to avoid shortfalls
• evaluate different scenarios and courses of action to achieve desired profit levels
• monitor actual performances and compare them with the standards established in the budget
• take timely corrective actions to correct potential problems
A budget is not a static document and should be periodically modified to take into account the actual data about sales and costs affecting the direction of the overall operation.
Companies generally produce different types of budgets.
• The operating budget forecasts revenues and expenses for the operation. This budget mimics the profit & loss statement and provides anticipated revenues and expenses for each accounting period. An operating budget usually includes twelve monthly statements with a year-to-date and a yearly report. This budget also shows projected net income, the final amount of profit or loss after all expenses have been subtracted from sales (revenue.)
• The cash budget forecasts the cash outflows and inflows for a specific period. It assesses the ability of a business to meet its payment obligations and to ensure that excess cash is managed in a productive way.
In general, an operation’s revenues and cash cycles are not in line. Employee and supplier’s payments may not correspond to the timing of revenues. Revenues may not generate immediate cash when booked as account receivables.
Restaurant operations are affected by seasonality where expenses occur on an on-going basis while revenues may be concentrated over a shorter period (eg. resorts, educational settings, locations experiencing severe climatic events, etc.) requiring operations to plan for the periods of cash shortfalls. This requires food service managers to pay careful attention to operating cash flow, which is the amount of cash generated by regular business operations and indicates whether an operation has the cash it needs to grow.
Cash issues are one of the leading factors for the restaurant’s high rate of failure. A restaurant may appear to be profitable while being unable to meet its payment obligations (revenues exceed expenses but are booked as account receivables).
• The capital budget anticipates future cash requirements for investments in assets and equipment.
Food & beverage operations are particularly vulnerable to rapid shifts in consumption trends as illustrated by the demand for organic food products, sustainable and traceable production sources, healthier cooking methods, and ethnic/fusion cuisine.
Accordingly, the life cycle of a restaurant is limited and requires periodic renovations to maintain an attractive servicescape (impact of the physical environment and service process on guests’ behavior) and functioning equipment. In addition, food & beverage operations are increasingly investing in technology and information systems for such functions as point-of-sales and reservation systems, loyalty programs, purchasing and inventory, accounting, and human resources management.
Businesses may have multiple capital budgets based on the investment horizon under consideration (one to five years). Sound cash management allocates a portion of the operating cash flow to a reserve that will fund any future capital outlays.
Budgeting Process – focused on the operating budget
1. Articulat e the assumptions
Responsibility for preparing the budget depends on the size of the operation. For smaller restaurants, the owner/operator would be in charge. In larger operations, top-level management defines the objectives and a bottom-up budgeting process involves the persons responsible for future performance. This is crucial, as the managers need a degree of ownership in the assigned goals to believe that they are achievable,
Accountants formalize the budget as a projected financial statement and a committee reviews and approve its final version. To be useful, a budget needs to be ambitious but realistic.
The budget relies on assumptions that should be clearly spelled out:
• General economic environment
• Expanding or receding economy
• Consumer confidence indicators
• Overall state of the food and beverage industry
• Food, beverage and labor costs in the marketplace
• Local environment/events affecting the operation such as:
• Business openings or closings
• Changes in local regulations
• Road or construction work affecting the access to the operation
• Labor issues – hiring or retention difficulties
• Competitive environment
• Restaurant openings, closing or renovating
• Competition pricing policies
• SWOT (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threat) analysis
• Historical operating ratios and trends
• Changes in customers’ demand and taste
• Revenue
• Cost of goods sold
• Labor (Payroll & benefits)
• Other expenses
• Other factors and constraints relevant to a specific operation
2. Quantify the assumptions
• Revenue targets are the first line items in the budget. Previous chapters in this textbook address revenue-forecasting methods in more detail. Forecasted sales determine the production goals and the resources required to achieve the performance levels dictated by the budget (food cost, labor, and other expenses).
A revenue forecast results primarily from the anticipated average check (average dollars spent by guests on food and beverage) and guest count, though some operations have other sources of income, such as merchandise or room rental.
• Projecting expenses requires an analysis of the cost drivers and an understanding of the behavior of each line item. Variable costs such as cost of goods sold (food & beverage cost) vary in direct proportion with changes in revenues. Items such as labor costs or energy are semi-variable or mixed as they only partially change as revenues do. (Eg. Only one General Manager, F&B Director or Marketing and Sales Manager is required per operation. Safety lights and power for the refrigeration units are permanently on irrespective of the changes in revenues.) Finally, costs such as equipment leases, insurance, rent, property taxes or mortgage payments are fixed over an extended period.
• Cost of Sales, including food & beverage costs, are estimated based on a percentage of the corresponding revenues.
• Food Revenue (\$) X Food Cost % = Food Cost (\$)
• Beverage Revenue (\$) X Beverage Cost % = Beverage Cost (\$)
• Other Sales (\$) X Other sales % = Cost of Other Sales (\$)
According the Operations Report published by the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the Cost of Sales median value for full-service restaurants approximates 32% of total sales.
• Labor costs:
• The simplest (and less accurate) way to forecast labor costs (payroll + benefits) is to have separate estimates for management and hourly personnel and multiply the total revenue figure by the historical cost percentage derived from prior year financial statements.
• A more accurate approach is to review the forecasted monthly (or weekly) sales figure and guest counts and apply an operating labor productivity standard such as “guests per front or back of the house employee”, to estimate how many persons in each category are required.
According to the NRA study, the median value for payroll cost and benefits is approximately 34% of total sales
• Prime Cost: a review of reasonableness
• Prime cost (Cost of Sales + Labor) is a controllable expense (see the previous chapter on “managing other expenses”) and managers have the power to adjust cost items representing a targeted percentage of total sales within a short period. Accordingly, the prime cost is one of the most closely scrutinized profitability indicators.
• Other Controllable Expenses
• Other controllable expenses include non-food or labor expenses that support daily operations. The main line items are:
• Direct operating expenses
• Music & Entertainment
• Marketing
• General & Administrative
• Repairs & Maintenance
Other controllable expenses are usually calculated by either using historical ratios of total sales or a growth rate percentage determined by the management team.
• Non-controllable expenses
• Occupancy Costs
• Equipment lease
• Depreciation & Amortization
• Interest Expense
• Property and Sales Taxes
Non-controllable expenses are fixed and do not change in the short term, so projecting these expenses is usually based on past history in the operation.
Refer to an earlier chapter in this book on “managing other expenses” for a detailed list of the costs classified as controllable and non-controllable expenses.
3. Budget vs. Actual: Monitor the variances
A budget variance is the difference between the budgeted expense or revenue and the actual amount. The variance is favorable when actual revenues exceed the budgeted revenues or when the actual expense is below the budgeted expenses.
Variances highlight potential problems that managers have to investigate. The following table illustrates some of the issues that may cause unfavorable revenue or cost variances.
Revenue Problems
Table 16.1 Revenue Problems
Potentially Manageable Reasons Potentially Unmanageable Reasons
• Revenue theft by employees
• Ineffective marketing/sales tactics
• Guest-relations issues
• New and significant competition for the same guest market
• Operating hours are longer than necessary; incurred labor costs are not offset by sufficient revenue
• Significant layoffs within the community reducing the size of the guest market
• Economic recession
• Significant capital improvement/ remodeling project leading to restaurant downtime
• Street/other community improvement project yielding difficult/no access to property
• Shortage (lack) of key menu ingredients which require popular items to be temporarily removed from the menu
Table 16.1 Revenue Problems
Food Cost Problems
Table 16.2 Food Cost Problems
Potentially Manageable Reasons Potentially Unmanageable Reasons
• Product theft
• Failure to effectively follow procedures for effective purchasing, storing, issuing, and producing food products
• Improper/inaccurate procedures to calculate actual food cost
• Ineffective selling techniques resulting in sales of higher food cost items
• Portion control issues
• Waste, such as overcooking, reduced yield percentages, cooking errors
• Significant increases in costs paid for food
• Shift of guest preferences to higher-food cost menu selections
• Storage losses (refrigerator/freezer breakdown requiring stored food to be destroyed)
• Shift to more convenience foods in efforts to reduce labor costs
4. Formalize the budget (see table below for an example operating budget)Forecast, forecast, forecast, then “crunch” the numbers to make the best projections and plan possible given past history, the current economic situation, and future goals.
Beth’s Homestyle Restaurant
Revenue
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[table id = 18 /]
[table id = 19 /]
[table id = 20 /]
Summary: Budgets and the Budgeting Process
Though this chapter on budgeting is toward the end of this book, it could also be one of the first. Developing the budget is critical for planning for a profitable food service operation. An effective food service manager also recognizes that a budget is a plan or roadmap, but not “set in stone.” The budget requires analysis on a regular basis to be sure that either things are going as planned or that adjustments are made as necessary throughout the budget period to achieve the profit goals of the operation.
Review Questions
Short Answer
1. What are some of the purposes of a budget for a food service operation?
2. What is the difference between an operating budget, a cash budget, and a capital budget?
3. What are some types of assumptions that a food service budget planner has to consider and articulate?
4. What are some of the different expense categories in a food service operation budget?
5. If there are unfavorable variances in a food service operation budget, what are some examples of manageable problems that could be better controlled to create a more favorable outcome?
Matching
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
Multiple Choice
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/05%3A_Planning_for_Profitable_Business/5.02%3A_Developing_and_Analyzing_the_Budget.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Describe the types and value of service in the food and beverage industry
• Describe the service sequence in full-service dining
• Differentiate between planning and providing guest services in food service establishments
• Identify tools utilized in providing guest service
• Identify “rules” and unique standards associated with different levels of dining experiences
• Relate the importance of service recovery and guest satisfaction to repeat business and customer loyalty
• Identify important steps in a service recovery model for a foodservice operation
Key Terms
• Table Service
• Family-style Service
• Buffet Service
• Cafeteria Service
• Quick Service
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Touchpoints
• Moment of Truth
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Customer lifetime value
• Loyalty programs
• Service recovery
• Suggestive selling
• Gratuity
• Kiosk
• Point of Sale (POS) terminals
Introduction to Guest Services
A chief goal for any establishment, particularly hospitality providers, is providing a pleasant experience for guests. To exceed expectations is not just a goal, but also a state of mind. In the food and beverage industry, providing exceptional services requires teamwork, training, standard operating procedures, technology and most importantly the right attitude. Guests experience has the potential to affect not only that guest, but their friends, friends of their friends, and so on. The service provided is an imprint of the food service establishment and can leave a lasting impression on each and every guest they come in contact with.
Types of Service
The style of meal service chosen by a food service establishment impacts the operation’s ability to make meaningful impressions on customers. There are many different styles of delivery for food service and it is ideal that an operation chooses the style that best meets their guest expectations. Types of service include table, buffet, cafeteria as well as other services including quick service and deli service.
Table service is traditionally provided to seated guests and is common with fine dining, casual dining, diners, bars, and pubs as well as many other establishments. Table service traditionally involves servers responsible for providing meals, maintaining guest experiences, and clearing tables at the conclusion of a meal. Table service can be organized into four categories including plate, family-style, cart, and platter.
Plate Service
Plate service is the most common service style and involves guest orders being taken at their table. The server then provides information to production staff. Items are prepared and delivered to the table by servers who also are responsible for maintaining tables during the guest’s dining experience. Plate service provides ample time for service staff to build a relationship with guests.
Family-style Service
Family-style service is increasingly becoming more common in dining establishments, particularly farm to table restaurants. Family-styleservice involves shared dishes served and distributed amongst a table of diners. Servers deliver ordered food to the table and guests are able to pass the items amongst themselves based on their desired choice. Family-style service provides an environment more closely related to dinner service at home.
Cart Service
Cart service is more commonly associated with fine dining experiences and incorporates a portion of tableside preparation. Although guests are seated and order as typically utilized with most table service, meals are delivered via cart and are commonly finished in the presence of the guest. This may include the selection of a specific cut of meat, the slicing of cooked meat, or the addition of a sauce to be served with a dish. Examples of cart service are common in French –style restaurants and can be commonly observed in Mexican restaurants where guacamole is made tableside. The restaurant Rosa Mexicana, with locations expanding from Los Angeles to New York, is known for its signature guacamole en Molcajete.
Platter Service
Platter service is another form of table service with similarities to cart service. Platter service involves food being arranged specifically on a platter and brought out to tables for guests viewing. After unveiling food, servers are responsible for serving portions onto guest plates. Platter service is commonly associated with banquet service.
Buffet Service
Buffet service involves food arranged and held under appropriate temperature standards while guests willingly come and choose as they prefer to select food items. Buffet service differs significantly from table service in the manner of food selection and service. Although guests are typically seated and utilize servers for ordering and other necessities, guests freely choose and arrange meals on plates. Buffet services typically contain carving stations for select items. Buffet services are common for banquets and are commonly found in hotels as well as full-service restaurants. Some operations utilize buffet service specifically for brunch on weekends while others utilize a buffet service daily.
Cafeteria Service
Cafeteria service or a-la-carte service is a common service style for lunch and operations involving many establishments under one roof. Academic facilities, shopping malls, and corporate environments often provide this service as a means of providing variety with centralized resources. Commonly cafeteria service has one entry and one exit point. Guests are presented with options such as a salad bar, soup station, pizza area, hot and cold sandwich areas, etc. Guests have the option to choose items based on their preferences and are expected to pay at the exit. Cafeteria services are typically designed in a scrambled layout, which involves stations spread out and no direct approach to selection. However, some cafeteria service outlets are designed with a straight-line approach where guests follow a line through all items until the end of the counter payment point.
As mentioned previously, many other services or combination options exist including quick service and deli service. Quick service is a style of service that allows seating, drive-through, and take-out options and provides guests the opportunity to order food at a counter and choose a dining location of their choice. Employee and customer interaction typically only occurs at the point of order in these service styles, which is very similar to cafeteria service.
The style of service selected by a dining establishment provides an indication of the service experience offered. The characteristics associated with table service dining varies greatly from the dining experience associated with cafeteria service. Table service provides more opportunities for engaging with guests and requires servers with soft skills and a dedicated level of customer service training.
The Guest Experience
One of the primary goals of a restaurant is to provide guests with an enjoyable dining experience. This experience extends beyond the food served and the price associated. Restaurants strive to provide an atmosphere that is both welcoming and comforting. Restauranteur Danny Meyer is quoted in his book, Setting the Table as stating “food is secondary to something that matters even more. In the end, what’s most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships.” Meyer, who is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality has created an entire organization of restaurants whose primary goal is providing the best possible service. A visit to one of his restaurants exemplifies what the guest experience should include. The success of his restaurants is a testament to the importance of the guest experience.
Preparing for Successful Service
When creating the ideal guest experience, it starts with planning and organizing your establishment and the procedures that are followed. From an organizational standpoint, a restaurant should establish standard operating procedures, which are procedures designed to allow businesses to create consistency in workflows and job performance. Training of staff is another essential element of high-quality service. Staff should be prepared to understand guest concerns and should be prepared to embody an attitude that “the guest is always right.” Servers should be knowledgeable on menu offerings as well as service expectations. Servers must be trained to be problem solvers and empowered with the ability to provide exceptional recovery. The investment in guest service training has the ability to provide benefits for not only the guest but also management and other personnel.
Properly trained staff have the ability to improve teamwork, which helps create a “we” versus “I” mentality. The significance of teamwork is a necessity for providing quality guest service. A team approach makes the guest experience the responsibility of all staff, not just the server. Finally, among all other steps, it is essential that operations evaluate the unique needs of their own establishment. The type of service, the number of reservations, the experience of servers, the variety of menu amongst other things are all key criteria when planning an approach to providing outstanding guest service.
Providing Guest Service
From the onset of inquiring about a dining establishment, a guest often has an expectation of service provided by an establishment. Guest experience is a combination of touchpoints that occur before, during, and after meal service. A touchpoint is defined as any way a consumer can interact with a business, whether it be person-to-person, through a website, an app or any form of communication. In the restaurant business, from the moment a guest communicates with a member of a restaurant, they have created an impression about the location. However, first impressions are often implied from previous guest reviews or they can be a product of second-hand feedback from previous diners.
Guests create opinions upon arrival onto the property and continue as a guest is greeted by a host, maître d’, receptionist or another employee responsible for welcoming guests. Welcoming employees should be knowledgeable and sensitive to guests’ requests, needs, and desires. Guests may require accommodations for disabilities or prefer a table in a non-smoking section. Guests have many preferences and the welcoming provides an opportunity to learn about a guest before they are seated.
When discussing the service sequence associated with restaurant guests, it is important to note that there is not an industry-specific standard to follow. To simplify the process we will look solely at a table service dining experience. Typically, the service sequence begins once the guests are seated. The sequence may look similar to the following:
• Welcoming the guests – Create a comfortable environment
• Serve or pour water – Pour cleanly and confirm if any accommodations or special requests exist
• Present the menu and beverage list (if alcohol is offered) – Provide any specials and ensure all guests have appropriate menus
• Take the beverage order – Be specific on how guests drinks should be served
• Serve beverages – Beverages typically delivered from the right of the guest with the right hand.
• Ask guests if they would like to order appetizers – Provides an opportunity to ask if any questions on the menu and initiate the ordering process. Some guests may wish to order at this time.
• Serve the appetizers – Food is generally served from the left with the server’s left hand.
• Take the food order – Be specific on any special requests. Answer any questions guests may have on items
• Remove appetizer dishes – Creates room for the next course and provides opportunities to create a dialogue with guests.
• Serve salad and bread – Salads should be chilled and bread at room temperature unless specified otherwise
• Remove salad dishes – If guests are done. Opportunity to see if guests need anything prior to the main entrée arriving.
• Serve the entrée dishes – Served as noted or with the main item closest to the guest. If there are side dishes, they should be placed on the side of the item.
• Confirm that all items are prepared correctly – Are items accurate, temperatures correct, any necessary condiments, etc.
• Clear the table – Ensure guests are satisfied and provide to go service opportunity
• Offer dessert and after dinner drink options (if available) – Provide suggestions
• Take the dessert order – Ask about beverages
• Serve the dessert and after-dinner beverages – Confirm guests do not need anything else.
• Present the guest check – Efficiency, do not let the guest wait.
This is a sample of a service flow from welcome to departure and presents a representation of the various touchpoints associated with the guest experience. Following this sequence will help an establishment meet the core needs of its guests. Often establishments have unique standards and operations they follow to exceed expectations and create memorable experiences for diners. When providing service, a good standard to follow is the golden rule “treat others as you would like to be treated.”
In addition to working through this type of service sequence, effective servers can also be a key factor in increasing the average check and overall revenue for the foodservice operation by using suggestive selling or “upselling.” Servers are often able to recommend additional purchases, beverages, etc., that increase the amount of money spent in the operation. This practice can benefit both the overall operation and potentially the gratuity or tip left by the customer for excellent service.
Providing Exceptional Service
Exceptional service includes being prompt, being friendly, being available, and going above and beyond for the customer. Danny Meyer states “Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple and it’s that hard.” This is notable in the restaurant industry as the recognition of restaurants relies heavily on the ability to provide exceptional service throughout the guest experience. While food quality, food presentation, restaurant décor are incredibly important, it is the experience diners have that counts. According to entrepreneur Chris Hurn, “Exemplary customer service distinguishes your brand, builds repeat business, combats price competition, and even improves employee morale.”
When we think about the components of exceptional service in restaurants, we often think of the balance of communication and genuine attention to diners. Exceptional service is not judged on one moment, but is the product of many encounters. Exceptional service can be determined by the attention you provide at the onset of a meal to how you handle difficult situations. In his book, The Heart of Hospitality, Micah Solomon compiled a list of five customer service lessons from successful business people and companies.
1. Richard Branson – Scripted customer service is the ultimate turnoff for today’s customer service.
2. Danny Meyer – Customers crave recognition and acknowledgment.
3. The Ritz Carlton – It takes empowered employees to deliver great service.
4. Tom Colicchio – Great customer service depends on trait-based hiring.
5. Patrick O’ Connell – Build a culture of “yes.”
There are just a few ideas of providing exceptional service from influential entities in the world of hospitality, but they serve as a reminder that exceptional service is about employees and customer interaction. Tips such as the ones mentioned help create loyalty in the restaurant industry. Repeat business is more about good customer service experience than a quality meal.
To exceed expectations in the restaurant industry requires a mix of the following fundamental service focuses:
• First impressions matter – From how you greet a customer to how you listen to their needs is essential to creating an appropriate dining experience. Addressing guests in a courteous manner – sets the tone.
• Be considerate of a customer’s time – A waiting customer is an unhappy customer. A waiting, uninformed customer is a customer who will not return. If service is slow, be forthcoming and informative.
• Being accessible – Without specifically stopping by a table, your sheer presence near a table can have a meaningful impact. Your visibility allows the customer to feel they are having a better experience, because if they need something, you are available.
• Problem-solving – Problems often arise and part of exceptional service is the ability to empathize, apologize, and offer solutions to service failures. Acting immediately is essential when a problem arises as it prevents the ability of a problem to escalate. Lastly, the knowledge of knowing when to involve your supervisor is critical.
• Maintain professionalism– Scenarios often can become challenging and you must always remain dedicated to representing the company. Your appearance and your attire matter.
• Show appreciation – Guests choose to dine at your restaurant, but also choose to return. Show appreciation for their decision to dine with you. A simple gesture of kindness or a genuine visit by management can accomplish this at a minimal cost.
• Effective Communication – Utilizing proper tone, listening to requests, providing accurate information are all essential elements in communicating effectively. The message is often not conveyed by words, but by actions. A simple smile or thank you has the ability to create a lifetime customer.
Exceptional service is not standard but is the product of multiple touchpoints throughout the experience. It is as much as about the smile when you are greeted when entering the decisive moment that occurs when a customer’s experience has not gone as planned. The ability to be tactful in handling customers is the difference between service and excellent service.
NOTE: This next section is from BC OER textbook: URL: https://opentextbc.ca/introtourism/chapter/chapter-9-customer-service/
Customer Relationship Management
Most hospitality businesses today also have some sort of form a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy for their organization. CRMs are tools used by businesses to select customers and maintain relationships with them to increase their lifetime value to the business.
There are a number of points in time where this relationship is maintained. For example:
• The first time potential guests visit a website and leave their email address to receive more information
• The moment a reservation is made and the company captures their personal details
• The in-person service encounters from the front desk to the parking lot
• Welcome notes, personalized menus, friendly hellos, and other touches throughout the interaction
• Background messages including clean facilities and equipment in good repair, pleasant decor, and ambiance (flowers, etc.)
• Follow-up communications like a newsletter
• Further interactions on social media
All of these touchpoints are opportunities to maintain strong relationships with customers and to increase the likelihood of positive word of mouth sharing.
Let’s take a closer look at one tool that tourism and hospitality businesses are increasingly using as part of their CRM strategies: rewarding customer loyalty.
With competition between tourism destinations and businesses continuing to grow, organizations are increasingly focusing on retaining existing customers, which is often less expensive than attracting new ones. This focus forces tourism businesses to look at the customer relationship over the long term, or the customer lifetime value (CLV) cycle, rather than at single transactions only.
It has been proven that it is much less expensive for a company to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one (Beaujean, Davidson & Madge, 2006). Ultimately, successful organizations will strive to build a base of loyal customers who will provide repeat business and may influence other potential customers. Building positive relationships with loyal customers requires planning and diligence for all customer touchpoints. This may include (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2007):
• Managing service encounters: training staff to provide personal service to customers
• Providing customer incentives: inducing customers to frequent the business
• Providing special service options: offering enhanced services or extra offerings to loyal customers
• Developing pricing strategies to encourage long-term use: offering repeat customers special prices or rates
• Maintaining a customer database: keeping an up-to-date set of records on customer purchase history, preferences, demographics, and so on.
• Communicating with customers: reaching individual customers through direct or specialized media, using non-mass media approaches
Loyalty programs pull together several of these elements to help a business identify, maintain contact with, and reward frequent customers.
Examples of Outstanding Service
If one uses the definition of quality in service as “meeting or exceeding customer expectations” (Kapiki, 2012), then the following examples certainly fit the description. These embody a concept known as a moment of truth (Beaujean, Davidson & Madge, 2006) when a customer’s interaction with a front-line employee makes a critical difference in his or her perception of that company or destination. The characteristics of employees that are best able to create these moments include self-empowerment and self-regulation, a positive outlook, awareness of their feelings and the feelings of others, and the ability to curb fear and anxiety while being able to access a desire to help others.
Service Recovery
If a business fails to meet customer expectations, there’s a risk the customer will tell others about it, often through social media networks. An on-location problem that turns into an online complaint, going from private to public, can become far more damaging to a business than the original issue. To avoid any problem from escalating, organizations and staff must work hard to resolve issues before the customer walks out the door — or pulls out a smartphone to make an online posting.
Of course, it’s not always possible to resolve issues on the spot. A customer’s expectations may go beyond the service the business is able to provide, or staff might not be authorized by management to provide the means necessary to resolve the complaint. In these cases, staff must still step up as service professionals, realizing that the actions they take when faced with a complaint can have a significant impact.
Online complaints highlight this point; reviewers are often more upset about how a problem was handled than about the problem itself. As well, potential guests who read online complaints are looking for reassurance that the same thing won’t happen to them. If they don’t find it, they may dismiss the business as an option and move on. How a business handles complaints, face-to-face and online, is critical to ensuring successful recovery from service failures.
Service recovery occurs when a customer service professional takes action that results in the customer being satisfied after a service failure has occurred. Often service failures are not the fault of front-line staff, and at times, may not even be the fault of the business. Failure may be the result of an error made by another employee, by the guest him- or herself, or by a technical error. Regardless of where the problem originated, when customers bring it to the attention of the staff, they have certain expectations for resolution.
Disappointed customers often want:
• An empathetic ear. Sometimes they simply want to vent. They want to know that the employee or manager is listening and cares.
• An apology. In some cases, a sincere apology is enough.
• A solution. Typically customers bring issues to the attention of staff because they want them fixed.
• Compensation. Upset customers are looking for compensation, but not always.
• Follow-up. For some people, it’s important to know that their concerns are brought to the attention of management and are fixed for future customers.
• Reassurance. Customers want to know they’re in good hands.
Skilled service recovery is especially important in the age of social media. Customers who are active on social networks are likely to be equally vocal about their satisfaction with service recovery when a problem is expertly handled as they are with their displeasure when they are disappointed with service (WorldHost Training Services, 2013).
While service recovery is a critical skill, all tourism and hospitality professionals should approach each encounter with the goal of providing remarkable service.
Guest Services Resources & Technological Support
In the age of technology, social media, and advanced automated systems customer interaction is closer than ever before. Restaurants have the ability to reach customers without physical interaction and it is important that restaurants are savvy in their use of technology. A balance of professionalism, timeliness, and creativity can create interest and future business. Inside the walls of a restaurant, technology has the ability to automate the guest experience and create a more efficient and effective service.
Social Media
The impact of social media on the service process is both an opportunity and a challenge for the industry. On one hand, online platforms such as Yelp and Twitter create readily available information to allow customers to find information on your restaurant. On the other hand, they create challenging environments where restaurants are unable to control their public presence. The freedom to create and provide reviews helps provide customer expectations but creates more responsibility for managers. Online presence and online reviews can single-handedly influence a customer’s choice of where they will dine.
Technology
Within the operation, restaurants use a variety of technological services to impact their guest experience. Technology includes point of sale terminals, precheck terminals, self-service order entry kiosks, online ordering, etc. The usage of technology within a restaurant has the ability to store information in a database to create more effective, personalized service in the future. It has the potential to automate service and remove human error.
The majority of businesses utilize Point of Sale Terminals, which are the basic hardware components of food service computer systems. Point of sale terminals allow a safe system to input and output orders, reconcile receipts, and compile data associated with sales. Terminals can be located at various locations throughout the restaurant and can be associated with payment terminals to create a cash control system. Terminals can be a touchscreen, keyboard, handheld, or magnetic strip operated.
Remarkable Service
We’ve discussed the basic ingredients of meeting customer expectations. However, for a business to be successful, it’s important to not only meet but exceed expectations. Remarkable service doesn’t necessarily require a great deal of cost, time, or resources. Often it’s the little details, the special attention from employees and the personalized touches that people remember most. There is no formula for remarkable service. It will depend on the type of customers, the nature of their visit, and the things they value. Finding ways to provide remarkable service requires support from management, keen observation skills, and a willingness to “go the extra mile” (Destination BC, 2013).
Providing good service is about understanding, recognizing, and anticipating the needs of customers and working hard to meet or exceed them. The core service essentials are also simple: make eye contact, smile, greet warmly, and use the customer’s name. These simple actions tell customers that your organization values them and is eager to help. In order to exceed expectations, your organization must be on the alert for opportunities to provide remarkable service (WorldHost Training Services, 2013).
Review Questions
Short Answer
1. Identify several ways food service operations can maintain a long-term relationship with their customers.
2. Think about the loyalty programs you belong to. Choose one and try to identify why you joined this program, what benefits you receive from the program and what benefits you think the company might get from having you as a member of the program.
3. Identify are some of the key components of remarkable guest service.
4. Explain why repeat business is so important to food service operations.
5. Describe some of the important steps in a guest service recovery model 6. Identify at least two challenges and two advantages of using social media as a part of a food service operation’s public presence.
Matching
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Multiple Choice
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References: | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Introduction_to_Food_Production_and_Service_(Egan)/06%3A_Guest_Services/6.01%3A_Managing_Guest_Services.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Describe the composition and characteristics of meat
• Describe the chemical changes associated with slaughter
• Describe the aging, blooming, and tenderness factors of meat
• Describe diseases associated with meat
• Describe the nutritional value of meat
• Describe the handling and storage of meat and meat products
Introduction
Meat science and the research and studies conducted both independently and in conjunction with many industry stakeholders over the last 40 years have provided a greater understanding of the relationship between animal-handling techniques prior to harvesting (slaughter) and the quality of the meat produced. As well, improved practices during and after the harvesting of animals, especially in large processing plants, have contributed to progress in the meat industry. These include improvements to refrigeration and storage, aging of meats (mainly beef and lamb carcasses), and transportation. Additionally, the slaughter process itself has changed over time, and now beef and veal animals are usually stunned with a captive bolt gun (with a retractable bolt penetrating the brain), rendering the animals unconscious prior to bleeding.
All of these developments have improved the end product, which ultimately ends up at local meat stores and restaurants. However, even today a small amount of product can still be found to be substandard (mainly due to faster processing methods in larger plants). In order to understand some of the factors that can alter the quality of the end product, especially tenderness, colour, flavour, and nutritional value of meat (protein), we must turn to science.
1.02: Composition of Meat
Meat muscle, which is what we eat, is made of fibres, bound together with connective tissue, that are mainly linked to other groups of muscles or directly to the animal’s bone structure. Muscle contains 60% to 70% moisture, 10% to 20% protein, 2% to 22% fat, and 1% ash, depending on type and species.
On larger bones (such as the shanks of larger animals), it is easy to see the muscle groups in bundles (if cut on the cross-section) surrounded by collagen fibres and a much heavier connective tissue (elastin) that forms a thin covering (called silverskin) separating muscle groups or a tendon at the ends of the muscle group (Figure 1). The tendon is attached to the bone at or near a bone joint (Figure 2).
The muscle fibres are known as myofibrils, which are composed of thick and thin filaments arranged in a repeating pattern alongside the other myofibrils (Figure 3). One unit of a bundle is called a sarcomere, or little muscle. The thick filaments are the contractile protein myosin. The thin filaments, known as actin, contain two other proteins called troponin and tropomyosin that help regulate muscle contraction.
The amount of connective tissue in meats and its solubility (the degree to which it is dissolved during the cooking process) can directly influence the tenderness of meat muscle. For example, as an animal ages, it has more connective tissue and therefore experiences cross-linking, an increase in connective tissue that becomes highly insoluble. This is why older animals are usually tougher and younger animals are more tender.
The most tender cuts from a beef animal, such as tenderloin, strip loin, and top sirloin from the beef hind quarter, can be prepared using a dry heat cooking method. In contrast, tougher cuts from the front quarter of beef that have more collagen connective tissue, such as the blade, shoulder, and shank, require a moist heat or combination cooking method, which breaks down collagen into a gelatin form when cooked in water at temperatures of over 80°C (176°F). The collagen dissolves in the water, which is why stocks made from animal bones and connective tissue have body and thicken when cooled. (We discuss cooking potential and tenderness in more detail later in the book.)
Heavy collagen, such as tendons at the ends of muscle groups and the protein elastin, does not break down under this cooking process and is therefore insoluble in water. In addition to silverskin and tendons, there is a specific piece of heavy collagen (also known as the backstrap) that is yellow in colour and located along the upper backbone from the base of the skull to the end of the rib cage in all meat animals (Figure 4).
Fats are deposited all over certain parts of the animal and contribute to the shelf life, flavour, and colour of dry aged meats. Fat in beef meat muscle is called intramuscular fat and appears as a pattern of wavy lines, commonly known as marbling (Figure 5).
Well-marbled meat usually indicates that the cooked meat will be juicy and tender, and the amount of marbling is a factor that is used to determine the grade of beef, specifically for the A grades. Beef grading is discussed in detail later in the book.
Image descriptions
Figure 5. Poster indicating marbling in USDA Beef grades.
A guide to understanding the fat content of USDA grades of beef.
• USDA Prime: More marbling—or fine threads of fat—in USDA Prime beef result in more flavor, moisture and tenderness. Marbling also helps keep beef moist during cooking, making USDA Prime ideal for broiling, roasting, grilling and other high-heat methods. Some cuts. like tenderloin (filet) crd top uade (flat iron). cre often tender regardless of how much marbling they have.
• USDA Choice: USDA Choice beef has less marbling than Prime, but still retains enough fat to stay moist through most high-heat cooking methods like braising, roasting or grilling.
• USDA Select: Beef with less marbling, like USDA Select, should be cooked slowly. Using marinades or moist heat methods like steaming or stewing will help ensure flavor & tenderness.
Return to Figure 5 | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.01%3A_Introduction_to_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition.txt |
Prior to harvesting (slaughter), animals are vulnerable to stresses that can and do alter their pH (potential hydrogen). pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 (Figure 6).
• pH above 7 = alkaline
• pH of 7 = neutral
• pH below 7 = acid
These changes are most likely to occur with cattle (beef cattle in particular) and pigs, and can cause discolouration that is visible in the finished product. Therefore, it is important to understand how these changes occur and how they may affect product presentation, colour, and flavour.
The amount of stress animals suffer depends on how they are handled before harvesting. For example, when animals are selected for harvesting, they may be separated from the herd, rested overnight, then loaded on a truck to be driven to the harvesting plant. Sometimes the animals have to be transported vast distances, especially in Canada. Once unloaded at the plant, they are rested, hopefully with the same group of animals they have been transported with. All these sudden changes are stressful to the animals, and each step of the process must be carefully handled. Excessive heat, dehydration, cramped conditions, and strange surroundings have a negative effect on most animals, with some finding the process more arduous than others.
At the time of slaughter, animals are moved from their holding pens into a specially designed S-shaped approach chute that helps to keep the animals calm. This then leads the animal into a tight holding box where it is stunned, bled, then winched up for skinning, eviscerating, splitting, and washing followed by rapid cooling in a special holding cooler.
Example: Grandin Livestock Handling System
The key to minimizing stress is to handle the animals as quickly and gently as possible to ensure that their pH remains stable prior to death—around 6.5 (neutral) and dropping to about 5.6 to 5.2 post mortem (after death) during the first 24 hours of cooling, when the carcass temperature is forced down to 4°C (40°F).
All the factors outlined above have some effect on the animal’s pH. As the animal ceases to breathe, and as blood leaves the animal with the heart still pumping, about 50% of the blood is removed. It takes about four to six minutes before the heart ceases to beat. As the pH begins to drop below 6.5, lactic acid is produced, increasing the acidity. Lactic acid serves as a preservative, lessening deterioration of the carcass until the temperature of the muscles reaches 4°C (40°F).
At this point, rigor mortis (the stiffening of the muscles in death) begins to set in. This usually takes between 12 and 24 hours depending on the size of the carcass and amount of exterior fat covering.
There are three stages to rigor mortis:
1. Pre-rigor: The muscle fibres begin to shorten due to the depletion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), causing the muscles to become less extendable while hanging under load. With less oxygen available, the myosin and actin proteins form actomyosin after death occurs. The actomyosin produces a cross bridge between the actin and myosin filaments. In the living animal, these cross bridges are broken during the relaxation phase of a normal contraction cycle (e.g., movement such as walking). However, after death (post mortem), cross bridges are formed permanently as the muscles shorten.
2. Rigor maximum: The muscle fibres reach maximum shortening, resulting in stiff muscles. The cross bridges are now firmly in place.
3. Rigor resolution: The now stiff muscle fibres begin to extend again and stretch out to almost their original length. As this extension occurs, the cross bridges create a tearing effect. This phase results in tenderization during dry aging (hanging) or wet aging (storing in vacuum packaging) of carcass meat and is most noticeable in prime meat cuts from the short loin, sirloin, and 7-bone rib (prime rib) of beef. Another chemical process develops during this phase in which the still-living cells begin to produce lactic acid. Lactic acid is normally removed by the circulatory system of living animals; however, in rigor resolution it remains in the muscles, causing the pH to drop until the core temperature of the carcass reaches 4°C (40°F).
Rigor mortis takes different times to activate depending on the size of the animal and, in some cases, the species (Table 1).
Table 1- Length of time required for rigor mortis to activate
Species Time for Rigor Mortis to Activate
Beef 6 to 12 hours
Lamb 6 to 12 hours
Pork 15 minutes to 3 hours
Turkey Less than 1 hour
Chicken Less than half an hour
Fish Less than 1 hour
To further understand the three stages of rigor mortis in relation to meat tenderness, consider the following example: A beef animal has endured a stressful separation from its home farm and a prolonged road trip to the harvesting plant. During the trip, the animal became very dehydrated, thus arriving at the plant in a weakened and agitated state, and could not be settled down prior to slaughter.
In this example, the animal’s pH could be above 7 (neutral) into the alkaline part of the pH scale (8-14) before harvest. This could cause the carcass (post mortem) to never reach rigor resolution, remaining in the rigor maximum stage, where the muscle fibres are at maximum stiffness. Therefore, the carcass would remain tough even after the normal dry or wet aging process. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.03%3A_Chemical_Changes_Associated_with_Slaughter.txt |
The overall time for dry aging carcass meats is dictated by the quality and performance of the refrigeration used, the overall condition and handling of the carcass at the time of harvesting, and the hygiene standards of the harvesting plant. For example, while stored at 1°C (33°F), the following species would take varying amounts of time to reach approximately 80% of maximum tenderness:
• Beef: 9 to 14 days
• Lamb: 7 to 14 days
• Pork: 4 to 10 days
Note: Wet-aged (vacuum-packaged) beef can be aged much longer (up to 30 days). Lamb and pork can also be stored longer as a wet-aged product but not quite as long as beef.
Toughness and Age
Both the age of the animal at the time of processing and the post mortem aging affect its toughness. Toughness can be divided into two types:
1. Background toughness: More cross links are found in older animals, making the meat tougher. Cross links refer to elastin and collagen rings that hold muscle fibres in place. As animals age, more elastin rings are formed. Also, the more exercised muscles of the animal, such as shanks and shoulders, have more elastin rings regardless of age.
2. Actomyosin or myofibril toughness: This toughness is caused by the overlap of thick and thin muscle filaments.
Post mortem aging at the resolution stage of rigor mortis helps eliminate actomyosin toughness, but not background toughness. Table 2 shows the ideal age of animals for processing different types of meat. Animals processed older than the age indicated will have increased levels of background toughness.
Table 2 Approximate processing ages of different animals
Meat type Approximate age of animal at processing
Beef 1.5 to 2.5 years
Veal Less than 1 year
Baby veal 3 to 6 months
Pork 6 months
Lamb 3 to 11 months
Poultry 3 to 6 weeks
Use of Electrical Stimulation to Speed Up the Aging Process
Electrical stimulation (ES) is a method of accelerating the normal decline of pH onset post mortem. In Canada, it is used mainly on lamb carcasses to enhance the tenderization process and protect from cold shortening. Cold shortening can occur with smaller carcasses and refers to cooling too rapidly, preventing the rigor resolution stage to be reached. ES is used to kick-start the rigor maximum stage to reach the rigor resolution stage, which improves meat tenderness and maintains the bright red colour and muscle firmness.
The standard voltage for ES is 504 volts at 3 amps. If used immediately after stunning, ES can be applied at lower voltage. However, higher voltage is more effective. If ES is delayed for one hour after stunning, a massive 1,600 volts is required to kick-start the process.
1.05: Meat Fibres and Tenderness Factors
Under cross-sectional inspection, muscles from different parts of the animal’s body display bundles of fibres that appear as irregularly shaped polygons. The bundle size and thickness of the connective tissue septa determine the texture of the muscles: those with small bundles and thin septa have a fine texture, and those muscles with larger bundles and more connective tissue with thick septa have a coarser texture.
The finer the texture the more precision of movement from the muscle, such as tenderloin (Figure 7). The coarse-textured muscles, such as shanks and shoulders (Figure 8), are the heavy working muscles of the body that support the full weight of the animal and therefore require less precision of movement.
Science can help explain why some muscles on a beef animal are more tender than others. There are actually three types of skeletal muscle, known as twitch fibres, with differing speeds of movement and with different colours:
1. Fast glycolytic (white): These are fast twitch fibres; they are found in skeletal muscle, such as shanks, shoulders, and hips, and are known as “voluntary muscles.” They require no oxygen and they move faster.
2. Fast oxidative (red): These are slow twitch fibres; they are found in the diaphragm, heart, arteries, and veins, and are known as “involuntary muscles.” They require oxygen to operate and they move slowly.
3. Slow oxidative (red/white intermediate): These are slow/fast twitch fibres; they are found in precision muscles, such as the tenderloin and strip loin, that don’t need to move as fast as skeletal muscles. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.04%3A_Aging_of_Meat_Carcasses.txt |
The post mortem colour development of meat varies greatly from one species to another, with variations in fresh beef being very prominent. Beef shows a range of colour from first being cut to the end of its shelf life (about three days). Typical meat colour for different species is shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Typical colour of meat from different species
Species Colour
Beef Bright cherry red
Fish Pure white to grey-white or pink to dark red
Horse Dark red
Lamb and mutton Light red to brick red
Pork Greyish pink
Poultry Grey-white to dull red
Veal Brownish pink
Meat colour is significant to consumer acceptance of products. The bright red colour of good quality beef, sockeye salmon, and young lamb are naturally appealing, whereas the paler colours of veal and other fish species are less appealing to many (although more sought after by some ethnic groups). Dark meats such as horse are more popular in Quebec and European countries. Mutton (sheep over 12 months of age with darker flesh) appeals to an even smaller range of customers.
Factors Affecting Colour
Use of Muscles
Poultry provides a good opportunity to see and learn about the differences in meat colour. Meat cutters and cooks may often be asked why different parts of a chicken have white meat and other parts have dark meat, or why duck or game birds have mostly dark meat.
The colour of the meat is determined by how the muscle is used. Upland game birds, such as partridge and grouse, that fly only for short bursts have white breast meat. In contrast, ducks and geese and most other game birds that fly long distances have exclusively dark meat. In domestic poultry (chickens and turkeys), there is a difference between breasts (white meat) and thighs and drumsticks (dark meat).
Note: Chicken thighs, even when fully cooked, may have a reddish tinge and blood seepage from the thigh bone. This is normal; however, inexperienced customers may interpret this as a sign of not being cooked properly.
Proteins
Meat colour is associated with two proteins: myoglobin (in the muscle) and hemoglobin (in the blood). When animals are no longer alive and air comes in contact with the meat, myoglobin reacts with oxygen in an attempt to reach a state of equilibrium, at which point no further changes occur. As this process happens, the meat colour goes through three stages and three colours that are easy to see, especially on freshly cut beef meats.
1. Purplish red (myoglobin): occurs immediately after a steak is sliced.
2. Cherry red (oxymyoglobin): occurs several minutes after cutting and after exposure to oxygen.
3. Brown (metmyoglobin): occurs when the iron in the myoglobin is oxidized, which usually takes about three days after cutting. (You may see steaks with this colour in the discount bin at a supermarket. The brown colour doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the product; in fact, purchasing meat at this stage is a great way to stock up on cheaper steaks for the freezer.)
Oxygen
Oxygen plays two important roles, which affect the colour in opposite ways. As soon as meat is cut, oxygen reacts with the myoglobin and creates the bright red colour associated with oxymyoglobin. This will continue to develop until the iron in the myoglobin oxidizes to the point of the metmyoglobin stage.
Oxidation can also occur when iron in the meat binds with oxygen in the muscle. This can often occur during the processing of round steak from the hip primal and can be identified by the rainbow-like colours that appear from the reflection of light off the meat surface. The condition will remain after the product is cooked and can often be seen on sliced roast beef used in sandwich making. This condition does not alter the quality of the meat; however, it is generally less attractive to consumers.
Age
The pale muscles of veal carcasses indicate an immature animal, which has a lower myoglobin count than those of more mature animals. Young cattle are fed primarily milk products to keep their flesh light in colour. However once a calf is weaned and begins to eat grass, its flesh begins to darken. Intact males such as breeding bulls have muscle that contains more myoglobin than females (heifers) or steers (castrated males) at a comparable age.
Generally, beef and lamb have more myoglobin in their muscles than pork, veal, fish, and poultry. Game animals have muscles that are darker than those of domestic animals, in part due to the higher level of physical activity, and therefore they also have higher myoglobin.
Preventing Discolouration
Maintaining the temperature of fresh meat near the freezing point (0°C/32°F) helps maintain the bright red colour (bloom) of beef meats for much longer and prevents discolouration.
Meat should be allowed to bloom completely (the bloom usually reaches its peak about three or four days after cutting) or be wrapped on a meat tray with a permeable wrapping film as in supermarket meat displays. If portioned steaks are to be vacuum packed, doing so immediately after cutting (but before the bloom has started) will allow the steaks to bloom naturally when removed from the vacuum packaging.
Certain phases of meat processing can also trigger discolouration. Oxidation browning (metmyoglobin) can develop more rapidly than normal if something occurs to restrict the flow of oxygen once the bloom has started but has not been allowed to run its full course. The two most common examples are:
• Cut meat surfaces stay in contact too long with flat surfaces such as cutting tables, cutting boards, or trays.
• Meat is wrapped in paper (which means there is no further exposure to air and therefore no oxygen, which speeds up the browning effect).
The browning effect will occur naturally once the meat is exposed to oxygen.
There are two other types of discolouration that commonly occur with beef and pig meat. Although the cause of both types occurs before death (ante mortem), the actual change does not show up until after death (post mortem). The discolouration is a result of chemical reactions in the animal’s body due to stresses, known as pre-slaughter stress syndrome (PSS).
PSS can result in two different types of discolouration: PSE and DFD.
PSE (pale, soft, and exudative) occurs mainly in pigs (and in some cases has been found to be genetic). PSE is brought about by a sudden increase of lactic acid due to the depletion of glycogen before slaughter, which in turn causes a rapid decline in the pH post slaughter. The visible signs of PSE can be detected by the trained eye in the pork loin primal, where the flesh appears much paler than normal. The muscle meat is softer and may be very sloppy and wet to the touch and leaking meat juices, a result of a high proportion of free water in the tissues.
Although product with PSE is safe to eat, its shelf life is limited and it may become tougher sooner if overcooked. Products with PSE have limited use as fresh products but are used to manufacture cooked products such as formed ham and certain sausage varieties with a recommended limit of 10% (i.e., one part PSE to nine parts of regular meat), due to the high water content.
DFD (dark, firm, and dry) occurs mainly in beef carcasses but sometimes in lamb and turkey. In the meat industry, these carcasses are referred to as dark cutters. Unlike PSE meat, DFD meat shows little or no drop in the pH after slaughter. Instead, there may be an increase of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, released into the bloodstream. Consequently, glycogen (muscle sugar) is depleted before slaughter due to stresses. This decreases the lactic acid, which in turn affects the pH, causing it to not drop fast enough after slaughter. Therefore, the muscle meat, typically in the hip area of the carcass, may become very dry and dark.
Even after the carcass is aged and the meat has been processed and displayed, the dark appearance remains and bloom will not occur. In addition, the meat may also feel sticky to the touch, which limits shelf life. DFD meat is generally considered unattractive to the consumer; however, the meat remains edible and is still suitable for use in cooked products and sausage emulsions but should be limited to 10% (one part DFD to nine parts of regular meat).
Listed below are some causes of DFD that should be avoided:
• Transferring animals to strange surroundings (kill plant) and holding them for too long
• Treating animals roughly prior to and during transport (e.g., using cattle prods)
• Overcrowding cattle during shipping
• Mixing cattle with other animals they are not used to
• Preventing animals from having sufficient rest at the slaughterhouse prior to harvesting
• Dehydrating animals (not giving them enough water) prior to slaughter
• Causing over-excitement, pain, hunger, excessive noise, smell of blood
• Exposing animals to temperature extremes during transportation
• Shipping stress-susceptible animals, such as intact males (bulls), during severe weather
Note: DFD can occur anywhere between 12 and 48 hours prior to an animal’s slaughter.
Imperfections and Abnormalities in Meat
Even though meats arriving at their final destination (point of sale) have usually been approved and inspected, the product still requires further checks prior to sale and eating in case abnormal meat inconsistencies were missed in the inspection process. Some of these are caused by injuries or disease that occurred while the animal was alive, while others are naturally occurring parts of the animal’s body (glands in particular) that are removed prior to or during the cutting process.
Some examples are given here.
• Abscesses and cysts: infected or non-infected tumours from old injuries that are imbedded in muscles and sometimes close to bones (Figure 9).
• Blood spots and clots: usually from more recent injuries and also found imbedded in muscles or between muscle seams or on or near bone joints.
• Fibrous tissue: scar tissue, usually from very old injuries, with the appearance of white fatty seams or thin strands tightly bound together, making the muscle tough and unsightly.
• Lymph nodes and glands: lymph nodes are glands in the throat and back of the tongue that give a good indication of the general health of the animal; these are inspected on the animal carcass at the harvesting plant prior to being sold, but internal or intermuscular glands are not examined unless further inspection is recommended by a veterinarian. Consequently, three major glands are removed from beef, pork, and lamb during processing to ensure the public do not see them. They are the prescapular gland, located in the neck and blade sub-primals below the junction of the fifth cervical vertebra (Figure 10); the prefemoral gland, located at 90 degrees to the round bone on the hip on the exterior of the sirloin tip imbedded in the cod fat pocket (Figure 11); and the popliteal gland, located in the outside round sub-primal in the hip primal between the eye of the round and the outside round flat under the heel of round, imbedded in a fat pocket (Figure 12). | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.06%3A_Meat_Colour.txt |
There are several diseases well known to both the industry and the general public that are directly related to all the domestic meat species of beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. These include:
• E. coli from ground beef
• BSE (bovine spongiform encephalitis) from beef cattle
• Trichinosis from pork
• Salmonella from poultry
• Scrapie from lamb and mutton
In addition, the meat and food industry are vulnerable to a variety of other infectious diseases that can manifest in food processing areas due mainly to poor personal hygiene and processing sanitation practices, which in turn can develop the growth of bacteria, viruses, moulds, and yeasts.These can then set the stage for:
• Foodborne infection, such as salmonella or trichinosis, caused by ingesting food that is contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and viruses
• Foodborne intoxication, either bacterial, such as E. coli, or chemical, where food has been contaminated with toxic chemicals, such as cleaning compounds or pesticides
Two particularly dangerous foodborne bacteria that can cause serious illness require special attention:
• Clostridium botulinum, which can develop in vacuum-packaged and canned foods
• Listeria monocytogenes, which occurs due to poor cleaning of machines, dirty floors, and drains
Following is a brief overview of the major risks – in terms of bacteria and illnesses – associated with meat and the meat industry. Some of the bacteria are known to originate from meat; others can and do develop in food processing areas through unhygienic practices.
BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy): commonly known as mad cow disease, a fatal brain-degenerative disease (encephalopathy) in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about two-and-a-half to eight years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years. All breeds are equally susceptible. The disease can be easily transmitted to humans who eat food contaminated by the brain, spinal cord, or digestive tract of infected carcasses. In humans, it is known as the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and as of June 2014 it had killed 177 people in the United Kingdom and 52 elsewhere. Controls on high-risk offal (internal organs) were introduced in 1989. The cause was cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal (MBM), which caused the infectious agent to spread. Outbreaks of BSE in Canada severely crippled Canadian beef exports, which have only recently been restored. Under Canadian law, it is now illegal to feed cattle MBM. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) strictly controls the slaughter of all beef animals over the age of 30 months.
Safeguards:
• Due to the severity of the disease, the following prevention measures have been implemented at the harvesting point, which has eliminated any possible transmission of the disease to the public. All possible infected parts of these animals are removed at the harvesting plant, kept separate from all other animal waste, and destroyed to safeguard the food supply. The parts removed include the skull, tonsils, a thick slice of the central backbone including the spinal column from the base of the skull to the pelvis, and two sections of the small intestines.
Clostridium botulinum: an anaerobic microorganism (it grows without air) which forms spores that exist over a wide range of temperatures. The organism itself does not cause illness, but the toxin it produces is one of the most deadly known to humankind. The spores can survive in frozen, raw, and precooked food. Although it is not a frequent cause of illness, it is considered the most serious to deal with in the food industry. This nasty organism is found in the intestines of humans and animals and in soil and streams. The major source of botulinum is swollen and damaged canned products and/or air-tight packages such as vacuum-sealed products with low acid foods such as beans, fish, and meats.
Safeguards:
• Understand that the spores of the organism are very heat resistant and can survive boiling temperatures.
• During any food packaging process, ensure product is heated to a core temperature of 82°C (180°F) for 20 minutes to kill any toxins.
Clostridium perfringens: an anaerobic organism that produces heat-resistant spores. It also grows in the danger zone of 4°C to 60°C (40°F to 140°F) and may double in numbers in 10 minutes. This bacterium is found in intestinal tracts of humans and animals, in sewage, and in manure, and it is considered widespread. Insects and rodents can also become contaminated. Unwashed hands and dirty clothing are major sources and carriers of the disease. The main food sources affected by C. perfringens are foods high in proteins such as fresh meat of all types, deli items, and cooked meats like stews and gravies that have cooled too slowly.
Safeguards:
• Only proper hot holding of cooked foods (above 60°C or 140°F) or rapid cooling in shallow trays to below 4°C (40°F) can prevent this disease from taking hold.
• Heat product above 74°C (165°F) to kill most non-heat-resistant strains.
coli: A bacterium found naturally in the intestines of humans or other animals. The strain common to the meat and food industry is E. coli 0157:H7. E. coli does not cause a disease and is not considered parasitic because its source of food is the body waste in the intestinal tract. However, should E. coli gain access to the kidneys, bladder, or other internal organs, it can become parasitic and produce infections that can turn fatal. E. coli outbreaks associated with domestic animals (mainly beef) have strained the meat industry when it has been discovered in ground meat supplies. In addition, E. coli has occurred in milk, cheese, and related foods as well as in plants and plant products irrigated with contaminated groundwater supplies.
Safeguards:
• Understand that E. coli cannot be destroyed by freezing.
• Cook products such as ground meat to a core temperature of 71°C (160°F) to kill E. coli.
• Follow and enforce good personal hygiene (hand washing) after using the toilet.
• Follow industry safeguards to prevent contamination during the harvesting of animals, especially during the removal of the hide, which is often covered in fecal matter. (One large harvesting plant in Alberta has a state-of-the-art hide wash to help eliminate contamination prior to removal of the hide.)
• Take the preventive measure, which should now be a common practice, of carefully trimming meat surfaces on sub-primals that are near the aitch bone portion of the pelvis and anal canal. These areas are located on the hip and sirloin, especially on the hindquarters of beef carcasses and pork and lamb legs.
Listeria monocytogenes: Listeria is commonly found in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, foods made from milk, and processed foods such as hot dogs and deli meats. It can also be found in uncooked meat and vegetables and fruit such as apples and cantaloupes. Animals can also be carriers. Contamination may occur after cooking and before packaging. Listeria is responsible for listeriosis, a rare but potentially lethal foodborne infection. Listeria can grow in temperatures from 4°C to 37°C (40°F to 96°F), which is human body temperature. The bacterium is known to cause meningitis, a potentially fatal disease.
Safeguards:
• Implement thorough cleaning practices especially for equipment used to slice or needle meats (tenderize). This includes fully disassembling equipment, then scrubbing, rinsing, sanitizing, and air drying.
• Keep all floors and drains thoroughly cleaned; these areas are often overlooked and are known to be breeding grounds for listeria.
• Institute a deep-cleaning plan for any processing area as part of a sanitation program. This involves committing to extensive cleaning of the whole work area several times throughout the working year, including cleaning floors, walls, and drains and the complete disassembly of all equipment.
Scrapie: a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats. Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). It is similar to BSE, but it is not caused by the animal’s feed. While the exact cause of scrapie is still unknown, the disease is associated with the presence of an abnormal form of a protein called a prion. According to Health Canada, there is no known link between scrapie and human health. However, the CFIA does have a control program in place. The disease seems to present itself differently in different countries. Wasting and debility (weakness) appear to be more prominent clinical features in North America, while pruritus (intense itching) remains the most noted clinical feature in Europe. Scrapie is spread from an infected female to her offspring at birth, or to other animals exposed to the birth environment, through fluid and tissue from the placenta.
Safeguards:
• Scrapie is not known to be transmissible to humans, so any measures in place are to safeguard the health of sheep stocks.
Salmonella: Foodborne bacteria with 1,300 types known. One of the most severe infections caused by salmonella is typhoid fever. The main sources and carriers of salmonella in the food industry are most poultry, eggs and cracked eggs, shellfish, raw milk, and service workers with unwashed hands. People and animals may be carriers without showing any symptoms.
Safeguards:
• Cook products to an internal temperature over 60°C (140°F) for 12 minutes to kill salmonella.
Staphylococcus: an aerobic organism (needs air to grow) that causes food poisoning by releasing toxins into food. It does not form spores. However, it may survive for months in the soil and in a frozen state in food. The most common carrier is the human body, particularly through skin abrasions, wounds, infected sinuses, pimples, etc. Raw poultry is also known to be a carrier. Food poisoning usually occurs when already cooked or easy-to-eat food is re-contaminated with staphylococcus. In the food service industry, susceptible products are those high in protein, such as custards, cream-filled bakery goods, sauces, meat and meat products (especially chopped meats), chicken salads, and cheeses. Staphylococcus can grow to enormous numbers on meat without producing changes in colour, odour, or taste if the infected product has not been stored in the safe temperature zones below 4°C (40°F) or above 60°C (140°F).
Safeguards:
• Wash hands frequently, especially after using the toilet and when coughing and sneezing.
• Always keep foods stored in the safe temperature zones below 4°C (40°F) or above 60°C (140°F).
Trichinosis: a disease caused by Trichinella (parasitic nematodes, intestinal worms, and roundworms) that initially enter the body when meat containing the Trichinella cysts (roundworm larvae) is eaten. For humans, undercooked or raw pork and raw dry cured pork products, such as pork salami, have been most commonly responsible for transmitting the Trichinella parasites.
Trichinosis is a foodborne infection and is not contagious from one human to another unless infected human muscle is eaten. However, almost all carnivores (meat eaters) or omnivores (meat and plant eaters), such as bears, can both become infected and, if eaten, can transmit the disease to other carnivores and omnivores. For example, undercooked or raw bear meat can contain living Trichinella cysts. Therefore, if humans, dogs, pigs, rats, or mice eat the meat, they can become infected. In rare instances, larvae in cattle feed can infect cattle. There are six species that are known to infect humans. Today, trichinosis has been virtually eradicated in Canada due to well-managed controls in the Canadian hog industry.
Note: Commercially raised pork in Canada is at low risk of this disease, and it is common now for pork to be cooked to medium instead of well done. Doing so is safe provided the core temperature of 60°C (140°F) is held for at least one minute. Pork can also be cooked as low as a core temperature of 54.4°C (130°F) and held at that temperature for 30 minutes.
Safeguards:
• Eliminate the risk of infection through proper cooking of meat.
• Cook all wild game meat, pork, and horse meat to an internal temperature of at least 71°C (160°F).
• Understand that curing (salting), drying, smoking, or microwaving the meat does not consistently kill infective larvae. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.07%3A_Diseases_Associated_with_Meat.txt |
The two major residues that are or have been used by the meat industry are both well documented and controversial because they are used to manipulate growth and development in animals. These residues are 1) sub-therapeutic hormones that produce more lean muscle and less fat and 2) antibiotics used to maintain the health of the animals in mass-production operations.
Today the addition of these residues is strictly controlled and monitored by the government. Health Canada sets the standards for levels of hormones and antibiotics that can be left in food, and regulates the use of hormones and antibiotics in Canada so that they do not pose a risk to the public. The CFIA is responsible for the monitoring and testing of food products to ensure that they meet the regulatory requirements.
Hormones
It is important to note that there are naturally occurring hormones in all animals and plants, so when people discuss the use of hormones in food, they are referring to the addition of sub-therapeutic or growth hormones. The use of growth hormones is illegal for poultry and pork produced in Canada, as well as for dairy cattle. Growth hormones are still in use by some beef cattle producers, but the residual levels are carefully regulated and monitored.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are used to treat animals that are sick, manage and prevent disease in animals and fruit crops, and promote the healthy growth of certain animals. In Canada, antibiotics are approved for regulated use in beef, dairy cattle, chicken, laying hens, turkey, pork, and fish.
Should a dairy cow be treated with antibiotics, its milk can be tested for antibiotic residues. Any milk testing positive for antibiotic residue is not sold for human consumption but is discarded. When poultry are treated with antibiotics, the eggs they lay are discarded.
As with hormones, the use of antibiotics is closely regulated, and food products are regularly tested to ensure compliance. In addition, there is a move to reduce the overall use of antibiotics in Canada both in agriculture and for treating human disease due to the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Natural, Free Range, and Organic Meats and Poultry
In the last 25 years, there has been an increased consumer demand for meat and poultry products that have been raised in a humane manner with no added growth hormones or antibiotics, and in the case of poultry, with access to the outdoors. Consumers want to know more about the meat they purchase, and many smaller producers and processors now cater to a rapidly growing number of clients who desire meat and poultry that they are confident has come from a “clean” source. Some of the questions these consumers are likely to ask are:
• Which farm did the animal come from?
• Was it given growth hormones or antibiotics?
• Was the farm a clean place for the animal?
• Was the animal treated properly (fed, watered, and sheltered when required)?
• How far did the animal have to be transported prior to slaughter and was it handled humanely?
• Was the animal handled carefully and humanely at the harvesting plant?
• Did the animal have a painless death?
These products may be labelled as natural, free range, or organic. When promoting products that are free of hormones and antibiotics, the following statement must be used: “No additional hormones or antibiotics.” The word “additional” is required because all animals have natural hormones. Certified organic meats must meet strict requirements of the certifying bodies, such as the Certified Organics Association of BC (COABC), which set standards for feed, pasture, and humane treatment of animals that are certified organic. A list of all certified organic producers can be found on the COABC website.
The following definitions for poultry are provided by the BC Chicken Marketing Board:
• Free Range means that the bird has access to the outdoors. Due to weather in Canada, the free range season is short.
• Free Run means that a bird is able to move freely throughout the barn and is not confined in a cage. All chickens grown in Canada for meat purposes are free run.
• Organic chickens are birds raised using certified organic feed and fresh, untreated drinking water. The COABC also requires growers to allow their birds access to pesticide-free pasture for a minimum of six hours a day, weather permitting. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.08%3A_Human-Introduced_Residues_in_Meat.txt |
Meat plays a significant role in the Western diet. Meat is almost completely digestible and rates high on the nutritional scale as it contains high levels of proteins, consisting of both essential (indispensable) and dispensable amino acids. Essential amino acids need to be supplied on a daily basis by diet, while the body is capable of producing dispensable amino acids on its own. Meat and other animal proteins can supply all the essential amino acids required for the human body. Meat is also rich in B complex vitamins, such as thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin, but the fat-soluble vitamins are not all found in meat. Minerals essential for the diet, with the exception of calcium, are found in meat, including phosphorus, iron, copper, and trace minerals. Table 4 lists the vitamins and main nutrients found in meat and meat products.
Table 4 – Nutrients in meat and meat products (Canadian Professional Meat Cutters Association)
Vitamins Sources
A Certain oils, egg yolk, mammalian liver
D Fresh liver oils and fatty tissue
E Green leafy vegetables, animal organs (pituitary gland, adrenals, pancreas, and spleen), milk, butter, and abdominal fat
K Green vegetables, potatoes, fruits, and liver oils
Thiamin B1 Meat, liver, and kidney
Riboflavin B2 Milk and meat
B6 Red meat, liver, kidney, brain, cod liver, egg yolk, and milk
B12 Liver, kidney, and egg yolk
Niacin Liver and red meat
Pantothenic acid Liver, kidney, muscle meat, brain, and egg yolk
Biotin Liver, kidney, muscle meat, egg yolk, and milk
Folic acid Liver, kidney, muscle meat, milk, and cheese
1.10: Cholesterol Content in Meat
What is cholesterol and why do cooks and meat processors need to know more about it? Cholesterol is essential for the structure and function of every cell in the body. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is found in all cells of the body and similarly in the meat of animals. The body makes all of the cholesterol it needs to function normally, but additional cholesterol enters the body through the consumption of animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy.
There are two types of cholesterol found in the body. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is commonly called “good” cholesterol, as opposed to low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). LDL and HDL travel in the bloodstream, carrying cholesterol to wherever it needs to go within the body. HDL carries cholesterol back to the liver, where the body can process and remove it, while LDL leaves small traces of cholesterol on the walls of arteries as it travels.
Too much cholesterol, high levels of LDL in particular, may cause atherosclerosis, a condition in which plaque (which is made up of cholesterol, fat, calcium, and other substances found in the blood) is deposited in artery walls, blocking the blood flow to vital organs, which can result in high blood pressure or stroke.
Cholesterol levels are measured by the concentration of HDL and LDL in the blood. A blood test will identify the amount of HDL, LDL, and triglycerides (the most common type of fat found in the body) present in the blood. A total cholesterol value is calculated by adding the amount of HDL, LDL, and 20% of the triglycerides together. This is represented in either micromoles per litre (mmol/L) or milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). In Canada, physicians use mmol/L, while in the United States, mg/dL is more common.
A total cholesterol level of 5.2 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) or below is recommended for an adult, with a level of 4.65 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) considered optimal. People with higher than recommended cholesterol levels are usually advised to be on a low cholesterol diet; therefore, we need to know more about which foods have less cholesterol so that we can cater to everyone’s dietary needs.
Table 5 lists some high-, moderate-, and low-cholesterol foods that are commonly used in restaurant kitchens and meat operations.
Table 5 – High-, medium-, and low-cholesterol foods
High-Cholesterol Foods mg per 100 grams
Butter 250
Clarified butter 256
Cream cheese 110
Whole eggs 372
Egg yolks 1,085
Heavy whipping cream 137
Light whipping cream 111
Yellow cheese 108
Lamb kidney 337
Pork liver 301
Lobster 200
Oyster 206
Shrimp 125
Roe 479
Crab meat (Alaskan King) 127
Fish oil, menhaden 521 | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.09%3A_Meat_Nutrition.txt |
Proper handling and storage are two of the most vital processes undertaken by staff once meat orders arrive at their point of sale. Because foodborne illnesses have not been fully eradicated yet, and food storage is often subject to human error, rigid procedures need to be followed to ensure that all products arriving for sale are checked, refrigerated immediately, and stored correctly. Poor food-handling and storage procedures can prove to be disastrous to a food service company and to customers alike.
In Canada, an estimated 500,000 cases of foodborne illnesses occur annually. Here are some examples of what can happen if a food poisoning outbreak occurs due to mishandling or poor storage procedures:
• Loss of customers and sales
• Illness and even death of clients
• Loss of prestige and reputation
• Costly legal and court costs
• Increased insurance premiums
• Lower employee morale
• Professional embarrassment
• Increased cost to the health care system, such as laboratory analysis, physician time, and hospital care
• CFIA investigation time and possible consequences if charged
Receiving Procedures
Here are several steps to ensure that meat products are handled in a timely and safe manner once they arrive:
• Check to see that the order matches the invoice (number of boxes, etc., and list of product names; have driver and receiver sign off).
• Ensure all packages are still sealed and not damaged.
• Check the temperature of the delivery truck storage area (was it cold on arrival?).
• Sort and move all the meat products immediately to their correct storage coolers.
• Ensure fish, meats, and poultry are kept as far apart as possible and fish containers are kept sealed until ready to use.
• Check cooler temperatures daily and record data according to health department regulations.
• Ensure cooler and freezer doors are kept closed at all times.
• Immediately report any unusual temperature fluctuations to your employer.
Storage Procedures
Meat should be packaged appropriately to prevent drying out, spoilage, or freezer burn. Whole sub-primals are often vacuum packed as soon as they are removed from the carcass and will have a long shelf life when kept in the original vacuum packaging. Cut meat products for retail use should be wrapped in permeable film on trays or vacuum packaged after portioning. Cut meat products for food service use may be vacuum packed after cutting or stored in food-grade containers, wrapped appropriately, and stored according to food safety standards. Products for frozen storage should be vacuum packed or wrapped tightly in freezer paper to prevent freezer burn.
Coolers should be maintained at 0°C to 2°C (32°F to 35.6°F). This is considered the safest temperature to hold meats and maintain flavour and moisture. Water freezes at 0°C (32°F); however, meat freezes at about -2°C (29°F).
Today the most common cooling units are the blower coil type, in which cool air is circulated via coils and fans from a ceiling-mounted unit that draws air from the floor up through the cold coils and then drives air back into the cooler area. Floor areas of the cooler must be free of containers that may impede the airflow. This means that all food containers and boxes must be elevated above floor level.
For most modern coolers the humidity levels are built into the system and are maintained automatically. For example, lean beef is made up of approximately 70% moisture to optimize its flavour, sales appeal, and value. Moisture content in the air is expressed as relative humidity and is measured as a percentage. To maintain the moisture in meats, coolers need to maintain a humidity level of approximately 75% to 80%. If the moisture level drops below 70%, shrinkage will occur. However, if the humidity level is too high, moisture will condense onto the meat and appear on the walls of the cooler, creating an excellent medium for bacteria growth and sooner-than-normal meat spoilage.
Modern meat coolers and freezers also have a built in defrost cycle, which is usually timed to activate in the early morning hours when there is less traffic in and out of the units. This important cycle is designed to melt away ice buildup on the blower coils (as they operate at below freezing temperatures) into a drain system. This part of the cycle takes about 20 to 60 minutes. Meat freezer temperatures should be maintained at approximately -23°C to -29°C (-10°F to -20°F).
Handling Procedures
Once processing begins, the following steps must be taken to reduce any additional contamination of the product:
• Do not allow product in any kind of box or container to come into contact with any cutting or work surface or the floors.
• Ensure that all processing tables and cutting boards are already cleaned and sanitized.
• Ensure surfaces are dry with no residue of any sanitizer on them (remember that most sanitizers are toxic while wet).
• Maintain separate cutting and processing boards for different species, especially fish, chicken, and pork.
• Clean and sanitize boards immediately after use and elevate to air dry as quickly as possible.
• Have separate cutting boards for cooked meat slicing.
• Thoroughly clean and sanitize meat slicers and tenderizers between uses for different species and between cooked and raw products. These slicing tools and machines pose a very real risk for cross-contamination and are always subject to scrutiny by health inspectors.
• If possible, process different species and cooked and raw products on different days. This helps minimize risk of cross-contamination in processing areas, tools, and machines that are used for a variety of products. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Meat_Science_and_Nutrition/1.11%3A_Meat_Handling_and_Storage_Procedures.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Identify meat inspection levels and agencies
• Define the meat inspection process
• Describe grading regulations for meat
Introduction
Meat inspection for the domestic animal market is mandatory for beef, pork, lamb, bison, and poultry and is overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). There are two levels of inspection in Canada: federal and provincial. Federally inspected meats can be sold and transported throughout Canada and also exported or sold internationally. Provincially inspected meats can be sold under the following two categories:
• Intraprovincially, which means the meat can be sold only within the province where the harvesting plant is located
• Interprovincially, which means the meat can be sold in a province or territory other than the one in which the harvesting plant is located
Meat grading measures the characteristics of carcasses and classifies them into groups of similar quality, yield, and value, which in turn assists in marketing and merchandizing the products. Grading standards and regulations are set for each species separately through government consultation with each industry. For example, beef grade standards are set by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency, a non-profit organization that relies on recommendations from an industry and government consultative committee to provide data to assist the federal government in setting guidelines. Similar processes are in place for lamb, pork, and poultry.
2.02: The Meat Inspection Process
Meat inspection is designed to determine the health of animals both prior to death (ante mortem) and after death (post mortem). In federal meat inspection plants, the process is carried out by primary product inspectors (PPIs) from the meat and poultry division of Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada. The PPIs are overseen by a veterinarian. PPIs also do the inspection in provincial meat plants, but a veterinarian is called in only when a further diagnosis is required.
All domestic animals going into the food chain are inspected prior to harvesting (ante mortem). Some of the inspection methods are:
• Observing the animals’ behaviour that may indicate any signs of disease
• Isolating animals that show signs of disease, illness, or injury
• Verifying animal identification records and tags
• Overseeing humane treatment of animals during herding and slaughter
Following harvesting, animals are inspected by either a provincial or federal inspector. In the case of beef, inspectors examine the following:
• Head, an array of lymph nodes near the tongue, and the tongue itself
• Esophagus and spleen
• Lungs and heart
• Bile duct and liver
• Other accessible carcass lymph nodes
• Diaphragm and kidneys
• Carcass internal and external surfaces
Lamb, pork, and poultry carcasses receive similar inspections that focus on the particular species and associated health issues.
Some of the hazards that may occur during the slaughter process are:
• Contamination of the carcass during the removal of the hide and digestive tract
• Cross-contamination during the splitting of the carcass
• Bacterial growth during the chilling and aging of carcasses
• Cross-contamination from specific animal tissue that is high risk for disease, such as BSE specified risk materials (SRMs) (e.g., spinal cord, brain)
Once the meat is approved for human consumption, the inspection stamp can be made along the length of the carcass. The stamp appears as a blue circle with the word “Canada” inside the circle rim, with a crown in the centre and the plant number at the bottom (Figure 13). | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/02%3A_Inspection_and_Grading_of_Meats_and_Poultry/2.01%3A_Introduction_to_Inspection_and_Grading_of_Meats_and_Poultry.txt |
Meat grading for beef is governed by the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations, which also apply to all other domestic species where grading is used. Grading standards and criteria differ somewhat for each species.
Grading is carried out on the animal carcass, which must already be approved for health and safety standards and bear an inspection stamp. Grading categorizes carcasses by quality, yield, and value, and provides producers, wholesalers, retail meat operations, and restaurants the information they need to purchase a grade of meat that suits their particular needs. Grading is also intended to ensure that the consumer has a choice in selecting a consistent and predictable quality of meat.
Beef Grading
The grader assesses several characteristics of a beef carcass to determine quality (Table 6).
Table 6- Beef carcass quality factors
Beef Characteristics Beef Carcass Quality Factors
Maturity (age) The age of the animal affects tenderness.
Sex (male or female) Pronounced masculinity in animals (males) affects meat colour and palatability (texture and taste).
Conformation (muscle shape) Meat yield is influenced by the degree of muscling.
Fat (colour, texture, and cover) Fat colour and texture (white as opposed to yellow) influence consumer acceptability, whereas fat cover affects meat yield.
Meat (colour, texture, and marbling) Meat marbling affects quality: juiciness and tenderness. Colour and texture influence consumer acceptability.
Table 7 lists the 13 grades of beef carcasses and the colour of each roller brand that is placed along the length of the carcass (Figure 14).
Table 7- Beef grades
Red Blue Brown Brown
Canada A Canada B1 Canada D1 Canada E
Canada AA Canada B2 Canada D2
Canada AAA Canada B3 Canada D3
Canada Prime Canada B4 Canada D4
Beef carcasses are graded in the A category using the following determinations:
• The age of the carcass is assessed (must be youthful).
• Fat levels are assessed by measuring with a special ruler on the left side of the carcass between the 12th and 13th ribs across the ribeye muscle at the 12th rib (the front quarter of beef).
• An additional assessment of the external fat cover of both sides is made. Grade A beef has a fat covering that is firm and white or slightly tinged with a reddish or amber colour and is not more than 2 mm in thickness at the measurement site.
• A muscle score is determined from a grid depending on the width and length of the ribeye muscle. Grade A beef has muscling that ranges from good with some deficiencies to excellent.
• Ten minutes after having been exposed, the ribeye muscle shows firm and bright red in colour (bloom).
In addition, only A grade carcasses are assessed for the three lean meat yield classes. Yield grading is determined by measuring exterior fat thickness as well as the length and the width of the ribeye muscle at the 12th rib (Figure 15). The yield classes are indicated by a triangular-shaped stamp in red ink placed on the short-loin and rib sections of each side of the carcass. Yield classes are shown in Table 8.
Table 8 – Yield classes and percentages
Yield class stamp Meat yield
Canada 1 59% or higher
Canada 2 54% to 58%
Canada 3 53% or lower
The A grades are assessed further to determine the marbling (intramuscular fat content), as shown in Table 9 and illustrated in Figure 16.
Table 9- Required marbling content of A grades
Grade Marbling content
Canada A At the least, traces, but less than a slight amount
Canada AA At the least, a slight amount, but less than a small amount
Canada AAA At the least, a small amount
Canada Prime At the least, slightly abundant
These marbling assessments offer the purchaser different levels of fat content to market. For example, some stores promote only AAA beef. A custom processor may want to dry age beef carcasses longer for his customers, but if he doesn’t want to have too high a waste factor (with fat), he may prefer to purchase AA or A beef. Restaurants may choose Canada Prime that shows a lot of marbling, has longer aging ability (wet aging, vacuum sealed), and therefore, in the long term, is more tender.
B grade beef (blue) is still good-quality meat for eating but doesn’t have the same consumer appeal as A grade. B grade beef is usually cheaper and doesn’t dry age as well as A grade. Table 10 provides B grade characteristics.
Table 10- Characteristics of B grade beef
Grade Age Muscling Ribeye muscle Marbling Fat colour and texture Fat measurement
B1 Youthful Firm, bright, and red Devoid Firm white or amber Firm white or amber Less than 2 mm
B2 Youthful Bright red Bright red Yellow Yellow No requirement
B3 Youthful Bright red Bright red White or amber White or amber No requirement
B4 Youthful Dark red Bright red No requirement No requirement No requirement
D grade beef (brown) characteristics are shown in Table 11. D2 to D4 animals are used extensively in ground meat and in the manufacturing of sausage products.
Table 11- Characteristics of D grade beef
Grade Age Muscling Ribeye muscle Marbling Fat colour and texture Fat measurement
D1 Mature (old) Excellent No requirement No requirement Firm white or amber Less than 15 mm
D2 Mature (old) No requirement No requirement No requirement White to Yellow Less than 15 mm
D3 Mature (old) No requirement No requirement No requirement No requirement Less than 15 mm
D4 Mature (old) No requirement No requirement No requirement No requirement More than 15 mm
E grade beef (brown) comes from youthful or mature (older) animals with pronounced masculinity, heavy shoulders, and lean and darker meat. These animals, often bulls and stags (unsuccessfully castrated bulls), are used extensively in the manufacturing of sausage products and ground meat.
Bison Grading
A new system for bison grading was developed in the 1990s. It is based on the beef grading system but takes into account the natural differences of the bison carcass. The official grading began in 1995, and on the basis of these standards the European Community (EC) approved bison sales to Europe. There are nine bison grades, which are evaluated for maturity, muscling, meat quality, and fat measurement. The grades are A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, and D2.
Bison traditionally live longer than beef, and their bones and joints harden (ossify) more slowly. Furthermore, they are more heavily muscled in the shoulders and less muscled in the hindquarters than beef. These differences must be taken into account by the grader. Bison is now farmed in some provinces, including British Columbia and Alberta, and in several states in the United States. The product has become a popular alternative protein source, particularly with specialty meat markets and high-end restaurants.
Table 12 compares bison and beef grading.
Table 12- Differences between bison and beef grading
Bison Beef
9 grades 13 grades
Knife ribbed between 11th and 12th ribs Knife ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs
1 mm minimum fat cover for A grades 4 mm minimum fat cover for A grades
Heavily muscled fronts Heavily muscled hinds
3 maturity divisions 2 maturity divisions
More age in A grades than beef Less age in A grades than bison
Grade stamped brown Grade stamped red
5 stamps per carcass side 2 stamps per carcass side
Not ribbon branded Ribbon branded
No marbling assessment Marble assessed
3 meat yield grades 3 meat yield % for A grades
Veal Grading
Veal is meat from the young bovine born into the dairy industry. Most veal is sold through restaurants. However, today very few retail markets sell veal due to the low consumer demand.
Veal grading assesses both fat (creamy white) and good muscling as is done on beef, but it focuses even more on the colour of the flesh to determine the eventual grade. Veal is generally very tender due to its age and has a mild (some might even say bland) flavour, with little fat cover and marbling. There are several types of veal (Table 13).
Table 13- Veal types and descriptions
Veal Types Age Characteristics Carcass Weight
Baby veal (Bob veal) 3-30 days Males, classified as “light,” sold whole for festive occasions and roasted whole 9-27 kg (20-60 lb)
Vealers (light) 1-3 months Raised on milk with no restrictions on other types of feeds such as hay or grains 36-68 kg (80-150 lb)
Nature (white veal) Up to 5 months Very expensive, white-pinkish flesh, no iron in diet, raised in pens, limited movement permitted 82-109 kg (180-240 lb)
Calves (heavy) Up to 5 months Raised on milk and fed on grain-hay combinations; physically beginning to change from veal to beef 68-136 kg (150-300 lb)
Youthful bovine carcasses weighing less than 160 kg (32.2 lb) (hide off) are classified as veal by the Canadian beef grading program and are graded as shown in Table 14.
Table 14- Muscling requirements for veal grades
Grade Requirements
Canada A1 to A4 Carcasses with at least good muscling and some creamy white fat
Canada B1 to B4 Carcasses with low to medium muscling and an excess of fat cover
Canada C1 and C2 Carcasses failing to meet the requirements of Canada B
All veal carcasses are then graded for meat colour. The veal grader uses a Minolta colour reflectance meter to do this. The carcasses are assigned a numerical value based on the objective measurement of meat colour. Then the carcasses are segregated into four colour classifications, based on the meter reading values. The most pale white colour range is given a grade of 1 and is assigned an A grade provided the kidney fat and muscling meet the A standard. As meat colour becomes more pink, grades of 2, 3, and 4 are assigned.
This scientific method of assessing meat colour is being continually refined. Research is now underway to develop a meat probe that will directly measure the level of meat pigment, which is the basis of all colour analysis. Should this method of colour determination be judged superior to the current methods, this new technology will be adopted. This process of muscle and colour grading ensures that purchasers of Canadian veal can specify their exact quality requirements.
Table 15 shows how the colour ranges are assigned the correct grade.
Table 15- Colour requirements for veal grading
Veal Grades Veal Flesh Colour
Canada A1 White
50 +
Canada A2 Pink
40-49
Canada A3 Pale red
30-39
Canada A4 Red
0-29
Canada B1 Bright pink
50+
Canada B2 Pink
40-49
Canada B3 Pale red
30-39
Canada B4 Red
0-29
Canada C1 Pink or lighter
40 +
Canada C2 Pale or dark red
39 or less
Table 16 shows the criteria used to establish veal grades.
Table 16- Veal grading criteria
Grade Kidney Fat Muscling
A1-A4 Covered with fat that is not excessive and is creamy white or pink tinged At least good and free of depressions; 3 out of 4 of:
1. At least a straight profile for upper portion of leg
2. Loins wide and thick
3. Racks well covered
4. Shoulder points well covered
B1-B4 Covered with fat deposits ranging from small to large At least low to medium, some depressions; 3 out of 4 of:
1. Hip joints noticeable but not prominent
2. Loins with depressions
3. Racks sparsely covered with flesh
4. Shoulder points noticeable but not prominent
C1 and C2 Extremely small deposits of fat on kidneys Deficient to excellent
Lamb Grading
Lamb has become an increasingly popular protein in restaurants, local markets, and high-end stores in recent years. In addition, there is a growing need to supply the diverse ethnic trade market, which includes a growing Muslim community.
The lamb grading service is delivered by the Canadian Sheep Federation, which has been accredited by the CFIA to perform this function. The current system is voluntary and is designed to provide more information to producers and consumers. However, new technology is currently being developed to improve and speed up the current system at federal plants.
The seven lamb carcass grades are shown in Table 17, and the five mutton carcass grades are shown in Table 18.
Table 17- Lamb grades
Grades Lamb Ribbon Brand Colour
Canada A1, A2, A3, A4 Red
Canada B Blue
Canada C1, C2 Brown
Table 18- Mutton grades
Grades Mutton Ribbon Brand Colour
Canada D1, D2, D3, D4 Black
Canada E Black
Currently in Canada, lamb (sheep under 12 months of age) and mutton (sheep 12 months of age or older) are graded by a generic system used in all regions. The measures to assess the grade are:
• Age, determined by the colour of the break joint on the front leg
• Weight
• Lean meat content and colour
• Fat content and colour
• Conformation or external shape of the carcass
These factors are further classified to determine a final grade using a formula integrating all the data collected, as noted in Table 19.
Table 19- Lamb grading criteria
Factors Determining characteristics
Break joint colour Purple, red (young), or white (old)
Meat colour Designated a C only when the carcass exhibits extremely dark meat (old)
Sex Male or female
Fat cover ● + (plus sign) for excessive covering
● N for normal covering
● — (minus sign) for deficient covering
Conformation (shape), which then determines
a muscle score of 1 to 5
● + (plus sign) for good to excellent
● N for medium to good
● — (minus sign) for marked deficiencies
● 1 indicates extreme deficiencies
● 5 indicates excellent muscling
Exterior fat depth (EFD) Actual fat depth as measured by a ruler over the 12th rib 11 cm from carcass back midline
Fat colour Designated with a Y when a carcass exhibits yellow fat
Weight Indicated by warm carcass weight (WCW)
Pork Grading
Requirements for pork grading are established under the authority of the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations. In commercial agriculture, pigs raised for food (pork) are usually referred to as hogs. Once the carcasses have been graded, the meat is always referred to as pork.
Hogs are popular farm animals because they mature more quickly than other animals and are ready for slaughter at approximately six months of age. Hogs must be handled very carefully during the harvesting process as they are easily stressed. To offset some of the stress they are electrically stunned (which is faster and requires quicker bleeding time) or gassed in federal plants in a special chamber that gradually removes the oxygen and then introduces carbon dioxide to ensure a painless death and means less rush prior to bleeding.
Pork from youthful hogs is very tender due to the absence of heavy connective tissue. Unlike beef, pork does not need to be aged very long. The flesh has a pinkish colour, a fine texture, and very greasy white fat that enhances the flavour of the meat. Pork is very popular in North America and other Western and European countries and is a popular item on restaurant menus; in addition, it is considered a diverse and profitable product that is increasingly in demand in manufactured products, such as the many varieties of sausages and cured products available today.
Canada has several major pork marketing agencies, such as the Canadian Pork Council and Canada Pork International, as well as provincial organizations, such as Alberta Pork and BC Pork, that promote and monitor the industry. All commercial hog carcasses are either federally or provincially inspected.
There are 12 grades of hog carcasses with criteria outlined in Table 20.
Table 20- Hog (pork) grades
Hog Grade Classes # of Grades Hog Criteria
Canada Yield with 7 classes 1 Weight must be 40 kg (88 lb) or more
Canada Emaciated 1 Weight must be 40 kg (88 lb) or less
Canada Ridgling 1 Has one or two undescended testicles or has both male and female sex organs
Canada Sow 1-6 6 Must be a sow with the required back fat levels, good muscling, straight to convex profile, and barely visible shoulder joints
Canada Sow 7 1 Must be a sow deficient in muscling and finish
Canada Stag 1 A mature porcine animal, castrated before slaughter, and exhibiting pronounced masculinity at time of slaughter
Canada Boar 1 Must be a male carcass with one or more testicles but not a carcass of a ridgling
Modern technology provides a quick and accurate method for grading hogs at federally inspected plants:
• An electronic probe is inserted between the third and fourth ribs on the left side of the carcass. The needle has a sensor light on the end.
• As the needle is withdrawn from the probe site, it measures meat thickness and fat levels.
• These measurements are fed into a computer, which generates a yield class estimating percentage of lean meat.
This method of grading hogs is used to establish producer payments, which are automatically sent to the farmer’s bank account.
An overview of the grading process using an electronic probe can be found at https://www.westernhogexchange.com/about/marketing/GradingGrids.aspx
Poultry Grading
All commercial poultry for sale must be inspected at federally or provincially designated poultry harvesting plants and show proof of inspection with a stamp similar to what is shown on beef carcasses: a round stamp with a crown in the centre, the word “Canada” above, and the plant registration number below.
Poultry harvesting includes electrical stunning, with the bird’s head touching either a charged wand or a charged water bath prior to bleeding. The carcasses are then scalded to loosen the feathers, after which they pass through a fast-rotating automatic feather-plucking drum. This is followed by the evisceration process and meat inspection. The carcass is then passed through a rapid air-chilling system to cool the carcass as quickly as possible. Air-cooled poultry has a much longer shelf life (approximately 5 to 10 days) compared to the shelf life of a poultry carcass that has just been allowed to cool naturally after harvesting and processing.
Poultry graders assess the carcasses for several criteria. Those for A grade poultry are shown in Table 21.
Table 21- A grade poultry
Poultry Grading Factors Criteria for A Grade Poultry
Conformation (shape) ● Refers to the physical points on the outside of the bird
● A grade birds must have normal conformation, including a plump body, stocky legs, and a well-dressed body
● NO missing parts such as wings
● NO crooked keel bone
● NO broken bones, bruises, or cysts
Fleshing (desired quality) ● Refers to the amount and distribution of meat
● A grade birds must have moderately long and broad plump and firm breast meat
● Short, plump legs
Fat covering ● A grade birds have an even covering of fat under the skin
● Good fat cover indicates yellowish or cream-coloured skin
● A blemish or reddish tinge beneath the skin indicates poor fat covering
Bones ● A grade birds must have a soft and pliable keel bone cartilage
● Joints are loose but not springy
Carcass dressing ● A grade birds are free of pin feathers
● Pin feathers will lower carcass saleability
There are three grades of processed poultry. The grade stamp is a maple leaf with the grade’s respective colour and the appropriate grade in the centre (Table 22). These grades are used for chickens but are also used for:
• Capons
• Rock Cornish hen
• Mature chicken
• Old rooster
• Young and mature turkey
• Young and mature duck
• Young and mature goose
Table 22- Poultry grades
Poultry Grades Poultry Grade Colour Poultry Criteria
Canada A Red See Table 21
Canada Utility Blue
• Insufficient fat
• Not more than the following missing parts:
• wings, tail, one leg (including the thigh or both drumsticks)
• small areas of flesh from the carcass
• skin not more than half of the area of the breast
• No dislocated or broken bones other than wings or legs
• No prominent discolourations exceeding a certain size on breast or elsewhere on carcass
Canada C Brown Mature or older poultry requiring moist heat cooking
Types of Chicken and Turkey
Chickens are also categorized according to age and size, the most common being frying chicken (also called fryers or broilers). These are usually 6 to 8 weeks old and weigh approximately 1.1 to 1.6 kg (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lb). Roasting chickens or roasters are young birds over 8 weeks, but usually between 12 and 20 weeks old, that weigh over 2.2 kg (5 lb). Rock Cornish hens are small chickens that weigh between 500 g and 900 kg (1 to 2 lb). Very young chickens, called poussin, are less than 500 g (1 lb). A Capon is a large castrated male that weighs 2.7 to 3.6 kg (6 to 8 lb), and a stewing hen or fowl is an older bird, usually female, over 10 months of age and weighing 2.2 to 3.2 kg (5 to 7 lb).
Turkeys are classified by age only. Young turkeys are approximately 24 weeks of age. Mature turkeys are over 24 months of age. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/02%3A_Inspection_and_Grading_of_Meats_and_Poultry/2.03%3A_Grading_Regulations_for_Meat.txt |
The domestic market for game meats in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada is still developing. Consumers seeking natural meats such as elk and deer (the most sought after commercially available game meats in the country) usually have to access them through farm operations that promote and harvest their own animals, or through meat shops that specialize in retailing game.
Other specialty species that are sold commercially are goat (particularly for the ethnic market) and ratites, such as ostrich and emu, which have tried to secure a portion of the market but have been slow to catch on. Muskox is harvested in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and game birds, such as pheasant, squab, Guinea fowl, and quail, are commercially available through specialty retailers and wholesalers. Rabbit and hare are also available, with the majority of commercial production in Quebec and Ontario.
All game meats to be sold at the retail level and in restaurants must be either federally or provincially inspected. Grading of game meats is not available in Canada at this time.
Venison
The domestication of deer species for meat and hunting has been taking place for an estimated 2,000 years. The New Zealand venison industry is currently the largest in the world, but deer farming for meat production has grown in Canada, Ireland, Great Britain, the United States, South Africa, and Germany over the last few decades. Currently there is no grading system in place for fallow deer and elk meats in Canada.
Meats from the deer species (fallow, mule, whitetail, and red deer) as well as elk, moose, caribou (reindeer), and sometimes antelope are all considered venison.
Table 23 provides a short list of venison muscle meats and processed products available, mainly from elk and deer.
Table 23 Venison products available for sale
Venison Muscle Meats for Wholesale and Retail Venison Processed Products
Leg cuts (from the hip), Denver style Sausage patties (pre-prepared)
Back loins (strip loins) Ground meat burgers (pre-prepared)
Tenderloins (whole) Snack sticks
Racks (10 rib) Jerky
Sirloin steaks Hard or dry cured sausage
Shoulder roasts (boneless) Fresh sausage
Ground meats (mince) Cooked and smoked sausage
Recently the number of restaurants serving venison and the number of stores selling the processed products have increased. There are approximately 14 licensed farm operations in B.C. and more in Alberta that cater to both domestic and export markets.
Fallow deer are one of the smaller deer species and are the main species used for commercial farming. These deer were originally imported live as breeding stock from New Zealand. They adjust well to farm life, are easy to handle, are a relatively gentle species, and can be grown to a very consistent size that suits marketing purposes. Prior to 1990, the bulk of venison sold in British Columbia was imported from New Zealand. Today, approximately 80% of the B.C. venison market is being served by B.C. fallow deer producers.
Game-farmed venison has been proven to have a lower fat and cholesterol content than most red meats. The demand for venison has increased greatly in the last few years and continues to grow rapidly. Ranched elk is a culinary treat and is a naturally tender and healthy meat with a mild, distinctive flavour, although some people refer to wild elk meat as the queen of game meats. It can be included in many cooking styles. Elk is very low in cholesterol, and although low in calories it provides the same amount of protein as most other livestock. Studies at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Station in Lacombe, Alberta, have shown that elk is generally more tender than beef.
Currently there are two federally inspected plants in Alberta that accept elk and deer for processing.
Wild deer species in B.C., Alberta, and other parts of Canada are not used for farm and meat production. However, some of Canada’s deer species are susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system. It is known as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. In Canada, CWD is a serious concern for deer and elk farmers and is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act. All cases must be reported to the CFIA. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/02%3A_Inspection_and_Grading_of_Meats_and_Poultry/2.04%3A_Game_Processing_Inspection_and_Grading.txt |
• 3.1: Introduction to Cutting and Processing Meats
• 3.2: Primal, Sub-primal, and Secondary Cuts
• 3.3: Pork
• 3.4: Lamb
• 3.5: Offal (Variety Meats)
Offal, also referred to as variety meats, is the name for internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone. Some cultures shy away from offal as food, while others use it as everyday food or in delicacies.
• 3.6: Game Cutting
The term game refers to meat and poultry that are generally found in the wild. It has always filled an important role on the plates of hunters, but it is becoming more popular in the food service industry, especially the loin and leg portions. Any game meat offered for sale must be inspected, just as domesticated meats are. Wild game that can be hunted legally cannot be sold.
• 3.7: Poultry Cuts
Poultry refers to the edible flesh, with adhering bones, of any bird that is commonly used as food. Types of poultry include chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quail, pheasant. All poultry is processed in a similar manner. It is either cooked whole or segmented in a number of ways depending on how it is to be used.
• 3.8: Summary
• 3.9: Activities
03: Cutting and Processing Meats
Learning Objectives
• Describe the muscle and bone structure of meat
• Identify suitable cuts of meat for various cooking methods
• Identify primal cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and veal
• Identify secondary cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and veal
• Describe variety meats and offal
• Describe cuts of game
Introduction
You will remember from the first chapter of this book that meat is muscle made up of fibres. These muscle fibres are held together by connective tissue such as collagen and elastin. The amount of connective tissue contained in the muscle (or meat) has to be acknowledged before choosing the appropriate way to prepare the product.
A highly exercised muscle, such as a shank or shoulder area, will develop much more connective tissue and more coarse muscle fibres. This means they require a moist heat cooking method. If cooked with liquid, collagen breaks down at 80°C (176°F) into gelatin. This gelatin provides not only body to the cooking liquid but also, more importantly, moisture to the cooked meat and rich flavour.
A lightly exercised muscle will contain less connective tissue and more fine muscle fibres, allowing it to be prepared using dry heat cooking methods. Beef tenderloin is a perfect example of this type of meat.
Generally, four-legged animals use their shoulder and leg muscles the most; therefore, the cuts from these areas contain more connective tissues and are less tender. The back, rib, and loin sections contain muscles that are used less frequently, and they tend to be the source of the more tender, or choicer, cuts of meat. It is not surprising, therefore, that cuts from these sections tend to be higher priced and are featured more often on restaurant menus. Although the physical structure and names of the muscles in the three main species (cattle, sheep, and hogs) are similar, the cuts are named differently and regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
To further confuse the issue, meat cutters and cooks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other parts of the world may use different names for the same cuts of meat.
It is important to understand that meat cuts to be sold at a retail level must be labelled according to CFIA standards. The same rules do not apply to sale of whole muscles or restaurant cuts to be advertised on a menu. For a complete breakdown of retail labelling requirements, visit the CFIA website.
General cutting procedures and terms
Meat animals are generally broken down from large carcasses into primal and sub-primal cuts. These are large parts of the animal that are then further broken down into retail or restaurant cuts. In some cases, primals and sub-primals are cooked whole, but for the most part they are broken down into a number of different types of smaller portion cuts or fabricated cuts. These include:
• Roasts – boneless or bone-in large cuts that are meant to be cooked whole and then sliced after cooking into portions
• Racks – most common with lamb and pork, these are a special type of roast that contains the rib bones and has been trimmed to show the white portion of the bone. Bones which have been trimmed using this process are called frenched.
• Steaks and chops – boneless and bone-in individual portion cuts that are cooked and generally served whole or sliced. Chops always have a bone, while steaks can be bone-in (such as a beef T-bone or pork shoulder blade steak) or boneless (such as a tenderloin or sirloin).
• Cutlets – thin slices of boneless meat, usually from the leg, which can be mechanically tenderized or pounded. Small round cutlets from the loin or tenderloin are also called medallions or noisettes.
• Stew or cubed meat – cubes of meat used for stews and other similar dishes
• Thinly sliced or emincé – used for stir-fry and similar dishes
• Ground – usually made from trim, ground meat is a mixture of lean and fatty trim that has been passed through a grinder. It can be graded depending on fat content, and can be finely or coarsely ground.
• Cured and smoked – most common with pork, meat cuts that are cured using a dry or wet cure (brine) and then may be smoked | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats/3.01%3A_Introduction_to_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats.txt |
Beef
The beef animal is broken down into sides. A side is one-half of a dressed carcass that has been split lengthwise from the neck to the tail. The side can then be split into the front quarter and hind quarter. This cut is made between the 12th and 13th ribs counting from the front of the animal. The beef front quarter is heavily exercised, resulting in an abundance of connective tissue. Moist heat cooking is required on the majority of the sub-primals from the front quarter, with the major exception being the 7-bone rib (prime rib). The hind quarter of beef contains mostly sub-primals that can be prepared using dry heat.
Figure 17 illustrates the primal, sub-primal, and retail cuts of beef.
Beef Front Quarter: The beef front quarter contains four primal cuts, the brisket, foreshank, rib, and chuck (square chuck). The chuck is separated by first cutting across the carcass between the 5th and 6th ribs, which separates the chuck, brisket, and shank from the rib and plate. The second cut passes at a point slightly above the elbow joint and through the cartilage below the first (1st) rib and sternum, and separates the chuck from the brisket and shank. The brisket is further separated from the shank by following the natural contour of the elbow bone. The rib is separated from the plate by a straight cut passing across the ribs at right angles to the first cut at a point slightly below the centre of the rib cage.
The primals are then processed into sub-primals by following the cutting lines as shown in Figure 18 and Table 24.
Table 24- Beef primals and sub-primals from the front quarter
Primal Sub-Primal
Rib Short rib (H)
7-bone rib (G)
Square chuck Neck (M)
Blade (L)
Shoulder (N)
Cross rib (K)
Brisket Brisket point (J)
Brisket plate (I)
Fore shank No further break down required (O)
From these sub-primals, further usable portions are processed and retail cuts prepared for the consumer.
Beef Hind Quarter: The beef hind quarter is broken down into four primal cuts, the flank, the long loin, the hip, and the sirloin tip. The flank is separated by a straight cut passing approximately parallel to the lumbar backbone (lumbar vertebrae), beginning in close proximity to or through the flank lymph node (prefemoral), and from the plate by a cut passing between the 12th and 13th ribs and cartilage. The hip is separated from the long loin by a straight cut that passes in front of the rump knuckle bone, thereby cutting the pelvic bone into approximately two equal parts. The sirloin tip is then separated from the hip by a “V-shaped” cut beginning approximately at the knee cap, following the full length of the leg bone up to the rump knuckle bone, then towards the flank lymph node.
The primals are then processed into sub-primals as shown in Figure 18 and Table 25.
Table 25- Beef primals and sub-primals from the hind quarter
Primal Sub-Primal
Flank No further break down required (F)
Long loin Short loin (E)
Sirloin butt (D)
Hip Inside round (B)
Outside round (B-opposite side of bone)
Hind shank (A)
Sirloin tip No further break down (C)
Breakdown of sub-primals into retail and wholesale cuts
From the sub-primals, secondary or portion cuts are obtained. In most cases, there are a number of different secondary cuts that can be obtained from each sub-primal. In addition, there are often different names for the same cut used in the retail, wholesale, or restaurant industry. Table 26 shows the retail and restaurant cuts that come from each of the beef sub-primals.
Table 26- Retail and restaurant cuts of beef (Front Quarter)
Sub-Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Restaurant Cuts Alternate Names
Short rb Short ribs simmering (bone in or boneless) Short ribs
7-bone rib Prime rib over roast
Standing rib oven roast
Prime rib
Prime rib grillings steak Rib steak Côte de boeuf
Ribeye grilling steak Ribeye Delmonico
Beef ribs(cut from prime rib) Finger bones Beef back ribs
Blade Bottom blade Chuckeye roll
Top blade Flat iron Mock tender
Cross rib Cross rib (pot roast or marinating steak) Short ribs, boneless short ribs Chuck short rib
Beef ribs(cut from the cross rib) Shoulder clod
Bolo
Deluxe 4-bone rib
Flat rib
Brisket point Brisket pot roast Corned beef
Stew beef
Medium ground beef
Neck Lean ground beef
Fore shank Stew beef Shin meat for consommé
Table 26- Retail and restaurant cuts of beef (Hind Quarter)
Sub-Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Restaurant Cuts Alternate Names
Flank Flank marinating steak Flank steak
Flank steak London broil
Lean ground beef
Short loin Porterhouse grilling steak Porterhouse
T-bone grilling steak T-bone
Wing grilling steak Club steak
Tenderloin grilling steak Filet, Fillet mignon, medallion Tournedo, Chateaubriand, Mignonette
Striploin grilling steak New York Top loin
Sirloin butt Top sirloin (grilling steak and oven roast) Sirloin steak
Sirloin cap grilling steak
Bottom sirloin grilling steak Tri tip
Tenderloin butt grilling steak Chateaubriand, fillet mignon
Inside round Inside round over roast
Inside round marinating steak
Top round Baron, top side
Outside round Outside round over roast Bottom round Gooseneck, silverside, outside flat
Outside round marinating steak Rouladen
Eye of round oven roast
Eye of round marinating steak Swiss steak
Heel of round (stew or ground)
Sirloin tip Sirloin tip over roast Peeled knuckle
Sirloin tip marinating steak Ball tip
Round tip
Thick flank
Hind shank Beef shank (crosscut) Osso-bucco
Stew beef Shin meat for consommé
Lean ground beef
The Beef Information Centre provides a poster (Figure 19) that outlines the cuts of beef. It can be downloaded from their resource page.
The CFIA meat cuts manual is an additional resource that shows each beef cut and location in great detail. It can be accessed on the CFIA website. Table 26 shows the cooking potential for cuts from the different beef primals. Generally, the cuts from the same primal are suited for similar cooking methods. Exceptions have been noted.
Table 27 -Suitable cooking methods for cuts of beef from different primals
Hind Quarter Primal Cooking Potential Notes (Exceptions)
Flank Moist heat The flank steak, which can be marinated and cooked using dry heat
Long loin Dry heat
Hip Dry heat The hind shank and heel of round, which have an abundance of collagen, making them ideal for stewing meat
Sirloin tip Dry heat
Front Quarter Primal
Rib Dry heat
Square chuck Moist heat Aside from one of the top blade muscles, which can have the heavy collagen removed and be portioned into flat iron steaks, which can be prepared using dry heat
Brisket Moist heat
Fore shank Moist heat
Veal
Muscle or flesh of a veal carcass ranges in colour from pink (or lighter) to red. To be classified as veal by CFIA standards, the dressed carcass must weigh less than 180 kg (396 lb). Veal is most commonly sold in vacuum-packed sub-primals. It is seldom dry aged due to the lack of fat cover on the animal. Figure 20 shows the CFIA veal cuts.
There are six primal cuts from a side of veal, the leg, flank, loin, breast, shoulder, and front shank. The front, containing the shoulder, breast, and front shank, is separated from the whole loin and flank by cutting between the 6th and 7th ribs. The breast and shank are further separated by a cut that goes from just above the joint of the arm bone perpendicular to the ribs. The shank is then separated by following the natural separation of the arm bone. The leg is separated from the whole loin and flank by a straight cut that passes in front of the pin bone. The flank is then separated from the whole loin by a straight cut approximately parallel to the backbone, passing at a point slightly above the cartilage of the 12th rib.
The primals are further broken down into sub-primals as shown in Figure 21 and Table 28. Note that there are two ways of cutting the leg into sub-primals accepted by CFIA.
Table 28- Primal and sub-primal cuts of veal
Primal Sub-primal
Veal leg Leg cuts (sub-primal) and Alternative leg cuts (sub-primals)
Shank (A) and Shank (A)
Leg, shank portion (B, portion of C) and Heel of round (bottom portion of B), Round (B)
Leg, butt portion (D, portion of C) and Sirloin Tip (C), Rump (top portion of B), Sirloin (D)
Veal flank No further breakdown (G)
Veal loin Loin (E)
Rib (or rack) (F)
Veal shoulder Shoulder arm (J)
Shoulder blade (H)
Neck (I)
Veal breast No further breakdown (K)
Veal front shank No further breakdown (L)
The sub-primals are cut further into retail or restaurant cuts as shown in Table 29.
Table 29- Veal retail and restaurant cuts
Primal Sub-Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Restaurant Cuts Alternate Names
Veal leg Shank Veal shank crosscut Osso-bucco
Leg, butt portion Veal inside round Cutlets, scaloppine Veal top round
Veal outside round Veal bottom round
Veal leg cutlets (breaded) Schnitzel
Sirloin tip Veal sirloin tip Veal knuckle
Sirloin Veal top sirloin Veal hip
Veal flank Ground, sausage Ground veal
Veal loin Loin Veal loin roast Veal strip loin Saddle
Veal loin chops Veal T-bone
Veal tenderloin Veal tenderloin, medallions
Rib Veal rib chops Veal chop
Veal rib roast Veal rack Hotel rack
Veal shoulder Veal shoulder arm Shoulder roast, chops Square chuck
Veal shoulder blade Cubed veal, ground veal
Veal breast Veal breast, rolled, stuffed Breast of veal, cubed veal, ground veal Brisket
Veal front shank Veal shank crosscut Osso-bucco
The Veal Farmers of Ontario provide a comprehensive veal cut chart (Figure 22) for download.
The CFIA meat cuts manual is an additional resource that shows each veal cut and location in great detail. It can be accessed on the CFIA website. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats/3.02%3A_Primal_Sub-primal_and_Secondary_Cuts.txt |
Pork is a very popular and versatile meat. Due to its size, it can be merchandised and delivered as whole, in sides, or broken down into primals (Figure 23). The majority of the pork comes from choice butcher hogs that are about six months old at the age of slaughter. The entire dressed hog carcass weighs about 75 kilograms (165 pounds). Very little of the hog carcass goes to waste. It can be retailed fresh, cured, or smoked and can be very profitable if merchandised in a number of ways. Intestines are processed for sausage casings, and fat is harvested to be used in sausage manufacturing as well as barding and larding of lean meats. Head, feet, and skin are used for their rich amounts of natural gelatin. Occasionally feet and hocks are sold as sweet pickle.
The side of pork is broken down into sub-primals from the four primals: pork shoulder, pork leg, pork loin, and pork belly as shown in Figure 24 and Table 30.
Table 30 -Pork primals and sub-primals
Primal Sub-Primal
Pork leg Pork leg butt portion (D)
Pork leg shank portion (C)
Pork hock (B)
Pork foot (A)
Pork loin Pork loin rib end (G)
Pork loin centre (F)
Pork sirloin (E)
Pork belly No further breakdown (H)
Pork shoulder Pork shoulder blade (I)
Pork shoulder picnic (J)
Pork jowl (K)
Pork foot (M)
Pork hock (L)
Pork Leg
The pork leg is a very lean portion of the hog. It can be separated into three muscle groups: the inside, outside, and tip. It also contains a hock and a foot. The leg is tender and mostly free from connective tissue, making it ideal for dry heat cookery. Fresh roasts and steaks are processed from the leg as well as cutlets. Most commonly, the pork leg is cured and smoked to produce ham. It can also be dry cured and aged to produce prosciutto. Retail and smoked cuts from the leg are shown in Table 31.
Table 31 Pork Leg retail and smoked cuts
Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Retail Cured and smoked Cuts Alternate Names
Pork Leg Pork leg inside roast Pork leg ham whole (b)(bl) Fresh ham
Pork leg outside roast Pork leg ham piece boneless
Pork leg tip roast
Pork leg steak (b)(bl) Pork leg ham steak (b)(bl)
Pork leg cutlet Schnitzel
Pork leg shank portion Pork leg ham (shank portion)
Pork leg centre portion
Pork leg butt portion
Pork hock Pork leg ham (butt portion) Shank
Pork foot Pork hock (smoked) Trotter
Pork Loin
The pork loin is commonly split into three sections: the rib, sirloin, and loin centre. Alternatively, the pork loin can be split at the end of the tenderloin, labelling the two halves as pork loin rib half and pork loin sirloin half. The pork loin is most often merchandised fresh for chops and roasts. The loin in the most tender primal of the hog and is ideal for dry heat cookery. It can be cured and smoked to make favourites such as back bacon. Retail and smoked cuts from the loin are shown in Table 32.
Table 32 Pork Loin retail and smoked cuts. Note: (b) denotes bone-in cut; (bl) denotes boneless cut
Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Retail Cured and smoked Cuts Alternate names
Pork loin Pork loin centre chops (b)(bl) Pork loin centre chop (smoked) Kassler loin
Pork loin centre roast (b)(bl) Pork loin centre back bacon (smoked) Canadian bacon
Pork back ribs
Pork sirloin chop (b)(bl) Pork sirloin chop smoked Baby back ribs
Pork sirloin roast (b)(bl)
Pork rib chop (b)(bl) Pork rib chop smoked
Pork loin rib country-style chop
Pork Shoulder
The pork shoulder is very popular for use in sausage making due to the higher fat content. The sub-primals pork shoulder blade and pork shoulder picnic are derived from the shoulder along with a pork hock and a pork foot. It can be merchandised as fresh roasts and steaks, cured and smoked products, and for deli meats such as capicollo. Retail and smoked cuts from the shoulder are shown in Table 33.
Table 33- Pork shoulder retail and smoked cuts. Note: (b) denotes bone-in cut; (bl) denotes boneless cut
Sub-primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Retail Cured and Smoked Cuts Alternate Names
Pork shoulder blade Pork shoulder blade Steaks (b)(bl)
Pork shoulder blade roast (b)(bl) Pork cottage roll (smoked) Pork butt Boston butt
Pork shoulder picnic Pork shoulder picnic blade portion Pork shoulder picnic (smoked) The blade and picnic together are sometimes referred to as the Montreal shoulder
Pork shoulder picnic shank portion
Pork riblets
Pork jowl Pork jowl (smoked) Jowl bacon
Pork foot Pickled pigs’ feet
Pork hock Smoked hocks
Pork Belly
The pork belly contains the most amount of fat on the hog. It contains the pork side ribs and pork breastbone. When the side ribs are removed, the retail name for the belly is side pork. This is the section cured and smoked to make pork side bacon. The side pork can also be rolled and processed to make pancetta. Retail and smoked cuts from the belly are shown in Table 34.
Table 34 Pork belly retail and smoked cuts.
Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Retail Cured and Smoked Cuts Alternate names
Pork belly Side pork fresh Pork side bacon Pork belly
Pork side ribs Spareribs
Pork side ribs center cut St. Louis ribs
Figure 25 shows the different pork cuts. For a complete Canadian pork cuts chart, visit Manitoba Pork. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats/3.03%3A_Pork.txt |
Lamb refers to young male and female sheep. They are slaughtered at approximately six months of age. The lamb carcass dressed weight is usually between 25 and 27 kg (50 and 60 lb). Because it is young, lamb is very tender, promoting dry heat cooking for most of the animal. Due to the high price per pound and small carcass size, lamb is most often marketed with the bone in. Sheep over the age of 12 months is referred to as mutton. Mutton has a much stronger flavour and is less tender than lamb.
The lamb carcass (Figure 26) is broken into four primals: front, leg, loin, and flank. The lamb front is then broken into four sub-primals: the lab shoulder, neck, fore shank, and breast. The lamb leg can be left whole or split into leg shank and butt portion. The loin consists of two parts: the rib and loin. Locations of primal and cub-primal cuts of lamb are shown in Figure 27 and Table 35.
Table 35 – Primal and sub-primal cuts of lamb.
Primal Sub-primals
Leg Shank (A),Leg, shank portion (B), Leg, butt portion (C and D), Sirloin (E)
Loin Rib (rack) (G), Loin (F)
Flank No further breakdown (H)
Front Shoulder (J), Breast (L), Neck (I), Shank (M)
The primals and sub-primals are further broken down into retail and restaurant cuts as shown in Table 36.
Table 36: Retail and restaurant cuts of lamb.
Primal Retail Meat Sales Cuts Restaurant Cuts Alternate Names
Lamb leg Lamb leg shank portion Leg of lamb
Lamb leg butt portion
Lamb leg sirloin chops Lamb sirloin (boneless)
Lamb shank
Lamb loin Lamb loin chops Lamb T-bone
Lamb rib chops Lamb chops Lamb popsicles
Lamb rack Rack of lamb Both lamb racks can be used to produce a crown roast
Lamb flank Lamb flank rolled (boneless)
Lamb shoulder Lamb shoulder arm chops
Lamb shoulder blade chops
Lamb neck chops
Lamb shoulder roast Lamb shoulder Oyster shoulder
Lamb shank
Figure 28 displays retail lamb cuts. To download this poster:
3.05: Offal (Variety Meats)
Offal, also referred to as variety meats, is the name for internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone. Some cultures shy away from offal as food, while others use it as everyday food or in delicacies.
Some offal dishes are considered gourmet food in international cuisine. This includes foie gras, pâté, and sweetbreads. Other offal dishes remain part of traditional regional cuisine and may be consumed especially in connection with holidays such as the Scottish tradition of eating haggis on Robbie Burns Day. Intestines are traditionally used as casings for sausages.
Depending on the context, offal may also refer to those parts of an animal carcass discarded after butchering or skinning. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a rendering plant, producing material that is used for fertilizer or fuel or, in some cases, it may be added to commercially produced pet food. Table 37 lists the most common types of offal from the various species.
Table 37 Common types of offal
Species Common Offal Uses/Notes
Beef Heart Beef offal is more commonly retailed
Liver
Kidney
Tongue
Tripe
Oxtail The only external offal meat
Veal Heart
Liver Veal offal is more commonly served in restaurants than other types.
Kidney
Tongue
Brains
Sweetbreads Thymus gland
Pork Liver Pork offal is stronger in flavour; the liver is most commonly used in pâté.
Heart
Kidney
Intestines Used for sausage casings
Skin Used to make cracklings or chicharron
Blood Used for blood sausage and black pudding
Lamb Liver Lamb offal is milder in flavour
Heart
Kidney
Tongue
Intestines Used for sausage casings
Chicken Heart, Liver, Gizzard These three are often referred to as giblets as a whole.
Duck/Goose Liver fatty livers.
• Liver: Liver is very fine textured and is almost devoid of the characteristic fibre bundles found in red meat (liver has no grain). Consequently, it is very tender and can be sliced in any direction needed to attain the best yield. It can be prepared using dry heat. It has a very distinct flavour and is relatively inexpensive.
• Kidney: Kidneys are either smooth, bean-shaped (in lamb and pork) or irregularly shaped with reddish-brown lobes and deep clefts (beef). Beef kidneys are very tough and require intense moist heat cookery.
• Heart: Heart is retailed whole, halved, or cut into slices depending on species and size. The inside of the heart contains string-like sinew, which should be removed if the heart is being stuffed and cooked. Dry heat is suitable for cooking heart. It is commonly stuffed and roasted whole or slices are seasoned and pan-fried.
• Tongue: The surface of the tongue is very coarse and requires a long period of slow cooking to be able to remove it (six to eight hours of simmering). Once skinned, the tongue can be sliced and is quite tender. There is a very large amount of gelatin in the meat which provides a rich flavour. It is often pickled or corned before cooking.
• Tripe: Tripe is processed from the muscular inner lining of the stomach. It can be smooth or honey-combed depending on which chamber of the animal’s stomach it is harvested from. It is commonly sold fresh or pickled. Washed tripe, also known as dressed tripe, is boiled and bleached, giving it the white colour more commonly seen for sale. Tripe requires moist heat cookery to break down its rubber-like texture. It is most commonly used in soups and stews.
• Sweetbreads: Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of calves and mature beef. They are pinkish-white in colour. Veal or calf sweetbreads are considered a great delicacy. They are largest in size when the calf is five to six weeks old and decrease in size as the animal ages. Sweetbreads should be thoroughly soaked in cold water, then blanched so that the membrane can be removed. They then can be braised, or cooled then sliced and breaded for pan frying.
• Brain: Brains are a small volume seller. They perish very quickly so are generally frozen at the plant as soon as they are harvested from the animal. They are mild in flavour and have a delicate texture. Calves brains are most commonly used. They can be prepared much the same as sweetbreads. Brain is extremely high in cholesterol.
• Oxtail: Oxtail is classified as offal even though it is not an internal organ. Oxtail is mainly used for making soup to extract its rich flavours. It is more bone than meat, but the meat from the oxtail, once properly braised, is very rich in flavour.
• Cheeks and head: These are not technically offal, but increasingly popular are beef and veal cheeks, while pork heads are used to make headcheese, a type of sausage consisting of the meat from the head set in a gelatin base made from the cooking liquid.
• Caul fat: Fine membrane of fat which covers the stomach of hogs, Caul fat is used for barding (wrapping or covering) lean cuts of meat, ground fillings and sausage meat. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats/3.04%3A_Lamb.txt |
The term game refers to meat and poultry that are generally found in the wild. It has always filled an important role on the plates of hunters, but it is becoming more popular in the food service industry, especially the loin and leg portions. Any game meat offered for sale must be inspected, just as domesticated meats are. Wild game that can be hunted legally cannot be sold.
Game meats processed for consumers are farm raised, much the same as domestic animals:
• Deer, often referred to as venison, is the most common game meat. It is processed at less than two years of age, ensuring a mild flavour and tender meat. It is often processed very similar to lamb, as it is a smaller game animal.
• Other large game, such as buffalo (or bison), elk, moose, and caribou, are processed much the same way as beef.
• Boar, or wild pig, is processed the same way as traditional pork. It can be more difficult to cook as it is leaner and less tender than traditional pork. The loin should be prepared using dry heat, but the rest of the animal is best prepared using moist heat.
Game meats are lower in internal fat content, so cooking them requires care. During processing, the majority of the external fat cover is removed from game meats. The strong flavour often associated with game meats is predominantly found in the fat.
The bone structure for game meats is identical to that of domestic animals. Most other cuts are generally processed into ground meats for burger patties and sausage.
3.07: Poultry Cuts
Poultry refers to the edible flesh, with adhering bones, of any bird that is commonly used as food. Types of poultry include chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quail, pheasant. All poultry is processed in a similar manner. It is either cooked whole or segmented in a number of ways depending on how it is to be used.
All segments of small, young poultry can be prepared using dry heat cooking methods. Older birds, once they stop laying eggs, are butchered and marketed as stewing hens or boiling fowl. These birds need moist heat preparation and are ideal for pot pies, stews, and soups. All poultry should be fully cooked to at least 74°C (165°F) to eliminate the presence of salmonella.
A bird can be split in half lengthwise through the backbones and keel bone, or it can be split into a front quarter and a hind quarter. The front quarter of the bird contains the breast and wing meats, while the hindquarter contains the legs. It is common to further break the poultry into segments.
For maximum yield and precise processing, poultry can be segmented by cutting through the soft natural joints of the bird. The term 8-cut chicken is used to describe a chicken segmented into two drumsticks, two thighs, and both breasts split in half across the rib bone (one half may contain the wing). This procedure is always done with the bone in. These segments can be processed further to boneless skinless cuts if desired. Figure 29 shows a fully segmented frying chicken, and Table 37 lists the common chicken cuts.
Table 37- Common chicken cuts
Cut Retail Cuts Restaurant Cuts
Chicken breast Chicken breastbone in Suprême (chicken breast with wing drumette attached)
Chicken breast boneless/skinless
Chicken breast fillets (or tenders)
Chicken leg Chicken leg (back attached) Chicken Ballotine (boneless leg)
Chicken drumstick
Chicken thigh (bone in)
Chicken thigh (boneless skinless)
Chicken wing Chicken wing (whole) Chicken wings split, tips removed
Chicken winglette (or wingette)
Chicken wing drumette
Chicken wing tip
Backs and Necks Chicken backs and necks Chicken ribs, backs and necks are used for stock
White Meat Cuts
White or light meat comes from the breast and wings. The breast and wings are generally separated, but a chicken breast with the drumette portion of the wing still attached is called a suprême. Wings can be broken down into three parts: wing tip, winglette, and wing drumette (Figure 30).
The breast can also be broken down further and the tenderloins (fillets) removed. The portion without the tenderloin can be split and pounded into a thin cutlet known as a paillard. Figure 31 shows the chicken breast whole and with the fillets removed from the bottom portion.
Dark Meat Cuts
The dark meat of poultry comes from the legs, which can be broken down into two parts: the thigh and the drumstick. In restaurants, you may occasionally find a boneless leg that has been stuffed, which is called a ballotine.
Chicken legs are split at the knee joint to separate the thigh from the drumstick. Drumsticks are usually cooked bone in, while thighs can be deboned and skinned to use in a variety of dishes, including slicing or dicing for stir-frys and similar dishes.
Figure 32 shows a whole chicken leg broken down into a drumstick and boneless thigh.
3.08: Summary
Meat and poultry continue to be a large portion of the Canadian diet. Although the composition of meat and poultry doesn’t change, the cutting and terminology for both food service and retail continues to evolve. Input from different ethnic groups and cuisines, consumer preferences, heath concerns, and ingredient costs all will have impacts on how we prepare meat and poultry, and also how we cut and process it.
If you are referencing recipes and cookbooks from other parts of the globe, you may come across terminology or cuts of meat that are not mentioned here, but with a bit of research you should be able to put them into context and find a Canadian equivalent.
3.09: Activities
Activities
• Break down primal cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal into sub-primals and secondary cuts
• Break down whole poultry into secondary cuts | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Cutting_and_Processing_for_Food_Service_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Cutting_and_Processing_Meats/3.06%3A_Game_Cutting.txt |
Called Poulet in France, the domesticated chicken is the most prevalent bird raised for eating in the world. Though once raised for other purposes, chicken began to be raised for consumption during the Hellenistic period between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C.E. Chicken is relatively inexpensive, contains both light and dark meat, and is relatively lean. It is available fresh and frozen today in a variety of forms. It has been said that chicken is the palate for the chef because of its versatility adapting too many flavor combinations.
01: Chicken Identification and Fabrication
The muscle composition of chicken is approximately 72% water, 20% protein, 7% fat, and 1% minerals. Chicken has no marbling of the meat therefore no intramuscular fat. The fat of a chicken is stored under its skin and in the abdominal cavity. Chicken fat has a lower melting point than other animal fats and is widely used in Jewish cooking where is referred to as “Schmaltz”. Rendered chicken fat is easy to keep refrigerated and sealed in containers for a flavorful cooking fat that can positively affect the food budget. Dark meat is found in the leg and thigh, and contains myoglobin, an oxygen binding protein for muscle use. Dark meat also contains more fat and connective tissue than light meat, therefore it requires longer cooking time than white meat and leans itself well to roasting and braising.
Classifications:
• Game hens - raised five weeks or less.
• Broiler/fryer - raised 10 weeks or less.
• Roaster - raised between 8 and 12 weeks.
• Capon – 4 - 8 months
• Hens/ stewing - over ten months
Game Hens
Game hens are the young or immature progeny of Cornish chickens and white Rock chickens. They are very flavorful and weight one to two pounds. French refer to these as ‘Poussin’. These little hens can be split and broiled, grilled or trussed and roasted whole. A friend of mine from Idaho once prepared a delicious roasted Cornish Game Hen with Amaretto that was superb.
Broilers and Fryers
These birds are young with soft, smooth textured skin, and are relatively lean. They generally weigh three and a half pounds or less. You may use any method to cook broilers and fryers. One popular method for the recent resurgence in grilling is “spatchcocking” which is a way of cutting out the back bone, breaking the breast bone, and removing the breast cartilage. The bird is then seasoned and grilled under a brick and turned to complete the cooking.
Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken - commons.wikimedia.org
Capon
These can be difficult to find and once were the darling of the Garde Manger for cold platter use with Chaud Froid. Capons are the surgically castrated male chickens (roosters) which are fattened for consumption. They are bred for flavor and have a high proportion of light to dark meat. They weigh between 5-7 pounds and are often roasted.
"Capon a la Godard". Engraving from Charles Elmé Francatelli's
The Modern Cook. 28th edition, 1886
Capons- commons.wikimedia.org
Duck
The French call this wonderful bird “Canard”. They can be harvested from the wild when the lawful hunting season is in, but today we have year round access to beautifully farm raised duck products from whole birds to specialty pates. Ducks are exclusively dark meat but we must treat the breast meat and leg meat as if they are two different animals. Contrary to food safety rules, we never cook duck breasts to 165°F in the restaurant. If we did, it would be dry and taste like liver. The breast again, is red meat and can be sautéed rare to medium rare. The legs on the other hand must be well done to be tender enough to eat. This can be accomplished by braising, roasting or stewing.
Duck have a tremendous amount of fat as nature’s buoyancy device to keep this waterfowl afloat. The fat is referred to as “white gold” and is always rendered to use as cooking fat for confit of duck and Pommes de Terre Sarladaises. They also have a high ‘bone-to-meat’ ratio, which makes for making great stock once fabricated. The three primary ducks we eat are Muscovy, Mallard, and Pekin.
Muscovy Duck - commons.wikimedia.org
Pekin ducks - commons.wikimedia.org
Mallard duck - commons.wikimedia.org
Geese
Goose is a wonderful bird often roasted for popular holidays with acidic fruit based sauces known as a gastrique. This type of sauce offsets the fattiness of this succulent waterfowl. Geese are divided into two classes of young and mature. They as do duck only contain dark meat.
Canadian goose - commons.wikimedia.org
Roasted Christmas Goose - Fen. wikimedia.org
Guinea Fowl
These birds, like geese, are divided into young and mature classifications. They are the descendants of a game bird and have both light and dark meat. The breasts are tender enough to sauté, but the bird is so lean that it helps to lard or bard the bird when roasting. The French call this bird Pintade.
Guinea Fowl - commons.wikimedia.org
Pigeon
Though pigeons can be eaten at any size or age, we usually refer to the young pre-flight pigeons as squab. They are very popular in Persian restaurants. Pigeons only contain dark meat and is very tender even
Pigeon and Squab plated - commons.wikimedia
Turkey
The French call turkey “Dinde” and they love it. Turkey in fact is not indigenous to France and was first brought to the Old World after the Americas were discovered. Turkey has four classifications.
• Fryer/roaster
• Young
• Yearling
• Mature
Turkey is the second most popular category of poultry in the U.S. behind chicken. It contains both light and dark meat and relatively low in fat. Turkey can be roasted and young turkeys can be prepared with a variety of methods. Many people make ‘pillards’ of turkey to bread and sauté as you would veal for schnitzel. I like to make tornedoes from the tenders for turkey mignons. Braised turkey potpies are a comforting dish in the fall and winter. Wild and farm raised turkeys are different in appearance and flavor.
Ratites
Ratites are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breast bones. They include the Ostrich, Emu, and Rhea. Each are classified as a red meat and are low in fat and cholesterol. The most delicious of the three is Ostrich and they can be prepared in any way that you would prepare the lean delicate meat of veal.
Poultry Offal
Also known as giblets, these parts of the bird include the gizzards, hearts, livers, and necks. Livers are often sautéed, broiled, or used in pates. Gizzards are the second stomach and act as a grinding mechanism for their food; they are often fried as are livers in the South. Hearts are sometimes sautéed or creamed. The Garde Manger sometimes confits these parts and uses them to inlay as a garnish within pate. The necks are used for stock with the remaining carcasses. Sometimes southern cooks pick the meat form the neck to add into cornbread dressing or to make a cornstarch thickened giblet gravy with stock, giblets, and boiled eggs
Duck Giblets - neck, liver, heart, and gizzard - commons.wikimedia.org | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/01%3A_Chicken_Identification_and_Fabrication/1.01%3A_Introduction_to_Chicken_Identification_and_Fabrication.txt |
Inspection
All poultry produced for public inspection is inspected by the USDA. It must be processed under strict sanitary guidelines and must be fit for human consumption.
Grading Poultry
USDA grades for poultry are A, B, and C
Grade “A” poultry is free of deformities and pinfeathers, free of cuts, tears, and broken bones. It has a thick flesh with a well-developed fat layer.
Grades B and C are used primarily for processed poultry products.
USDA inspection and grade - publicdomainfiles.com
Royalty of Poultry Offal - Foie Gras
Larger duck and geese are gavage fed in order to develop a fattened liver which is considered a delicacy. The harvesting of the animal is sustainably used and the breast from these birds are called magret (may-gray) and are usually quite large, boneless and with skin intact.
As of late the discussion regarding the raising practices have been met, especially on the West coast, with protest sponsoring a California ban on the serving of foie gras. There may have been a time in our culture when poor practices have been used, however that day is past. Reputable farms have opened their doors to the activist community and educated many on the humane principals and low stress practices in raising and harvesting these birds. Still you will hear that the livers are diseased by over feeding. This is only an uneducated assumption. In the wild these ducks and geese must forage for food in a hurried manner to avoid their natural predators while at the same time, fattening those same livers for energy needed in their long seasonal migrations. Man simply mimics nature in the raising of geese and ducks for this prized and sustainable food as he has since the times of the ancient Egyptians. You must make up your own mind in your future decisions regarding foie gras service. It is your decision as a chef.
Foie Gras can be made into a ‘torchon’, or sliced, and seared. When making pate or torchons, you must remove the veins inside of the liver. This is done carefully by separating the lobes (there are two on each liver). Then rub the inner section to warm the fat. Work a knife edge and your fingers to expose the system of veins that run throughout the liver. Peel out the veins and remove them as they are unpleasant when eating.
When searing foie gras carefully slice a section from the liver in a thickness of ½ of an inch. Mark one side with a knife-edge in a crisscross manner. Sear the crisscrossed side first in a hot pan until golden brown then repeat on the other side. No oil is necessary as the foie gras releases much fat as it sears. Reserve the remaining fat for other applications. More on Foie Gras latter
Torchons hanging after poaching - photo credit: Marshall Welsh CEC
Torchon of foie gras on toast with pistachio butter, strawberry jam and fleur de sel
Photo credit: Chef Thomas Numprasong
Seared Foie gras with truffles - commons.wikimedia.org
Whole Raw Foie Gras - commons.wikimedia.org
Purchasing and Storage
As always, purchase from approved reputable suppliers. Purchasing whole and fabricating yourself will save you money, but it can be labor intensive. If I am frying large quantities of chicken, I find it best to purchase in cut cases. For finer dinning where an airline breast is needed, your knife skills will usually be superior to that of a pre-cut breast.
When storing poultry under refrigeration, use drip pans and bagged ice over the top of the chicken. The drip pan allows the water to drip away from the product and the ice keeps it colder than the refrigeration. Remember that poultry is highly perishable and if frozen is best thawed under refrigeration. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/01%3A_Chicken_Identification_and_Fabrication/1.02%3A_Inspection_Grading_and_Storage_of_Poultry.txt |
Nutrition
Poultry is an economical source of high-quality protein. Poultry's nutritional values are similar to those of other meats, except that chicken and turkey breast meat is lower in fat and higher in niacin than other lean meats. Generally, dark meat contains more niacin and riboflavin than white meat.
Inspection and Grading of Poultry
Inspection
All poultry produced for public consumption in the United States is subject to USDA inspection. Inspections ensure that products are processed under strict sanitary guidelines and are wholesome and fit for human consumption. Inspections do not indicate a product's quality or tenderness. The round inspection stamp can be found either on a tag attached to the wing or included in the package labeling.
USDA Inspection Stamp for Poultry
GRADING
Grading poultry is voluntary but virtually universal. Birds are graded according to their overall quality, with the grade (USDA A, B or C) shown on a shield- shaped tag affixed to the bird or on a processed product’s packaging.
According to the USDA, Grade A poultry is free from deformities, with thick flesh and a well-developed fat layer; free of pinfeathers, cuts or tears and broken bones; free from discoloration and , if it is frozen, free from defects that occur during handling or storage. Nearly all poultry used in wholesale and retail outlets is Grade A. Grade B and C birds are used primarily for processed poultry products.
Quality grades have no bearing on the product's tenderness or flavor. A bird's tenderness is usually indicated by its class (for example, a young turkey is younger and tenderer than a yearling). Its grade (USDA A, B or C) within each class is determined by its overall quality.
Purchasing and Storing Poultry
Purchasing Poultry
Poultry can be purchased in many forms: fresh or frozen, whole or cut up, bone - in or boneless, portion controlled (P.C.), individually quick-frozen (IQF) or ground. Chicken and turkey are also widely used in prepared and convenience items and are available fully cooked and vacuum- wrapped or boned and canned. Although purchasing poultry in a ready-to-use form is convenient, it is not always necessary; poultry products are easy to fabricate and portion. Whole fresh poultry is also less expensive than precut or frozen products.
As with meats, you should consider your menu, labor costs, storage facilities and employee skills when deciding whether to purchase whole fresh poultry or some other form.
Storing Poultry
Poultry is a potentially hazardous food. It is highly perishable and particularly susceptible to contamination by salmonella bacteria. It is critical that poultry be stored at the correct temperatures.
Fresh chickens and other small birds can be stored on ice or at 32°F- 34°F (0°C- 2°C) for up to two days; larger birds can be stored up to four days at these temperatures. Frozen poultry should be kept at 0°F (- 18°C) or below (the colder the better) and can be held for up to six months. It should be thawed gradually under refrigeration, allowing two days for chickens and as long as four days for larger birds. Never attempt to cook poultry that is still partially frozen; it will be impossible to cook the product evenly, and the areas that were still frozen may not reach the temperatures necessary to destroy harmful bacteria. Never partially cook poultry one day and finish cooking it later; bacteria are more likely to grow under such conditions.
Sanitation and Cross-Contamination
Review the information on food safety and sanitation, before butchering any poultry. Be sure that all work surfaces, cutting boards, knives, hands and other equipment used to prepare poultry products are clean and sanitary. Be careful that juices and trimmings from poultry are not exposed to other foods. Anything being exposed to raw poultry should be cleaned and sanitized before it is exposed to any other food. Cooked foods should never be placed in containers that were used to hold the raw product. Kitchen towels that are used to handle poultry or clean up after butchering should be sanitized before being reused to prevent cross-contamination.
Poultry should be rinsed under cold running water, and then dried with clean disposable paper towels before cooking to remove any collected juice.
Butchering Procedures
Poultry is easier to butcher than meats and is often processed on-site. You should be able to perform the following commonly encountered procedures. Because the different kinds of poultry are similar in structure, these procedures apply to a variety of birds.
Procedure for Cutting a Bird in Half
Often the first step in preparing poultry is to cut the bird in half. Broiler and fryer chickens are often split to make two portions. This procedure removes the backbone and breastbone (also known as the keel bone) for a neat finished product.
1. Square up the bird by placing it on its back and pressing on the legs and breast to create a more uniform appearance
2. Place the bird on its breast and hold the tail tightly with the thumb and forefinger of one hand. Using a rigid boning knife and in a single swift movement, cut alongside the backbone from the bird's tail to the head.
3. Lay the bird flat on the cutting board and remove the backbone by cutting through the
ribs connecting it to the breast.
4. Bend the bird back, breaking the breastbone free.
5. Run your fingers along the bone to separate the breast meat from it; pull the bone completely free. Be sure to remove the flexible cartilage completely.
6. Cut through the skin to separate the bird into two halves. The halves are ready to be cooked; for a more attractive presentation, follow Steps 7 and 8.
7. Trim off the wing tips and the ends of the leg bone.
8. Make a slit in the skin below the leg and tuck the leg bone into the slit.
Procedure for Cutting a Bird into Pieces
This is one of the most common butchering procedures. It is also very simple once you understand the bird's structure and are able to find each of its joints.
1. Remove the leg by pulling the leg and thigh away from the breast and cutting through the skin and flesh toward the thigh joint.
2. Cut down to the thigh joint, twist the leg to break the joint and cut the thigh and leg from the carcass. Be careful to trim around the oyster meat (the tender morsel of meat located next to the backbone); leave it attached to the thigh. Repeat with the other leg.
3. To split the breast, follow Steps 2 through 6 for cutting a bird in half. Cut the breast into
two halves.
4. The bird is now cut into four quarters.
5. To cut the bird into six pieces, separate the thigh from the leg by making a cut guided by the line of fat on the inside of the thigh and leg.
6. To cut the bird into eight pieces, separate the wing from the breast by cutting the joint, or split the breast, leaving a portion of the breast meat attached to the wing.
Procedure for Preparing a Boneless Breast
A boneless chicken breast is one of the most versatile and popular poultry cuts. It can be broiled, grilled, baked, sautéed, pan-fried or poached. Boneless turkey breast can be roasted or sliced and sautéed as a substitute for veal. The skin can be removed, or left intact.
1. Remove the keel bone from the bone-in breast, following Steps 4, 5 and 6 for cutting a bird in half.
2. With the chicken breast lying skin side down, separate the rib bones, wing and wishbone from the breast. Leave the two tender pieces of meat known as the tenderloins attached to the breast. Repeat the procedure on the other side, being sure to remove the small wishbone pieces from the front of the breast.
3. The skin may be left intact or removed to produce a skinless boneless breast.
Procedure for a Supreme or Airline Breast
A chicken supreme or airline breast is half of a boneless chicken breast with the first wing bone attached. The tip of the wing bone is removed, yielding a neat and attractive portion that can be prepared by a variety of cooking methods. The skin can be left on or removed.
1. Place the chicken on its back. Remove the legs following Steps 1 and 2 for cutting a bird
into pieces. Remove the backbone following Steps 2 and 3 for cutting a bird in half.
Remove the keel bone from the bone-in breast, following Steps 4 and 5 for cutting a bird
in half.
2. Cut along one side of the breastbone, separating the meat from the bone.
3. Following the natural curvature of the ribs, continue cutting to remove the meat from the
bones.
4. When you reach the wing joint, cut through the joint, keeping the wing attached to the breast portion. Cut the breast free from the carcass.
5. Make a cut on the back of the joint between the first and second wing bones.
6. Break the joint and pull the meat and skin back to expose a clean bone. Trim the wing bone.
7. The supreme can be prepared skin-on or skinless.
Procedure for Boning a Chicken Leg and Thigh
Chicken breasts are usually more popular than legs and thighs. There are, however, uses for
boneless, skinless leg and thigh meat; they can be stuffed or used for Ballantine, for example.
1. Carefully cut through the skin, meat and tendons at the base of the leg. Be sure to cut through completely to the bone.
2. Pull the skin off the leg with your hands, then break the joint between the leg and thigh. Twist and pull out the leg bone.
3. Working from the inside of the thighbone, separate it from the meat.
4. Cut around the cartilage at the joint between the leg and thigh and remove the thighbone and cartilage.
Marinating Poultry
Most poultry is quite mild in flavor, so a marinade is often used to add flavor and moisture, especially to poultry that will be broiled or grilled. Barbecued chicken is a simple and popular example of marinated poultry. Other poultry marinades can be a mixture of white wine or lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, herbs and spices.
Poultry absorbs flavors quickly, so if pieces are left too long in an acidic marinade, they may take on undesirable flavors. Two hours is often sufficient, with smaller pieces requiring less time in the marinade than larger ones. The acid in the marinade will affect the texture of the protein. Marinating for more than a few hours can overly tenderize meats and poultry. Avoid using excess marinade because it will become contaminated and must be discontinued after using. To help calculate the quantity of marinade to make, figure on using approximately 8 fluid ounces (240 milliliters) of marinade for each double breast of chicken.
If the marinade contains oil, drain the poultry well to avoid flare-up when the item is placed on the broiler or grill. Use a clean kitchen towel or a paper towel to wipe excess moisture from the poultry's surface so that it browns more easily. The marinade can be used to baste the item during cooking, but leftover marinade should not be served uncooked or reused because of the danger of bacterial contamination from the raw poultry.
DRY-HEAT COOKING METHODS
Dry-heat methods are appropriate for young, tender birds. Moist-heat methods should be used with older, less tender products. Cooking poultry with dry-heat methods - broiling and grilling, roasting, sautéing, pan-frying and deep-frying- presents some unique challenges. Large birds such as turkeys benefit from low -heat cooking but are better when served with the crispy skin gained through higher temperatures. Duck and goose skins contain a great deal of fat that must be rendered during the cooking process. Small birds such as squab must be cooked at sufficiently high temperatures to crisp their skins but can be easily overcooked. Boneless chicken breasts, particularly flavorful and popular when broiled or grilled, are easily overcooked and become dry because they do not contain bones to help retain moisture during cooking. Proper application of the following dry-heat cooking methods will help meet these challenges and ensure a good- quality finished product.
BROILING and GRILLING
Broiled and grilled poultry should have a well-browned surface and can show crosshatched grill marks. It should be moist, tender and juicy throughout. It may be seasoned to enhance its natural flavors, marinated, or basted with any number of flavored butters or sauces.
Selecting Poultry to Broil or Grill
Smaller birds such as Cornish hens, chickens and squab are especially well suited for broiling or grilling. Whole birds should be split or cut into smaller pieces before cooking; their joints may be broken so that they lie flat. Quail and other small birds can be skewered before being broiled to help them cook evenly and retain their shape. Be especially careful when cooking breast portions or boneless pieces; the direct heat of the broiler or grill can overcook the item very quickly.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Broiled or Grilled
Poultry is fairly neutral in flavor and responds well to marinating. Poultry may also be basted periodically during the cooking process with flavored butter, oil or barbecue sauce. At the very least, broiled or grilled poult1y should be well seasoned with salt and pepper just before cooking.
Determining Doneness
With the exception of duck breasts and squab, which are sometimes left pink, broiled or grilled poultry are always cooked well done. This makes the poultry particularly susceptible to becoming dry and tough because it contains little fat and is cooked at very high temperatures. Particular care must be taken to ensure that the item does not become overcooked.
Four methods used to determine the doneness of broiled or grilled poultry:
1. Touch - When the item is done, it will have a firm texture, resist pressure and spring back quickly when pressed with a finger.
2. Temperature - Use an instant -read thermometer to determine the item's internal temperature. This may be difficult, however, because of the item's size and the heat from the broiler or grill. Insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the item away from any bones. It should read 165°F- 170°F (7 4°C-77°C) at the coolest point.
3. Looseness of the joints - When bone-in poultry is done, the leg will begin to move freely in its socket.
4. Color of the juices - Poultry is done when its juices run clear or show just a trace of pink. This degree of doneness is known in French as ‘a point’.
Accompaniments to Broiled and Grilled Poultry
If the item was basted with an herb butter, it can be served with additional butter; if the item was basted with barbecue sauce, it should be served with the same sauce. Be careful, however, that any marinade or sauce that came in con- tact with the raw poultry is not served unless it is cooked thoroughly to destroy harmful bacteria.
Broiled or grilled poultry is very versatile and goes well with almost any side dish. Seasoned and grilled vegetables are a natural accompaniment, and deep- fried potatoes are commonly served.
~Procedure for Grilling Poultry ~
As with meats, broiled or grilled poultry can be prepared by placing it directly on the grate. Poultry is also often broiled using a rotisserie.
1. Heat the broiler or grill.
2. Use a wire brush to remove any charred or burnt particles that may be stuck to the broiler or grill grate. The grate can be wiped with a lightly oiled towel to remove any remaining particles and help season it.
3. Prepare the item to be broiled or grilled by marinating or seasoning as desired; it may be brushed lightly with oil to keep it from sticking to the grate.
4. 10, turn the item to produce the attractive crosshatch marks associated with grilling. Baste the item often. Use tongs to turn or flip the item without piercing the surface so that juices do not escape.
5. Develop the proper surface color while cooking the item until it is done ‘a point’. To do so, adjust the position of the item on the broiler or grill, or adjust the distance between the grate and heat source. Large pieces and bone-in pieces that are difficult to cook completely on the broiler or grill can be finished in the oven.
A commonly used procedure to cook a large volume of poultry is to place the seasoned items in a broiler pan or other shallow pan and then place the pan directly under the broiler. Baste the items periodically, turning them once when they are halfway done. Items begun this way can be easily finished by transfer - ring the entire pan to the oven.
ROASTING
Properly roasted (or baked) poultry is attractively browned on the surface and tender and juicy throughout. Proper cooking temperatures ensure a crisp exterior and juicy interior. Most roasted poultry is cooked until the juices run clear. Squab and duck breasts are exceptions; they are often served medium rare or pink.
Selecting Poultry to Roast
Almost every kind of poultry is suitable for roasting, but younger birds produce the tenderest finished product. Because of variations in fat content, different kinds of poultry require different roasting temperatures and procedures.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Roasted
Although the mild flavor of most poultry is enhanced by a wide variety of herbs and spices, roasted poultry is often only lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Poultry that is roasted at high temperatures should never be seasoned with herbs on its surface because the high cooking temperatures will burn them. If herbs or additional spices are used, they should be stuffed into the cavity. A mirepoix or a bouquet garni may also be added to the cavity for additional flavor. The cavities of dark-meat birds such as ducks and geese are often stuffed with fresh or dried fruits.
~Procedure for Trussing Poultry~
Trussing is tying a bird into a more compact shape with thread or butcher's twine. Trussing allows the bird to cook more evenly, helps the bird retain moisture and improves the appearance of the finished product. There are many methods for trussing poultry, some of which require a special tool called a trussing needle.
1. Square up the bird by pressing it firmly with both hands. Tuck the first joint of the wing behind the back or trim off the first and second joints as shown.
2. Cut a piece of butcher's twine approximately three times the bird's length. With the breast up and the neck toward you, pass the twine under the bird approximately 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in front of the tail.
3. Bring the twine up around the legs and cross the ends, creating an X between the legs. Pass the ends of the twine below the legs.
4. Pull the ends of the twine tightly across the leg and thigh joints and across the wings if the first and second joints are trimmed off, or just above the wings if they are intact.
5. Pull the string tight and tie it securely just above the neck.
Barding Poultry to Be Roasted
Guineas, squabs or any skinless birds without an adequate fat covering to protect them from drying out during roasting can be barded. Bard the bird by covering its entire surface with thin slices of fatback, securing them with butcher's twine.
Cooking Temperatures
Roast small birds such as squab and Cornish game hens at the relatively high temperatures of 375°F-400°F (190°C- 200°C). These temperatures help produce crisp, well-colored skins without overcooking the flesh. Roast chickens at temperatures between 350°F and 375°F (180°C and 190°C). This temperature range allows the skin to crisp and the flesh to cook without causing the bird to stew in its own juices. Large birds such as capons and turkeys are started at high temperatures of 400°F-425°F (200°C- 220°C) to brown the skin, then finished at lower temperatures of 275°F- 325°F ( 35°C- 160°C) to promote even cooking and produce a moister product. Ducks and geese, which are very high in fat, must be roasted at the high temperatures of 375°F-425°F (190°C- 2200C) to render as much fat from the skin as possible. Duck and goose skins are often pricked before roasting so that the rendered fat can escape; this helps create a crispy skin.
Basting Roasted Poultry
With the exception of fatty birds such as ducks and geese, all poultry items should be basted while they roast in order to help retain moisture. To baste a bird, spoon or ladle the fat that collects in the bottom of the roasting pan over the bird at 15-to-20-minute intervals. Lean birds that are not barded will not produce enough fat for basting and may be brushed with butter in the same manner.
Determining Doneness
Four methods are used to determine the <loneness of roasted poultry. It is best to use a combination of these methods.
1. Temperature - Test the internal temperature of the bird with an instant read thermometer. The thermometer should be inserted in the bird's thigh, which is the last part to become fully cooked. It should not touch the bone and should read 165°F- 170°F (74°C- 77°C) at the coolest point. This method works best with large birds such as capon and turkeys. Large birds are subject to some degree of carryover cooking. This is not as
much of a concern with poultry as it is with meat because large birds are always cooked
well done.
2. Looseness of the joints - The thigh and leg will begin to move freely in their sockets when the bird is done.
3. Color of juices - This method is used with birds that are not stuffed. Use a kitchen fork to tilt the bird, allowing some of the juices that have collected in the cavity to run out. Clear juices indicate that the bird is done. If the juices are cloudy or pink, the bird is undercooked.
4. Time - Because there are so many variables, timing alone is less reliable than other methods. It is useful, however, for planning production when large quantities are roasted and as a general guideline when used with other methods.
Accompaniments to Roasted Poultry
The most common accompaniments to roasted poultry are bread stuffing and gravy. Large birds,
such as capons and turkeys, produce adequate drippings for making sauce or pan gravy. Small
birds, such as squab and Cornish game hens, are often stuffed with wild rice or other ingredients
and served with a sauce that is made separately
Roasting Information
Poultry Kind or Class Cooking Temperatures Minutes per lb. (500 g)
Capons 350-375°F / 180-190°C 18-20 min
Chickens 375-400°F / 190-200°C 15-18 min
Ducks and Geese 375-425°F / 190-220°C 12-15 min
Game hens 375-400°F / 190-200°C 45-60 min total
Guineas 375-400°F / 190-200°C 18-20 min
Squab 400°F / 200°C 30-40 min total
Turkeys 325°F / 160°C 12-15 min
Ducks and geese are complemented by stuffing containing rice, fruits, berries and nuts. They are very fatty, and if stuffed, they should be roasted on a rack or mirepoix bed to ensure that the fat that collects in the pan during roasting does not penetrate the cavity, making the stuffing greasy. Ducks and geese are often served with a citrus- or fruit-based sauce. Its high acid content complements these rich, fatty birds.
Stuffing Poultry
Safety. Stuffing is a potentially hazardous food. All ingredients used to make stuffing must be cold and stay be- low 45°F (7°C) when mixing and stuffing into poultry. Stuff a bird as close to cooking time as possible to keep it out of the temperature danger zone. Observe proper cooking temperatures and roast until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) as indicated by an instant-rea d thermometer placed deep into the stuffing. Remove all stuffing from the bird's cavity promptly. If left in the cavity, stuffing will not cool and will become a potential breeding ground for bacteria.
~Procedure for Stuffing Poultry~
Small birds such as Cornish game hens, small chickens and squab can be stuffed successfully. Stuffing larger birds, especially for volume production, is impractical and can be dangerous for the following reasons:
1. Stuffing is a good bacterial breeding ground, and because it is difficult to control
temperatures inside a stuffed bird, there is a risk of food-borne illness.
2. Stuffing poultry is labor intensive.
3. Stuffed poultry must be cooked longer to cook the stuffing properly; this may cause the meat to be overcooked, becoming dry and tough.
When stuffing any bird, use the following guidelines:
1. Always be aware of temperatures when mixing the raw ingredients. All ingredients
should be cold when mixing, and the mixture's temperature should never be allowed to
rise above 45°F (7°C).
2. Stuff the raw bird as close to roasting time as possible.
3. Stuff the neck and main body cavities loosely. The stuffing will expand during cooking.
4. After filling the cavities, their openings should be secured with skewers and butcher's
twine or by trussing.
5. After cooking, remove the stuffing from the bird and store separately.
~Procedure for Roasting Poultry~
1. Season, bard, stuff and/or truss the bird as desired.
2. Place the bird in a roasting pan. It may be placed on a rack or a bed of mirepoix in order to prevent scorching and promote even cooking.
3. Roast uncovered, basting every 15 minutes.
4. Allow the bird to rest before carving to allow even distribution of juices. As the bird rests, prepare the pan gravy or sauce.
Carving Roasted Poultry
Poultry can be carved in the kitchen, at tableside, or on a buffet in a variety of manners. The carving methods described next produce slices of both light and dark meat.
Procedure for Carving a Turkey or Other Large Bird
1. After roasting, allow the turkey to stand for 20 minutes so that the juices can redistribute themselves. Holding the turkey firmly with a carving fork, pry a leg outward and locate the joint. Remove the leg and thigh in one piece by cutting through the joint with the tip of a knife.
2. Repeat the procedure on the other side. Once both legs and thighs have been removed, slice the meat from the thigh by holding the leg firmly with one hand and slicing parallel to the bone.
3. Separate the thigh from the leg bone by cutting through the joint. Slice the meat from the leg by cutting parallel to the bone.
4. Cut along the backbone, following the natural curvature of the bones separating the breast meat from the ribs.
5. Remove an entire half breast and slice it on the cutting board as shown. Cut on an angle to produce larger slices.
6. Alternatively, the breast can be carved on the bird. Make a horizontal cut just above the wing in toward the rib bones.
Procedure for Carving a chicken or Other Small Bird
1. After allowing the roasted chicken to rest for 15 minutes so that the juices can redistribute themselves, cut through the skin between the leg and breast.
2. Use a kitchen fork to pry the leg and thigh away from the breast. Locate the thigh's ball joint and cut through it with the knife tip, separating it completely from the rest of the chicken. Be sure to cut around the delicate oyster meat, leaving it attached to the thigh.
3. With the knife tip, cut through the skin and meat on one side of the breast bone. Cut and pull the meat away from the bones with the knife.
4. Cut through the wing joint, separating the breast meat and wing from the carcass. Repeat this procedure on the other side of the bird.
5. The chicken is now quartered.
6. To cut it into eight pieces, separate the wings from the breasts and the thighs from the legs.
POELEING
Poeleing is a cooking method similar to both roasting and braising. The item is cooked in the oven in a covered pot so that it cooks in its own juices and steam. Although this is a moist-heat cooking technique (because the item steams in its own juices), it is used only for tender cuts, not those that need long, slow braising. The cooking time is usually shorter than that needed for dry roasting.
The item to be poeleed can first be browned in hot fat and then laid on a bed of **matignon, covered and cooked in the oven. If the item was not browned in hot fat first, it can later be browned by removing the lid toward the end of cooking. Doneness is determined using the same techniques as those used for roasting.
Vegetables intended for service with the dish can be added to the poele as it cooks, or cooked separately and plated with the finished item. The sauce for a poele is made from the flavorful cooking juices left in the pan. They are mixed with a liquid (stock, jus lie or demi-glace) and finished using the same techniques as those for a braised dish. The matignon can be left in the finished sauce or strained.
**Matignon is a combination of minced vegetables, usually onion (and/or leek), celery, and carrot, with thyme and bay leaf, sautéed in butter over a low flame until softened and translucent ("melted" but not browned), seasoned to taste with a pinch of salt (and a pinch of sugar, if needed), and finished with a dash of white wine or Madeira.
Procedure for Poeleing Poultry
1. Sear the main item in hot butter or oil, if desired.
2. Place the main item on a bed of matignon. Add vegetables or other ingredients as called for in the recipe.
3. Cover and cook in the oven until done. Baste periodically with pan juices or with additional butter.
4. If the main item was not first browned in hot fat, it can be browned by removing the lid toward the end of the cooking period, if desired.
5. Remove the main item when done.
6. To make a sauce, add a liquid to the matignon and cooking juices in the pan and reduce. Remove the matignon if desired and add flavorings as directed in the recipe.
SAUTEING
Sautéed poultry should be tender and juicy, its flavor developed by proper browning. Additional flavors come from a sauce made by deglazing the pan, usually with wine, and adding garnishes, seasonings and liquids. Stir-frying is a popular method of sautéing poultry; boneless pieces are cut into strips and quickly cooked with assorted vegetables and seasonings.
Selecting Poultry to Sauté
Most poultry is quite tender and well suited for sautéing. Although small birds such as squab can be sautéed bone-in, large pieces and bone-in cuts from large r birds should not be sautéed. Boneless breasts, supremes, scallops and cutlets are the most common and practical cuts for sautéing. Because they are high in fat, boneless duck breasts can be sautéed without additional fat.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Sautéed
Poultry has a delicate flavor that is enhanced by a wide variety of herbs, spices, condiments and marinades. Flavor combinations are limited only by your imagination. When poultry items are dusted with flour before sautéing, the seasonings may first be added to the flour.
Cooking Temperatures
The sauté pan and the cooking fat must be hot before adding the poultry. Determine the temperature at which the poultry is then sautéed by its thickness and the desired color of the finished product. A thin, boneless slice requires relatively high temperatures so that its surface is browned before the center is over- cooked. A thicker cut such as a supreme requires lower temperatures so that neither its surface nor the fond are burned before the item is fully cooked.
Adjust the temperature throughout the cooking process in order to achieve the desired results, never letting the pan become too cool. If the pan is overcrowded or otherwise allowed to cool, the poultry will cook in its own juices and absorb oil from the pan, resulting in a poor-quality product.
Determining Doneness
Thin cuts of poultry cook very quickly, so timing is a useful tool; it is less useful with thicker cuts. Experienced cooks can tell the <loneness of an item by judging the temperature of the sauté pan and the color of the item being cooked.
A more practical method is to press the item with your finger and judge the resistance. Very undercooked poultry will offer little resistance and feel mushy. Slightly underdone poultry will feel spongy and will not spring back when your finger is removed. Properly cooked poultry will feel firm to the touch and will spring back when your finger is removed. Overcooked poultry will feel very firm, almost hard, and will spring back quickly when your finger is removed.
Accompaniments to Sautéed Poultry
Sautéed poultry is usually served with a sauce made directly in the pan in which the item was cooked. The sauce uses the fond for added flavor. A wide variety of ingredients, including garlic, onions, shallots, mushrooms and tomatoes, are commonly added to the pan as well as wine and stock. Sautéed items are often served with a starch such as pasta, rice or potatoes.
Procedure for Sautéing Poultry
Heat a sauté pan and add enough fat or oil to just cover the bottom.
1. Add the poultry item, presentation side down, and cook until browned.
2. Turn the item, using tongs or by tossing the item back on itself using the pan's sloped sides.
3. Larger items can be finished in an oven. Either place the sauté pan in the oven or transfer the poultry to another pan. The latter procedure allows a sauce to be made in the original pan while the poultry cooks in the oven. Hold smaller pieces that are thoroughly cooked in a warm place so that the pan can be used for making the sauce.
Procedure for Preparing a Sauce in a Saucepan
1. Pour off any excess fat or oil from the sauté pan, leaving enough to sauté the sauce ingredients.
2. Add ingredients such as garlic, shallots and mushrooms that will be used as garnishes and sauce flavorings; sauté them.
3. Deglaze the pan with wine, stock or other liquids. Scrape the pan, loosening the fond and allowing it to dissolve in the liquid. Reduce the liquid.
PAN-FRYING
Pan-fried poultry should be juicy. Its coating or batter should be crispy, golden brown, not excessively oily and free from any breaks that allow fat to penetrate. Both the poultry and the coating should be well seasoned.
Selecting Poultry to Pan-Fry
The most common pan-fried poultry is fried chicken. Young tender birds cut into small pieces produce the best results. Other cuts commonly pan-fried are bone- less portions such as chicken breasts and turkey scallops.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Pan-Fried
Pan -fried poultry is usually floured, breaded or battered before cooking. Typically, the seasonings are added to the flour, breading or batter before the poultry is coated. Seasonings can be a blend of any number of dried herbs and spices. Often only salt and pepper are required because the poultry will be served with a sauce or other accompaniments for additional flavors.
Cooking Temperatures
The fat should always be hot before the poultry is added. The temperature at which it is cooked is determined by the length of time required to cook it thoroughly. Pan -frying generally requires slightly lower temperatures than those used for sautéing. Within this range, thinner items require higher temperatures to produce good color in a relatively short time. Thicker items and those containing bones require lower cooking temperatures and longer cooking times.
Determining Doneness
Even the largest pan-fried items may be too small to be accurately tested with an instant -read thermometer, and using the touch method can be difficult and dangerous because of the amount of fat used in pan-frying. Timing and experience are the best tools to determine doneness. Thin scallops cook very quickly, so it is relatively easy to judge their doneness. On the other hand, fried chicken can take as long as 30-45 minutes to cook, requiring skill and experience to determine doneness.
Accompaniments to Pan-Fried Poultry
Because pan-frying does not produce fond or drippings that can be used to make a sauce, pan- fried poultry is usually served with lemon wedges, a vegetable garnish or a separately made sauce. Fried chicken is an exception; it is sometimes served with a country gravy made by degreasing the pan, making a roux with a portion of the fat and adding milk and seasonings.
Procedure for Pan-Frying Poultry
1. Heat enough fat in a heavy sauté pan to cover the item to be cooked one-fourth to halfway up its side. The fat should be at approximately 325°F (160°C).
2. Add the floured, breaded or battered item to the hot fat, being careful not to splash. The fat must be hot enough to sizzle and bubble when the item is added.
3. Turn the item when the first side is the proper color; it should be half cooked at this point. Larger items may need to be turned more than once to brown them properly on all sides.
4. Remove the browned poultry from the pan and drain it on absorbent paper.
5. Add any ingredients that do not require long cooking times such as herbs and spices. Adjust the sauce's consistency and seasonings.
6. For service, the poultry can be returned to the pan for a moment to reheat it and to coat it with the sauce. The poultry should remain in the sauce just long enough to reheat. Do not attempt to cook the poultry in the sauce.
7. Serve the poultry with accompanying sauce.
DEEP-FRYING
Young, tender poultry is an excellent and popular choice for deep-frying. The pieces should be golden brown on the outside, moist, and tender on the in- side. They should be neither greasy nor tough. Chopped cooked poultry can also be mixed with a heavy béchamel or veloute sauce and seasonings, breaded, and deep-fried as croquettes.
Selecting and Seasoning Poultry to Be Deep-Fried
Portioned chickens and whole small birds, such as Rock Cornish game hen, are best for deep - frying. Although they can be marinated or seasoned directly, it is more common to season the batter or breading that will coat them. Additional flavors come from the sauces and accompaniments served with the deep-fried poultry. Lemon wedges, sweet and sour sauce or tangy barbecue sauces are popular accompaniments to deep-fried poultry.
Procedure for Deep-frying Poultry
1. Cut, trim or otherwise prepare the poultry to be deep-fried. Season and bread or batter it, as desired.
2. Heat the fat to the desired temperature, usually around 350°F (177°C).
3. Breaded or battered poultry cooks quickly and the fat must be hot enough to cook the food's interior without burning its surface.
4. Carefully place the poultry in the hot fat using the basket method.
5. Deep -fry the food until done. It should have a crispy, golden brown surface.
6. Remove the deep-fried poultry from the fat and hold it over the fat, allowing the excess fat to drain. Transfer the food to a hotel pan either lined with absorbent paper or fitted with a rack. Season with salt, if desired.
7. If the deep-fried poultry is to be held for later service, a heat lamp is effective to maintain
temperature.
MOIST-HEAT COOKING METHODS
The moist-heat cooking methods most often used with poultry are poaching and simmering. Poaching is used to cook tender birds for short periods. Simmering is used to cook older, tougher birds for longer periods in order to tenderize them. Poaching and simmering are similar procedures, the principal differences being the temperature of the cooking liquid and the length of cooking time.
POACHING and SIMMERING
Poached or simmered poultry should be moist, tender and delicately flavored. Although the poultry is cooked in water, overcooking will cause it to become dry and tough. During cooking, some of the poultry's flavor is transferred to the cooking liquid, which can be used to make a sauce for the finished product.
Selecting Poultry to Poach or Simmer
Young birds are best suited for poaching; boneless chicken pieces are the most commonly used parts. Older, tougher birds are usually simmered. Duck and geese are rarely poached or simmered because of their high fat content.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Poached or Simmered
When poaching poultry, it is especially important to use a well-seasoned and highly flavored liquid during the cooking process in order to infuse as much flavor as possible. Either strong stock with a sachet or a mixture of stock or water and white wine with a bouquet garni or onion piquet produces good results. Completely cover the poultry with liquid so that it cooks evenly. How - ever, if too much liquid is used and it is not strongly flavored, flavors may be leached out
of the poultry, resulting in a bland finished product.
Poultry is often simmered in water instead of stock. A sachet and a generous mirepoix should be added to help flavor it. Typically, simmering birds’ results in a strong broth used to complete the recipe, or reserved for other uses.
Cooking Temperatures
For best results, poultry should be poached at low temperatures, between 160°F and 175°F (71°C and 79°C). Cooking poultry to the proper doneness at these temperatures produces a product that is moist and tender. Simmering is done at slightly higher temperatures, between 185°F (85°C) and the boiling point. When simmering, do not allow the liquid to boil, as this may result in a dry, tough and stringy finished product.
Determining Doneness
Poached poultry, whether whole or boneless, is cooked just until done. An instant -read thermometer inserted in the thigh or thicker part of the bird should read 165°F (74°C). Any juices that run from the bird should be clear or show only a trace of pink.
Simmered poultry is usually cooks for longer periods to allow the moist heat to tenderize the meat. A chicken that weighs 3 pounds 8 ounces (1.5 kilograms), for example, may take 21 hours to cook.
Accompaniments to Poached or Simmered Poultry
Poached or simmered poultry can be served hot or cold. The meat from these birds can be served cold in salads, served hot in casseroles or used in any dish that calls for cooked poultry.
Poached items are typically served with a flavored mayonnaise or a sauce made from the reduced poaching liquid, such as sauce supreme. Poultry is also often poached as a means of producing a low-calorie dish. If so, a vegetable coulis makes a good sauce, or the poultry can be served with a portion of its cooking liquid and a vegetable garnish.
Simmered poultry to be served cold will be moister and more flavorful if it is cooled in its cooking liquid. To do so, remove the pot containing the bird and the cooking liquid from the heat when the bird is still slightly undercooked. Cool the meat and broth in a water bath following the procedure in Chapter 11, Stocks and Sauce s. Once cooled, remove the meat and wipe off any congealed broth before proceeding with the recipe.
Procedure for Poaching or simmering Poultry
1. Cut or truss the item to be cooked as directed in the recipe.
2. Prepare the cooking liquid and bring it to a simmer. Submerge the poultry in the cooking liquid, or arrange the items to be poached in an appropriate pan and add the poaching liquid to the pan.
3. Poach or simmer the item to the desired doneness in the oven or on the stovetop. Maintain the proper cooking temperature throughout the process.
4. Remove the poultry and hold it for service in a portion of the cooking liquid or, using an ice bath, cool the item in its cooking liquid.
5. The cooking liquid may be used to prepare an accompanying sauce or reserved for use in
other dishes.
1.04: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Poultry
Classroom Preparation Assignment
Topic One - Poultry
Name:_____________________
Date:_________
1. Name the six categories of poultry recognized by the USDA
2. Insert the proper % found in each of the components of chicken listed below
Water - _________, Protein - _________, Fat - ___________, Minerals - __________.
1. Why does dark meat take longer to cook?
2. Name two excellent ways to cook dark meat poultry.
3. Why is chicken referred to as the palate for the chef?
4. Match the following:
A. Game Hen - _____. 1. Over 10 months old
B. Broiler/Fryer - ____. 2. 4-8 months old
C. Roaster - ________. 3. 8-12 weeks old
D. Capon - ________. 4. 10 weeks old or less
E. Hen/Stewing - ___. 5. 5 weeks or less
1. What are the three types of duck from your text?
2. What must you do in preparation to roast a Guinea Fowl?
3. A young flightless pigeon is called a _____________ and is popular in _____________ restaurants and cuisine.
4. Which bird is not indigenous to France but is a favorite after coming back to the old world after Columbus discovered the Americas?
5. Name the three ratites discussed in Topic One.
6. What is the Royalty of Poultry offal?
7. What are the three grades of poultry by the USDA?
8. Name three forms in which we may purchase poultry.
9. Describe storing poulty. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/01%3A_Chicken_Identification_and_Fabrication/1.03%3A_Nutrition_Inspection_and_Storage_of_Poultry.txt |
Poultry refers to the edible flesh, with adhering bones, of any bird that is commonly used as food. Types of poultry include chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quail, and pheasant. All poultry is processed in a similar manner. It is either cooked whole, or segmented in a number of ways depending on usage.
• 2.1: Introduction to Poultry
Sanitation is a key issue today due to the presence of salmonella bacteria associated with chicken. Therefore, be mindful of your food safety course principles learned in your first semester and adhere to good sanitation principles throughout class.
• 2.2: Identifying Poultry
The USDA recognizes six categories or kinds of poultry: chicken, duck, goose, guinea, pigeon and turkey. Each kind of poultry is divided into classes based predominantly on the bird's age and tenderness. The sex of young birds is not significant for culinary purposes. It does matter, however, with older birds; older male birds are tough and stringy and have less flavor than older female birds.
• 2.3: Braising and stewing of Poultry
Braising and stewing use both dry and moist heat to produce a moist, flavorful product. The principal difference between braising and stewing when applied to meats is the size of the cut being cooked: Large cuts of meat are braised; smaller ones are stewed. Because most poultry is relatively small, this distinction does not readily apply in poultry cookery; therefore, the two cooking methods are discussed together here.
02: Laboratory Production of Poultry
Sanitation is a key issue today due to the presence of salmonella bacteria associated with chicken. Therefore, be mindful of your food safety course principles learned in your first semester and adhere to good sanitation principles throughout class.
A well-organized satiation will keep you on track and aid in your organizational and sanitation skills. Below is an example of a properly organized station for chicken fabrication.
Photo courtesy of Marshall Welsh CEC
Clockwise from top left:
1. Recipe - covered with plastic film for Sharpie® notes and protection
2. Butcher twine in a 1/6 pan for sanitation and protection
3. Cheese cloth - necessary if making galantine
4. Half sheet pan with ½ sheet of parchment paper for fabricated parts and evaluation
5. Chicken in a half pan over ice
6. Sanitized yellow cutting board with wet towel under for safety
7. Necessary tools on a folded towel. Note: Sanitizer stored below table is mandatory.
Often the first step in preparing poultry is to cut the bird in half. Broiler and fryer chickens are often split to make two portions. This procedure removes the backbone and breast bone (also known as the keel bone) for a neat finished product. The backbone, breastbone, and wing tips may be reserved for stock.
This is a favorite for Southern Barbecued Chicken and a brine will add a flavor and moisture that will separate you from the competition. When brining chicken, limit the time these chicken halves stay in the brine to 24 hours. After this, pat them to dry with paper towels and allow them
to form a pellicle in the cooler for several hours under refrigeration. At this point they are ready for grilling and smoking. Resist the temptation of brushing with your favorite barbecue sauce until late in the stages of cooking as the sauce contains sugar and can burn chicken in halves.
See in class demonstration on Chicken Fabrication.
Poultry Cuts - general information
Poultry refers to the edible flesh, with adhering bones, of any bird that is commonly used as food. Types of poultry include chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quail, and pheasant. All poultry is processed in a similar manner. It is either cooked whole, or segmented in a number of ways depending on usage.
All segments of small, young poultry can be prepared using dry heat cooking methods. Older birds, once they stop laying eggs, are butchered and marketed as stewing hens, or boiling fowl. These birds need moist heat preparation and are ideal for pot pies, stews, and soups. All poultry should be fully cooked to at least 74°C (165°F) to eliminate the presence of salmonella.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Classes of Chicken
Game Hen Young or immature progeny of Cornish chickens or of a Cornish chicken and a White Rock chicken ; very flavorful 5-6 weeks Split and broil or grill; roast 2 lb. (1kg) or less
Broiler/fryer Young with soft, smooth-textured skin; relatively lean; flexible breastbone 13 weeks Any cooking method; very versatile 3 lb. 8 oz. (1.5 kg) or less
Roaster Young with tender meat and smooth-textured skin; breastbone is less flexible than broiler's 3-5 months Any cooking method 3 lb. 8oz.-5 lb. (1.5-2 kg)
Capon Surgically castrated male; smooth-textured skin; bred for well-flavored meat; contains high proportion of light to dark meat and a relatively high fat content Under 8 months Roast 6-10 lb. (2.5-4.5 kg)
Hen/stewing Mature female; flavorful but less tender meat; nonflexible breastbone Over 10 months Stew or braise 2 lb. 8 oz.-8 lb. (1-3.5 kg)
A bird can be split in half lengthwise through the backbones and keel bone, or it can be split into a front quarter and a hindquarter. The front quarter of the bird contains the breast and wing meats, while the hindquarter contains the legs. It is common to continue to break the poultry into segments.
For maximum yield and precise processing, poultry can be segmented by cutting through the soft natural joints of the bird. The term 8-cut chicken is used to describe a chicken segmented into two drumsticks, two thighs, and both breasts split in half across the rib bone (one half may contain the wing). This procedure is always done with the bone in. These segments can be processed further to boneless skinless cuts if desired. Figure 29 shows a fully segmented frying chicken.
Figure 29. Segmented frying chicken. Photo by TRU Meat cutting department shared under CC-BY-NC 4
White Meat Cuts
White or light meat comes from the breast and wings. The breast and wings are generally separated, but a chicken breast with the drumette portion of the wing still attached is called a supreme. Wings can be broken down into three parts: wing tip, winglet, and wing drumett
Figure 30. Segmented chicken wing. Photo by Jakes and Associated shared under CC-BY-NC 4.0
The breast can also be broken down further and the tenderloins (fillets) removed. The portion without the tenderloin can be split and pounded into a thin cutlet known as a pillards. Figure 31 shows the chicken breast whole and with the fillets removed from the bottom portion
Figure 31 Boneless skinless chicken breast with fillets removed.
Photo by Jakes and Associates shared under CC- BY-NC 4.0
Dark Meat Cuts
The dark meat poultry comes from the legs, which can be broken down into two parts: the thigh and the drumstick. In restaurants, you may occasionally find a boneless leg that has been stuffed, which is called a Ballotine.
Chicken legs are split at the knee joint to separate the thigh from the drumstick. Drumsticks are usually cooked bone in, while thighs can be deboned and skinned to use in a variety of dishes, including slicing or dicing for stir-fry and similar dishes.
Figure 32 shows a whole chicken leg broken down into a drumstick and boneless thigh
Figure 32 Breakdown of chicken leg.
Photo by Jakes and Associates shared under CC-BY-NC
POULTRY
Poultry is the collective term for domesticated birds bred for eating. They include chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, pigeons and turkeys. Poultry is generally the least expensive and most versatile of all main-dish foods. Almost any cooking method is applicable, and its mild flavor goes well with a wide variety of sauces and accompaniments.
Poultry also includes other birds killed for their meat, such as the young of pigeons (known as squabs) but does not include similar wild birds hunted for sport or food and known as game. The word "poultry" comes from the French/Norman word poule, itself derived from the Latin word pullus, which means small animal.
The domestication of poultry took place several thousand years ago. This may have originally been a result of people hatching and rearing young birds from eggs collected from the wild, but later involved keeping the birds permanently in captivity. Domesticated chickens may have been used for cockfighting at first and quail kept for their songs, but soon it was realized how useful it was having a captive-bred source of food.
Selective breeding for fast growth, egg-laying ability, conformation, plumage and docility took place over the centuries, and modern breeds often look very different from their wild ancestors. Although some birds are still kept in small flocks in extensive systems, most birds available in the market today are reared in intensive commercial enterprises.
Together with pig meat, poultry is one of the two most widely eaten types of meat globally, with over 70% of the meat supply in 2012 between them; poultry provides nutritionally beneficial food containing high-quality protein accompanied by a low proportion of fat. All poultry meat should be properly handled and sufficiently cooked in order to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
In this section, we discuss the different kinds and classes of poultry, and how to choose those that best suit your needs. You will learn how to store poultry properly to prevent food-borne illnesses and spoilage, how to butcher birds to produce the specific cuts you need, and how to apply a variety of cooking methods properly.
Many of the cooking methods discussed here apply to previously to meats. Although there are similarities with these methods, there are also many distinct differences.
MUSCLE COMPOSITION
The muscle tissue of poultry is similar to that of mammals in that it contains approximately 72 percent water, 20 percent protein, 7 percent fat and 1 percent minerals; it consists of bundles of muscle cells or fibers held together by connective tissue. Unlike red meat, poultry does not contain the intramuscular fat know n as marbling. Instead, a bird stores fat in its skin, its abdominal cavity and the fat pad near its tail. Poultry fat is softer and has a lower melting point than other animal fats. It renders easily during cooking.
As with red meats, poultry muscles that are used more often tend to be tougher than those used less frequently are. In addition, the muscles of an older bird tend to be tougher versus those of a younger one. Because the majority of poultry reaches the market at a young age, it is generally very tender.
The breast and wing flesh of chickens and turkeys is lighter in color than the flesh of their thighs and legs. This color difference is due to a higher concentration of the protein myoglobin in the thigh and leg muscles. Myoglobin is the protein that stores oxygen for the muscle tissues to use. Mo reactive muscles require more myoglobin and tend to be dark e r than Jess -active ones. Because chickens and turkeys generally do not fly, their breast and wing muscles contain little myoglobin and are therefore a light color. Birds that do fly have only dark meat. Dark meat also contains more fat and connective tissue than light meat, and its cooking time is longer.
Skin color may vary from white to golden yellow, depending on what feed the bird consumed. Such color differences are not an indication of overall quality. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Laboratory_Production_of_Poultry/2.01%3A_Introduction_to_Poultry.txt |
The USDA recognizes six categories or kinds of poultry: chicken, duck, goose, guinea, pigeon and turkey. Each kind of poultry is divided into classes based predominantly on the bird's age and tenderness. The sex of young birds is not significant for culinary purposes. It does matter, however, with older birds; older male birds are tough and stringy and have less flavor than older female birds. The previous table lists identifying characteristics and suggested cooking methods for each of the various kinds and classes of poultry.
CHICKEN
Chickens are medium-sized, chunky birds with an upright stance and characterized by fleshy red combs and wattles on their heads. Males, known as cocks, are usually larger, more boldly colored, and have more exaggerated plumage than females (hens). Chickens are gregarious, omnivorous, ground dwelling birds that in their natural surroundings search among the leaf litter for seeds, invertebrates, and other small animals. They seldom fly except as a result of perceived danger, preferring to run into the undergrowth if approached.
Today's domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is mainly descended from the wild red jungle fowl of Asia, with some additional input from grey junglefowl. Domestication is believed to have taken place between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago, and what are thought to be fossilized chicken bones have been found in northeastern China dated to around 5,400 BC. Archaeologists believe domestication was originally for the purpose of cockfighting, the male bird being a doughty fighter. By 4,000 years ago, chickens seem to have reached the Indus Valley and 250 years later, they arrived in Egypt. They were still used for fighting and were regarded as symbols of fertility. The Romans used them in divination, and the Egyptians made a breakthrough when they learned the difficult technique of artificial incubation. Since then, the keeping of chickens has spread around the world for the production of food with the domestic fowl being a valuable source of both eggs and meat.
Chicken is the most popular and widely eaten poultry in the world. It contains both light and dark meat and has relatively little fat. A young, tender chicken can be cooked by almost any method; an older bird is best stewed or braised. Chicken is extremely versatile and may be seasoned, stuffed, basted or garnished with almost anything. Chicken is in- expensive and readily available, fresh or frozen, in a variety of forms.
The French Poulet de Bresse is a special category of chicken, frequently touted, as the world’s finest. The only certified-origin chicken in the world, it is a blue-legged variety raised near the village of Bresse in southeastern Burgundy. These are free-range birds fed a special diet of milk products plus sweet corn and other grains. An identifying leg band is attached to each young chick, and authentic birds will be sold with the banded leg attached. They are available in the United States, at a premium price, from specialty food importers.
DUCK
Ducks are medium-sized aquatic birds with broad bills, eyes on the side of the head; long necks, short legs set far back on the body, and webbed feet. Males, known as drakes, are often larger than females (simply known as ducks) and are differently colored in some breeds. Domestic ducks are omnivores, eating a variety of animal and plant materials such as aquatic insects, worms, small amphibians, waterweeds, and grasses. They feed in shallow water by dabbling, with their heads underwater and their tails upended. Most domestic ducks are too heavy to fly, and they are social birds, preferring to live and move around together in groups. They keep their plumage waterproof by preening, a process that spreads the secretions of the preen gland over their feathers.
Pekin ducks
Clay models of ducks found in China dating back to 4000 BC may indicate the domestication of ducks took place there during the Yangshao culture. Even if this is not the case, domestication of the duck took place in the Far East at least 1500 years earlier than in the West. Lucius Columella, writing in the first century BC, advised those who sought to rear ducks to collect wildfowl eggs and put them under a broody hen, because when raised in this way, the ducks "lay aside their wild nature and without hesitation breed when shut up in the bird pen". Despite this, ducks did not appear in agricultural texts in Western Europe until about 810 AD, when they began to be mentioned alongside geese, chickens, and peafowl as being used for rental payments made by tenants to landowners. It is widely agreed that the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the ancestor of all breeds of domestic duck (with the exception of the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), which is not closely related to other ducks).
Ducks are farmed mainly for their meat, eggs, and down. As is the case with chickens, various breeds have been developed, selected for egg-laying ability, fast growth, and a well-covered carcass. The most common commercial breed in the United States is the Pekin duck, which can lay 200 eggs a year, and can reach a weight of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb.) in 44 days.
In the Western world, ducks are not as popular as chickens, because the latter produce larger quantities of white, lean meat and are easier to keep intensively, making the price of chicken meat lower than that of duck meat. While popular in haute cuisine, duck appears less frequently in the mass-market food industry. However, things are different in the East. Ducks are more popular there than chickens and are mostly still herded in the traditional way and selected for their ability to find sufficient food in harvested rice fields and other wet environments.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Classes of Duck
Class Description Age Weight Cooking Method
Broiler/Fryer Young bird with tender meat; a soft bill and windpipe 8 weeks or less 3 lb. 8 oz.-4 lb. (1.5-1.8 kg) Roast at high temperature
Roaster Young bird with tender meat; rich flavor; easily dented windpipe 16 weeks or less 4-6 lb. (1.8-2.5 kg) Roast
Mature Old bird with tough flesh; hard bill and windpipe 6 months or older 4-6 lb. (1.8-2.5 kg) Braise
The duck used most often in commercial food service operations is a roaster duckling. It contains only dark meat and large amounts of fat. In order to make the fatty skin palatable, it is important to render as much fat as possible. Duck has a high percentage of bone and fat to meat; for example, a 4-pound duck will serve only two people, while a 4-pound roasting chicken will serve four people.
• duckling a duck slaughtered before it is eight weeks old
• magret a duck breast, traditionally taken from the ducks that produce foie gras; it is usually served boneless but with the skin intact
GEESE
The greylag goose (Anser anser) was domesticated by the Egyptians at least 3000 years ago, and a different wild species, the swan goose (Anser cygnoides), domesticated in Siberia about a thousand years later, is known as a Chinese goose. The two hybridize with each other and the large knob at the base of the beak, a noticeable feature of the Chinese goose, is present to a varying extent in these hybrids. The hybrids are fertile and have resulted in several of the modern breeds. Despite their early domestication, geese have never gained the commercial importance of chickens and ducks.
Domestic geese are much larger than their wild counterparts are and tend to have thick necks, an upright posture, and large bodies with broad rear ends. The greylag-derived birds are large, fleshy, and used for meat, while the Chinese geese have smaller frames and are mainly used for egg production. The fine down of both is valued for use in pillows and padded garments. They forage on grass and weeds, supplementing this with small invertebrates and one of the attractions of rearing geese is their ability to grow and thrive on a grass-based system.
They are very gregarious with good memories and can be allowed to roam widely in the knowledge that they will return home by dusk. The Chinese goose is more aggressive and noisy than other geese and can be used as a guard animal to warn of intruders. The flesh of meat geese is dark-colored and high in protein, but they deposit fat subcutaneously, although this fat contains mostly monounsaturated fatty acids. The birds are killed either around 10 or about 24 weeks. Between these ages, problems with dressing the carcass occur because of the presence of developing pinfeathers.
In some countries, geese and ducks are force-fed to produce livers with an exceptionally high fat content for the production of foie gras. Over 75% of world production of this product occurs in France, with lesser industries in Hungary and Bulgaria and a growing production in China. Foie gras is considered a luxury in many parts of the world, but the process of feeding the birds in this way is banned in many countries on animal welfare grounds
A goose contains only dark meat and has very fatty skin. It is usually roasted at high temperatures to render the fat. Roasted goose is popular at holidays and is often served with an acidic fruit-based sauce to offset the fattiness.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Classes of Goose
Class Description Age Weight Cooking Method Use
Young Rich, tender dark meat with large amounts of fat 6 months 6 - 12 lb. Roast high temp. Use in acidic sauces
Mature Tough flesh and hard windpipe Over 6 months 10 - 16 lbs. Braise or stew Stews
GUINEA
Guinea fowl originated in southern Africa, and the species most often kept as poultry is the helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris). It is a medium-sized grey or speckled bird with a small naked head with colorful wattles and a knob on top, and was domesticated by the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Guinea fowl are hardy, sociable birds that subsist mainly on insects, but also consume grasses and seeds. They will keep a vegetable garden clear of pests and will eat the ticks that carry Lyme disease. They happily roost in trees and give a loud vocal warning of the approach of predators. Their flesh and eggs can be eaten in the same way as chickens, young birds being ready for the table at the age of about four months.
A squab is the name given to the young of domestic pigeons that are destined for the table. Like other domesticated pigeons, birds used for this purpose are descended from the rock pigeon (Columba livia). Special utility breeds with desirable characteristics are used. Two eggs are laid and incubated for about 17 days. When they hatch, the squabs are fed by both parents on "pigeon's milk", a thick secretion high in protein produced by the crop. Squabs grow rapidly, but are slow to fledge and are ready to leave the nest at 26 to 30 days weighing about 500 g (18 oz.). By this time, the adult pigeons will have laid and be incubating another pair of eggs and a prolific pair should produce two squabs every four weeks during a breeding season lasting several months.
A guinea or guinea fowl is the domesticated descendant of a game bird. It has both light and dark meat and a flavor similar to pheasant. Guinea is tender enough to sauté. Because it contains little fat, a guinea is usually barded prior to roasting. Guinea, which is relatively expensive, is not as popular here as it is in Europe.
TURKEY
Turkeys are large birds, their nearest relatives being the pheasant and the guineafowl. Males are larger than females and have spreading, fan-shaped tails and distinctive, fleshy wattles, called a ‘snood’ that hang from the top of the beak and are used in courtship display. Wild turkeys can fly, but seldom do so, preferring to run with a long, stratling gait. They roost in trees and forage on the ground, feeding on seeds, nuts, berries, grass, foliage, invertebrates, lizards, and small snakes.
The modern domesticated turkey is descended from one of six subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) found in the present Mexican states of Jalisco, Guerrero and Veracruz. Pre- Aztec tribes in south-central Mexico first domesticated the bird around 800 BC, and Pueblo Indians inhabiting the Colorado Plateau in the United States did likewise around 200 BC. They used the feathers for robes, blankets, and ceremonial purposes. More than 1,000 years later, they became an important food source.[29] The first Europeans to encounter the bird misidentified it as a guineafowl, a bird known as a "turkey fowl" at that time because it had been introduced into Europe via Turkey.
Class Description Age Weight Cooking Method
Fryer/Roaster Immature bird of either sex; tender meat, smooth skin 16 weeks or less 4-9 lb. (2-4 kg) Roast, sauté, pan-fry
Young Tender meat; less-flexible breastbone 8 months or less 8-22 lbs. (3.5-10 kg) Roast or stew
Yearling Fully mature bird; reasonably tender meat; course skin 15 months or less 10-30 lb. (4.5-13 kg) Roast or stew
Mature Older bird; course skin; tough flesh 15 months or older 10-30 lb. (4.5-13 kg) Stew; ground processed products
Commercial turkeys are usually reared indoors under controlled conditions. These are often large buildings, purpose-built to provide ventilation and low light intensities (this reduces the birds' activity and thereby increases the rate of weight gain). The lights can be switched on for 24- hrs/day, or a range of stepwise light regimens to encourage the birds to feed often and therefore grow rapidly. Females achieve slaughter weight at about 15 weeks of age and males at about 19. Mature commercial birds may be twice as heavy as their wild counterparts. Many different breeds have been developed, but the majority of commercial birds are white, as this improves the appearance of the dressed carcass, the pin feathers being less visible.[30] Turkeys were at one time mainly consumed on special occasions such as Christmas (10 million birds in the United Kingdom) or Thanksgiving (60 million birds in the United States). However, they are increasingly becoming part of the everyday diet in many parts of the world.
Turkey is the second most popular category of poultry in the United States. It has both light and dark meat and a relatively small amount of fat. Younger turkey is economical and can be prepared in almost any manner.
QUAIL
The quail is a small to medium-sized, cryptically colored bird. In its natural environment, it is found in bushy places, in rough grassland, among agricultural crops, and in other places with dense cover. It feeds on seeds, insects, and other small invertebrates. Being a largely ground- dwelling, gregarious bird, domestication of the quail was not difficult, although many of its wild instincts are retained in captivity. It was known to the Egyptians long before the arrival of chickens and was depicted in hieroglyphs from 2575 BC. It migrated across Egypt in vast flocks and the birds could sometimes be picked up off the ground by hand.[33] These were the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), but modern domesticated flocks are mostly of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) which was probably domesticated as early as the 11th century AD in Japan. They were originally kept as songbirds, and they are thought to have been regularly used in song contests.
In the early 20th century, Japanese breeders began to selectively breed for increased egg production. By 1940, the quail egg industry was flourishing, but the events of World War II led to the complete loss of quail lines bred for their song type, as well as almost all of those bred for egg production. After the war, the few surviving domesticated quail were used to rebuild the industry and all current commercial and laboratory lines are considered to have originated from this population.
Modern birds can lay upward of 300 eggs a year and countries such as Japan, India, China, Italy, Russia, and the United States have established commercial Japanese quail farming industries. Japanese quail are also used in biomedical research in fields such as genetics, embryology, nutrition, physiology, pathology, and toxicity studies. These quail are closely related to the common quail, and many young hybrid birds are released into the wild each year to replenish dwindling wild populations.
Livers, Gizzards, Hearts, and Necks
Livers, gizzards, hearts and necks are commonly referred to as giblets and can be used in a variety of ways.
Gizzards (a bird's second stomach), hearts and necks are often used to make giblet gravy. Gizzards are sometimes trimmed and deep-fried; hearts are sometimes served sautéed and creamed. Necks are very flavorful and can be added to stocks for flavor and richness. Liver hearts and gizzards are not added to stocks, however, because of their strong flavors. Chicken livers are often used in pates, sautéed or broiled with onions and served as an entree.
Foie Gras
Foie gras is the enlarged liver of a duck or goose. Considered a delicacy since Roman times, it is now produced in many parts of the world, including the United States. Foie gras is produced by methodically fattening the birds by force-feeding them specially prepared corn while limiting their activity. Fresh foie gras consists of two lobes that must be separated, split and deveined. Good foie gras will be smooth, round and putty-colored. It should not be yellow or grainy. Goose foie gras is lighter in color and more delicate in flavor than that of duck. Duck foie gras has a deeper, winy flavor and is more frequently used than goose foie gras. Fresh foie gras can be grilled, roasted, sautéed or made into pates or terrines. No matter which cooking method is used, care must be taken not to overcook the liver. Foie gras is so high in fat that overcooking will result in the liver actually melting away. Most foie gras is pasteurized or canned and may consist of solid liver or small pieces of liver compacted to form a block. Canned foie gras mousse is also available, often with truffles, which are a natural accompaniment.
Preparations
Generally, French preparations of foie gras are made over low heat, as fat melts faster from the traditional goose foie gras than the duck foie gras produced in most other parts of the world. American and other New World preparations, typically employing duck foie gras, have more recipes and dish preparations for serving foie gras hot, rather than cool or cold.
In Hungary, goose foie gras traditionally is fried in goose fat, which is then poured over the foie gras and left to cool; it is also eaten warm, after being fried or roasted, with some chefs smoking the foie gras over a cherry wood fire.
In other parts of the world, foie gras is served in dishes such as foie gras sushi rolls, in various forms of pasta or alongside steak tartare or atop a steak as a garnish.
Cold preparations
Traditional low-heat cooking methods result in terrines, pâtés, parfaits, foams and mousses of foie gras, often flavored with truffle, mushrooms or brandy such as cognac or Armagnac. These slow-cooked forms of foie gras are cooled and served at or below room temperature.
In a very traditional form of terrine, au torchon ("in a towel"), a whole lobe of foie is molded, wrapped in a towel and slow-cooked in a bain-marie. For added flavor (from the Maillard reaction), the liver may be seared briefly over a fire of grape vine clippings (sarments) before slow-cooking in a bain-marie; afterwards, it is pressed served cold, in slices.
Raw foie gras is also cured in salt ("cru au sel"), served slightly chilled
A pastry containing fatty goose liver and other ingredients is known as the "Strasburg pie" since Strasbourg was a major producer of foie gras. The pie is mentioned in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair as being popular with the diplomatic corps.
Hot preparations
Given the increased internationalization of cuisines and food supply, foie gras is increasingly found in hot preparations not only in the United States, but also in France and elsewhere. Duck foie gras ("foie gras de canard") has slightly lower fat content and is generally more suitable in texture to cooking at high temperature than is goose foie gras ("foie gras d'oie"), but chefs have been able to cook goose foie gras employing similar techniques developed for duck, albeit with more care.
Raw foie gras can be roasted, sautéed, pan-seared (poêlé) or (with care and attention), grilled. As foie gras has high fat content, contact with heat needs to be brief and therefore at high temperature, lest it burn or melt. Optimal structural integrity for searing requires the foie gras to be cut to a thickness between 15 and 25 mm (½ – 1 inch), resulting in a rare, uncooked center. Some chefs prefer not to devein the foie gras, as the veins can help preserve the integrity of the fatty liver. It is increasingly common to sear the foie gras on one side only, leaving the other side uncooked. Practitioners of molecular gastronomy such as Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck restaurant first flash-freeze foie gras in liquid nitrogen as part of the preparation process.
Hot foie gras requires minimal spices; typically black pepper, paprika (in Hungary) and salt. Chefs have used ‘fleur de sel’ as a gourmet seasoning for hot foie gras to add an "important textural accent" with its crunch.
Consumption
Foie gras is a regarded as a gourmet luxury dish. In France, it is mainly consumed on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year's Eve réveillon dinners, though the recent increased availability of foie gras has made it a less exceptional dish. In some areas of France foie gras is eaten year-round.Duck foie gras is the slightly cheaper and, since a change of production methods in the 1950s to battery, by far the most common kind, particularly in the US. The taste of duck foie gras is often referred to as musky with a subtle bitterness. Goose foie gras is known for being less gamey and smoother, with a more delicate flavor. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Laboratory_Production_of_Poultry/2.02%3A_Identifying_Poultry.txt |
Braising and stewing use both dry and moist heat to produce a moist, flavorful product. The principal difference between braising and stewing when applied to meats is the size of the cut being cooked: Large cuts of meat are braised; smaller ones are stewed. Because most poultry is relatively small, this distinction does not readily apply in poultry cookery; therefore, the two cooking methods are discussed together here.
BRAISING and STEWING
Braised or stewed poultry should be moist and fork tender. The poultry is always served with the liquid in which it was cooked. Ducks and geese are braised or stewed in much the same way as red meats. Chicken cacciatore, coq au vin and chicken fricassee are examples of braised or stewed chicken dishes.
Selecting Poultry to Braise or Stew
Braising and stewing, being slow, moist cooking processes, are often thought of as a means to tenderize tough meats. Although they can be used to tenderize older, tougher birds, these cooking methods are more often selected as a means of adding moisture and flavor to poultry that is inherently tender, such as young ducks and chickens. Typically, the birds are disjointed and cooked bone-in, just until done, so that they retain their juiciness.
Seasoning Poultry to Be Braised or Stewed
Braised or stewed items obtain much of their flavor from the cooking liquid and other ingredients added during the cooking process. The main item and the cooking liquid should be well seasoned. If other seasonings such as an onion piquet, sachet, bouquet garni or dried herbs and spices are required, they should be added at the beginning of the cooking process rather than at the end. This allows the flavors to blend and penetrate the larger pieces of poultry. If the poultry is dredged in flour prior to browning, seasonings may be added directly to the flour. As with all dishes using combination-cooking methods, the finished dish should have the flavor of the poultry in the sauce and the moisture and flavor of the sauce in the poultry.
Cooking Temperatures
Some recipes, such as chicken cacciatore and coq au vin, require the main item to be thoroughly browned during the initial stages; others, such as chicken fricassee, do not. In either case, after the liquid is added, it is important to maintain a slow simmer rather than a rapid boil. This can be done on the stovetop or in the oven. Low temperatures control the cooking and produce a tender, juicy finished product.
Determining Doneness
Tenderness is the key to determining <loneness. It can be determined by inserting a kitchen fork into the poultry. There should be little resistance, and the poultry should freely fall off the fork. The pieces should retain their shape, however; if they fall apart, they are overdone. Small boneless pieces can be tested by cut- ting into them with a fork.
Accompaniments to Braised or Stewed Poultry
All braises and stews are cooked in a liquid that results in a sauce or broth served as part of the finished dish. Rice, pasta or boiled potatoes are natural accompaniments to almost any braised or stewed dish, as are boiled vegetables.
Procedure for Braising or Stewing Poultry
1. Sear the main item in butter or oil, developing color as desired.
2. Add vegetables and other ingredients as called for in the recipe and sauté.
3. Add flour or roux if used.
4. Add the appropriate liquid.
5. Cover and simmer on the stovetop or in the oven until done.
6. Add seasonings and garnishes at the appropriate times during the cooking process.
7. Finish the dish by adding cream or a liaison to the sauce or by adjusting its consistency. Adjust the seasonings.
8. Serve a portion of the poultry with the sauce and appropriate garnish. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/02%3A_Laboratory_Production_of_Poultry/2.03%3A_Braising_and_stewing_of_Poultry.txt |
• 3.1: Introduction to Fin Fish, Flat Fish and Round Fish
Fish are aquatic vertebrates with fins for swimming and gills for breathing. Of the more than 30,000 species known, most live in the seas and oceans; freshwater species are far less numerous. Shellfish are aquatic invertebrates with shells or carapaces. They are found in both fresh and salt water.
• 3.2: Round Fish
Round fish swim in a vertical position and have eyes on both sides of their heads. Their bodies may be truly round, oval or compressed.
• 3.3: Flat Fish
Flatfish have asymmetrical, compressed bodies, swim in a horizontal position and have both eyes on top of their heads. Flatfish are bottom dwellers; most are found in deep ocean waters around the world. The skin on top of their bodies is dark, to camouflage them from predators, and can change color according to their surroundings. Their scales are small, and their dorsal and anal fins run the length of their bodies.
• 3.4: Nutrition and Grading
• 3.5: Storing Fish and Shellfish
Because fish and shellfish are highly perishable, an inspection stamp does not necessarily ensure top quality. A few hours at the wrong temperature or a couple of days in the refrigerator can turn high-quality fish or shellfish into garbage. It is important that chefs be able to determine for themselves the freshness and quality of the fish and shellfish they purchase or use. Freshness should be checked before purchasing and again just before cooking.
• 3.6: Dry-heat Cooking Methods
Dry-heat cooking methods are those that do not require additional moisture at any time during the cooking process. The dry-heat cooking methods used with fish and shellfish are broiling and grilling, roasting (usually referred to as baking when used with fish and shellfish), sautéing, pan- frying and deep-frying.
• 3.7: Moist-heat Cooking Methods
Fish and shellfish lend themselves well to moist-heat cooking methods, especially steaming, poaching and simmering. Steaming best preserves the food's natural flavors and cooks without adding fat. Poaching is also popular, especially for fish. Poached fish can be served hot or cold, whole or as steaks, fillets or portions. Boiling, which is actually simmering, is most often associated with crustaceans.
• 3.8: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Fin Fish, Flat, and Round
Thumbnail: Flatfish (left‐eyed flounder) (CC0; Yamada Taro via PublicDomainPictures)
03: Fin Fish Flat Fish and Round Fish
Fish are aquatic vertebrates with fins for swimming and gills for breathing. Of the more than 30,000 species known, most live in the seas and oceans; freshwater species are far less numerous. Shellfish are aquatic invertebrates with shells or carapaces. They are found in both fresh and salt water.
Always an important food source, fish and shellfish have become increasingly popular in recent years, due in part to demands from health-conscious consumers. Because of increased demand and improved preservation and transportation techniques, good-quality fish and shellfish, once found only along seacoasts and lakes, are now readily available to almost every food service operation.
Many fish and shellfish species are very expensive; all are highly perishable. Because their cooking times are generally shorter and their flavors more delicate than meat or poultry, special attention must be given to fish and shellfish to prevent spoilage and to produce high-quality finished products
STRUCTURE and MUSCLE COMPOSITION
The fish and shellfish used in food service operations can be divided into three categories: fish, mollusks and crustaceans.
Fish include both fresh and saltwater varieties. They have fins and an internal skeleton of bone and cartilage. Based on shape and skeletal structure, fish divide into two groups: round fish and flatfish. Round fish swim in a vertical position and have eyes on both sides of their heads. Their bodies may be truly round, oval or compressed.
Flatfish have asymmetrical, compressed bodies, swim in a horizontal position and have both eyes on top of their heads. Flatfish are bottom dwellers; most are found in deep ocean waters around the world. The skin on top of their bodies is dark, to camouflage them from predators, and can change color according to their surroundings. Their scales are small, and their dorsal and anal fins run the length of their bodies.
The flesh of fish and shellfish consists primarily of water, protein, fat and minerals. Fish flesh is composed of short muscle fibers separated by delicate sheets of connective tissue. Fish, as well as most shellfish, are naturally tender, so the purpose of cooking is to firm proteins and enhance flavor. The absence of the oxygen-carrying protein myoglobin makes fish flesh very light or white in color. (The orange color of salmon and some trout comes from pigments found in their food.) Compared to meats, fish do not contain large amounts of intermuscular fat. However, the amount of fat a fish does contain affects the way it responds to cooking. Fish containing a relatively large amount of fat, such as salmon and mackerel, are known as fatty or oily fish. Fish such as cod and haddock contain very little fat and are referred to as lean fish. Shellfish are also very lean.
Identifying fish and shellfish properly can be difficult because of the vast number of similar- appearing fish and shellfish that are separate species within each family. Adding confusion are the various colloquial names given to the same fish or the same name given to different fish in different localities. Fish with an un-appealing name may also be given a catchier name or the name of a similar but more popular item for marketing purposes. Moreover, some species are referred to by a foreign name, especially on menus.
The FDA publishes a list of approved market names for food fish in The Seafood List: FDA Guide to Acceptable Market Names for Food Fish Sold in Inter-state Commerce 2002. The list is updated regularly and available on the FDA's Web site at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Deviations from this list are strongly discouraged but difficult to enforce. We attempt to use the most common names for each item, whether they are zoologically accurate or not. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.01%3A_Introduction_to_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish.txt |
Amberjack are predators. They feed on pelagic and benthic fish. Their prey also includes squid and crustaceans, as well as sardines and bigeye scad. Younger juvenile jacks tend to feed on plankton and small invertebrates. Greater Amberjacks mature at around 4 years old, and migrate in late spring to early summer (March to June) to reproduce. They migrate to deeper water to spawn, producing their young near shipwrecks or large objects as a safe haven. Females are much larger than males, and have a higher life expectancy. The maximum lifespan for females is 17 years, whilst the average is 10 due to popular demand for them in big game fishing and as a high-quality food fish. Amberjacks are not top of the food chain in their habitat, and therefore are prone to being prey for Yellowfin Tuna, sharks and other larger fish.
Amberjack
Bass commonly refers to a number of unrelated spiny-finned fish. The better-known freshwater bass varieties (largemouth, smallmouth, redeye and black) are actually members of the sunfish family. They are lean and delicate but, as game, not commercially available in the United States. The saltwater bass varieties (black sea bass and striped bass) are popular commercial item
Black Sea Bass
Black sea bass are sometimes referred to as rock sea bass. They have a lean, firm white flesh with a mild flavor and flaky texture. They usually weigh from 11/2 to 3 pounds (720 to 1360 grams) and are most prevalent in the Atlantic Ocean between New York and North Carolina. Black sea bass can be prepared by almost any cooking method and are often served whole in Chinese and Italian cuisines.
Striped Bass
Striped bass, often erroneously referred to as rockfish, are anadromous. True striped bass cannot be marketed because pollution and overfishing have damaged the supply. A hybrid of striped bass and either white bass or white perch is aqua farmed for commercial use, however. It is this hybrid that food service operations receive as striped bass. Whole fish weigh from 1 to 5 pounds (450 grams to 2.2 kilograms). Striped bass have a rich, sweet flavor and firm texture. They can be steamed, baked, poached or broiled
Channel Catfish Catfish Fillet
Catfish are scaleless freshwater fish common in southern lakes and rivers and now aqua farmed extensively. Aquafarm raising eliminates the "muddy" flavor once associated with catfish and ensures a year -round supply. The flesh is pure white with a moderate fat content; a mild, sweet flavor; and a firm texture. Channel catfish are the most important commercially. They usually weigh from 1½ to 5 pounds (720 grams to 2.2 kilograms). The smaller of these fish are known as fiddlers; they are often deep-fried and served whole. Catfish may be prepared by almost any cooking method, but are especially well suited to f1ying. Note that other species are often imported to the United States under the generic name catfish. Only products labeled "U.S. Farm- Raised Catfish" provide the consistent high quality and flavor that consumers have come to expect, however.
The cod family includes Atlantic and Pacific cod as well as Pollock, haddock, whiting and hake. Cod have a mild, delicate flavor and lean, firm white flesh that flakes apart easily. Cod can be prepared by most cooking methods, although grilling is not recommended because the flesh is too flaky.
Atlantic Cod Cod Fillet
Atlantic cod are the best-selling fish in America. They are available fresh, whole or drawn, or cut into fillets or steaks. They are also available frozen and are often used for precooked or pre- breaded sticks or portions. Smoked cod and dried salt cod are also available. Although cod may reach 200 pounds (90 kilograms), most market cod weigh 10 pounds (4.4 kilograms) or less. Scrod is a marketing term for cod or haddock weighing less than 2 pounds (1.1 kilograms) or less than 20 inches (50 centimeters) in length.
Haddock
Haddock, the second most commercially important fish, look like thin, small Atlantic cod and weigh about 2 to 5 pounds (900 grams to 2.3 kilograms). They have a stronger flavor and more delicate texture than Atlantic cod.
Pacific Cod
Pacific cod, also known as gray cod, are found in the northern Pacific Ocean and are not as abundant as their Atlantic cousins are. Pacific cod are most of- ten available frozen; they should be labeled "true cod" to distinguish them from rock cod and black cod, which are unrelated
Pollock Pollock Fillet
Pollock, also known as Boston blue- fish or blue cod, are plentiful in the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Their flesh is gray-pink when raw, turning white when cooked. Pollock are often frozen at sea, then reprocessed into surimi. They can also be salted or smoked
Fresh Water Eels
Eels are long, snakelike freshwater fish with dorsal and anal fins running the length of their bodies. (The conger eel is from a different family and has little culina1y significance.) American and European eels are avail- able live, whole, gutted or as fillets. Eels have a high fat content and firm flesh; they are sweet and mildly flavored. Their tough skin should be removed before cooking. Eels may be steamed, baked, fried or used in stews. Baby eels are a springtime delicacy, especially in Spain, where they are pan-fried in olive oil and garlic with hot red peppers. Smoked eels are also available.
The grouper family includes almost four hundred varieties found in temperate waters worldwide. The more common Atlantic Ocean varieties are the yellowfin grouper, black grouper, red grouper and gag; the Pacific
Sea Bass
Ocean varieties are the sea bass (also known as jewfish and different from the black sea bass) and spotted cabrilla. Although some species can reach 800 pounds or more, most commercial varieties are sold in the 5-to 20-pound (2.2-to 8.8-kilogram) range. They have lean white flesh with a mild to sweet flavor and very firm texture. Their skin, which is tough and strongly flavored, is generally removed before cooking. Grouper fillets may be baked, deep-fried, broiled or grilled.
Herring
Herring are long, silvery-blue fish found in both the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Their strongly flavored flesh has a moderate to high fat content. Whole herring weigh up to 8 ounces (225 grams). Fresh herring may be butterflied or filleted and roasted, broiled or grilled. But because herring are very soft and tend to spoil quickly, they are rarely available fresh. More often, they are smoked (and known as kippers) or cured in brine.
Very young, small herring are known as sardines. They have fatty, oily flesh with a flaky texture. Sardines are usually sold canned, whole or as skinned and boned fillets, or fried or smoked and packed in oil or sauce. Sardines are used primarily for sandwiches and salads
John Dory John Dory at fish market
John Dory, also known as St. Peter’s fish, have a distinctive round, black spot with a yellow halo on each side of the body. Their flesh is white, firm and finely flaked. They may be filleted and prepared like flounder and are a classic bouillabaisse ingredient.
SURIMI
Surimi is made from a highly processed fish paste colored, flavored and shaped to resemble shrimp, lobster, crab or other shellfish. Most surimi is based on Alaskan Pollock, but some blends include varying amounts of real crab, shrimp or other items. Available chilled or frozen, surimi is already fully cooked and ready to add to salads, pasta, sauces or other dishes. Surimi is very low in fat and relatively high in protein. Because of processing techniques, however, it has more sodium and fewer vitamins and minerals than the real fish or shellfish it replaces. Americans now consume more than 100 million pounds of surimi each year, and its popularity continues to grow. The FDA requires that all surimi products be labeled "imitation."
Mackerel of culinary importance include king and Spanish mackerel as well as tuna and wahoo, which are discussed separately later.
Mackerel Mackerel at fish market
King Mackerel Mahi Mahi
Spanish Mackerel
Bigeye Tuna Wahoo
The species known as Atlantic and Pacific mackerel are not generally used for food because of their small size and high fat content. Mackerel flesh has a high fat content, gray to pink coloring, a mild flavor and flaky texture. The flesh becomes firm and off-white when cooked. Mackerel are best broiled, grilled, smoked or baked. Mahi-mahi is the more commonly used name for dolphin or dolphinfish; this Hawaiian name is used to distinguish them from the marine mammal of the same name. (Dolphins and porpoises are marine mammals.) Also known by their Spanish name, Dorado, mahi-mahi are brilliantly colored fish found in tropical seas. Mahi-mahi weigh about 15 pounds (6.6 kilograms) and are sold whole or as fillets. Their flesh is off-white to pink, lean and firm with a sweet flavor. Dolphinfish can be broiled, grilled or baked. The meat may become dry when cooked, however, so a sauce or marinade is recommended.
Monkfish Monkfish at Market
Monkfish are also known as anglerfish, goosefish, rape, and lotte. These extraordinarily ugly fish are rarely seen whole, for the large head is usually discarded before reaching market. Only the tail is edible; it is available in fillets, fresh or frozen. The scaleless skin must be removed. The flesh is lean, pearly white and very firm. Its texture and flavor have earned monkfish the nickname of "poor man's lobster." Monkfish absorb flavors easily and are baked, steamed, fried, grilled or broiled. They are also used for stews and soups.
Orange Roughy
Orange roughy are caught in the South Pacific off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. They have bright orange skin and firm, pearly-white flesh with a low fat content and extremely bland flavor. Orange roughy are usually marketed as skinless, boneless frozen fillets, averaging 6 to 8 ounces (140 to 225 grams) each. Widely available year-round, they can be broiled, steamed, grilled or prepared in the same manner as cod.
Red Snapper
Red snapper is also known as the American or northern red snapper. Although there are many members of the snapper family, only one is the true red snapper. Red -skinned rockfish are often mislabeled as the more popular red snapper or Pacific snapper, a practice that is currently legal only in California. True red snapper have lean, pink flesh that becomes white when cooked; it is sweet-flavored and flaky. They are sold whole or as fillets with the skin left on for identification. Red snapper may reach 35 pounds, but most are marketed at only 4 to 6 pounds (1.8 to 2.7 kilograms) or as 1- to 3-pound (450-gram to 1.3-kilogram) fillets. Red snapper can be prepared using almost any cooking method. The head and bones are excellent for stock.
Salmon flourish in both the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, returning to the freshwater rivers and streams of their birth to spawn. Salmon flesh gets its distinctive pink-red color from fat-soluble carotenoids found in the crustaceans on which they feed.
Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic salmon is the most important commercially, accounting for one-fourth of all salmon produced worldwide. Extensive aquafarms in Norway, Canada and Scotland produce a steady supply of Atlantic salmon. For marketing purposes, the fish's point of origin is often added to the name (for example, Norwegian, Scottish or Shetland Atlantic salmon). Atlantic salmon have a rich pink color and moist flesh. Their average weight is from four to 12 pounds (1.8 to 5.4 kilograms). Wild Atlantic salmon are almost never available
Chinook or King Salmon
Chinook or king salmon from the Pacific are also highly desirable. They average from five to 30 pounds (2.2 to 13.2 kilograms) and have red-orange flesh with a high fat content and rich flavor. Like other salmon, their flesh separates into large flakes when cooked. Chinooks are often marketed by the name of the river from which they are harvested (for example, Columbia, Yukon or Copper Chinook salmon). They are distinguished by the black interior of their mouth.
Coho Salmon
Coho or silver salmon have a pinkish flesh and are available fresh or frozen, wild or from aquafarms. Wild Coho average from 3 to 12 pounds (1.3 to 5.4 kilograms), while aqua farmed Coho are much smaller, usually less than 1 pound (450 grams). Other varieties, such as chum, sockeye, red, blueback and pink salmon, are usually canned but may be available fresh or frozen.
Salmon can be prepared by many cooking methods: broiling, grilling, poaching, steaming or baking. Frying is not recommended, however, because of their high fat content. Salmon fillets are often cured or smoked. Gravlax is salmon that has been cured for one to three days with salt, sugar and dill. Lox is salmon that has been cured in a salted brine and then, typically, cold-smoked. Nova is used in the eastern United States to refer to a less salty, cold-smoked salmon.
Sea Bream
Sea bream is the name given to a large family of fish found in the Mediterranean (gilt-head bream), the Caribbean (porgy), the Atlantic (black sea bream) and the Indo -Pacific (emperor and snapper). Because the marketing term bream is applied to so many different fish, it is difficult to generalize about their characteristics. Some have very few bones, others have quite a few; some have a rich flavor, others are very mild; some weigh up to 20 pounds (9.6 kilograms), others rarely exceed 5 pounds (kilograms). Black sea bream, for example, is a good pan fish, reaching only 35 cm in length and weighing less than 6 pounds (2.9 kilograms). Their flesh is firm, mild and low in fat. Also marketed as Thai snapper, they are good for baking, grilling or frying.
Mako Shark Sand Sharks
Sharks provide delicious eating, despite their less-than-appealing appearance and vicious reputation. Mako and blue sharks are the most desirable, with mako often being sold as swordfish. Sand shark, sharp -nose, blacktip, angel and thresher are also available commercially. Most sharks have lean flesh with a mild flavor and firm texture. The flesh is white with tinges of pink or red when raw, turning off-white when cooked. Makos weigh from 30 to 250 pounds (13.S to 112.5 kilograms); other species may reach as much as 1000 pounds (450 kilograms). All sharks have cartilaginous skeletons and no bones; therefore, they are not actually fish, but rather marine invertebrates. Sharks are usually cut into loins or wheels, then into steaks or cubes. They can be broiled, grilled, baked or fried. An ammonia smell indicates that the shark was not properly treated when caught. Do not buy or eat it
Sword Fish
Swordfish take their name from the long, sword like bill extending from their upper jaw. These popular fish average about 250 pounds (112.5-kilograms). Their flesh is lea n and sweet with a very firm, meat-like texture; it may be gray, pink or off-white when raw, becoming white when cooked. Swordfish are most often available cut into wheels or portioned into steaks perfect for grilling or broiling
Tilapia
Tilapia is the name given to several species of freshwater, aquafarm -raised fish bred worldwide. They grow quickly in warm water, reaching about 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms); they are available whole or filleted, fresh or frozen. The flesh is similar to catfish - lean, white and sweet, with a firm texture. Tilapia are sometimes marketed as cherry snapper or sunshine snapper, even though they are not members of the snapper family
Pompano
The Atlantic pompano has been described as “the world's most edible fish.” The attractive, silvery skin is edible and does not require scaling. Pompano meat is firm but finely flaked, with a sweet, mild flavor. The flesh is pearly white, with a moderate fat content, and cooks up white. The Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) is a species of marine fish in the Trachinotus (pompano) genus of the family Carangidae. It has a compressed body and short snout; coloration varies from blue-greenish silver on the dorsal areas and silver to yellow on the body and fins. Pompano contain phosphorus, vitamin B1, B12, copper, vitamin A, and potassium in high sizes. In addition, pompano is also high in amino acids, antioxidants, and large amounts of protein.
Rainbow Trout Lake Trout
Trout are members of the salmon family. Most of the freshwater trout commercially available are aquafarm -raised rainbow trout, although brown trout and brook trout are also being aqua- farmed. Some trout species spend part of their lives at sea, returning to fresh water to spawn. On the West Coast, these are called salmon trout or steel-head. Trout have a low to moderate fat content, a flaky texture and a delicate flavor that can be easily overwhelmed by strong sauces. The flesh may be white, orange or pink. Trout are usually marketed at 8 to 10 ounces (225 to 280 grams) each, just right for an individual portion. Lake trout, sometimes known as char, are not aqua-farmed and have little commercial value because of their extremely high fat content. Trout can be baked, pan-fried, smoked or steamed.
Bluefin Tuna Albacore Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna Bonito Tuna
Tuna varieties include the Bluefin, yellow fin, bonito, bigeye and black fin. Ahi is the popular market name for either yellowfin or bigeye tuna. All are members of the mackerel family and are found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. Tuna are large fish, weighing up to several hundred pounds each. Bluefin, the finest and most desirable for sashimi, are becoming very scarce because of overfishing. Regular canned tuna is usually prepared from yellowfin or skip jack; canned white tuna is prepared from albacore, also known as longfin tuna. Pacific tuna that is frozen at sea to preserve its fresh - ness is referred to as clipper fish. Any of these species may be found fresh or frozen, however. Tuna is usually cut into four boneless loins for market. The loins are then cut into steaks, cubes or chunks. The flesh has a low to moderate fat content (a higher fat content is preferred for sashimi) and a deep red color. The dark, reddish -brown muscle that runs along the lateral line is very fatty and can be removed. Tuna flesh turns light gray when cooked and is very firm, with a mild flavor. Tuna work well for grilling or broiling and may be marinated or brushed with seasoned oil during cooking. Tuna are often prepared medium rare to prevent dryness.
Wahoo
Wahoo, also known as ono) are found throughout tropical and subtropical waters, but are particularly associated with Hawaii (ono even means "good to eat" in Hawaiian). They are actually a type of mackerel and are cooked like any other mackerel
Lake Whitefish
Whitefish species inhabit the freshwater lakes and streams of North America. Lake Whitefish, the most important commercially, are related to salmon. They are marketed at up to 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms) and are available whole or filleted. The flesh is firm and white, with a moderate amount of fat and a sweet flavor. Whitefish may be baked, broiled, grilled or smoked and are often used in processed fish products. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.02%3A_Round_Fish.txt |
Flounder have lean, firm flesh that is pearly or pinkish-white with a sweet, mild flavor. Although they are easily boned, most are de-headed and gutted at sea and sold as fresh or frozen fillets. These fillets are very thin and can dry out or spoil easily, so extra care should be taken in handling, preparing and storing them. Recipes that preserve moisture work best with flounder:poaching, steaming and frying are recommended. Many types of flounder are marketed as sole, perhaps in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of true sole. The FDA permits this practice.
Southern Flounder
Flounder (also known as Sole) By Location
Atlantic Ocean
• Black back/Winter flounder/Lemon sole Fluke/Summer flounder
• Starry flounder Yellowtail flounder Windowpane flounder
• Gray sole/Witch flounder
Pacific Ocean
• Arrow tooth
• Petrale sole Rex sole English sole Rock sole Sand sole Yellowfin sole
• Domestic Dover sole/Pacific flounder
• Butter sole
English sole are actually flounder caught off the West Coast of the United States. They are usually marketed simply as "fillet of sole." They are a plentiful species of fair to average quality.
Petale Sole
Petrale sole, another West Coast flounder, are generally considered the finest of the domestic "soles." They are most often available as fillets, which tend to be thicker and firmer than other sole fillets.
Pacific Flounder
Domestic Dover sole are also Pacific flounder. They are not as delicate or flavorful as other species of sole or flounder. Moreover, they are often afflicted with a parasite that causes their flesh to have a slimy, gelatinous texture. Domestic Dover sole are not recommended if other sole or flounder are available.
Lemon sole are the most abundant and popular East Coast flounder. They are also known as black back or winter flounder (during the winter, they migrate close to shore from the deeper, colder waters). They average 2 pounds (900 grams) in weight
Pacific Halibut Halibut and Salmon
Halibut are among the largest flat fish; they often weigh up to 300 pounds 035 kilograms). The FDA recognizes only two halibut species: Atlantic (eastern) and Pacific (northern, Alaskan, western) halibut. Both have lean, firm flesh that is snow-white with a sweet, mild flavor. California halibut, which are actually flounder, are similar in taste and texture but average only 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) each. Halibut may be cut into boneless steaks or skewered on brochettes. The flesh, which dries out easily, can be poached, baked, grilled or broiled and is good with a variety of sauces
Sole are probably the most flavorful and finely textured flatfish. Indeed, because of the connotations of quality associated with the name, "sole" is widely used for many species that are not members of the Soleidae family. Even though the FDA allows many species of flatfish to be called "sole" for marketing purposes, no true sole is commercially harvested in American water s. Any flatfish harvested in American waters and marketed as sole is actually flounder. True Dover sole, a staple of classic cuisine, are a lean fish with pearly-white flesh and a delicate flavor that can stand up to a variety of sauces and seasonings. They are a member of the Soleidae family and come only from the waters off the coasts of England, Africa and Europe. They are imported into this country as fresh whole fish or fresh or frozen fillets.
Turbot Turbot on Sea Bottom
Turbot are a Pacific flatfish of no great culinary distinction. In Europe, how- ever, the species known as turbot are large diamond-shaped fish highly prized for their delicate flavor and firm, white flesh. They are also marketed as brill.
3.04: Nutrition and Grading
Nutrition
Fish and shellfish are low in calories, fat and sodium, and are high in protein and vitamins A, Band D. Fish and shellfish are also high in minerals, especially calcium (particularly in canned fish with edible bones), phosphorus, and potassium and iron (especially mollusks). Fish are high in a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids called omega-3, which may help combat high blood cholesterol levels and aid in preventing some heart disease. Shellfish are not as high in cholesterol as was once thought. Crustaceans are higher in cholesterol than mollusks, but both have considerably lower levels than red meat or eggs.
The cooking methods used for fish and shellfish also contribute to their healthfulness. The most commonly used cooking methods are broiling, grilling, poaching and steaming-add little or no fat.
Inspection
Unlike mandatory meat and poultry inspections, fish and shellfish inspections are voluntary. They are performed in a fee-for-service program supervised by the United States Department of Commerce (USDC).
Type 1 - inspection services cover plant, product and processing methods from the raw material to the final product. The "Packed under Federal Inspection" (PUFI) mark or statement can be used on product labels processed under Type 1 inspection services. It signifies that the product is safe and wholesome, is properly labeled, has reasonably good flavor and odor and was produced under inspection in an official establishment.
Packed under Federal Inspection (PUFI)
Type 2 - inspection services are usually performed in a warehouse, processing plant or cold storage facility on specific product lots. A lot inspection determines whether the product complies with purchase agreement criteria (usually defined in a spec sheet) such as condition, weight, labeling and packaging integrity.
Type 3 - inspection services are for sanitation only. Fishing vessels or plants that meet the requirements are recognized as official establishments and are included in the USDC Approved List of Fish Establishments and Products. The list is available to governmental and institutional purchasing agents as well as to retail and restaurant buyers. Updated copies of the list are published on the Internet.
Grading
Only fish processed under Type 1 inspection services are eligible for grading. Each type of fish has its own grading criteria, but because of the great variety of fish and shellfish, the USDC has been able to set grading criteria for only the most common types. The grades assigned to fish are A, B or C. Grade A products are top quality and must have good flavor and odor and be practically free of physical blemishes or defects. The great majority of fresh and frozen fish and shellfish consumed in restaurants is Grade A. Grade B indicates good quality; Grade C indicates fairly good quality. Grade B and C products are most often canned or processed. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.03%3A_Flat_Fish.txt |
Determining Freshness
Because fish and shellfish are highly perishable, an inspection stamp does not necessarily ensure top quality. A few hours at the wrong temperature or a couple of days in the refrigerator can turn high-quality fish or shellfish into garbage. It is important that chefs be able to determine for themselves the freshness and quality of the fish and shellfish they purchase or use. Freshness should be checked before purchasing and again just before cooking.
Determined freshness by the following criteria:
• Smell - This is by far the easiest way to determine freshness. Fresh fish should have aslight sea smell or no odor at all. Any off-odors or ammonia odors are a sure sign of aged or improperly handled fish.
• Eyes - The eyes should be clear and full. Sunken eyes mean that the fish is drying out and is probably not fresh.
• Gills - The gills should be intact and bright red. Brown gills are a sign of age.
• Texture - Generally, the flesh of fresh fish should be firm. Mushy flesh or flesh that does not spring back when pressed with a finger is a sign of poor quality or age.
• Fins and scales - Fins and scales should be moist and full without excessive drying on the outer edges. Dry fins or scales are a sign of age; damaged fins or scales may be a sign of mishandling.
• Appearance - Fish cuts should be moist and glistening, without bruises or dark spots. Edges should not be brown or dry.
• Movement - Shellfish should be purchased live and should show movement. Lobsters and other crustaceans should be active. Clam s, mussels and oysters that are partially opened should snap shut when tapped with a finger. (Exceptions are geoduck, razor and steamer clams whose siphons protrude, preventing the shell from closing completely.) Ones that do not close are dead and should not be used. Avoid mollusks with broken shells or heavy shells that might be filled with mud or sand.
Purchasing Fish and Shellfish
Fish are available from wholesalers in a variety of market forms:
• Whole or round - As caught, intact.
• Drawn-Viscera - (internal organs) are removed; most whole fish are purchased this way.
Seafood Terminology
• Fresh - The item is not and has never been frozen.
• Chilled - Now used by some in the industry to replace the more ambiguous "fresh"; indicates that the item was refrigerated, that is, held at 30°F to 34°F (- 1°C to 1 ° C).
• Flash-frozen - The item was quickly frozen on board the ship or at a processing plant within hours of being caught.
• Fresh-frozen - The item was quick-frozen while still fresh but not as quickly as flash- frozen.
• Frozen - The item was subjected to temperatures of 0°F (- 18°C) or lower to pre- serve its inherent quality.
• Glazed - A frozen product dipped in water; the ice forms a glaze that protects the item from freezer burn.
• Fancy - Code word for "previously frozen."
• Dressed - Viscera, gills, fins and scales are removed.
• Pan-dressed - Viscera and gills are removed; fish is scaled and fins and tail are trimmed. The head is usually removed, although small fish, such as trout, may be pan-dressed with the head still attached. Pan -dressed fish are then pan-fried.
• Butterflied - A pan-dressed fish, boned and opened flat like a book. The two sides remain attached by the back or belly skin.
• Fillet - The side of a fish removed intact, boneless or semiboneless, with or without skin.
• Steak - A cross-section slice, with a small section of backbone attached; usually prepared from large round fish such as salmon, swordfish or tuna.
• Wheel or center-cut - Used for swordfish and sharks, which are cut into large boneless pieces from which steaks are then cut.
Chefs purchase fish in the market forms most practical for each operation. Although fish fabrication is a relatively simple chore requiring little specialized equipment, before deciding to cut fish on premises, consider the following:
1. The food service operation's ability to utilize the bones and trim that cutting whole fish produces
2. The employees' ability to fabricate fillets, steaks or portions as needed
3. The storage facilities
4. The product's intended use
Most shellfish can be purchased live in the shell, shucked (the meat re- moved from the shell) or processed. Both live and shucked shellfish are usually purchased by counts (that is, the number per volume). For example, standard live Eastern oysters are packed 200 to 250 (the count) per bushel (the unit of volume); standard Eastern oyster meats are packed 350 per gallon. Crustaceans are sometimes packed by size based on the number of pieces per pound; for example, crab legs or shrimp are often sold in counts per pound. Crustaceans are also sold either by grades based on size (whole crabs) or by weight (lobsters).
The most important concern when storing fish and shellfish is temperature. All fresh fish should be stored at temperatures between 30°F and 34°F (- 1°C to 1°C). Fish stored in a refrigerator at 41°F (5°C) will have approximately half the shelf life of fish stored at 32°F (0°C).
Most fish are shipped on ice and should be stored on ice in the refrigerator as soon as possible after receipt. Whole fish should be layered directly in crushed or shaved ice in a perforated pan so that the melted ice water drains away. If crushed or shaved ice is not available, cubed ice may be used provided it is put in plastic bags and gently placed on top of the fish to prevent bruising and denting. Fabricated and portioned fish may be wrapped in moisture-proof packaging before icing to prevent the ice and water from damaging the exposed flesh. Fish stored on ice should be drained and re-iced daily.
Fresh scallops, fish fillets that are purchased in plastic trays and oyster and clam meats should be set on or packed in ice. Do not let the scallops, fillets or meats come into direct contact with the ice.
Clams, mussels and oysters should be stored at 41°F (5°C), at high humidity and left in the boxes or net bags in which they were shipped. Under ideal conditions, shellfish can be kept alive for up to one week. Never store live shellfish in plastic bags and do not ice them.
If a saltwater tank is not available, live lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans should be kept in boxes with seaweed or damp newspaper to keep them moist. Most crustaceans circulate salt water over their gills; icing them or placing them in fresh water will kill them. Lobsters and crabs will live for several days under ideal conditions.
Like most frozen foods, frozen fish should be kept at temperatures of 0°F (-18°C) or colder. Colder temperatures greatly increase shelf life. Frozen fish should be thawed in the refrigerator; once thawed, they should be treated like fresh fish.
Procedure for Scaling Fish
This procedure is used to remove the scales from fish that will be cooked with the skin on.
1. Place the fish on a work surface or in a large sink.
2. Grip the fish by the tail and, working from the tail toward the head, scrape the scales off with a fish scaler or the back of a knife. Be careful not to damage the flesh by pushing too hard.
3. Turn the fish over and remove the scales from the other side.
4. Rinse the fish under cool water.
Procedure for Pan-Dressing Flatfish
1. Place the scaled fish on a cutting board and remove the head by making a V-shaped cut around it with a chef's knife. Pull the head away and remove the viscera.
2. Rinse the fish under cold water, removing all traces of blood and viscera from the cavity.
3. Using a pair of kitchen shears, trim off the tail and all of the fins.
Procedure for Filleting Round Fish
Round fish produce two fillets, one from either side.
• Using a chef's knife, cut down to the backbone just behind the gills. Do not remove the head.
• Turn the knife toward the tail; using smooth strokes, cut from head to tail, parallel to the backbone. The knife should bump against the backbone so that no flesh is wasted; you will feel the knife cutting through the small pin bones. Cut the fillet completely free from the bones. Repeat on the other side.
• Trim the rib bones from the fillet with a flexible boning knife.
Procedure for Filleting Flat Fish
Flatfish produce four fillets: two large bilateral fillets from the top and two smaller bilateral fillets from the bottom. If the fish fillets are going to be cooked with the skin on, the fish should be scaled before cooking (it is easier to scale the fish before it is filleted). If the skin is going to be removed before cooking, it is not necessary to scale the fish.
1. With the dark side of the fish facing up, cut along the backbone from head to tail with the
tip of a flexible boning knife.
2. Turn the knife and, using smooth strokes, cut between the flesh and the rib bones, keeping the flexible blade against the bone. Cut the fillet completely free from the fish. Remove the second fillet, following the same procedure.
3. Turn the fish over and remove the fillets from the bottom half of the fish, following the same procedure.
Procedure for Skinning Dover Sole
Dover sole is unique in that its skin can be pulled from the whole fish with a simple procedure. The flesh of other small flatfish such as flounder, Petrale sole and other types of domestic sole is more delicate; pulling the skin away from the whole fish could damage the flesh. These fish should be skinned after they are filleted.
1. Make a shallow cut in the flesh perpendicular to the length of the fish, just in front of the tail and with the knife angled toward the head of the fish.
2. Using a clean towel, grip the skin and pull it toward the head of the fish. The skin should come off cleanly, in one piece, leaving the flesh intact.
Procedure for Skinning Fish Fillets
Use the same procedure to skin all types of fish fillets.
1. Place the fillet on a cutting board with the skin side down.
2. Starting at the tail, use a meat slicer or a chef's knife to cut between the flesh and skin.
3. Angle the knife down toward the skin, grip the skin tightly with one hand and use a smooth sawing motion to cut the skin cleanly away from the flesh.
Procedure for Pulling Pin Bones from Salmon Fillets
Round fish fillets contain a row of intramuscular bones running the length of the fillet. Known as pin bones, they are usually cut out with a knife to produce bone- less fillets. In the case of salmon, they can be removed with salmon tweezers or small needle -nose pliers.
1. Place the fillet (either skinless or not) on the cutting board, skin side down.
2. Starting at the front or head end of the fillet, use your fingertips to locate the bones and use the pliers to pull them out one by one.
Various Cooking Methods. Fish and shellfish can be prepared by the dry-heat cooking methods of broiling and grilling, roasting (baking ), sautéing, pan-frying and deep-frying , as well as the moist-heat cooking methods of steaming, poaching and simmering.
Determining Doneness
Unlike most meats and poultry, nearly all fish and shellfish are inherently tender and should be cooked just until done. Indeed, overcooking is the most common mistake made when preparing fish and shellfish. The Canadian Department of Fisheries recommends that all fish be cooked 10 minutes for every inch (2.5 centimeters) of thickness, regardless of cooking method. Although this may be a good general policy, variables such as the type and the form of fish and the exact cooking method used suggest that one or more of the following methods of determining doneness are more appropriate for professional food service operations:
• Translucent flesh becomes opaque -The raw flesh of most fish and shellfish appears somewhat translucent. As the proteins coagulate during cooking, the flesh becomes opaque.
• Flesh becomes firm - The flesh of most fish and shellfish firms as it cooks. Doneness can be tested by judging the resistance of the flesh when pressed with a finger. Raw or undercooked fish or shellfish will be mushy and soft. As it cooks, the flesh offers more resistance and springs back quickly.
• Flesh separates from the bones easily - The flesh of raw fish remains firmly attached to the bones. As the fish cooks, the flesh and bones separate easily.
• Flesh begins to flake - Fish flesh consists of short muscle fibers separated by thin connective tissue. As the fish cooks, the connective tissue breaks down and the groups of muscle fibers begin to flake, that is, separate from one another. Fish is done when the flesh begins to flake. If the flesh flakes easily, the fish will be overdone and dry.
Remember, fish and shellfish are subject to carryover cooking. Because they cook quickly and at low temperatures, it is better to undercook fish and shell- fish and allow carryover cooking or residual heat to finish the cooking process. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.05%3A_Storing_Fish_and_Shellfish.txt |
Dry-heat cooking methods are those that do not require additional moisture at any time during the cooking process. The dry-heat cooking methods used with fish and shellfish are broiling and grilling, roasting (usually referred to as baking when used with fish and shellfish), sautéing, pan- frying and deep-frying.
BROILING and GRILLING
After brushing with oil or butter, fish can be grilled directly on the grate or placed on a heated platter under the broiler. Broiled or grilled fish should have a lightly charred surface and a slightly smoky flavor as a result of the intense radiant heat of the broiler or grill. The interior should be moist and juicy. Broiled or grilled shellfish meat should be moist and tender with only slight coloration from the grill or broiler.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Broil or Grill
Nearly all types of fish and shellfish can be successfully broiled or grilled. Salmon, trout, swordfish and other oily fish are especially well suited to grilling, as are lean fish such as bass and snapper. Fillets of lean flatfish with delicate textures, such as flounder and sole, are better broiled. They should be placed on a preheated broiling (sizzler) platter before being placed under the broiler.
Oysters and clams are often broiled on the half shell with flavored butters, bread crumbs or other garnishes and served sizzling hot. Squid can be stuffed, secured with a tooth pick and broiled or grilled. Brushed with butter, split lobsters, king crabs and snow crabs are often broiled or grilled. Whole lobsters can be split and broiled or grilled, or their tails can be removed, split and cooked separately. Large crab legs can also be split and broiled or grilled. Shrimp and scallops are often broiled in flavored butters or grilled on skewers for easy handling.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Broiled or Grilled
• All fish should be brushed lightly with butter or oil before being placed on the grill or under the broiler. The butter or oil prevents sticking and helps leaner fish retain moisture.
• For most fish, a simple seasoning of salt and pepper suffices.
• Most fish do respond well to marinades, especially those made with white wine and lemon juice. Because most fish are delicately flavored, they should be marinated for only a brief time. (Even marinated fish should be brushed with butter or oil before cooking.) Herbs should be avoided because they will burn from the intense heat of the broiler or grill.
• Clams, oysters and other shellfish that are stuffed or cooked with butters, vegetables, bacon or other accompaniments or garnishes gain flavor from these ingredients.
• Be careful, however, not to overpower the delicate flavors of the shellfish by adding too many strong flavorings.
Accompaniments to Broiled and Grilled Fish and Shellfish
Lemon wedges are the traditional accompaniment to broiled or grilled fish and shellfish. They can be served with sauces made separately. Butter sauces such as a beurre blanc are popular, as their richness complements the lean fish. Vegetable coulis are a good choice for a healthier, lower-fat accompaniment. If the item is cooked on a broiler platter with a seasoned butter, it is often served with that butter. Almost any side dish goes well with broiled or grilled fish or shellfish. Fried or boiled potatoes, pasta and rice are all good choices. Grilled vegetables are a natural choice.
Procedure for Broiling or Grilling Fish and Shellfish
All fish is delicate and must be carefully handled to achieve an attractive finished product. When broiling whole fish or fillets with their skin still on, score the skin by making several diagonal slashes approximately ¼ inch (6 millimeters) deep at even intervals. This prevents the fish from curling during cooking, promotes even cooking and creates a more attractive finished product. Be especially careful not to overcook the item. It should be served as hot as possible as soon as it is removed from the broiler or grill.
1. Heat the broiler or grill
2. Use a wire brush to remove any charred or burnt particles that may be stuck to the broiler or grill grate. The grate can be wiped with a lightly oiled towel to remove any remaining particles and help season it.
3. Prepare the item to be broiled or grilled. For example, cut the fish into steaks or tranches of even thickness; split the lobster, peel and/or skewer the shrimp. Season or marinate the item as desired. Brush the item with oil or butter.
4. Place the item on a grill, presentation side down. If using a broiler, place the item directly on the grate or on a preheated broiler platter. Tender fish are usually broiled presentation side up on a broiler platter.
BAKING
The terms baking and roasting are used interchangeably when applied to fish and shellfish. One disadvantage of baking fish is that the short baking time does not allow the surface of the fish to caramelize. To help correct this problem, fish can be browned in a sauté pan with a small amount of oil to achieve the added flavor and appearance of a browned surface, and then finished in an oven.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Bake
Fatty fish produce the best-baked fish. Fish fillets and steaks are the best market forms to bake, as they cook quickly and evenly and are easily portioned. Although lean fish can be baked, it tends to become dry and must be basted often.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish for Baking
The most popular seasonings for baked fish are lemon, butter, salt and pepper. Fish can also be marinated before baking for added flavor. Baked fish usually depend on the accompanying sauce for much of their flavor.
Shellfish are often stuffed or mixed with other ingredients before baking. For example, raw oysters on the half shell can be topped with spinach, watercress and Pernod (oysters Rockefeller) and baked. Shrimp are often butterflied, stuffed and baked; lobsters are split, stuffed, and baked. Many food service operations remove clams from their shells; mix them with breadcrumbs, seasonings or other ingredients; refill the shells and bake the mixture.
Procedure for Baking Fish and Shellfish
1. Portion the fish or shellfish and arrange on a well-oiled or buttered pan, presentation side up.
2. Season as desired and brush the surface of the fish or shellfish generously with melted butter; add garnishes or flavorings as desired or directed in the recipe.
3. Place the pan in a preheated oven at approximately 400°F (200°C).
4. Baste periodically during the cooking process (more often if the fish is lean). Remove from the oven when the fish is slightly underdone.
SAUTEING
Sautéing is a very popular cooking method for fish and shellfish. It lightly caramelizes the food's surface, giving it additional flavor. Typically, other ingredients such as garlic, onions, vegetables, wine and lemon juice are added to the fond to make a sauce.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Sauté
Both fatty and lean fish may be sautéed. Flatfish are sometimes dressed and sautéed whole, as are small round fish such as trout. Larger fish such as salmon can be cut into steaks or filleted and cut into tranches. The portions should be relatively uniform in size and thickness and fairly thin to promote even cooking. Although clams, mussels and oysters are not often sautéed, scallops and crustaceans are popular sauté items.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Sautéed
Many types of fish - especially sole, flounder and other delicate, lean fish fillets - are dredged in plain or seasoned flour before sautéing. Seasoned butter is used to sauté some items, such as scampi-style shrimp. These items derive their flavor from the butter; additional seasonings should not be necessary.
Cooking Temperatures
The sauté pan and cooking fat must be hot before the fish or shellfish are added. Do not add too much fish or shellfish to the pan at one time, or the pan and fat will cool, letting the foods simmer in their own juices. Thin slices and small pieces of fish and shellfish require a short cooking time,
so use high temperatures in or- der to caramelize their surfaces without overcooking. Large, thick pieces of fish or shellfish being cooked in the shell may require slightly lower cooking temperatures to ensure that they are cooked without overbrowning their surfaces.
Accompaniments to Sautéed Fish and Shellfish
Sautéed fish and shellfish are nearly always served with a sauce made directly in the sauté pan. This sauce may be as simple as browned butter (beurre noisette) or a complicated sauce flavored with the fond. In some cases, seasoned butter is used to sauté the fish or shellfish and the butter is then served with the main item. Mildly flavored rice and pasta are good choices to serve with sautéed fish or shellfish.
Procedure for Sautéing Fish and Shellfish
1. Cut or portion the fish or shellfish.
2. Season the item and dredge in seasoned flour if desired.
3. Heat a suitable sauté pan over moderate heat; add enough oil or clarified butter to cover the bottom to a depth of about 1/s inch (3 millimeters).
4. Add the fish or shellfish to the pan (fish should be placed presentation side down); cook until done, turning once halfway through the cooking process. Add other foods as called for in the recipe.
5. Remove the fish or shellfish. If a sauce is to be made in the sauté pan, follow the appropriate procedures.
Pan-frying
Pan-frying is very similar to sautéing, but it uses more fat to cook the main item. Pan-fried fish is always coated with flour, batter or breading to help seal the surface and prevent the flesh from coming into direct contact with the cooking fat. Properly prepared pa n-fried fish and shellfish should be moist and tender with a crisp surface. If battered or breaded, the coating should be intact with no breaks.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Pan-Fry
Both fatty and lean fish may be pan-fried. Trout and other small fish are ideal for pan-frying, as are portioned fillets of lean fish such as halibut. Pan -fried fish and shellfish should be uniform in size and relatively thin so that they cook quickly and evenly.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Pan-Fried
Although fish and shellfish can be marinated or seasoned directly, it is more common to season the flour, batter or breading that will coat them. Batters, for example, can contain cheese, and breading can contain nuts and other ingredients to add different flavors to the fish or shellfish. Additional seasonings come from sauces and other accompaniments served with the pan-fried fish or shellfish.
Cooking Temperatures
The fat should always be hot before the fish or shellfish are added. Breaded or battered fish fillets cook very quickly, and the fat should be hot enough to brown the coating without overcooking the interior. Whole pan-fried fish take longer to cook and therefore require a slightly lower cooking temperature so that the sur- face does not become too dark before the interior is cooked.
Accompaniments to Pan-Fried Fish and Shellfish
Lemon wedges are the classic accompaniment to pan-fried fish and shellfish. Sauces that accompany pan-fried items are made separately. Mayonnaise-based sauces such as Tartar Sauce and Remoulade Sauce are especially popular; rich wine -based sauces should be avoided. Vegetable coulis, such as tomato, also complement many pan-fried items.
Procedure for Pan-Frying Fish and Shellfish
1. Heat enough clarified butter or oil in a heavy sauté pan so that it will come one-third to halfway up the side of the item. The fat should be at a temperature between 325°F and 350°F (163°C and 177°C).
2. Add the floured, breaded or battered item to the pan, being careful not to splash the hot fat. Cook until done, turning once halfway through the cooking process.
3. Remove the food and drain on absorbent paper.
4. Serve it promptly with an appropriate sauce.
Deep-frying
Deep -frying is the process of cooking foods by submerging them in hot fat. Typically, fish or shellfish are breaded or battered before deep-frying. Alternatively, they can be formed into croquettes or fritters. Properly deep-fried fish and shell-fish should be moist and tender, not greasy or tough. Their coating should be crispy and golden brown.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Deep-Fry
Whole small fish and fillets of lean fish such as catfish or halibut are excellent for deep -frying. The fillets should be of uniform size and relatively thin so that they cook quickly and evenly. Fatty fish, such as salmon, are ideal for croquettes. Peeled shrimp and shucked mollusks, especially clams and oysters, can be breaded, battered or formed into fritters and deep-fried. Deep-fried breaded or battered sliced squid or octopus served with a dipping sauce makes an excellent hors d'oeuvre.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Deep-Fried
Typically, seasonings used for deep-fried fish or shellfish are added to the breading or batter, although salt and pepper should be added after frying. Additional flavors come from sauces or accompaniments.
Procedure for Deep-Frying Fish and Shellfish
1. Shuck, peel, cut, trim or otherwise prepare the fish or shellfish to be deep-fried. Season, bread or batter it, as desired.
2. Heat the fat to the desired temperature, usually around 350°F (177°C).
3. Breaded or battered fish or shellfish cook quickly and the fat must be hot enough to cook the food's interior without burning its surface.
4. Carefully place the food in the hot fat using either the basket method or the swimming method.
5. Deep-fry the fish or shellfish until done. Doneness is usually determined by color, timing or sampling.
6. Remove the deep-fried food from the fat and hold it over the fryer, allowing the excess fat to drain off. Transfer the food to a hotel pan either lined with absorbent paper or fitted with a rack. Season with salt, if desired.
7. If the deep-fried fish or shellfish is to be held for later service, place it under a heat lamp. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.06%3A_Dry-heat_Cooking_Methods.txt |
Fish and shellfish lend themselves well to moist-heat cooking methods, especially steaming, poaching and simmering. Steaming best preserves the food's natural flavors and cooks without adding fat. Poaching is also popular, especially for fish. Poached fish can be served hot or cold, whole or as steaks, fillets or portions. Boiling, which is actually simmering, is most often associated with crustaceans.
Steaming
Steaming is a very natural way to cook fish and shellfish without adding fats. Fish are steamed by suspending them over a small amount of boiling liquid in a covered pan. The steam trapped in the pan gently cooks the food while preserving its natural flavors and most nutrients. The liquid used to steam fish and shellfish can be water or a court bouillon with herbs, spices, aromatics or wine added to infuse the item with additional flavors. Mussels and clams can be steamed by placing them directly in a pan, adding a small amount of wine or other liquid and covering them. Their shells will hold them above the liquid as they cook. Fish and shellfish can also be steamed by wrapping them in parchment paper together with herbs, vegetables, butters or sauces as accompaniments and baking them in a hot oven. This method of steaming is called en papillote.
Steamed fish and shellfish should be moist and tender. They should have clean and delicate flavors. Any accompaniments or sauces should complement the main item without masking its flavor. Fish and shellfish cooked en papillote should be served piping hot so that the aromatic steam trapped by the paper escapes as the paper is cut open tableside.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Steam
Mollusks (for example, clams and mussels), fatty fish (for example, salmon or sea bass) and lean fish (for example, sole) all produce good results when steamed. The portions should be of uniform thickness and no more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick to promote even cooking.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Steamed
Steamed fish and shellfish rely heavily on their natural flavors and often require very little seasoning. Nevertheless, salt, pepper, herbs and spices can be applied directly to the raw food before steaming. Flavored liquids used to steam fish and shellfish will contribute additional flavors. If the liquid is served with the fish or shellfish as a broth or used to make a sauce to accompany the item, it is especially important that the liquid be well seasoned. Lemons, limes and other fruits or vegetables can also be cooked with the fish or shellfish to add flavors. Clams and mussels often do not require additional salt, as the liquor released when they open during cooking is sufficiently salty.
Accompaniments to Steamed Fish and Shellfish
Steamed fish and shellfish are popular partly because they are low in fat. In keeping with this perception, a low or nonfat sauce or a simple squeeze of lemon and steamed fresh vegetables are good accompaniments. If fat is not a concern, then an emulsified butter sauce such as Beurre Blanc or Hollandaise may be a good choice.
Classic New England steamed clams are served with a portion of the steaming liquid; steamed mussels are served with a sauce that is created from the wine and other ingredients used to steam them.
Procedure for Steaming Fish and shellfish
1. Portion the fish to an appropriate size. Clean the shellfish.
2. Prepare the cooking liquid. Add seasoning and flavoring ingredients as desired and bring to a boil.
3. Place the fish or shellfish in the steamer on a rack or in a perforated pan and cover tightly.
4. Steam the fish or shellfish until done.
5. Serve the fish or shellfish immediately with the steaming liquid or an appropriate sauce.
Poaching
Poaching is a versatile and popular method for cooking fish. Shellfish are rarely poached, however. The exception is squid, which can be quickly poached and chilled for use in salads and other preparations. There are two distinct poaching methods:
The first is the submersion method, in which the fish is completely covered with a liquid, usually a court bouillon, fish stock or fish fumet. It is cooked until just done. The poached fish is then served (either hot or cold) with a sauce sometimes made from a portion of the cooking
liquid but more often made separately. Whole fish (wrapped in cheesecloth to preserve its shape during cooking), tranches and steaks can all be cooked by submersion poaching.
The second method, called shallow poaching, combines poaching and steaming to achieve the desired results. The main item, usually a fillet, tranche or steak, is placed on a bed of aromatic vegetables in enough liquid to come approximately halfway up its sides. The liquid, called a cuisson, is brought to a simmer on the stovetop. The pan is then covered with a piece of buttered parchment paper or a lid, and cooking is completed either on the stovetop or in the oven. Shallow-poached fish is usually served with a sauce made with the reduced cooking liquid. (Sometimes the main item is sautéed lightly before the cooking liquid is added. If so, the cooking method is more accurately braising, as both dry- and moist-heat cooking methods are used.)
Selecting Fish to Poach
Lean white fish such as turbot, bass and sole are excellent for poaching. Some fatty fish such as salmon and trout are also excellent choices.
Seasoning Fish to Be Poached
Fish poached by either submersion or shallow poaching gain all of their seasonings from the liquid in which they are cooked and the sauce with which they are served. Therefore, it is very important to use a properly prepared court bouillon, fish fumet or a good-quality fish stock well- seasoned with vegetables such as shallots, onions or carrots as well as ample herbs, spices and other seasonings. Many poached fish recipes call for wine. When using wine in either the cooking liquid or the sauce, be sure to choose a wine of good quality. Most fish are very delicately flavored, and using poor-quality wine might ruin an otherwise excellent dish. Citrus, especially lemon, is a popular seasoning; lemon juice or zest may be added to the poaching liquid, the sauce or the finished dish.
Accompaniments to Poached Fish
Poached fish cooked by submersion go well with rich sauces such as hollandaise and beurre blanc. If fat is a concern, a better choice may be a vegetable coulis (for example, broccoli or red pepper). Cold poached fish are commonly served with mayonnaise-based sauces such as sauce verte or remoulade. Shallow -poached fish are served with sauces such as a white wine sauce or beurre blanc made from a reduction of the liquids in which the fish were poached. Poached fish are often served with rice or pasta and steamed or boiled vegetables.
Procedure for Poaching fish
1. Prepare the cooking liquid. Whole fish should be started in a cold liquid; gradually increasing the liquid's temperature helps preserve the appearance of the fish. Portioned fish should be started in a simmering liquid to preserve their flavor and more accurately estimate cooking time.
2. Use a rack to lower the fish into the cooking liquid. Be sure the fish is completely submerged.
3. Poach the fish at 175°F- 185°F (79°C--85°C) until done.
4. Remove the fish from the poaching liquid, moisten with a portion of the liquid and hold in a warm place for service. Alternatively, remove the fish from the poaching liquid, cover it to prevent drying and allow it to cool, then refrigerate.
5. Serve the poached fish with an appropriate sauce.
3.08: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Fin Fish Flat and Round
Classroom Preparation Assignment
Topic Four
Fin Fish- Flat and Round
______________________________________________________________
Name: _________________________ Date:_______________________
1. Round fish swim in a ___________________ position and have eyes on _____________ of their head
2. Flat fish have asymmetrical _____________________ bodies and swim in a ______________________ position.
3. Sea bass, Atlantic Cod, Salmon, and Catfish are all examples of _______________________ fish.
4. Flounder, Sole, Halibut, and Turbot are examples of __________________________ fish.
5. When a fish is “dressed”, what is removed? ___________________, ___________________, ___________, and _________________________.
6. A fish steak indicates a ________________ ___________________ with a small section of __________________________________ attached.
7. Describe the method for filleting flatfish.
8. Describe the method for filleting flatfish.
9. T or F (circle one). The discussed methods for preparing round and flat fish include: sautéing, broiling, grilling, baking, panfrying, deep frying, steaming, and poaching.
10. Is deep frying a dry or moist cooking method? ____________________________ | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/03%3A_Fin_Fish_Flat_Fish_and_Round_Fish/3.07%3A_Moist-heat_Cooking_Methods.txt |
Beef is the meat of domesticated cattle. Most of the beef Americans eat comes from steers, which are male cattle castrated as calves and specifically raised for beef. Although Americans are consuming less beef today in comparison to past eating habits, we still consume far more beef than any other meat. The beef we are eating is leaner than that of years past attributable to advances in animal husbandry and closer trimming of exterior fat.
04: Beef Identification and Fabrication
After the steer is slaughtered, it is cut into four pieces (called quarters) for easy handling. This is done by first splitting the carcass down the backbone into two bilateral halves. Each half is divided into the forequarter (the front portion) and the hindquarter (the rear portion) by cutting along the natural curvature between the 12th and 13th ribs. The quartered carcass is then further reduced into the primal cuts and the sub primal and fabricated cuts.
The primal cuts of beef are the chuck, brisket and shank, rib, short plate, short loin, sirloin, flank and round. It is important to know the location of bones when cutting or working with meats. This makes meat fabrication and carving easier and aids in identifying cuts. An entire beef carcass can range in weight from 500 to more than 800 pounds (225 to 360 kg).
FOREQUARTER
Chuck
The primal chuck is the animal's shoulder; it accounts for approximately 28 percent of carcass weight. It contains a portion of the backbone, five rib bones and portions of the blade and arm bones. Because an animal constantly uses its shoulder muscles, chuck contains a high percentage of connective tissue and is quite tough. This tough cut of beef, however, is one of the most flavorful.
The primal chuck is used less frequently than other primal cuts in food service operations. If cooked whole, the chuck is difficult to cut or carve because of the large number of bones and relatively small muscle groups that travel in different directions. The primal chuck produces several fabricated cuts: cross rib pot roast, chuck short ribs, cubed or tenderized steaks, stew meat and ground chuck.
Because the meat is less tender, the fabricated cuts usually benefit from moist-heat cooking or combination cooking methods such as stewing and braising. There are exceptions, however. The beef industry is developing new products from underutilized cuts of meat. Flat iron comes from the top shoulder of the chuck and is one such cut gaining in popularity as an alternative steak suitable for dry-heat cooking.
Cattle is the collective name for all domesticated oxen (genus Bos). Cattle are classified as follows:
1. Bulls - male cattle, usually not raised to be eaten.
2. Calves - young cows or bulls prized for their meat.
3. Cows - female cattle after their first calving raised in this country principally for milk and calf production. In France, cows are used for beef when they are no longer needed for milk.
4. Heifers - young cows or cows before their first calving. Heifer meat and organs are becoming increasingly popular as a food source.
5. Stags - male cattle castrated after maturity, principally used for dog food.
6. Steers - male cattle castrated prior to maturity and principally raised for beef.
BRISKET and SHANK
The brisket and shank are located beneath the primal chuck on the front half of the carcass. Together, they form a single primal that accounts for approximately 8 percent of carcass weight. This primal consists of the steer's breast (the brisket), which contains the ribs and breastbone, and its arm (the fore shank), which contains only the shank bone.
The ribs and breastbone are always removed from the brisket before cooking. The boneless brisket is very tough and contains a substantial percentage of fat, both intermuscular and subcutaneous. It is well suited for moist-heat and combination cooking methods such as simmering or braising. It is often pickled or corned to produce corned beef brisket, or cured and peppered to make pastrami. Beef fore shanks are very flavorful and high in collagen. Because collagen converts to gelatin when cooked using moist heat, fore shanks are excellent for making soups and stocks. Ground shank meat is often used to help clarify and flavor consommés because of its rich flavor and high collagen content.
RIB
The primal beef rib accounts for approximately 10 percent of carcass weight. It consists of ribs 6 through 12 as well as a portion of the backbone. This primal is best known for yielding roast prime rib of beef. Prime rib is not named after the quality grade USDA Prime. Rather, its name reflects the fact that it constitutes the majority of the primal cut. The eye meat of the rib (the center muscle portion) is not a well-exercised muscle and therefore is quite tender. It also contains large amounts of marbling compared to the rest of the carcass and produces rich, full- flavored roasts and steaks. Although roasting the eye muscle on the rib bones produces a moister roast, the eye meat can be removed to produce a boneless rib eye roast or cut into ribeye steaks. The rib bones that are separated from the rib eye meat are quite meaty and flavorful and can be served as barbecued beef ribs. The ends of the rib bones that are trimmed off the primal rib to produce the rib roast are known as beef short ribs. They are meaty and are often served as braised beef short ribs.
SHORT PLATE
The short plate is located directly below the primal rib on a side of beef; it accounts for approximately 9 percent of the overall weight of the carcass. The short plate contains rib bones and cartilage and produces the short ribs and skirt steak. Short ribs are meaty, yet high in connective tissue, and are best when braised. Skirt steak is often marinated and grilled as fajitas. Other, less meaty portions of the short plate are trimmed and ground.
HIND QUARTER
Short Loin
The short loin is the anterior (front) portion of the beef loin. It is located just behind the rib and becomes the first primal cut of the hindquarter when the side of beef is divided into a fore-quarter and hindquarter. It accounts for approximately 8 percent of carcass weight. The short loin contains a single rib, the 13th, and a portion of the backbone. With careful butchering, this small primal can yield several sub primal and fabricated cuts, all of which are among the most tender, popular and expensive cuts of beef
The loin eye muscle, a continuation of the rib eye muscle, runs along the top of the I-shaped bones that form the backbone. Beneath the loin eye muscle on the other side of the backbone is the tenderloin, the tenderest cut of all.
When the short loin is cut in cross-sections with the bone in, it produces - starting with the rib end of the short loin club steaks (which do not contain any tenderloin), T-bone steaks (which contain only a small portion of tenderloin), and porterhouse steaks (cut from the sirloin end of the short loin, and contain a large portion of tenderloin).
The whole tenderloin can also be removed and cut into chateaubriand, filet mignon, and tournedos. A portion of the tenderloin is located in the sirloin portion of the loin. When the entire beef loin is divided into the primal short loin and primal sirloin, the large end of the tenderloin (the butt tenderloin) is separated from the remainder of the tenderloin and remains in the sirloin; the smaller end of the tenderloin (the short tenderloin) remains in the short loin. If the tenderloin is to be kept whole, it must be removed before the short loin and sirloin are separated. The loin eye meat can be removed from the bones, producing a boneless strip loin, which is very tender and can be roasted or cut into boneless strip steaks.
Sirloin
The sirloin is located in the hindquarter, between the short loin and the round. It accounts for approximately 7 percent of carcass weight and contains part of the backbone as well as a portion of the hipbone.
The sirloin produces bone-in or boneless roasts and steaks that are flavorful and tender. With the exception of the tenderloin portion, however, these subprimals and fabricated cuts are not as tender as those from the strip loin are. Cuts from the sirloin are cooked using dry-heat methods such as broiling, grilling or roasting.
Flank
The flank is located directly beneath the loin, posterior to (behind) the short plate. It accounts for approximately 6 percent of carcass weight. The flank contains no bones.
Although quite flavorful, it is a less tender cut with a good deal of fat and connective tissue. Flank meat is usually trimmed and ground, with the exception of the flank steak or London broil. The flank also contains a small piece of meat known as the hanging tenderloin. Although not actually part of the tenderloin, it is very tender and can be cooked using any method.
ROUND
The primal round is very large, weighing as much as 200 pounds (90 kg) and ac- counting for approximately 24 percent of carcass weight. It is the hind leg of the animal and contains the round, aitch, shank and tailbones.
Meat from the round is flavorful and tender. The round yield s a wide variety of subprimal and fabricated cuts: the top round, outside round, eye round (the outside round and the eye round together are called the bottom round), knuckle and shank. Steaks cut from the round are less tender, but because they have large muscles and limited intermuscular fat, the top round and knuckle make good roasts. The bottom round is best when braised. The hind shank is prepared in the same fashion as the fore shank.
Organ Meats
Several organ meats find use in food service operations. This group of products is known as offal. It includes the heart, kidney, tongue, tripe (stomach lining) oxtail, and pigs feet. Offal benefit from moist-heat cooking and are often used in soup, stew or braised dishes.
Nutrition
Beef is a major source of protein and the primary food source of zinc as well as B vitamins, trace minerals and other nutrients. While well-marbled beef does contain a high percentage of saturated fat, lean cuts of beef such as eye round and top round roasts, top sirloin and shoulder pot roast have less fat than chicken thighs, a standard level of comparison. Excess fat should be trimmed as much as possible before cooking and serving.
~Procedures for Butchering~
Although many food service operations buy their beef previously cut and portioned, it is still important for a cook to be able to fabricate cuts of beef and perform basic butchering tasks.
Photo: Pixabay
Procedure for Trimming a Full Beef Tenderloin
1. Cut and pull the excess fat from the entire tenderloin to expose the meat.
2. Remove the chain muscle from the side of the tenderloin. (Although it contains much connective tissue, the chain muscle may be trimmed and the meat used as tenderloin trimmings in various dishes.)
3. Trim away all of the fat and silver skin. Do so by loosening a small piece of silver skin; then, holding the loosened silver skin tightly with one hand, cut it away in long strips, angling the knife up toward the silver skin slightly so that only the silver skin is removed and no meat is wasted.
4. Cut the tenderloin as desired into (left to right) tips, chateaubriand, filet mignon, tournedos tips, and tenderloin tips.
Procedure for Butterflying Meats
Many cuts of boneless meats such as tenderloin steaks and boneless pork chops can be butterflied to create a thinner cut that has a greater surface area and cooks more quickly.
1. Make the first cut nearly all the way through the meat, keeping it attached by leaving approximately ¼ inch (6 millimeters) uncut.
2. Make a second cut, this time cutting all the way through, completely removing the steak from the tenderloin.
Beef Ribeye butterflied - flickr
PRIMAL FABRICATED CUT IMPS COOKING METHODS SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Chuck Top blade (flat iron) 114D Dry heat (broil or grill) Steak; fajitas
Chuck roll, tied 116A Combination (braise; stew) Pot roast; beef stew
Stew meat 135A Combination (stew) Beef stew
Ground beef 136 Dry heat (broil or grill; roast) Hamburgers; meat load
Combination (braise; stew) Chili con came; beef stews
Brisket and dinner Brisket 120 Moist heat (simmer) Corned beef; New Eng. boiled
Shank Combination (braise Pot Roast
Shank 117 Combination (braise) Shredded beef for tamales or hash
Rib Oven-ready rib roast 109 Dry heat (roast) Roast prime rib
Rib eye roll 112 Dry heat (roast) Roast prime rib
Short Plate Skirt steak 121D Dry heat (broil or grill) Steak; fajitas
Short ribs 123A Combination (braise) Braised short ribs
$\dfrac{\text{Forequarter Above}\qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad \qquad }{\text{Hindquarter Below}\qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad }$
Short loin Porterhouse 173, 174 Dry heat (broil or grill) Steak T-bone steaks
Strip loin 180 Dry heat (broil or grill; sauté) New York steak; minute steak; roast; borderlaise
Tenderloin 189 Dry heat (broil or grill; roast) Tournedos Rossini; Beef Wellington
Sirloin Top sirloin butt 184 Dry heat (broil or grill; roast) Steak; roast beef
Tri tip 185 Dry heat (broil or grill; roast) Steak; stir-fry; fajitas
Flank Flank Steak 193 Dry heat (broil or grill) London broil
Combination (braise) Braised stuffed flank steak
Round Steamship round 160 Dry heat (roast) Roast beef
Top (inside) round 168 Dry heat (roast) Roast beef
Combination (braise) Braised beef roulade
Beef Brisket
Primal: one of the eight primal cuts
Meat Buyer’s Guide variations: 120, 120A, 120B, 120C
Weight Ranges: 4 lb. -12 up.
Best Cooking Methods: braising, slow cooking, smoking, stewing, pot roasting
Common Cuts: Full Brisket, Flat, Point
The cut of choice used by BBQ masters. Other uses: corned beef, pastrami, pot roast, and is common at Passover feasts. Beef Brisket is usually an inexpensive cut.
Bottom Round
Primal: beef bottom round is part of the “round” primal cut
Meat Buyer’s Guide variations: 170, 170A 171, 171A, 171B, 171C
Weight Ranges: 3 lb. -31 up.
Cooking Methods: braising, slow cooking, stewing, pot roasting
Common Cuts: Gooseneck, Faux Filet Mignon, Chip Steak, Eye of Round
Look for a short, thick piece with some fat left on it. The longer, leaner options are less desirable as they will be tougher while lacking flavor. The meat itself should have a bright, cherry-red color with fat speckled throughout the muscle. Check that the muscle is firm to the touch.
Chuck Roast
Primal: beef chuck is a primary primal cut.
Meat Buyer’s Guide variations: 113, 114A, 114B, 114C, 114D, 114E, 115, 115A, 115B, 115C, 116, 116A, 116B, 116C, 116D, 116E
Weight Ranges: 1 lb. to 88 lb.
Best Cooking Methods: braising, slow cooking, stewing, pot roasting
Common Cuts: Square-cut Chuck, Cross-cut Chuck, Flatiron Steak, Shoulder Tender, Eye Roast, Under-Blade Steak
The chuck is essentially a whole cow shoulder, also known as a clod, and when removed from the forequarter is called a cross- cut chuck. It weighs about 100 pounds, and makes up roughly 23% of the carcass.
Prime Rib
Primal: beef prime is one a primary primal cut.
Meat Buyers Guide variations: 104, 107, 107A, 108, 109, 109A, 109B, 109C, 109D, 109E, 110, 111, 112, 112A
Weight Ranges: 3 lb. -30 up.
Best Cooking Methods: slow cooking, roasting, grilling, broiling
Cut Variations: roasts, steaks
Best beef grades, from highest to lowest, are as follows: USDA Prime, USDA Choice, USDA Select, USDA Standard, USDA, Commercial.
Prime Rib Cooking Temperatures
• Rare 110°-115°
• MR 120°-125°
• Medium 130°-135°
• MW 140°-150°
• Well (not advisable)
Beef Short Loin
Primal: beef short loin is a primary primal cut.
Meat Buyers Guide variations: 173, 174, 175, 180, part of 172, and 172A.
Weight Ranges: 14 lb. -57-up.
Best Cooking Methods: slow cooking, roasting, grilling, broiling
Cut Variations: roasts, steaks
Home to various steaks that we all know and love — the Delmonico, the Porterhouse, the T- Bone — all of which are among the most tender, popular and expensive cuts of beef
Tenderloin of Beef
Primal: beef tenderloin is part of the Loin Primal Cut
Meat Buyers Guide variations: 189, 189A, 189B, 190, 190A, 191, 191A, 191B, 192, 192A
Weight Ranges: 1 lb. – 7-up.
Best Cooking Methods: roasting, grilling, broiling
Cut Variations: roasts, steaks
Beef tenderloin, akaFillet Mignon, is the tenderest cut of meat a cow.
Top Sirloin
Primal: top sirloin is part of the “sirloin” primal cut
Meat Buyer’s Guide variations: 184, 184A, 184B, 184C, 184D, 184E
Weight Ranges: 1 lb. -14 up.
Best Cooking Methods: roasting, grilling, broiling
There are two varieties of sirloin steak available, from the sirloin primal, between the short loin primal (behind the ribs), and round primal (the rump). The bottom sirloin for ground meat, or cut it into chunks for stewing or braising | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/04%3A_Beef_Identification_and_Fabrication/4.01%3A_Primal_and_Subprimal_Beef_Cuts.txt |
The inspection and grading of meat and poultry are two separate programs within the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA). Inspection for wholesomeness is mandatory and is paid for with public funds. Grading for quality is voluntary, and the service is requested and paid for by meat and poultry producers/processors.
• Mandatory Federal Inspection
• Voluntary Federal inspection
• Grading
• USDA Grades for Meat and Poultry
• Beef
• Quality Grades
• Yield grades
• Veal/Calf
• Lamb
• Pork
• Poultry
• Food Safe Families
Mandatory Federal Inspection
American consumers can be confident that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency in the USDA, ensures that meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act , FSIS inspects all raw meat and poultry sold in interstate and foreign commerce, including imported products. The Agency monitors meat and poultry products after they leave federally inspected plants.
In addition, FSIS monitors State inspection programs , which inspect meat and poultry products sold only within the State in which they were produced. The 1967 Wholesome Meat Act and the 1968 Wholesome Poultry Products Act require State inspection programs to be "at least equal to" the Federal inspection program. In states that choose to end their inspection program or cannot maintain this standard, FSIS must assume responsibility for inspection within that State.
FSIS does allow under a final rule State-inspected establishments with 25 or fewer employees to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce because of a new voluntary cooperative agreement program. Meat and poultry products produced under the program that have been inspected and passed by designated State personnel will bear an official Federal mark of inspection and will be permitted to be distributed in interstate commerce. FSIS will provide oversight and enforcement of the program.
In these efforts to protect the safety and integrity of meat and poultry products, FSIS works with many other agencies, including other agencies within the USDA, State inspection programs, the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Since the Federal inspection program began at the turn of the twentieth century, the meat and poultry industries have grown and changed significantly. In the early 1900's, most meat came from local slaughter plants and was used locally. Further processing was limited to simple products such as sausages. Today, however, a wide variety of meat and poultry products are on the market. Animals are slaughtered and meat is processed in sophisticated, high-volume plants. The meat is often shipped great distances to reach consumers.
As the industry changed, FSIS began changing inspection. In earlier days, the primary concern of the inspectors was animal diseases, and they relied almost exclusively on visual inspection of animals, products, and plant operations. However, refinements in animal production reduced disease and created a more homogeneous animal population. Thus, the concerns of today's inspectors are broader and include unseen hazards such as microbiological and chemical contamination.
The requirements in the "Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems" final rule are designed to minimize the likelihood of harmful bacteria contaminating raw meat and poultry products. However, some bacteria could be present and might become a problem if meat and poultry are not handled safely. To assist food handlers, the USDA requires that safe handling instructions be put on all packages of raw and not fully cooked meat and poultry.
FSIS's HACCP Systems mandate measures to target and reduce the presence of pathogenic organisms in meat and poultry products. These measures include FSIS testing to verify pathogen reduction performance standards are being met; plant microbial testing to verify process control for fecal contamination; written sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs); and a mandatory HACCP system in all meat and poultry plants. The implementation of HACCP by FSIS helps ensure the safety of the meat, poultry, and egg products supply. To learn more, visit FSIS's Web page on HACCP.
Every establishment is required to reassess the adequacy of its HACCP plan at least annually and whenever any changes occur that could affect its hazard analysis or alter its HACCP plan. The establishment may reassess its HACCP plan, or plans, any time during the calendar year to meet the annual reassessment requirement.
Meat that has been federally inspected and passed for wholesomeness is stamped with a round purple mark. The dye used to stamp the grade and inspection marks onto a meat carcass is made from a food-grade vegetable dye and is not harmful. (The exact formula is proprietary/owned by the maker of the dye.) The mark is put on carcasses and major cuts. After trimming, the mark might not appear on retail cuts such as roasts and steaks. However, meat that is packaged in an inspected facility will have an inspection mark which identifies the plant on the label.
Inspection mark on raw meat
Inspection mark on raw poultry
Inspection mark on processed products
Voluntary Federal inspection for animals not covered under mandatory inspection (i.e., buffalo, rabbit, reindeer, elk, deer, and antelope) is handled under the Agricultural Marketing Act. This Act gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to take whatever steps are necessary to make the product marketable. The FSIS inspector must have knowledge about that particular species and the carcass must fit available equipment in the plant. Businesses that request voluntary inspection must pay an hourly fee for the service whereas mandatory inspection is funded by tax dollars.
For voluntary inspection, the mark of inspection (as referenced in 9 CFR 352.7-Marking Inspected Products) illustrates the mark to be the shape of a triangle for exotic species.
For application to exotic animal carcasses, primal parts and cuts therefrom, exotic animal livers, exotic animal tongues, and exotic animal hearts.
The establishment number of the official exotic animal establishment where the product is prepared shall be used in lieu thereof.
For the inspection of rabbits, as per 9 CFR 354.63 the mark of inspection is the same as the inspection mark for raw poultry.
Grading
After meat and poultry are inspected for wholesomeness, producers and processors may request that they have products graded for quality by a licensed Federal grader. The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (http://www.ams.usda.gov) is the agency responsible for grading meat and poultry. Those who request grading must pay for the service. Grading for quality means the evaluation of traits related to tenderness, juiciness, and flavor of meat; and, for poultry, a normal shape that is fully fleshed and meaty and free of defects.
USDA grades are based on nationally uniform Federal standards of quality. No matter where or when a consumer purchases graded meat or poultry, it must have met the same grade criteria. The grade is stamped on the carcass or side of beef and is usually not visible on retail cuts. However, retail packages of beef, as well as poultry, will show the U.S. grade mark if they have been officially graded.
The grade symbol and wording are no longer copyrighted; however, according to the Truth in Labeling Law, it is illegal to mislead or misrepresent the shield or wording.
USDA Grades for Meat and Poultry
Beef
Beef is graded as whole carcasses in two ways:
• quality grades - for tenderness, juiciness, and flavor; and
• yield grades - for the amount of usable lean meat on the carcass. There are eight quality grades for beef. Quality grades are based on the amount of marbling (flecks of fat within the lean), color, and maturity.
Quality Grades:
1. Prime grade is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are also excellent for dry-heat cooking due to the age of the animal, and less connective tissue (broiling, roasting, or grilling).
1. Choice grade is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if "braised" — roasted, or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.
1. Select grade is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts (loin, rib, sirloin) should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.
2. Standard and Commercial grades are frequently sold as ungraded or as "store brand" meat.
3. Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.
Note: Grades such as Prime, Choice and Select are not acceptable terms for raw cuts of pork or poultry
Yield grades range from "1" to "5" and indicate the amount of usable meat from a carcass. Yield grade 1 is the highest grade and denotes the greatest ratio of lean to fat; yield grade 5 is the lowest yield ratio. Though yield grades are not something consumers normally see, they are most useful when purchasing a side or carcass of beef for the freezer.
Veal/Calf
There are five grades for Veal/Calf: prime, choice, good, standard, and utility.
Prime and choice grades are juicier and more flavorful than the lower grades. Because of the young age of the animals, the meat will be a light grayish-pink to light pink, fairly firm, and velvety. The bones are small, soft, and quite red. Cuts such as chops can be cooked by the dry- heat methods of roasting, grilling or broiling.
Lamb
There are five grades for lamb. Normally only two grades are found at the retail level — prime and choice. Lower grades of lamb and mutton (meat from older sheep) — good, utility, and cull — are seldom marked with the grade. Lamb is produced from animals less than a year old. Since the quality of lamb varies according to the age of the animal, it is advisable to buy lamb that has been USDA graded.
1. Prime grade is very high in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Its marbling enhances both flavor and juiciness.
2. Choice grade has slightly less marbling than prime, but still is of very high quality. Most cuts of prime and choice grade lamb (chops, roasts, shoulder cuts, and leg) are tender and can be cooked by the dry-heat methods (broiling, roasting, or grilling). The less tender cuts — breast, riblets, neck, and shank — can be braised to make them tenderer.
Pork
Pork is not graded by USDA quality grades as it is generally produced from young animals that have been bred and fed to produce more uniformly tender meat. Appearance is an important guide in buying fresh pork. Look for cuts with a relatively small amount of fat over the outside and with meat that is firm and grayish pink in color. For best flavor and tenderness, meat should have a small amount of marbling.
Pork's consistency makes it suitable for a variety of cooking styles. Chops can be prepared by pan broiling, grilling, baking, braising, or sautéing. Ribs can be braised, roasted, or grilled. Slow cooking yields the most tender and flavorful results. Tenderloins are considered to be the most tender and tasty cut of pork.
Poultry
The USDA grades for poultry are A, B, and C.
• Grade A is the highest quality and the only grade that is likely to be seen at the retail level. This grade indicates that the poultry products are virtually free from defects such as bruises, discolorations, and feathers. Bone-in products have no broken bones. For whole birds and parts with the skin on, there are no tears in the skin or exposed flesh that could dry out during cooking, and a good covering of fat under the skin. Also, whole birds and parts will be fully fleshed and meaty. The U.S. grade shield for poultry may be found on the following chilled or frozen ready- to-cook poultry products: whole carcasses and parts, as well as roasts, tenderloins, and other boneless and/or skinless poultry products that are being marketed. There are no grade standards for necks, wing tips, tails, giblets, or ground poultry.
• Grades B and C poultry are usually used in further-processed products where the
poultry meat is cut up, chopped, or ground. If sold at retail, they are usually not grade
identified.
Food Safe Families
By following four simple steps, you can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home.
1. CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often.
2. SEPARATE: Separate raw meats from other foods.
3. COOK: Cook food to the right temperature.
4. CHILL: Refrigerate food promptly.
For more information about meat and poultry grading, go to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/
United States Department of Agriculture
Summary of Federal Inspection Requirements for Meat Products
The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS ) is the public health agency in the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the Nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
Retail/Restaurant/Central Kitchen Exemption(9 CFR 303.1(f)(iv)(a)(6)).
Operations traditionally and usually conducted at retail stores, restaurants, and retail-type establishments that offer meat and meat food products for sale or service to household consumers generally are exempt from mandatory inspection. Only inspected and passed meat and meat food products (those bearing a mark of inspection) may be used in the preparation of products sold (including meals) at retail stores or restaurants. Sales must be in normal retailquantities, and certain Federal requirements apply (e.g., safe handling labels are required for raw product). Retail stores may prepare product for sale to other than household consumers (i.e., hotels, restaurants, or similar institutions (HRI)), but such HRI sales are limited to the annual dollar value or percentage of total retail sales specified by FSIS regulations. HRI sales also are limited by regulation to certain kinds of products (9 CFR 303.1(d) (2)).
Under certain conditions, products may be prepared at a restaurant central kitchen for sale in another facility without the benefit of inspection. To qualify, such products must be ready-to-eat when they leave the facility and safely transported under strict temperature controls to the destination restaurant where the product will be reheated and served to the end consumer. Product prepared at a central kitchen may only be transported to and prepared by restaurants under the same ownership. Operations exempt from inspection under the FMIA may be regulated and inspected under State and local laws.
Federal Inspection (21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.).
The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) requires that all meat sold commercially be inspected and passed to ensure that it is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for providing this inspection. The FMIA requires inspection for any product intended for human consumption, wholly or in part, from the carcass or parts of any cattle, sheep, swine, and goat. These animals, defined as “livestock” in the regulations, must be slaughtered and processed under Federal inspection, and the meat food products must be inspected and passed for human consumption. Food products from animals not subject to inspection under the FMIA (non-amenable species) are subject to regulation by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and State and local authorities. Federal inspection personnel must be present at all times during livestock slaughter operations and for at least part of each shift during which there is further processing of meat products. In slaughter plants, inspection personnel verify the humane handling of animals and conduct ante-mortem inspection to ensure that the live animal is fit for slaughter. These inspection personnel also conduct post-mortem inspection to ensure that the meat from the carcass and internal organs are fit for human food. When meat is distributed to other federally inspected establishments for further processing, the product is inspected to ensure that the product is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. Inspected establishments must maintain and follow written Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.
In addition to inspecting the meat products, inspection personnel inspect the facilities and equipment to ensure sanitary conditions are maintained. FSIS also reviews records to ensure they accurately document establishment verification that the meat food products are in compliance with all applicable requirements.
State Inspection (21 U.S.C. 661).
Establishments that produce meat products sold entirely within a State require Federal inspection unless they are regulated under a State Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) program.
These State MPI programs are required to enforce requirements “at least equal to” those imposed under the Federal Acts.
State MPI programs certify annually, and FSIS reviews each State MPI program annually to determine whether each program meets the requisite “at least equal to” standard. As of September 2015, 27 States maintain cooperative agreements with FSIS to administer MPI programs, and FSIS reimburses a portion of the State’s operating costs. Exemptions: Certain meat products may be exempt from inspection requirements. However, they are still subject to the adulteration and misbranding provisions of the FMIA.
Personal/Individual Use Exemption (9 CFR 303.1(a)(1)).
Under certain conditions, a person may slaughter/ prepare livestock of his/her own raising for the exclusive use by him/her, members of his/her family, and his/her non-paying guests without the benefit of inspection. Absolutely no product produced under this exemption may be sold commercially.
Custom Exemption (9 CFR 303.1(a)(2)).
A custom-exempt establishment is one that slaughters and prepares livestock belonging to someone else for the exclusive use of that person. The custom-exempt facility provides a service for the livestock owner; it is not producing commercial product.
Custom-exempt facilities are exempt from the FMIA requirements for carcass-by-carcass inspections and the daily presence of inspectors during operations. Even so, the facility is not exempt from the adulteration, misbranding, and certain record-keeping provisions of those statutes.
Custom-exempt establishments are reviewed periodically to verify that facilities are maintained and operated in a manner that produces a safe, clean, and wholesome meat food product in a sanitary environment and are otherwise complying with the FMIA.
Ground Beef and Food Safety
Questions about "ground meat" or "hamburger" have always been in the top five food topics of calls to the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline. Here are the most frequently asked questions and information about why ground beef requires careful handling.
What's the difference between "hamburger" and "ground beef"?
Beef fat may be added to "hamburger," but not "ground beef." A maximum of 30% fat is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef. Both hamburger and ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added. The labeling of meat food products must comply with the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the meat inspection regulations and labeling policies.
Most states and cities set standards for store-packaged ground beef which, by law, cannot be less than Federal standards. If products in retail stores were found to contain more than 30% fat, they would be considered "misbranded" under Federal law.
Is ground beef inspected and graded?
All meat transported and sold in interstate commerce must be federally inspected. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) carries out USDA's responsibilities under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. These laws protect consumers by ensuring that meat products are wholesome, unadulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged.
Many states have their own inspection programs that are applicable for meats produced and sold within their borders only. State inspection programs must enforce requirements at least equal to those of Federal inspection laws.
Ground beef exported to the U.S. from USDA-approved eligible nations must meet all safety standards applied to foods produced in the United States. They must employ equivalent sanitary measures that provide the same level of protection against food hazards as is achieved domestically.
Grades are assigned as a standard of quality only. It is voluntary for a company to hire a Federal Grader to certify the quality of its product. Beef grades are USDA Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner. They are set by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Most ground beef is not graded.
What kind of bacteria can be in ground beef? Are they dangerous?
Bacteria are everywhere in our environment; virtually any food can harbor bacteria. In foods of animal origin, pathogenic (illness-causing) bacteria, such as Salmonella, Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STECs), Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, cause illness. These harmful bacteria cannot be seen or smelled.
If the pathogens are present when meat is ground, then more of the meat surface is exposed to the harmful bacteria. Also, grinding allows any bacteria present on the surface to be mixed throughout the meat. Bacteria multiply rapidly in the "Danger Zone" — temperatures between 40 and 140 °F (4.4 and 60 °C). To keep bacterial levels low, store ground beef at 40 °F (4.4 °C) below and use within 2 days, or freeze. To destroy harmful bacteria, cook ground beef to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C).
Other bacteria cause spoilage. Spoilage bacteria generally are not harmful, but they will cause food to deteriorate or lose quality by developing a bad odor or feeling sticky on the outside.
Why is the E. coli O157:H7 bacterium of special concern in ground beef?
E. coli O157:H7 is the most well-known Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), though other STEC strains have also been identified. STECs produce large quantities of a potent toxin that forms in the intestine and causes severe damage to the lining of the intestine. This causes a disease called hemorrhagic colitis, and may also cause Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, particularly in young children. STECs can colonize in the intestines of animals, which could contaminate muscle meat at slaughter.
E. coli O157:H7 bacteria survive refrigerator and freezer temperatures. Once they get in food, they can multiply very slowly at temperatures as low as 44 °F (6.7 °C). While the actual infectious dose is unknown, most scientists believe it takes only a small number of this strain of E. coli to cause serious illness and even death, especially in children and older adults. The bacteria are killed by thorough cooking, which for ground beef is an internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C) as measured by a food thermometer.
Illnesses caused by E. coli O157:H7 have been linked with the consumption of undercooked ground beef. Other foods, including raw milk, apple cider, dry cured sausage, fresh produce, and undercooked roast beef, also have been implicated.
How is beef treated in a USDA-inspected plant to reduce bacteria?
The following methods have been extensively studied and found effective in reducing bacterial contamination on a beef carcass: organic acid washes, water washes, steam pasteurization, steam vacuuming, and other antimicrobials.
Why is ground beef produced in a USDA-inspected plant safer than beef ground in a store or at home?
Hearing about recalls of ground beef products contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella might cause some consumers to consider grinding beef at home; however, this is not a safer alternative to purchasing ground beef at a retail store. In fact, USDA cautions against grinding beef at home.
In a USDA-inspected plant, trimmed beef destined for grinding is tested for the presence of E. coli. However, primal cuts, such as steaks and roasts, are usually not tested. When stores or consumers grind these primal cuts, it's possible that pathogens may be present on the raw beef, and neither you nor meat market employees can see, smell, or taste dangerous bacteria. In addition, USDA-inspected plants have Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures that cover policies such as the cleaning of grinding machines and the handling and chilling of ground beef. Consumers and stores might not follow such stringent sanitary procedures.
How do you know if ground beef sold in a store is from a USDA-inspected establishment?
Ground beef produced at a USDA-inspected plant will have a USDA establishment number on the package, written as "EST." (for "establishment") followed by a number. Much of the ground beef sold in stores today are ground in a USDA-inspected plant; sometimes the store will print the establishment number on its packaging. If you don't see an "EST." number, ask the store about its source for ground beef.
Why are there recalls of ground beef?
Live cattle can harbor various bacteria, including Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and Salmonella. In 1994, the USDA declared E. coli O157:H7 as an adulterant in ground beef. In 2012, USDA declared six additional most common STECs as adulterants in raw ground beef as well. Before 1996, the inspection of beef carcasses was by sight, touch, and smell. With the passage of the 1996 Final Rule on Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) Systems, FSIS began requiring microbial testing in slaughter plants for E. coli. If E. coli O157:H7 is detected, recalls are initiated by the manufacturer or distributor of the meat, sometimes at the request of FSIS.
From what cuts of beef are ground beef and hamburger made?
Generally, ground beef is made from the less tender and less popular cuts of beef. Trimmings from more tender cuts may also be used. Grinding tenderizes the meat and the fat reduces its dryness and improves flavor.
What is the significance of the "Sell-By" date on the package?
"Sell-By" dates are a guide for retailers. Although many products bear "Sell-By" dates, product dating is not a Federal requirement. While these dates are helpful to the retailer, they are reliable only if the food has been kept at a safe temperature during storage and handling. USDA suggests that consumers cook or freeze ground beef within 2 days after purchase for maximum quality.
What is the safe food handling label on ground beef packages?
A safe food handling label should be on all raw or partially precooked (not ready-to-eat) meat and poultry packages. The label tells the consumer how to safely store, prepare, and handle raw meat and poultry products in the home.
What is the Country of Origin Label on ground beef packages?
The Country of Origin Label (COOL) is not a food safety issue. It is a law requiring that package labels of certain foods bear the names of the country or countries where the food came from. FSIS enforces the labeling of ground beef.
To find information about COOL, go to http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/cool
If you have a food labeling complaint about a country of origin, send your complaint to:
Country of Origin Labeling Division
USDA-AMS
Room 2620-S, Stop 0216
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0216
Email: [email protected]
Can bacteria spread from one surface to another?
Yes. It is called cross-contamination. Bacteria in raw meat juices can contaminate foods that have been cooked safely or raw foods that won't be cooked, such as salad ingredients. Bacteria also can be present on equipment, hands, and even in the air.
To avoid cross-contamination, wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling ground beef to make sure you don't spread bacteria. Don't reuse any packaging materials. Use soap and hot water to wash utensils and surfaces which have come into contact with the raw meat. Utensils and surfaces can be sanitized with a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Don't put cooked hamburgers on the same platter that held the raw patties or use utensils that touched the raw meat unless you wash the platter or utensils first.
What's the best way to handle raw ground beef when shopping?
At the store, choose a package that feels cold and is not torn. If possible, place the package in a plastic bag so leaking juices won't drip on other foods. Make ground beef one of the last items to go into your shopping cart. Separate raw meat from ready-cooked items in your cart. Have the clerk place the raw ground beef in a separate bag.
Plan to drive directly home from the grocery store. You may want to bring a cooler with ice for perishables.
How should raw ground beef be stored at home?
Refrigerate or freeze ground beef as soon as possible after purchase. This preserves freshness and slows the growth of bacteria. It can be refrigerated or frozen in its original packaging if the meat will be used soon.
If refrigerated, keep at 40 °F (4.4 °C) or below and use within 1 or 2 days.
For longer freezer storage, wrap in heavy duty plastic wrap, aluminum foil, freezer paper, or plastic bags made for freezing. Ground beef is safe indefinitely if kept frozen, but will lose quality over time. It is best if used within 4 months. Mark your packages with the date they were placed in the freezer so you can keep track of storage times.
What is the best way to thaw ground beef?
The best way to safely thaw ground beef is in the refrigerator. Keeping meat cold while it is defrosting is essential to prevent the growth of bacteria. Cook or refreeze within 1 or 2 days.
To defrost ground beef more rapidly, you can defrost in the microwave oven or in cold water. If using the microwave, cook the ground beef immediately because some areas may begin to cook during the defrosting. To defrost in cold water, put the meat in a watertight plastic bag and submerge. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately. Do not refreeze raw ground meat thawed in cold water or in the microwave oven unless you cook it first.
Never leave ground beef or any perishable food out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour at 90 °F and above).
The Color of Meat and Poultry
Source: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...education/get-
answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/the-color-of-meat-and-poultry/the-color-of-
meat-and-poultry/ct_index
Color is important when meat and poultry are purchased, stored, and cooked. Often an attractive, bright color is a consideration for the purchase. So, why are there differences in the color and what do they mean? Listed below are some questions and answers to help you understand the color differences.
1. What factors affect the color of meat and poultry?
Myoglobin, a protein, is responsible for the majority of the red color. Myoglobin doesn't circulate in the blood but is fixed in the tissue cells and is purplish in color. When it is mixed with oxygen, it becomes oxymyoglobin and produces a bright red color. The remaining color comes from the hemoglobin which occurs mainly in the circulating blood, but a small amount can be found in the tissues after slaughter.
Color is also influenced by the age of the animal, the species, sex, diet, and even the exercise it gets. The meat from older animals will be darker in color because the myoglobin level increases with age. Exercised muscles are always darker in color, which means the same animal can have
variations of color in its muscles.
In addition, the color of meat and poultry can change as it is being stored at retail and in the home (see explanation in question 5). When safely stored in the refrigerator or freezer, color changes are normal for fresh meat and poultry.
1. Does a change in color indicate spoilage?
Change in color alone does not mean the product is spoiled. Color changes are normal for fresh product. With spoilage there can be a change in color—often a fading or darkening. In addition to the color change, the meat or poultry will have an off odor, be sticky or tacky to the touch, or it may be slimy. If meat has developed these characteristics, it should not be used.
1. If the color of meat and poultry changes while frozen, is it safe?
Color changes, while meat and poultry are frozen, occur just as they do in the refrigerator. Fading and darkening, for example, do not affect their safety. These changes are minimized by using freezer-type wrapping and by expelling as much air as possible from the package.
1. What are the white dried patches on frozen meat and poultry?
The white dried patches indicate freezer burn. When meat and poultry have been frozen for an extended period of time or have not been wrapped and sealed properly, this will occur. The product remains safe to eat, but the areas with freezer burn will be dried out and tasteless and can be trimmed away if desired.
THE COLOR OF MEAT
1. When displayed at the grocery store, why is some meat bright red and other meat very dark in color?
Optimum surface color of fresh meat (i.e., cherry-red for beef; dark cherry-red for lamb; grayish- pink for pork; and pale pink for veal) is highly unstable and short-lived. When meat is fresh and protected from contact with air (such as in vacuum packages), it has the purple-red color that comes from myoglobin, one of the two key pigments responsible for the color of meat. When exposed to air, myoglobin forms the pigment, oxymyoglobin, which gives meat a pleasingly cherry-red color. The use of a plastic wrap that allows oxygen to pass through it helps ensure that the cut meats will retain this bright red color. However, exposure to store lighting as well as the continued contact of myoglobin and oxymyoglobin with oxygen leads to the formation of metmyoglobin, a pigment that turns meat brownish-red. This color change alone does not mean the product is spoiled (see explanation in question 2).
1. Why is pre-packaged ground beef red on the outside and sometimes grayish-brown on the inside?
These color differences do not indicate that the meat is spoiled or old. As discussed earlier, fresh cut meat is purplish in color. Oxygen from the air reacts with meat pigments to form a bright red color which is usually seen on the surface of ground beef purchased in the supermarket. The interior of the meat may be grayish-brown due to the lack of oxygen penetrating below the surface.
1. A beef roast has darkened in the refrigerator, is it safe?
Yes, it is safe. The darkening is due to oxidation, the chemical changes in myoglobin due to the oxygen content. This is a normal change during refrigerator storage.
1. Can cooked ground beef still be pink inside?
Yes, ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked. The pink color can be due to a reaction between the oven heat and myoglobin, which causes a red or pink color. It can also occur when vegetables containing nitrites are cooked along with the meat. Because doneness and safety cannot be judged by color, it is very important to use a food thermometer when cooking ground beef. To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook raw ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
1. What causes iridescent colors on meats?
Meat contains iron, fat, and other compounds. When light hits a slice of meat, it splits into colors like a rainbow. There are various pigments in meat compounds that can give it an iridescent or greenish cast when exposed to heat and processing. Wrapping the meat in airtight packages and storing it away from light will help prevent this situation. Iridescence does not represent decreased quality or safety of the meat.
1. What causes grayish or green color on cured meats?
Exposure to light and oxygen causes oxidation to take place, which causes the breaking down of color pigments formed during the curing process. Chemicals in the cure and oxygen, as well as energy from ultraviolet and visible light, contribute to both the chemical breakdown and microbial spoilage of the product. Cure, such as nitrite, chemically changes the color of muscle. Curing solutions are colored in order to distinguish them from other ingredients (such as sugar or salt) used in fresh and cured meat products. For example, cured raw pork is gray, but cured cooked pork (e.g., ham) is light pink.
THE COLOR OF POULTRY
1. What is the usual color of raw poultry?
Raw poultry can vary from a bluish-white to yellow. All of these colors are normal and are a direct result of breed, exercise, age, and/or diet. Younger poultry has less fat under the skin, which can cause the bluish cast, and the yellow skin could be a result of marigolds in the feed.
1. What causes the differences in color of raw ground poultry?
Ground poultry varies in color according to the part being ground. Darker pink means more dark meat was used and a lighter pink means more white meat was included (or skin was included). Ground poultry can contain only muscle meat and skin with attached fat in proportion to the whole bird.
1. What causes dark bones in cooked poultry?
Darkening of bones and meat around the bones occurs primarily in young (6-8 weeks) broiler- fryer chickens. Since the bones have not calcified or hardened completely, pigment from the bone marrow seeps through the bones and into the surrounding area. Freezing can also contribute to this darkening. This is an aesthetic issue and not a safety one. The meat is safe to eat when all parts have reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
1. What color is safely cooked poultry?
Safely cooked poultry can vary in color from white to pink to tan. For safety when cooking poultry, use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature. For a whole chicken or turkey, check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. All the meat—including any that remains pink—is safe to eat as soon as all parts reach at least 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
1. Why is some cooked poultry pink?
Chemical changes occur during cooking. Oven gases in a heated gas or electric oven react chemically with hemoglobin in the meat tissues to give it a pink tinge. Often meat of younger birds shows the most pink because their thinner skins permit oven gases to reach the flesh. Older animals have a fat layer under their skin, giving the flesh added protection from the gases. Older poultry may be pink in spots where fat is absent from the skin. Also, nitrates and nitrites, which are often used as preservatives or may occur naturally in the feed or water supply used, can cause a pink color.
1. If fully cooked smoked poultry is pink, is it safe?
Poultry grilled or smoked outdoors can be pink, even when all parts have attained temperatures well above 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. There may be a pink-colored rim about one-half inch wide around the outside of the cooked product. Commercially prepared, smoked poultry is usually pink because it is prepared with natural smoke and liquid smoke flavor.
What is beef?
Source: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...education/get- answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/beef-from-farm-to-table/ct_index/!ut/p/a1/jZDBbsIwDIafZQ9gOaWAxhFVmmgHrRCCZbkgA06JRJMqtbaxp1-3nTYNhn2y_P2y9aFBjcbTi6tJXPB0-pzNeKuWapxMMlVUk-RB5eVmWT1mmbpfjXrg-QpQpjfmL9RU_ZcvbjgwiItsUaNpSY7gvA2oaxYg371y7FDbEA7QkWU5g6W9QHdkln7RMAm0kVuKX0JQ75gt2BiaHowNSACh3YlR72Xr_IHf8AnNz5dU0ndepqvhrChTVQ1_A384-wYuS2mbtX6fT2fK5XcfPTfBRA!!/#1
The domestication of cattle for food dates to about 6500 B.C. in the Middle East. Cattle were not native to America, but brought to the New World on ships by European colonists. Americans weren't big eaters of fresh beef until about 1870, due to the enormous growth of the cattle industry in the West. The introduction of cattle cars and refrigerated cars on the railroad facilitated distribution of the beef.
"Beef" is meat from full-grown cattle about 2 years old. A live steer weighs about 1,000 pounds and yields about 450 pounds of edible meat. There are at least 50 breeds of beef cattle, but fewer than 10 make up most cattle produced. Some major breeds are Angus, Hereford, Charolaise, and Brahman.
"Baby beef" and "calf" are 2 interchangeable terms used to describe young cattle weighing about 700 pounds that have been raised mainly on milk and grass. The meat cuts from baby beef are smaller; the meat is light red and contains less fat than beef. The fat may have a yellow tint due to the vitamin A in grass.
"Veal" is meat from a calf which weighs about 150 pounds. Those that are mainly milk-fed usually are less than 3 months old. The difference between "veal" and "calf" is based on the color of their meat, which is determined almost entirely by diet. Veal is pale pink and contains more cholesterol than beef.
NOTE: This information is about whole muscle beef and variety beef. See “Ground Beef and Food Safety" for information about hamburger and ground beef.
How are cattle raised?
All cattle start out eating grass; three-fourths of them are "finished" (grown to maturity) in feedlots where they are fed specially formulated feed based on corn or other grains.
Can hormones & antibiotics be used in cattle raising?
Antibiotics may be given to prevent or treat disease in cattle. A "withdrawal" period is required from the time antibiotics are administered until it is legal to slaughter the animal. This is so residues can exit the animal's system. FSIS randomly samples cattle at slaughter and tests for residues. Data from this Monitoring Plan have shown a very low percentage of residue violations. Not all antibiotics are approved for use in all classes of cattle. However, if there is a demonstrated therapeutic need, a veterinarian may prescribe an antibiotic that is approved in other classes for an animal in a non-approved class. In this case, no detectable residues of this drug may be present in the edible tissues of the animal at slaughter.
Hormones may be used to promote efficient growth. Estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone (three natural hormones), and zeranol and trenbolone acetate (two synthetic hormones) may be used as an implant on the animal's ear. The hormone is time released, and is effective for 90 to 120 days. In addition, melengesterol acetate, which can be used to suppress estrus, or improve weight gain and feed efficiency, is approved for use as a feed additive. Not all combinations of hormones are approved for use in all classes of cattle. Hormones are approved for specific classes of animals only, and cannot be used in non-approved classes.
How is beef inspected?
Inspection is mandatory; grading is voluntary, and a plant pays to have its meat graded. USDA- graded beef sold at the retail level is Prime, Choice, and Select. Lower grades (Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner) are mainly ground or used in processed meat products. Retail stores may use other terms which must be different from USDA grades.
USDA Prime beef (about two percent of graded beef) has more marbling, so it is the most tender and flavorful. However, it is higher in fat content. Most of the graded beef sold in supermarkets is USDA Choice or USDA Select. The protein, vitamin, and mineral content of beef are similar regardless of the grade.
What is the “USDA Certified Tender” and “USDA Certified Very Tender” Program?
USDA Certified Tender Shield In connection with the USDA Beef Carcass Quality Grading Program under the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and grades such as USDA Prime, Choice and Select, this program provides retailers with a new tool to help their customers identify what specific cuts of beef are consistently tender or very tender.
Companies wishing to use this designation must meet the International tenderness standard and be reviewed by AMS’ Grading and Verification Division prior to final use by the approved program. Once the program has been approved, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Office of Policy and Program Development (OPPD), Labeling and Program Delivery Division (LPDD) must also approve label claims for “USDA Tender” or “USDA Very Tender”. For more information, go to http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/Tend...MarketingClaim.
How is ungraded beef different?
All beef is inspected for wholesomeness. The overall quality of ungraded beef may be higher or lower than most government grades found in retail markets.
What is marbling?
Marbling is white flecks of fat within the meat muscle. The greater amount of marbling in beef, the higher the grade because marbling makes beef more tender, flavorful, and juicy.
Retail Cuts of Fresh Beef
There are four basic major (primal) cuts into which beef is separated: chuck, loin, rib, and round. It is recommended that packages of fresh beef purchased in the supermarket be labeled with the primal cut as well as the product, such as "chuck roast" or "round steak." This helps consumers know what type of heat is best for cooking the product. Generally, chuck and round are less tender and require moist heat such as braising; loin and rib can be cooked by dry heat methods such as broiling or grilling.
Unfortunately, names for various cuts can vary regionally in stores, causing confusion over the choice of cooking method. For example, a boneless top loin steak is variously called: strip steak, Kansas City Steak, N.Y. strip steak, hotel cut strip steak, ambassador steak, or club sirloin steak.
How much beef is consumed?
Figures from the USDA's Economic Research Service show average annual per capita beef consumption for the following selected periods:
How much Beef is Consumed?
Year Weight Year Weight
1910 48 pounds 1960 59 pounds
1920 41 pounds 1970 80 pounds
1930 34 pounds 1980 72 pounds
1940 38 pounds 1990 64 pounds
1950 45 pounds 2012 54.5 pounds
Nutrition Labeling
Nutrition claims such as "lean" and "extra lean" are sometimes seen on beef products. Here are their definitions:
• "Lean" - 100 grams of beef with less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and
• "Extra Lean" - 100 grams of beef with less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol. less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol.
What does "natural" mean?
All fresh meat qualifies as "natural." Products labeled "natural" cannot contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient; and the product and its ingredients are not more than minimally processed (ground, for example). All products claiming to be natural should be accompanied by a brief statement which explains what is meant by the term "natural."
Some companies promote their beef as "natural" because they claim their cattle weren't exposed to antibiotics or hormones and were totally raised on a range instead of being "finished" in a feedlot.
How & why is some beef aged?
Beef is aged to develop additional tenderness and flavor. It is done commercially under controlled temperatures and humidity. Since aging can take from 10 days to 6 weeks, USDA does not recommend aging beef in a home refrigerator.
Why beef is called a "red" meat?
Oxygen is delivered to muscles by the red cells in the blood. One of the proteins in meat, myoglobin, holds the oxygen in the muscle. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the color of meat. Beef is called a "red" meat because it contains more myoglobin than chicken or fish. Other "red" meats are veal, lamb, and pork.
Color of Beef
Beef muscle meat not exposed to oxygen (in vacuum packaging, for example) is a burgundy or purplish color. After exposure to the air for 15 minutes or so, the myoglobin receives oxygen and the meat turns bright, cherry red.
After beef has been refrigerated about 5 days, it may turn brown due to chemical changes in the myoglobin. Beef that has turned brown during extended storage may be spoiled, have an off- odor, and be tacky to the touch.
Iridescent Color of Roast Beef
Sliced cooked beef or lunch meat can have an iridescent color. Meat contains iron, fat, and many other compounds. When light hits a slice of meat, it splits into colors like a rainbow. There are also various pigments in meat compounds which can give it an iridescent or greenish cast when exposed to heat and processing. Iridescent beef isn't spoiled necessarily. Spoiled cooked beef would probably also be slimy or sticky and have an off-odor.
Additives
Additives are not allowed on fresh beef. If beef is processed, additives such as MSG, salt, or sodium erythorbate must be listed on the label.
Dating of Beef Products
Product dating is not required by Federal regulations. However, many stores and processors may voluntarily date packages of raw beef or processed beef products. If a calendar date is shown, there must be a phrase explaining the meaning of the date.
Use or freeze products with a "Sell-By" date within 3 to 5 days of purchase.
If the manufacturer has determined a "Use-By" date, observe it. This is a quality assurance date after which peak quality begins to lessen but the product may still be used. It's always best to buy a product before its date expires. It's not important if a date expires after freezing beef because all foods stay safe while properly frozen.
What foodborne organisms are associated with beef?
Escherichia coli can colonize in the intestines of animals, which could contaminate muscle meat at slaughter. E. coli O157:H7 is a rare strain that produces large quantities of a potent toxin that forms in and causes severe damage to the lining of the intestine. The disease produced by it is called Hemorrhagic Colitis and is characterized by bloody diarrhea. E. coli O157:H7 is easily destroyed by thorough cooking.
Salmonella may be found in the intestinal tracts of livestock, poultry, dogs, cats, and other warm- blooded animals. There are about 2,000 Salmonella bacterial species. Freezing doesn't kill this microorganism, but it is destroyed by thorough cooking. Salmonella must be eaten to cause illness. They cannot enter the body through a skin cut. Cross-contamination can occur if raw meat or its juices contact cooked food or foods that will be eaten raw, such as salad.
Staphylococcus aureus can be carried on human hands, nasal passages, or throats. Most foodborne illness outbreaks are a result of contamination from food handlers and production of a heat-stable toxin in the food. Sanitary food handling and proper cooking and refrigerating should prevent staphylococcal foodborne illness.
Listeria monocytogenes is destroyed by cooking, but a cooked product can be recontaminated by poor handling practices and poor sanitation. FSIS has a zero tolerance for Listeria monocytogenes in cooked and ready-to-eat products such as beef franks or lunchmeat. Observe handling information such as "Keep Refrigerated" and "Use-By" dates on labels.
Rinsing Beef
It isn't necessary to wash raw beef before cooking it. Any bacteria which might be present on the surface would be destroyed by cooking.
How to Handle Beef Safely
Raw Beef: Select beef just before checking out at the register. Put packages of raw beef in disposable plastic bags, if available, to contain any leakage which could cross-contaminate cooked foods or produce. Beef, a perishable product, is kept cold during store distribution to retard the growth of bacteria.
Take beef home immediately and refrigerate it at 40 °F (4.4 °C); use within 3 to 5 days—1 or 2 days for ground beef and variety meats such as liver, kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, or tongue—or at freeze at 0 °F (-17.8 °C). If kept frozen continuously, it will be safe indefinitely.
It is safe to freeze beef in its original packaging or repackage it. However, for long-term freezing, overwrap the porous store plastic with aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer-weight plastic wrap or bags to prevent "freezer burn," which appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the beef. Heavily freezer-burned products may have to be discarded for quality reasons. For best quality, use steaks and roasts within 9 to 12 months.
Ready-Prepared Beef: For fully-cooked, take-out beef dishes such as Chinese food, barbecued ribs, or fast food hamburgers, be sure they are hot at pickup. Use cooked beef within 2 hours—1 hour if the air temperature is above 90 °F (32.2 °C) or refrigerate it at 40 °F (4.4 °C) in shallow, covered containers. Eat within 3 to 4 days, either cold or reheated to 165 °F (73.9 °C)--hot and steaming. It is safe to freeze ready-prepared beef dishes. For best quality, use within 4 months.
Safe Defrosting
There are three safe ways to defrost beef: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Never defrost on the counter or in other locations.
Refrigerator: It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Ground beef, stew meat, and steaks may defrost within a day. Bone-in parts and whole roasts may take 2 days or longer. Once the raw beef defrosts, it will be safe in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days before cooking. During this time, if you decide not to use the beef, you can safely refreeze it without cooking it first.
Cold Water: To defrost beef in cold water, do not remove packaging. Be sure the package is airtight or put it into a leak-proof bag. Submerge the beef in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes so that it continues to thaw. Small packages of beef may defrost in an hour or less; a 3- to 4-pound roast may take 2 to 3 hours.
Microwave: When microwave defrosting beef, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during microwaving. Holding partially-cooked food is not recommended because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed.
Foods defrosted in the microwave or by the cold water method should be cooked before refreezing because they may have been held at temperatures above 40 °F (4.4 °C).
It is safe to cook frozen beef in the oven, on the stove, or grill without defrosting it first; the cooking time may be about 50% longer. Do not cook frozen beef in a slow cooker.
Marinating
Marinate beef in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Boil used marinade before brushing on cooked beef. Discard any uncooked leftover marinade.
Partial Cooking
Never brown or partially cook beef to refrigerate and finish cooking later because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed. It is safe to partially pre-cook or microwave beef immediately before transferring it to the hot grill to finish cooking.
Liquid in Package
Many people think the red liquid in packaged fresh beef is blood. However, blood is removed from beef during slaughter and only a small amount remains within the muscle tissue. Since beef is about 3/4 water, this natural moisture combined with protein is the source of the liquid in the package.
Safe Cooking
For safety, the USDA recommends cooking hamburgers and ground beef mixtures such as meat loaf to 160 °F (71.1 °C) as measured with a food thermometer. Cook all organ and variety meats (such as heart, kidney, liver and tongue) to 160 °F (71.1 °C).
Cook all raw beef steaks and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 °C) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.
For approximate cooking times for use in meal planning, see the following chart compiled from various resources. Times are based on beef at refrigerator temperature—40 °F (4.4 °C). Remember that appliances and outdoor grills can vary in heat. Use a food thermometer to check for safe cooking and doneness of beef.
Type of Beef Size Cooking Method Cooking Time Internal Temperature
Rib Roast (bone in) 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 325 °F 23-25 min/lb 145 °F (62.8 °C) rest > 3 minutes
Rib Roast (boneless rolled) 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 325 °F Add 5-8 min/lb to times above
Chuck Roast, Brisket 3 to 4 lbs. *Braise 325 °F *Braise 325 °F
Round or Rump Roast 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. Roast 325 °F 30-35 min/lb
Tenderloin (whole) 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 425 °F 45-60 min total
Steaks 3/4" thick Broil/Grill 4-5 min per side
Stew or Shank Cross Cuts 1 to 1 1/2" thick Cover with liquid; simmer 2 to 3 hours
Short Ribs 4" long and 2" thick *Braise 325 °F 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours
Hamburger Patties (fresh) 4 ounces Grill, Broil or Fry 3 to 5 min/side 160 °F (71.1 °C)
*Braising is roasting or simmering less-tender meats with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan
Microwave Directions:
• When microwaving unequal size pieces of beef, arrange in dish or on rack so thick parts are toward the outside of dish and thin parts are in the center; cook on medium-high or medium power.
• Place a roast in an oven cooking bag or in a covered pot.
• Refer to the manufacturer's directions that accompany the microwave oven for suggested cooking times.
• Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness in several places to be sure temperatures listed above have been reached.
Storage Times
Since product dates aren't a guide for safe use of a product, how long can the consumer store the food and still use it at top quality? Follow these tips:
• Purchase the product before the date expires
• Follow handling recommendations on product.
• Keep beef in its package until using.
• It is safe to freeze beef in its original packaging. If freezing longer than 2 months, over wrap these packages with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap, or freezer paper or place the package inside a plastic bag.
• For storage times, consult the following chart. Home Storage of Beef Products
Home Storage of Beef Products
If product has a "Use-By" Date, follow that date. If product has a "Sell-By" Date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times on the following chart
Storage times for Beef Products Refridgerator 40 °F (4.4 °C) Freezer 0 °F (-17.8 °C)
Fresh beef roast, steaks, chops or ribs 3 to 5 days 6 to 12 months
Fresh bee liver or variety meats 1 or 2 days 3 to 4 months
Home cooked beef, soups, stews or casseroles 3 to 4 days 2 to 3 months
Store-cooked convenience meals 1 to 2 days 2 to 3 months
Cooked beef gravy or beef broth 1 or 2 days 2 to 3 months
Beef hot dogs or lunch meats, sealed in package 2 weeks (or 1 week after a "Use-By" date) 1 to 2 months
Beef hot dogs, opened package 7 days 1 to 2 months
Lunch meats, opened package 3 to 5 days 1 to 2 months
TV dinners, frozen casseroles Keep Frozen 3 to 4 months
Canned beef products in pantry 2 to 5 years in pantry; 3 to 4 days after opening After opening, 2 to 3 months
Jerky, commercially vacuum packaged 1 year in pantry Refridgerate 2 to 3 months Do not freeze
4.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Beef Identification and Fabric
Name: __________________________________ Date: __________________________
1. Beef is the meat of domesticated _______________, most of which comes from _____________.
2. The animal is cut into forequarters and hindquarters. Which primals come from the forequarter? ______________, _____________ and _______________, _________, and ___________ ______________.
3. The hindquarter has these primals: _________________________, _______________, _________, and _______________.
4. Beef offal is divided into muscular and glandular. Which offal is glandular?
5. Which beef offal is muscular?
6. What are the three types of fat in beef?
7. The fat found inside the muscle structure we consume is called ____________________ fat.
8. If you were to cook the short ribs from the short plate, which cooking method would you use? __________________________________.
9. Which primal does the seven steak come from? _______________________________.
10. Explain the difference between “hamburger” and “ground beef”. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/04%3A_Beef_Identification_and_Fabrication/4.02%3A_Inspection_and_Grading_of_Meat_and_Poultry-_What_Are_the_Differen.txt |
Veal is the meat of young, usually male, calves that are by- products of the dairy industry. Dairy cows must calve before they begin to give milk. Calves that are not used in the dairy herds are used in today's veal industry. Although veal may come from any calf under the age of nine months, most comes from calves slaughtered when they are 8 to 16 weeks old. Veal is lighter in color than beef, has a more delicate flavor and is generally tenderer. Young veal has a firm texture, light pink color and very little fat. As soon as a calf starts eating solid food, the iron in the food begins to turn the young animal's meat red. Meat from calves slaughtered when they are older than five months is called a calf. It tends to be a deeper red, with some marbling and external fat.
Veal's mild flavor and low fat content makes it a popular meat, especially among those looking for an alternative to beef. Both classic and modern sauces complement its delicate flavor.
Thumbnail: Two bonless veals cutlets in a dygon/olive oil souce with capers. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported; BrendelSignature via Wikippedia)
05: Veal Identification and Fabrication
After slaughter, the calf carcass can be split down the backbone into two bilateral halves or, more typically, cut along the natural curvature between the 11th and 12th ribs into a foresaddle (front portion) and a hindsaddle (rear portion). The veal carcass yields five primal cuts: three from the foresaddle (the shoulder, foreshank and breast, and rib), and two from the hindsaddle (the loin and leg). The veal shoulder, rib and loin primals contain both bilateral portions; that is, a veal loin contains both sides of the animal's loin.
As with all meats, it is important to know the location of bones when cutting or working with veal. This makes meat fabrication and carving easier and aids in identifying cuts. A veal carcass weighs in a range of 60 to 245 pounds (27 to 110 kg).
FORESADDLE
Shoulder
Similar to the beef shoulder or chuck, the veal shoulder accounts for 21 percent of the carcass weight. It contains four rib bones (as opposed to five in the beef chuck) and portions of the backbone, blade and arm bones.
The backbone, blade and arm bones are sometimes removed and the meat roasted or stuffed and roasted. Although shoulder chops and steaks can be fabricated, they are inferior to the chops cut from more tender areas such as the loin or rib. Often the shoulder meat is ground or cubed for stew. Because of the relatively large amount of connective tissue it contains, meat from the shoulder is best braised or stewed.
Foreshank and Breast
The foreshank and breast are located beneath the shoulder and rib sections on the front half of the carcass. They are considered one primal cut. Combined, they account for approximately 16 percent of the carcass weight. This primal contains rib bones and rib cartilage, breastbones and shank bones. Because stews such as veal fricassee and veal blanquette, rolled and stuffed, or trimmed and ground.
The foreshank is also very flavorful but tough. It can be braised whole or sliced perpendicular to the shank bone and braise d to produce ‘Osso bucco’.
Rib
The double rib, also known as a veal hotel rack, is a very tender, relatively small cut accounting for approximately 9 percent of the carcass weight. It is very popular and very expensive. The double rack consists of two racks, each with seven rib bones and a portion of the backbone. Veal racks can be roasted either whole or split into two sides. Veal racks can be boned out; each side produces a veal rib eye and a small piece of tenderloin known as the short tenderloin, both of which make excellent roasts. More often, veal racks are trimmed and cut into chops, which can also be bone-in or boneless, to be grilled, sautéed or braised.
HINDSADDLE
Loin
The veal loin is posterior to the primal rib, contains two ribs (numbers 12 and 13) and accounts for approximately 10 percent of the carcass weight. The loin consists of the loin eye muscle on top of the rib bones and the tenderloin under them.
The veal loin eye is very tender, and the tenderloin is, without a doubt, the tenderest cut of veal. If the primal veal loin is separated from the primal leg before the tenderloin is re move d, the tenderloin will be cut into two pieces. The small portion (short tenderloin) remains in the primal loin, and the large portion (butt tenderloin) remains in the sirloin portion of the primal leg. The tenderloin is sometimes removed and cut into medallions. The veal loin is often cut into chops, bone-in or boneless. It is usually cooked using dry-heat methods such as broiling, grilling, roasting or sautéing.
Leg
The primal veal leg consists of both the sirloin and the leg. Together, they account for approximately 42 per cent of the carcass weight. The primal leg is separated from the loin by a cut perpendicular to the backbone immediately anterior to the hipbone, and it contains portions of the backbone, tailbone, hipbone, aitchbone, round bone and hind shank.
Although it is tender enough to be roasted whole, the veal leg is typically fabricated into cutlets and scallops. To fabricate these cuts, the leg is first broken down into its major muscles: the top round, these muscles can be reduced to scallops by trimming all fat and visible connective tissue and slicing against the grain to the desired thickness. The scallops then should be pounded carefully to tenderize them further and to prevent them from curling when cooked.
The hindshank is somewhat meatier than the foreshank, but both are prepared and cooked in the same manner.
Because the veal carcass is small enough to be handled easily, it is sometimes purchased in forms larger than the primal cuts described earlier. Depending on employee skill, available equipment and storage space and an ability to utilize fully all the cuts and trimmings that fabricating meat produces, a chef may want to purchase veal in one of the following forms:
• Foresaddle: The anterior (front) portion of the carcass after it is severed from the hindsaddle by a cut following the natural curvature between the 11th and 12th ribs. It contains the primal shoulder, foreshank and breast, and rib.
• Hindsaddle: The posterior portion of the carcass after it is severed from the foresaddle. It contains the primal loin and leg.
• Back: The trimmed rib and loin sections in one piece. The back is particularly useful when producing large quantities of veal chops.
• Veal side: One bilateral half of the carcass, produced by cutting length wise through the backbone.
Organ Meats
Several calf organ meats are used in food service operations.
Sweetbreads
Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of veal and lamb. As an animal begins to age, its thymus gland shrinks; therefore, sweetbreads are not available from older cattle or sheep. Veal sweetbreads are much more popular than lamb sweetbreads in this country. Good-quality sweetbreads should be plump and firm, with the exterior membrane intact. Delicately flavored and tender, they can be prepared by almost any cooking method.
Calves Liver
Calves ' liver is much more popular than beef liver because of its tenderness and mild flavor. Good-quality calves' liver should be firm and moist, with a shiny appearance and without any off-odor. It is most often sliced and sautéed or broiled and served with a sauce.
Kidneys
Kidneys are more popular in other parts of the world than in the United States. Good quality kidneys should be plump, firm and encased in a shiny membrane. Properly prepared kidneys have a rich flavor and firm texture; they are best pre- pared by moist-heat cooking methods and are sometimes used in stew or kidney pie.
5.02: Nutrition of Veal
Like beef, veal is a major source of protein as well as niacin, zinc and B vitamins. Veal has less marbling than beef. When trimmed of any visible fat, veal is lower in fat and calories than comparable beef cuts and is leaner than many cuts of pork and poultry.
Although veal may not be as popular as beef or pork, it is versatile and easy to cook and acid s variety to menus. Veal is much more delicately flavored than beef, with a finer texture and lighter color. Its flavor blends well with a variety of sauces and other ingredients without overpowering them. Veal can be cooked by almost any dry-heat, moist-heat or combination cooking method.
Veal quality varies greatly among purveyors. Purchase only from reputable companies to be sure of receiving a consistently high-quality product. Because veal carcasses are relatively small, they are sometimes purchased as primal cuts for further fabrication.
Veal Blanquette en vol au vent- Wikimedia Commons
Wiener schnitzel with potato dumplings- Wikimedia Commons
Veal Osso Bucco- flickr.com
Veal Sweetbreads - Wikimedia Commons
5.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Veal Identification and Fabric
Classroom Preparation Assignment
Topic Six
Veal Identification and Fabrication
Name: ______________________________ Date:______________________________
1. A calf’s meat begins to turn from pink to red after the calf _______________________________.
2. Most calves are slaughtered between 8 and 16 weeks but they can be as old as ____________________________.
3. What three primal cuts come from the foresaddle?
4. What two primals come from the hindsaddle?
5. What are the three primary organ meats we utilize from the veal?
6. T or F. Circle one. Veal has more marbling than does beef.
7. What is the best cooking method for Osso Bucco?
8. What is the best cooking method for Weiner Schnitzel?
9. T or F. Circle one. Veal Blanquette is a braised dish.
10. T or F. Circle one. Most calves for veal come from dairies where male cows have no good purpose other than veal. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/05%3A_Veal_Identification_and_Fabrication/5.01%3A_Introduction_to_Veal_Identification_and_Fabrication.txt |
Pork is the meat of hogs, usually butchered before they are one year old. With the exception of beef, Americans consume more pork than any other meat. The pork we eat is leaner and healthier than it once was because of advances in animal husbandry. Because hogs are butchered at a young age, their meat is generally very tender with a delicate flavor. It is well suited to a variety of cooking methods. More than two-thirds of the pork marketed in the United States is cured to produce products such as smoked hams and smoked bacon.
06: Pork Identification and Fabrication
After a hog is slaughtered, it is generally split down the backbone, dividing the carcass into bilateral halves. Like the beef carcass, each side of the hog carcass is then further broken down into the primal cuts: shoulder, Boston butt, belly, loin and fresh ham.
Hogs are bred specifically to produce long loins; the loin contains the highest- quality meat and is the most expensive cut of pork. Pork is unique in that the ribs and loin are considered a single primal. They are not separated into two different primals, as are the ribs and loin of beef, veal and lamb. As with all meats, it is important to know the location of bones when cutting or working with pork. This makes meat fabrication and carving easier and aids in identifying cuts. A hog carcass generally weighs in a range of 120 to 210 pounds (55 to 110 kg)
Raw pork shoulder- flickr.com BBQ pork shoulder- Wikimedia.org
The primal shoulder, known as the picnic ham, is the lower portion of the hog's foreleg; it accounts for approximately 20 percent of the carcass weight. The shoulder contains the arm and shank bones and has a relatively high ratio of bone to lean meat.
Because all pork comes from hogs slaughtered at a young age, the shoulder is tender enough to be cooked by any method. It is, however, one of the least tender cuts of pork. It is available smoked or fresh. The shoulder is fairly inexpensive and, when purchased fresh, it can be cut into shoulder butt steaks or boned and cut into smaller pieces for sautéing or stewing. Whole pork shoulder is the cut preferred by many barbecue pit masters throughout the American South.
The foreshank is called the shoulder hock and is usually smoked. Shoulder hocks are often simmered for long periods in soups, stews and braised dishes to add flavor and richness.
BOSTON BUTT
The primal Boston butt is a square cut located just above the primal pork shoulder. It accounts for approximately 7 percent of the carcass weight.
Raw Boston Butt roast- Flickr.com Smoked Boston Butt- flickr.com
The Boston butt is very meaty and tender, with a good percentage of fat to lean meat. Containing only a small portion of the blade bone, the Boston butt is a good choice when a recipe calls for a solid piece of lean pork. The fresh Boston butt is sometimes cut into steaks, or chops to be broiled or sautéed. When the Boston butt is smoked, it is usually boneless and called a cottage ham.
BELLY
Raw pork belly- Wikimedia commons Braised pork belly- Wikimedia commons
The primal pork belly is located below the loin. Accounting for approximately 16 percent of the carcass weight, it is very fatty with only streaks of lean meat. It contains the spareribs, which are always separated from the rest of the belly before cooking. Spareribs usually are sold fresh but can also be smoked. Typically, they are simmered, and then grilled, or baked, while being basted with a spicy barbecue sauce. The remainder of the pork belly is nearly always cured and smoked to produce bacon.
Maple bacon- photo credit Chef Marshall Welsh CEC
LOIN
Pork cuts from loin- photo credit Chef Marshall Welsh CEC Above from far left and counter clockwise to center: Bone-in pork loin partially frenched, pork trim, fat trim, pork tenderloin (center), plate or back fat (lower center to right).
The loin is cut from directly behind the Boston butt and includes the entire rib section as well as the loin and a portion of the sirloin area. The primal loin accounts for approximately 20 percent of the carcass weight. It contains a portion of the blade bone on the shoulder end, a portion of the hipbone on the ham end, all the ribs and most of the backbone.
Stuffed Roll of Pork lion- photo credit Chef Marshall Welsh CEC
The primal pork loin is the only primal cut of pork not typically smoked or cured. Most of the loin is a single, very tender eye muscle. It is quite lean but contains enough intramuscular and subcutaneous fat to make it an excellent choice for a moist-heat cooking method such as braising, or it can be prepared with dry-heat cooking methods such as roasting or sautéing. The loin also contains the pork tenderloin, located on the inside of the rib bones on the sirloin end of the loin. The tenderloin is the tenderest cut of pork; it is very versatile and can be trimmed, cut into medallions and sautéed, or the whole tenderloin can be roasted or braised. The most popular cut from the loin is the pork chop. Chops can be cut from the entire loin, the choicest being center-cut chops from the primal loin after the blade bone and sirloin portions at the front and rear of the loin are removed. The pork loin can be purchased boneless or boned and tied as a roast. A boneless pork loin is smoked to produce Canadian bacon. The rib bones, when trimmed from the loin, can be served as barbecued pork back ribs.
Canadian Bacon- Chef Marshall Welsh CEC Barbecued pork ribs- Chef Marshall Welsh CEC
Although not actually part of the primal loin, fatback is the thick layer of fat - sometimes more than an inch (2.5 centimeters) thick - between the skin and the lean eye muscle. It has a variety of uses in the kitchen, especially in the preparation of charcuterie items.
FRESH HAM
Fresh pork cuts from right to left: Ham, Boston Butt, and Picnic Shoulder Photo credit: Chef Marshall Welsh CEC
The primal fresh ham is the hog's hind leg. It is a rather large cut accounting approximately 24 percent of the carcass weight. The ham contains the aitch, and hind shank bones. Fresh ham, like the legs of other meat animals, contains large muscles with relatively small amounts of connective tissue. Like many other cuts of pork, hams are often cured and smoked. However, fresh hams also produce great roasts and can be prepared using almost any cooking method. When cured and smoked, hams are available in a variety of styles; they can be purchased bone-in, shankless or boneless, partially or fully cooked. Fully cooked hams are also available canned. There is a specific ham for nearly every use and desired degree of convenience. The shank portion of the ham is called the ham hock. It is used in the same manner as the shoulder hock. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/06%3A_Pork_Identification_and_Fabrication/6.01%3A_Primal_And_Subprimal_Cuts_of_Pork.txt |
NUTRITION
Like other meats, pork is a good source of protein, B vitamins and other essential nutrients, but it is also high in fat, especially saturated fats. Through new breeding and feeding techniques, the fat content of pork has been lowered in recent years. Cuts from the loin, such as the tenderloin and boneless loin chops, are among the leaner cuts of meat available with reduced levels of saturated fat. Sodium content of smoked and preserved pork products such as bacon, ham and sausage used in charcuterie is high but reduced - sodium preserved and smoked products are increasingly available.
Butchering Procedures
Other than suckling pigs (which are very young, very small whole pigs used for roasting or barbecuing whole), pork products generally are not purchased in forms larger than the primal cuts described earlier. Chefs should master a few important pork fabrication and butchering techniques, however.
Procedure for Boning a Pork Loin
1. Starting on the sirloin end of a full pork loin, remove the tenderloin in one piece by making smooth cuts against the inside of the rib bones. Pull gently on the tenderloin as you cut.
2. Turn the loin over and cut between the ribs and the eye meat. Continue separating the meat from the bones, following the contours of the bones, until the loin is completely separated from the bones.
3. Trim around the blade bone on the shoulder end of the loin and remove it.
Procedure for Tying a Boneless Pork Roast – Half-Stich Method
1. Wrap the loose end of the string around the pork loin and tie it with a double knot.
2. Make a loop and slide it down over the roast to approximately 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) from the first knot.
3. Make another loop and slide it.
4. Turn the roast over and cut the string, leaving enough to wrap lengthwise around the roast to the original knot.
5. Wrap the string around the end of the roast, then around the string that formed the last loop. Continue in this fashion for the length of the roast, pulling the string tight after wrapping it around each loop.
6. Turn the roast back over. Wrap the string around the front end of the roast and secure it to the first loop at the point where you tied the first knot.
7. The finished roast. Note the even intervals at which the strings are tied. They should be just snug enough to hold the shape of the roast; they should not dig in or cut the meat
Pork - Primal to Table
PRIMAL SUBPRIMAL OR FABRICATED CUT IMPS COOKING METHODS SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Shoulder Picnic shoulder 405 Dry heat (roast or bake) Smoked picnic shoulder
Boston Butt Boston butt 406 Dry heat (broil or grill; sauté) Broiled Boston butt steaks
Moist heat (simmer) Choucroute
Belly Bacon 539 Dry heat (sauté) Breakfast meat
Moist heat (simmer) Seasoning
Combination (braise) Seasoning
Spareribs 416A Combination (steam, then grill) Barbecued spareribs
Loin Pork Loin 410 Dry heat (roast) Roast pork
Combination (braise) Braised pork chops
Pork tenderloin 415 Dry heat (broil; grill; sauté; roast) Roast pork tenderloin
Pork back ribs 422 Combination (steam, then grill) Barbecued back ribs
Pork loin chops 1410 Dry heat (broil or grill) Broiled loin chop with leeks and fennel
Combination (braise) Braised loin chop with leeks and fennel
Fresh Ham Fresh ham 401A Dry heat (roast) Roast pork with apricots and almonds
Procedure for Cutting a Center-cut Pork Chop
A center-cut pork chop can be cut from the center portion of a bone-in pork loin without the aid of a saw by using a boning knife and a heavy cleaver. Trim the excess fat from the loin, leaving a 1/4-inc h (6-millimeter) layer to protect the meat during cooking.
1. Cut through the meat with the knife.
2. Use the cleaver to chop through the chine bone.
3. To produce a cleaner chop, trim the meat from the end of the rib bone. Then, with the boning knife, separate the loin meat from the chine bones and separate the chine bone from the rib with the cleaver.
Fresh Pork from Farm to Table
Source:https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...education/get- answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/fresh-pork-from-farm-to-table/ct_index
Although pork is the number one meat consumed in the world, U.S. consumption dropped during the 1970s, largely because pork's high fat content caused health-conscious Americans to choose leaner meats. Today's hogs have much less fat due to improved genetics, breeding and feeding. Read on for more information about this red meat.
What is pork? Pork is the meat from hogs, or domestic swine. The domestication of "pigs" (immature hogs) for food dates back to about 7000 B.C. in the Middle East. However, evidence shows that Stone Age man ate wild boar, the hog's ancestor, and the earliest surviving pork recipe is Chinese, at least 2000 years old.
Hogs were brought to Florida by Hernando De Soto in 1525, and soon was America's most popular meat. In the 19th century — as America urbanized and people began living away from the farm, "salt pork" — pork that is prepared with a high level of salt to preserve it — became the staple food. Pork has continued to be an important part of our diet since that time.
Pork is generally produced from young animals (6 to 7 months old) that weigh from 175 to 240 pounds. Much of a hog is cured and made into ham, bacon and sausage. Uncured meat is called "fresh pork."
Can antibiotics and hormones be used in pork raising? Antibiotics may be given to prevent or treat disease in hogs. A "withdrawal" period is required from the time antibiotics are administered until it is legal to slaughter the animal. This is so residues can exit the animal's system and won't be in the meat.
FSIS randomly samples pork at slaughter and tests for residues. Data from this monitoring program have shown a very low percentage of residue violations.
No hormones are used in the raising of hogs.
How is pork inspected? All pork found in retail stores is either USDA inspected for wholesomeness or inspected by state systems which have standards equal to the federal government. Each animal and its internal organs are inspected for signs of disease. The "Passed and Inspected by USDA" seal insures the pork is wholesome and free from disease.
Is pork graded? Although inspection is mandatory, its grading for quality is voluntary, and a plant pays to have its pork graded. USDA grades for pork reflect only two levels: "Acceptable" grade and "Utility" grade. Pork sold as Acceptable quality pork is the only fresh pork sold in supermarkets. It should have a high proportion of lean meat to fat and bone. Pork graded as Utility is mainly used in processed products and is not available in supermarkets for consumers to purchase.
What to Look for When Buying Pork. When buying pork, look for cuts with a relatively small amount of fat over the outside and with meat that is firm and a grayish pink color. For best flavor and tenderness, meat should have a small amount of marbling.
Retail Cuts of Fresh Pork. There are four basic (primal) cuts into which pork is separated: shoulder, loin, side and leg.
Shoulder
1. Shoulder Butt, Roast or Steak
2. Blade Steak
3. Boneless Blade Boston Roast
4. Smoked Arm Picnic
5. Smoked Hock
6. Ground Pork for Sausage
Side
1. Spare Ribs/Back Ribs
2. Bacon
Loin
1. Boneless Whole Loin (Butterfly Chop)
2. Loin Roast
3. Tenderloin
4. Sirloin Roast
5. Country Style Ribs
6. Chops
Leg
1. Ham/Fresh or Smoked and Cured
How much pork is consumed in America?
Figures from the USDA's Economic Research Service show average annual per capita pork consumption for the following selected periods:
• 1970: 48 pounds
• 1975: 39 pounds
• 1980: 52 pounds
• 1985: 48 pounds
• 1990: 46 pounds
• 1995: 48 pounds
• 2000: 47 pounds
• 2005: 46.6 pounds
• 2009: 49.6 pounds
What does "natural" mean? All fresh meat qualifies as "natural." Products labeled "natural" cannot contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient; and the product and its ingredients are not more than minimally processed (ground, for example). All products claiming to be natural should be accompanied by a brief statement which explains what is meant by the term "natural."
Why is pork a "red" meat? Oxygen is delivered to muscles by the red cells in the blood. One of the proteins in meat, myoglobin, holds the oxygen in the muscle. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the color of meat. Pork is classified a "red" meat because it contains more myoglobin than chicken or fish. When fresh pork is cooked, it becomes lighter in color, but it is still a red meat. Pork is classed as "livestock" along with veal, lamb and beef. All livestock are considered "red meat."
Dating of Pork. Product dating (i.e. applying "sell by" or "use by" dates) is not required by Federal regulations. However, many stores and processors may voluntarily choose to date packages of raw pork. Use or freeze products with a "sell-by" date within 3 to 5 days of purchase. If the manufacturer has determined a "use-by" date, observe it. It's always best to buy a product before its date expires. It's not important if a date expires after freezing pork because all foods stay safe while properly frozen.
What foodborne organisms are associated with pork? Pork must be adequately cooked to eliminate disease-causing parasites and bacteria that may be present. Humans may contract trichinosis (caused by the parasite, Trichinella spiralis) by eating undercooked pork. Much progress has been made in reducing trichinosis in grain-fed hogs and human cases have greatly declined since 1950. Today's pork can be safely enjoyed when cooked to an internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.
Some other foodborne micro-organisms that can be found in pork, as well as other meats and poultry, are Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes. People can become infected with these bacteria by consuming raw or undercooked pork, or from the cross-contamination of food contact surfaces, such as countertops, cutting boards, utensils. These bacteria are all destroyed by proper handling and thorough cooking.
Chitterlings (made of large intestine of swine) can be contaminated with the bacteria Yersinia enterocolitica, which can cause a diarrheal illness called "yersiniosis."
For more information, see our fact sheet:
Yersiniosis and Chitterlings: Tips to Protect You and Those You Care for from Foodborne Illness.
Rinsing Pork. It isn't necessary to wash raw pork before cooking it. Any bacteria which might be present on the surface would be destroyed by cooking.
How to Handle Pork Safely
Raw Pork. Select pork just before checking out at the supermarket register. Put packages of raw pork in disposable plastic bags (if available) to contain any leakage which could cross contaminate cooked and ready-to-eat foods or produce. Take pork home immediately and refrigerate it at 40 °F; use within 3 to 5 days or freeze (0 °F).
Ready-Prepared Pork. For fully cooked take-out pork dishes such as Chinese food or barbecued ribs, be sure they are hot at pick-up. Use cooked pork within two hours (one hour if air temperature is above 90 °F) or refrigerate it at 40 °F or less in shallow, covered containers. Eat within 3 to 4 days, either cold or reheated to 165 °F (hot and steaming). It is safe to freeze ready prepared pork dishes. For best quality, use within 3 months.
Safe Thawing
There are three safe ways to thaw pork: in the refrigerator, in cold water (in an airtight or leak- proof bag) and in the microwave. Never thaw at room temperature on the counter or in other locations.
It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. After thawing raw pork by this method, it will remain safe in the refrigerator 3 to 5 days before cooking. During this time, if you decide not to use the pork, you can safely refreeze it without cooking it first.
When microwave-defrosting pork, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during microwaving. Holding partially cooked food is not recommended because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed. Foods defrosted in the microwave or by the cold water method should be cooked before refreezing because they potentially may have been held at temperatures above 40 °F.
It is safe to cook frozen pork in the oven, on the stove or grill without defrosting it first; the cooking time may be about 50% longer. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Do not cook frozen pork in a slow cooker.
Marinating
Marinate pork in the refrigerator in a covered container up to 5 days. Boil used marinade before brushing on cooked pork. Discard any uncooked leftover marinade.
Irradiation
Irradiation has been approved for use on pork by FDA and USDA/FSIS in low-doses (to control trichina). Treated pork would not be sterile and would still need to be handled safely. Trichinella could be alive but would be unable to reproduce. Packages of irradiated pork must be labeled with the irradiation logo as well as the words "Treated with Irradiation" or "Treated by Irradiation" so they would be easily recognizable at the store.
Partial cooking
Never brown or partially cook pork, then refrigerate and finish cooking later, because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed. It is safe to partially pre-cook or microwave pork immediately before transferring it to the hot grill to finish cooking.
Safe cooking
For safety, the USDA recommends cooking ground pork patties and ground pork mixtures such as meat loaf to 160 °F. Cook all organ and variety meats (such as heart, kidney, liver, tongue, and chitterlings) to 160 °F. Cook all raw pork steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.
For approximate cooking times for use in meal planning, see the attached chart compiled from various resources. Times are based on pork at refrigerator temperature (40 °F). Remember that appliances and outdoor grills can vary in heat. Use a meat thermometer to check for safe cooking and doneness of pork.
Can Safely Cooked Pork Be Pink?
Cooked muscle meats can be pink even when the meat has reached a safe internal temperature. If fresh pork has reached 145 °F throughout, even though it may still be pink in the center, it should be safe. The pink color can be due to the cooking method or added ingredients.
Microwave Directions
• When microwaving unequal size pieces of pork, arrange in dish or on rack so thick parts are toward the outside of dish and thin parts are in the center, and cook on medium-high or medium power.
• Place a roast in an oven cooking bag or in a covered pot.
• Refer to the manufacturer's directions that accompany the microwave oven for suggested cooking times.
• Test with a food thermometer in several places to be sure temperatures listed above have been reached
FRESH PORK: Safe Cooking Chart
Cook all raw pork steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures
Fresh Pork: Safe Cooking Chart
Cut Thickness or Weight Cooking Time Minimum Internal Temperature & Rest Time
ROASTING: Set oven at 350 °F. Roast in a shallow pan, uncovered.
Loin Roast, Bone-in or Boneless 2 to 5 pounds 20 min. per pound 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Crown Roast 10 pounds 12 min. per pound
Leg, (Fresh Ham) Whole, Bone-in 18 to 20 pounds 15 min. per pound
Leg, (Fresh Ham) Half, Bone-in 5 to 8 pounds 22-25 min. per pound
Boston Butt 3 to 6 pounds 45 min. per pound
Tenderloin (Roast at 425-450 °F) 1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds Total time: 20 to 27 min.
Ribs (Back, Country-style or Spareribs) 2 to 4 pounds 1 1/2 to 2 hours (or until fork tender)
BROILING (4 inches from heat; turn once) or GRILLING (over direct, medium heat; turn once halfway through grilling)
Loin Chops, Bone-in or Boneless 3/4 - inch or 1 1/2 inches Total time: 8-9 or 12-16 min. 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Loin Kabobs 1 - inch cubes Total time: 10-15 min.
Tenderloin 1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds Total time: 20 min.
Ribs (indirect heat), all types 2 to 4 pounds 1 1/2 to 2 hours
Ground Pork Patties (direct heat) 1/2 inch Total time: 8-10 min. 160 °F
IN SKILLET ON STOVE
Loin Chops or Cutlets 1/4 - inch or 3/4 - inch Total time: 3-4 or 7-8 min. 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Tenderloin Medallions 1/4 to 1/2 - inch Total time: 4 to 8 min.
Ground Pork Patties 1/2 inch Total time: 8 to 10 min. 160 °F
BRAISING: Cover and simmer with a liquid
Loin Chops, Bone-in or Boneless 1/4 to 3/4 - inch Total time: 6-8 min. 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Loin Cubes and Tenderloin Medallions 1/2 to 1 inch Total time: 8-10 min.
Shoulder Butt, Boneless 3 to 6 pounds 2 to 2 1/2 hours
Ribs, all types 2 to 4 pounds 1 1/2 to 2 hours
STEWING: Cover pan; simmer, covered with liquid.
Loin or Shoulder Cubes 1 inch 45 to 60 min. or until tender 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Note: Approximate cooking times were compiled from various resources
HOME STORAGE OF FRESH PORK
These short, but safe, storage time limits will help keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.
Product Refrigerator 40 °F Freezer 0 °F
Fresh pork roast, steaks, chops or ribs 3 to 5 days 4 to 6 months
Fresh pork liver or variety meats 1 to 2 days 3 and 4 months
Home cooked pork; soups, stews or casseroles 3 to 4 days 2 to 3 months
Store-cooked convenience meals 1 to 2 days 2 to 3 months
Frozen Dinners & Entrees Keep frozen before cooking 3 to 4 months
Cannes pork products in pantry 2 to 5 years in pantry; 3 to 4 days after opening After opening, 2 to 3 months
6.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Pork Identification and Fabric
Name: __________________________________ Date: ____________________________
1. Pork is the meat of hogs, usually butchered before _________________________________________.
2. Aside from __________, Americans consume more pork than any other meat.
3. Name the five primal cuts found on each side of the hog.
4. A market ready carcass of a hogs weights between _________________ and _________________ pounds.
5. Another name for the primal shoulder of the hog is the _______________________.
6. The hock from the shoulder is often smoked as a seasoning meat for _______________, ______________ and ___________________ dishes.
7. If smoking a pork primal which of these two would be the best choice and why? Picnic or Boston Butt?
8. What cut is often separated from the pork belly?
9. What is the most prized and tenderest part of the hog? It is found “inside” the animal near the loin.
10. Who grades pork and what are the two grades? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/06%3A_Pork_Identification_and_Fabrication/6.02%3A_Nutrition_Butchering_and_Cooking_of_Pork.txt |
Lamb is the meat of sheep slaughtered when they are less than one year old. Meat from sheep slaughtered after that age is called mutton. Spring lamb is young lamb that has not been fed grass or grains. Because lamb is slaughtered at an early age, it is quite tender and can be prepared by almost any cooking method. Lamb has a strong and distinctive flavor. It goes well with boldly flavored sauces and accompaniments.
07: Lamb Identification and Fabrication
Lamb is the meat of sheep slaughtered when they are less than one year old. Meat from sheep slaughtered after that age is called mutton. Spring lamb is young lamb that has not been fed grass or grains. Because lamb is slaughtered at an early age, it is quite tender and can be prepared by almost any cooking method. Lamb has a strong and distinctive flavor. It goes well with boldly flavored sauces and accompaniments.
Dressed carcass of lamb- Flickr.com
PRIMAL AND SUBPRIMAL CUTS OF LAMB
After the young sheep is slaughtered, it is usually reduced to the primal cuts: shoulder, breast, rack, loin and leg. Like some veal primals, lamb primals are crosscut sections and contain both bilateral halves (for example, the primal leg contains both hind legs). Lamb primals are not classified into a forequarter and hindquarter like beef, or a foresaddle and hindsaddle like veal.
As with all meats, it is important to know the location of bones when cutting or working with lamb. This makes meat fabrication and carving easier and aids in identifying cuts. A lamb carcass generally weighs between 41 and 75 pounds (20 and 35 kg).
SHOULDER
Roasted shoulder of lamb- Flickr.com- notice the shoulder blade on the far left. Lamb and sheep have no articulated joint on their front legs as they do on their back legs. The primal lamb shoulder is a relatively large cut accounting for 36 percent of the carcass weight. The lamb shoulder contains four rib-bones and the arm, blade and neck bones as well as many small, tough muscles whose grains travel in different directions.
All these bones and muscle groups make it nearly impossible to cook and carve a whole shoulder. Although the shoulder may be cut into chops, boned and then roasted, or braised, with or without stuffing, it is more commonly diced for stew or ground for patties.
BREAST
The primal lamb breast contains the breast and foreshank portions of the carcass. Together they account for approximately 17 percent of the carcass weight and contain the rib, breast and shank bones. The primal breast is located beneath the primal rack and contains the rib tips, which are cut off to produce the rack. When separated from the rest of the breast, these small ribs are called ‘Denver ribs’ and can be substituted for pork ribs when desired.
Lamb chart by Wikimedia commons.org - Section 8 is the breast section of the lamb.
Although the breast is not used extensively in food service operations, it can be stuffed and braised, either bone-in or boneless. Lamb foreshanks are quite meaty and may be braised and served as an entree, used for broths or ground.
RACK
The primal lamb rack is also known as the hotel rack. It is located between the primal shoulder and loin. Containing eight ribs and portions of the backbone, it accounts for approximately 8 percent of the carcass weight.
Lamb rack- Wikimedia Roasted rack of lamb - Flickr
The rack is valued for its tender rib eye muscle. The hotel rack is usually split racks can then be grilled , broiled or roasted as racks or cut into single or double rib chops before cooking.
LOIN
The loin is located between the primal rib and leg. It contains rib number 13 and portions of the backbone as well as the loin eye muscle, tender loin and flank. It account s for approximately 13 percent of the carcass weight.
Lamb loin noisette- Wikimedia commons Lamb chops (T-bones) – Wikimedia commons
Except for the flank, the loin meat is very tender and is invariably cooked using a dry-heat method such as broiling, grilling or roasting. The loin may be boned to produce boneless roasts or chops or cut into chops with the bone in. The loin eye may be re moved and cut into medallions or noisette.
LEG
The primal leg is a large section accounting for approximately 34 percent of the carcass weight. It is the posterior portion of the carcass, separated from the loin by a straight cut anterior to the hipbone cartilage. As with veal, the cut of meat that would be the sirloin on a beef carcass is separated from the lamb loin by this cut and becomes part of the primal leg.
Raw and roasted legs of lamb - Wikimedia commons
The lamb leg contains several bones: the backbone, tail, hip, aitch, round and shank bones. The primal leg is rarely used as is. More often, it is split into two legs, and partially or fully boned. Lamb legs are quite tender - the sirloin end more so than the shank end - and are well suited to a variety of cooking methods. A bone-in leg is often roasted for buffet service or braised with vegetables or beans for a hearty dish. Steaks can also be cut from the bone-in leg, with the sirloin end producing the tenderest cuts. A boneless leg can be tied and roasted, with or without stuffing, or trimmed and cut into scallops. The shank end can be diced for stew or ground for patties.
Because lamb carcasses are so easily handled, purveyors often sell them whole or cut in a variety of ways to better meet their customers' needs. As well as whole-carcass, primal and fabricated cuts, lamb can be purchased in the following forms:
• Foresaddle: The anterior (front) portion of the carcass after it is severed from the hindsaddle by a cut following the natural curvature between the 12th and 13th ribs. It contains the primal shoulder, breast, foreshank, and rack.
• Hindsaddle: The posterior portion of the carcass after it is severed from the foresaddle. It contains the primal loin and leg together with the kidneys.
• Back: The trimmed rack and loin sections in one piece. The back is particularly useful when producing large quantities of lamb chops.
• Bracelet: The primal hotel rack with the connecting breast sections. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/07%3A_Lamb_Identification_and_Fabrication/7.01%3A_Primal_and_Subprimal_Cuts_of_Lamb.txt |
Nutrition
Lamb, especially when purchased in subprimal cuts to be fabricated on-site, is an economical source of high-quality protein. Lean and lower in cholesterol than other red meat proteins, lamb is a good source of iron as compared with chicken, fish or poult1y. Lamb has less marbling than other red meats. Its excess fat appears on the outside of many cuts and can easily be trimmed before cooking. Grass-fed lamb, like meat from other grass-fed ruminants, is high in the powerful antioxidant conjugated linoleic acid, identified as a cancer preventative.
Butchering Procedures
Lamb is unique among the common meat animals in that it is small enough to be handled easily in its carcass form. Thus, food service operation s sometimes purchase lamb whole and fabricate the desired cuts themselves. This is practical if the operation has the necessary employee skills, equipment and storage space, as well as a need for all the various cuts and trimmings that butchering a whole carcass produces. A few important lamb fabrication and butchering techniques follow.
Domestic versus Imported Lamb
Technologies that increase shelf life have made imported fresh lamb commonplace. Lamb imported from New Zealand and Australia accounts for nearly 50 percent of the lamb meat sold in the United States. Domestic lamb differs from imported lamb in a few ways. Domestic lamb is primarily grain fed and has a milder flavor than its grass-fed counterparts have. Domestic lamb is raised to approximately 135 pounds, larger than imported lamb, resulting in larger cut sizes.
Procedure for ‘Frenching’ a Rack of Lamb
1. With a meat saw, trim the ribs to approximately 3 inches (7.5 centimeters), measuring from the rib eye on each side of the rack.
2. Turn the rack over and cut down both sides of the featherbones, completely separating the meat from the bone.
3. Turn the rack back over. Using a meat saw, cut between the ribs and the chine bone at a 45-degree angle, exposing the lean meat between the ribs and the vertebral junctures.
Lamb from Farm to Table
Source: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...education/get- answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/focus-on-lambfrom-farm-to-table/ct_index
Sheep is the oldest domesticated meat species. Sheep have been raised by humans beginning about 9,000 years ago in the Middle East. In many countries, lamb (a young sheep) is the major source of protein. Many Americans think of lamb as a springtime food, but it can be enjoyed year round. The following information answers many questions callers have asked the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline about lamb.
What is the difference between lamb and mutton? Sheep (Ovine) carcasses are classified as lamb, yearling mutton, or mutton depending on their age as evidenced by their muscles and bones. For the purpose of this fact sheet we will be discussing lamb. The flavor of lamb is milder than mutton. Lamb is produced from younger animals, typically less than a year old, and mutton is produced from older animals. Most lambs are brought to market at about 6 to 8 months old. A lamb weighs about 140 pounds and yields approximately 46 to 49 pounds of edible lean retail lamb cuts, semi-boneless.
If the phrase "Spring Lamb" is on a meat label, it means the lamb was slaughtered between March and October. The term comes from olden times when lambs born in harsh winter weather would have little chance to survive until the next year. Today with more protected animal husbandry conditions, enjoying "lamb" is not confined to a particular season of the year.
How are lambs raised? Lambs are nursed by their mothers and when they are weaned, they gradually begin feeding on pasture or coarsely ground grain. They are fed hay and feed consisting of corn, barley, milo (a type of sorghum), and/or wheat supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Lambs are usually "finished" (grown to maturity) in feedlots where they are fed specially formulated feed. While most lambs are finished on grains, some lambs are raised on pasture and are finished on grass instead of grains. Grass-finished lamb is usually distinguished on the label.
How is lamb inspected? All lamb found in retail stores is either USDA inspected for wholesomeness or inspected by state systems which have standards equal to the Federal government. Each lamb and its internal organs are inspected for signs of disease. The "Passed and Inspected by USDA" seal insures the lamb is wholesome and free from disease.
What does the grade mean? Grading for quality is voluntary. A processing plant may request to have its lamb graded for quality based on traits such as tenderness, juiciness and flavor. USDA- graded lamb sold at the retail level is Prime, Choice, and Good.
**Lower grades (Utility and Cull) are mainly ground or used in processed products.
Lamb quality grades take into consideration maturity (lamb, yearling mutton, and mutton), conformation, and the palatability-indicating characteristics, such as fat streaking within the flank and firmness of the lean. Most of the graded lamb sold in supermarkets is USDA Choice; 80% of the American lamb supply is USDA Prime or USDA Choice. The protein, vitamin, and mineral content of lamb are similar in all grades.
How is ungraded lamb different? All lamb is inspected for wholesomeness; however, since grading is not mandatory, the overall quality of ungraded lamb is unknown—it may be higher or lower than USDA-graded lamb found at retail. Since the quality of lamb varies according to the age of the animal, it is advisable to buy lamb that has been USDA graded since age is taken into consideration.
Can hormones and antibiotics be used in lamb raising? Yes. Hormones and antibiotics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are permitted to be used in lambs slaughtered for meat. Antibiotics may be given to prevent or treat disease in lambs and hormones may be given to promote efficient growth. A recommended withholding period is required from the time antibiotics are administered until it is legal to slaughter the animal. This is so drug residues can exit the animal's system. FSIS samples lamb carcasses at slaughter and tests for residues. FSIS laboratory results above the tolerance limit set by FDA is considered a residue violation and are investigated by FDA or the State.
What to Look for When Selecting Lamb. When shopping for lamb, look for meat that is fine textured and firm that has red coloring and white marbling (white flecks of fat within the meat muscle). The fat trim should be firm, white, and not too thick. The USDA quality grades are reliable guides.
Retail Cuts of Fresh Lamb. There are five basic major (primal) cuts into which the lamb carcass is separated: shoulder, rack, shank/breast, loin, and leg. It is recommended that packages of fresh lamb purchased in the supermarket be labeled with the primal cut as well as the product, such as "shoulder roast" or "loin chop."
What is a rack of lamb? The "rack" is the primal cut, more commonly known as the rib. The rack contains 9 full ribs and can be split (along the back bone) into two lamb rib roasts. A "lamb crown roast" is made by sewing two rib roasts together to form a circle or crown.
What is a lamb chop? Chops can come from various primal cuts. "Loin" chops come from the loin and "rib" chops come from the rack (or rib); these are the most tender and most expensive chops. "Blade" and "arm" chops (from the shoulder) and "sirloin" chops (from the leg) are less expensive but may be just as tender.
How much lamb is consumed? According to USDA's Economic Research Service, each American eats about .7 pound of lamb yearly.
What does "natural" mean? All fresh meat qualifies as "natural." Products labeled "natural" cannot contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient; and the product and its ingredients are not more than minimally processed (ground, for example). All products claiming to be natural should be accompanied by a brief statement which explains what is meant by the term "natural."
How and why is some lamb aged? Lamb is aged to develop additional tenderness and flavor. Usually only the higher quality, more expensive primals, such as racks, ribs, and loins are aged, and these are mainly sold to restaurants. Aging is done commercially under controlled temperatures and humidity. Since aging can take from 10 days to 6 weeks under controlled conditions, the USDA does not recommend aging lamb in a home refrigerator.
Why lamb is called a "red" meat? Oxygen is delivered to muscles by the red cells in the blood. One of the proteins in meat, myoglobin, holds the oxygen in the muscle. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the color of meat. Lamb is called a "red" meat because it contains more myoglobin than chicken or fish. Other "red" meats are beef, veal, and pork.
Additives. Additives are not allowed on fresh lamb. If it is processed, additives such as MSG, salt, or sodium erythorbate must be listed on the label.
Dating of lamb products. Product dating is not required by Federal regulations. However, many stores and processors may voluntarily date packages of raw lamb or processed lamb products. If a calendar date is shown, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date such as "sell-by" or "use before."
Except for "use-by" dates, product dates don't always refer to home storage and use after purchase. "Use-by" dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates. But even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality if handled properly and kept at 40° F or below. If the product has a "use-by date," follow that date. If the product has a "sell-by" date or no date, cook or freeze the product according to the recommendations in the "Storage Times" section of this publication.
Rinsing Lamb. There is no need to rinse raw lamb before cooking because this creates a cross- contamination hazard and is not necessary. Any bacteria which might be present would be destroyed by cooking.
How to Handle Lamb Safely.
Raw Lamb. Select lamb just before checking out at the register. Put packages of raw lamb in disposable plastic bags (if available) to contain any leakage which could cross-contaminate cooked foods or produce that will be eaten raw such as salad.
Take the lamb home immediately and refrigerate it at 40 °F or below. Use ground lamb or stew meat within 1 to 2 days; lamb chops, roasts, and steaks within 3 to 5 days or freeze at 0 °F or below. If kept frozen continuously, it will be safe indefinitely.
It is safe to freeze lamb in its original packaging or repackage it. However, for long-term freezing, overwrap the porous store plastic with storage wraps or bags to prevent "freezer burn," which appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the lamb. Heavily freezer-burned products may have to be discarded for quality reasons. For best quality, use frozen lamb roasts, steaks, and chops within 6 to 9 months; ground lamb, 3 to 4 months.
Ready-Prepared Lamb. For fully-cooked, take-out lamb dishes such as Kabobs, Gyros, or Chinese food, be sure they are hot at pickup. Use cooked lamb within 2 hours (1 hour if the air temperature is above 90 °F) or refrigerate it at 40 °F or below in shallow, covered containers. Eat it within 3 to 4 days, either cold or reheated to 165 °F. It is safe to freeze ready-prepared lamb dishes. For best quality, use within 2 to 3 months.
Safe Thawing. There are three safe ways to thaw lamb: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Ground lamb, stew meat, and steaks may defrost within a day. Bone-in parts and whole roasts may take 2 days or longer.
Once the raw product thaws, it will be safe in the refrigerator before cooking 3 to 5 days (for roasts, steaks, and chops) and 1 to 2 days for ground lamb. During this time, if you decide not to use the lamb, you can safely refreeze it without cooking it first.
To thaw lamb in cold water, do not remove the packaging. Be sure the package is airtight or put it into a leak proof bag. Submerge the lamb in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes so that it continues to thaw. Small packages of lamb may defrost in an hour or less; a 3- to 4-pound roast may take 2 to 3 hours.
When thawing lamb in cold water or in the microwave, plan to cook it immediately after thawing. Never thaw on the counter or any other location at room temperature. Leaving food out too long at room temperature can cause bacteria (such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Enteritis, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Campylobacter) to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness.
Foods defrosted in the microwave or by the cold water method should be cooked before refreezing because they may potentially have been held at temperatures above 40 °F, where bacteria multiply rapidly.
It is safe to cook frozen lamb in the oven, on the stove, or grill without defrosting it first; the cooking time may be about 50% longer. Do not cook frozen lamb in a slow cooker.
Marinating. Marinate lamb roasts, steaks, or chops in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Lamb cubes or stew meat can be marinated up to 2 days. Boil used marinade before brushing on cooked lamb. Discard any uncooked leftover marinade.
Storage Times. Since product dates aren't a guide for safe use of a product, how long can the consumer store the food and still use it at top quality? Follow these tips:
• Purchase the product before the date expires.
• Follow handling recommendations on product.
• Keep lamb in its package until ready to use.
• Refrigerate lamb roasts, steaks, and chops 3 to 5 days (ground lamb or stew meat, 1 to 2 days); and 3 to 4 days after cooking.
• If product has a "use-by" date, follow that date.
• If product has a "sell-by" date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times recommended above.
• Once a perishable product is frozen, it doesn't matter if the date expires because foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely.
• For best quality, use frozen lamb roasts, steaks, and chops within 6 to 9 months; ground lamb, 3 to 4 months.
Safe Cooking
For safety, the USDA recommends cooking lamb patties and ground lamb mixtures such as meat loaf to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F as measured by a food thermometer. Cook all organ and variety meats (such as heart, kidney, liver and tongue) to 160 °F. Cook all raw lamb steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures. For approximate cooking times for use in meal planning, see the following chart.
Times are based on lamb held at refrigerator temperature (40 °F). Remember that appliances and outdoor grills can vary in heat. Use a food thermometer to check for safe cooking and doneness of lamb.
Approximate Lamb Cooking Times °F
Cut of Lamb Size Cooking Method Cooking Time Minimum Internal Temperature & Rest Time
Lamb Leg, bone in 5 to 7 lbs. Roast 325° 20 to 25 min./lb. 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
7 to 9 lbs. Roast 325° 15 to 20 min./lb.
Lamb Leg, boneless, rolled 4 to 7 lbs. Roast 325° 25 to 30 min./lb.
Shoulder Roast or Shank Leg Half 3 to 4 lbs. Roast 325° 30 to 35 min./lb.
Cubes, for Kabobs 1 to 1 1/2" Broil/Grill 8 to 12 minutes
Ground Lamb Patties 2" thick Broil/Grill 5 to 8 minutes 160 °F
Chops, Rib, or Loin 1 to 1 1/2" thick Broil/Grill 7 to 11 minutes 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Leg Steaks 3/4" thick Broil/Grill 4" from heat 14 to 18 minutes
Stew Meat, pieces 1 to 1 1/2" Cover with liquid; simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Shanks 3/4 to 1 lb.
Breast, Rolled 1 1/2 to 2 lb. *Braise 325° 1 1/2 to 2 hours
*Braising is roasting or simmering less-tender meats with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.
Microwaving. Refer to the microwave's oven manual for microwaving lamb, and check it with a food thermometer.
Partial Cooking. NEVER brown or partially cook lamb to refrigerate and finish cooking later because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed. It is safe to partially cook or microwave lamb immediately before transferring it to a hot grill or conventional oven to finish cooking
What is the yield of cooked lamb? After cooking bone-in lamb leg or roast, one pound of raw weight will yield 8 to 9 ounces of edible meat. Ground lamb or boneless cuts will yield about 10.5 ounces of edible meat.
7.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Lamb Identification and Fabric
Name: _________________________________ Date: ___________________________
1. To quality as lamb, the animal must be ______________ than a year old.
2. To quality as mutton or sheep the animal must be ______________ than a year old.
3. T or F. Circle one. Spring lamb has never eaten grass or grain.
4. American lamb is raised to be __________________ than lambs from Australia and New Zealand.
5. Which lamb is milder in flavor? American or New Zealand/Australian? ________________________.
6. Which primals make up the % of the carcasses total weight?
Shoulder______ A. 34%
Breast ______ B. 13%
Rack ______ C. 8%
Loin ______ D. 17%
Leg ______ E. 36%
1. What is the lamb chop?
2. What is the lamb rack?
3. What are the three retail grades of lamb by the USDA?
4. What is the best way to cook a boneless leg of lamb? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/07%3A_Lamb_Identification_and_Fabrication/7.02%3A_Nutrition_and_Butchering_Procedures.txt |
Venison, antelope, American elk, boar, pheasant, and other game animals are now farm raised in the United States. For an increasing number of restaurants and home diners, game meats are becoming more commonplace.
08: Wild Game Identification and Fabrication
States require restaurants to only serve game that has been slaughtered and dressed under inspection. This can be accomplished under voluntary USDA FSIS inspection or equivalent foreign inspection. The Hotline receives inquiries about these food animal species. Included here are answers to questions about game animals.
What is game?
Game are wild animals and birds. Farm-raised game are originally wild species of animals and birds that are now being raised domestically for sale under voluntary USDA inspection. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over imported game. Large native game animals living in America include antelope, buffalo, bear, caribou, deer, elk, moose, reindeer, and wild boar. Elsewhere in the world, even rarer varieties eaten by humans are camel, elephant, kangaroo, wild goats, wild sheep, zebra, and other species.
Small game animals include alligator, rabbit, squirrel, beaver, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, armadillo, porcupine, and other species such as nutria. Game birds include grouse, guineafowl, partridge, squab (young pigeon), quail, pheasant, ratites (emu, ostrich, and rhea), wild ducks, wild geese, wild turkey, and other species. Rock Cornish hens — thought by many consumers to be game birds — are actually young domesticated chickens. Ratites and squabs are now under mandatory USDA inspection.
NOTE: Game species raised on farms under appropriate regulations can be sold. Wild game species that can be legally hunted under Federal or State regulatory authority cannot be sold, but can be harvested for personal consumption. If you have questions about the harvest of wild game species, contact your State fish and wildlife agencies, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Federal regulations on migratory species.
Background on “Venison” Game Animals
In culinary terms, “venison” can be meat from deer, elk, moose, caribou, antelope, and pronghorn. However, when this meat is offered for sale, the name of the specific animal must be specified on the package label.
Deer live in woodlands all over Europe, Asia, northern Africa and America. There are many deer species of various sizes but all the males grow antlers. The meat is lean and has a gamey flavor that can be made milder if soaked overnight.
Wild Whitetail Deer- Wikipedia
Elk meat tastes like mild (almost sweet) beef, with only a very faint venison flavor. Elk can be substituted equally for venison in most standard venison recipes. Elk are from North America, Europe, and Asia.
Bull Elk- Wikimedia commons
Moose is the largest member of the venison family standing about 6 1/2 feet at the shoulder. It’s native from North America. The meat is similar to elk.
Bull Moose- Wikipedia
Other Game Animals
Caribou (reindeer) are slightly larger than white-tailed deer. Both males and females have antlers. The meat is somewhat sweeter than other venison. They live primarily in North America and Siberia.
Caribou- Wikimedia Commons
Antelope are currently farmed in Texas, where black buck and nigari antelope, native to Africa, are allowed to roam on huge preserves. Males are called bucks, bulls, or stags; females, does or cows; and un-weaned young are fawns or calves. Antelope meat is leaner, but similar in taste to that of deer.
Pronghorn Antelope- Wikimedia Commons
Pronghorn (once classified as “antelope”) is the last survivor of a species native to North America, with the largest herd in Wyoming. Pronghorn meat is leaner, but similar in taste, to that of deer.
Bison (buffalo) is native to North America. Once about 60 million in number, bison were hunted almost to extinction by the 1890’s. Currently there are more than 150,000 animals being raised across North America today. Bison is said to have a sweeter, richer flavor than bee
American Bison- Wikipedia
Musk-ox is a heavy-set, shaggy-coated wild ox that lives in northern North America, the Arctic islands, and Greenland. The meat tastes similar to buffalo.
Musk-ox - Wikimedia commons
Collared Peccary (javelina) is a hoofed animal native to parts of Mexico, South America, and the southwest U.S. A substitute is fresh pork.
Collared Peccary- Wikimedia Commons
Rabbits sold for consumption in the U.S. are not North American cottontails, but are usually either crosses between New Zealand and Belgian varieties, Chinese rabbits, or Scottish hares
European Hares- Wikipedia
Wild boars, along with feral (wild) hogs, are found in 23 states in the U.S. and are estimated to number over 2 million. Like our domestic swine, these animals are not native to North America, but were originally brought over from other continents. Originally domesticated and then released into the wild, these animals are now hybrids.
While some states have limited hunting seasons, most states consider them a nuisance and encourage hunting them for personal consumption
Feral Hog- Wikimedia commons
Game Birds - see photos in Topic One about Poultry
The game bird industry in the U.S. raises millions of birds for sale to restaurants and direct to consumers. These include up to 10 million pheasants, 37 million quail (including 12 million Bobwhite), 4 million Chukar partridges, 1 million Mallard ducks, 200,000 wild turkeys, and several other bird species
Wild Ducks – The Chinese were the first to raise wild ducks domestically for food. Today’s domestic wild ducks are descendants of either the Muscovy or Mallard species. America’s Long Island ducks are offspring of Pekin ducks (a variety of Mallard) brought from China in the late 1800’s. A young duck or duckling (usually under 8 weeks of age) has dark, tender meat and weighs about 3 ½ to 5 pounds. A mature duck is usually over 6 months of age and has tougher meat.
Goose – Geese were farm-raised in ancient Egypt, China, and India. Today’s goose weighs between 5 and 18 pounds. A young bird of either sex (“goose” is the female of the species; “gander,” the male) has tender meat, while a mature goose of either sex has tougher meat.
Guineafowl – This relative of the chicken and partridge, sometimes called a guinea hen or African pheasant, was thought to originate in Guinea, West Africa. A young guineafowl, about 11 weeks old, has tender meat, while a mature bird has tougher meat. Female guinea fowl are tenderer than males. The meat is light red and slightly dry with a mild gamey flavor. Due to their small size – about 2 to 3 pounds, including giblets, guinea fowl are usually sold whole. Barding with fat helps to keep this lean bird moist.
Partridge — There are no native partridge species in the United States. Most partridge in the market are from European or African varieties. The Grey partridge, a European species, was imported from Hungary and raised in England. Found as far away as the Middle East, this variety is sometimes called Hungarian partridge. Chukar is a partridge species from India.
Pheasant – Originally from Asia, the female of this medium-size game bird (weighing about 3 pounds) has more tender, plump, and juicy meat than the male, which weighs about 5 pounds. Young birds can be roasted, but older birds need moist heat because their flesh is drier and leaner.
Quail – American quail are known regionally by various names: Bobwhite, partridge, and quail (blue, California, mountain and Montezuma). American quail nest on the ground and are not related to the European quail of the partridge family. A ready-to-cook quail weighs about 3 to 7 ounces, including the giblets. Due to their small size, they are usually roasted and served whole. The meat is dark, but mild flavored.
Ratites – This family of flightless birds has small wings and flat breastbones. Ostrich, emu (“E-mew”) and rhea (“REE-ah”) are members of this family. Ostrich is native to Africa; emu, to Australia; and rhea, to South America — particularly the grasslands of Argentina. The meat looks like beef and the flavor is similar, but a little sweeter. For more information,
see: www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Ratites_Emu_Ostrich_Rhea/index.asp.
Squab or Pigeon – This species originated in the Middle East and Asia, and is one of the oldest birds known to man. A squab is a young, immature pigeon about 4 weeks old. Because it is too young to fly, the meat is very tender. Squabs usually weigh about 12 to 16 ounces, including giblets, and have dark, delicately flavored meat. They are usually stuffed whole and roasted. A pigeon has been allowed to mature and has tougher meat than a squab.
Wild Turkeys – Turkey is one of North America’s native birds. The name “turkey” was originally applied to an African bird, now known as the guineafowl, which was believed to have originated in Turkey. When the Europeans came upon the American turkey, they thought it was the same bird as the African guinea fowl, and so gave it the name turkey, although the two species are quite distinct. Compared to their domestic counterparts, wild turkeys are leaner, less meaty, not as tender, and have a stronger flavor.
Are game animals inspected by USDA?
Some game animals are inspected by USDA and others by the FDA. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has mandatory inspection authority over all food products from cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, ratites (emu, ostrich, and rhea), and squab. This includes processed products containing more than 3 percent raw meat or 2 percent or more cooked poultry meat.
Additionally, FSIS does voluntary inspection of reindeer, elk, deer, antelope, water buffalo, bison, migratory water fowl (birds that swim such as ducks and geese), game birds, and rabbits.
FDA has jurisdiction over imported game not covered by the Federal meat and poultry inspection laws. Meat and poultry exported from another country must meet all safety standards applied to foods produced in the United States, and this must be verified annually.
How are game farm Raised?
Game animals are either raised on farms or ranches. If ranch raised, the animals are allowed to roam at will over hundreds of acres, foraging off foliage. Farm-raised game live in more confined outdoor areas and are fed grains such as wheat, alfalfa, or corn. What the animal eats can affect the taste of the meat.
Game bird species are raised separately from each other. Some birds consider birds from other species as intruders and will kill them.
The chicks need a clean, healthy environment, free of predators and parasites, with lots of clean, fresh water, fresh air, and feed. They are kept in warm buildings with floors covered with litter made of pine shavings, rice or peanut hulls, sugarcane fiber, and ground corncobs. Game birds are fed a diet similar to domestic poultry, typically a low-fat mix which is higher in protein than that fed to chickens. The feed may contain corn, alfalfa meal, wheat, soybean, meat bone scrap, whey, fish meal, and a vitamin-mineral mix. The FDA regulates animal feed.
When they are a few weeks old, game birds may be transferred to flight cages, typically 130-feet long, 12-feet wide, and 6-feet high, with a floor cover of natural vegetation. There they must be protected from weather extremes, predators, people, and themselves. Access to a shed protects them from the elements.
Are hormones and antibiotics used in game animal production?
Hormones are not used in raising game birds or game animals; however, antibiotics may be used. Wild birds and waterfowl are susceptible to many diseases and parasites, especially where large numbers are being raised in relatively small areas. The FDA approves medications that can be used to treat food animals. Very few drugs have been approved for game birds. Those approved are administered in their feed or water. The drugs are either antibiotics or anti-parasitics.
The FDA has strict guidelines for the use of drugs in animal production. If a drug is given, it must be used according to its labeling. Almost all these drugs require a “withdrawal” period — usually up to 5 days — from the time it is administered until it is legal to slaughter the animal or bird. This is so residues will not be in the meat. FSIS randomly samples the meat at slaughter and tests for any drug residues.
What foodborne bacteria are associated with game?
As with any perishable meat, poultry, or fish, harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7, can be found on raw or undercooked game. They live in the intestinal tracts of game, livestock, poultry, dogs, cats, and other warm-blooded animals, and must be eaten to cause illness.
There are about 2,000 serotypes of Salmonella bacteria; they are found in all game—both warm- and cold-blooded—including birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
E. coli (including E. coli O157:H7 and other serotypes) can colonize in the intestines of animals, which can contaminate muscle meat at slaughter. Coli O157:H7 is a rare strain found in ruminates, including deer. The enterohemorrhagic E. coli produce a “Shiga toxin” that causes cell damage and may lead to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure in the very young. A similar illness, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), may occur in adults.
Bacteria multiply rapidly in the “Danger Zone” — temperatures between 40 and 140 °F. Cross- contamination can occur if raw meat or its juices come in contact with cooked foods or foods that will be eaten raw, such as salad. Freezing does not kill bacteria. Cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature kills bacteria
How does game meat differ from domestic meat?
Because their diets and activity levels are not the same as that of domestic animals and poultry, the meat of farm-raised game animals has a different flavor—stronger than domesticated species and milder than wild game. The factors that determine the meat’s quality include the age of the animal (younger animals are more tender), the animal’s diet, and the time of year the animal was harvested. (The best is in the fall, after a plentiful spring and summer feeding.)
Equally important is how the animal was handled in the field. The animal should be eviscerated within an hour of harvest, and the meat refrigerated within a few hours. Meat is damaged (and sometimes ruined) if it is not dressed, transported, and chilled properly.
In general, wild game is less tender than meat from domestic animals because the wild animals get more exercise and have less fat. Any fat is generally bad tasting and should be removed. For maximum tenderness, most game meat should be cooked slowly and not overdone. It can be cooked with moist heat by braising or with dry heat by roasting. Ways to keep game moist include basting, larding, or barding (see “Cooking Methods”). | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/08%3A_Wild_Game_Identification_and_Fabrication/8.01%3A_Game_from_Farm_to_Table.txt |
How is Game Handled Safely?
FRESH GAME. Because the demand is not as high as for domestic meats, game is usually sold frozen in supermarkets. However, fresh game is sometimes available. Always select the meat just before checking out at the register. Put fresh game in a disposable plastic bag (if available) to contain any leakage that could cross-contaminate cooked foods or produce. Make the grocery store your last stop before going home.
At home, refrigerate game immediately at 40 °F or below. Cook or freeze (0 °F) game birds and ground game within 1 or 2 days; game animals, within 3 to 5 days. If kept frozen continuously, it will be safe indefinitely.
TYPE OF GAME ROAST GRILL/FRY Direct heat SMOKE Indirect heat* BRAISE/STEW In liquid; covered
GAME BIRDS
Whole bird, 4 to 6 lbs. (Do not stuff.) 350 °F for 30 to 35 min./lb. Not preferred 2 1/2 hours Not preferred
Breast or parts 350 °F for 1 to 1 1/4 hrs. 20 to 40 min. 2 hours 60 to 75 min.
Whole small birds 350 °F for 45 min. 30 min. 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. 45 to 60 min.
GAME ANIMALS:
Rib Roast, bone in 4 to 6 lbs. 325 °F for 27 to 30 min./lb. Not recommended Not recommended Not recommended
Rib Roast, boneless rolled 4 to 6 lbs. 32 to 38 min./lb. Not recommended Not recommended Not recomended
Chuck Roast, Brisket 3 to 4 lbs. Not recommened Not recommended Several hours 325 °F for 2 to 3 hours
Round or Rump Roast 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. 325 °F for 35 to 40 min./lb. 18 to 25 min/lb. 2 1/2 to 3 hours 325 °F for 2 to 3 hours
Whole leg (boar, deer) 6 to 8 lbs. 375 °F for 2 hours Not recommended 3 to 4 hours Not recommened
Tenderloin whole, 4 to 6 lbs. 425 °F, 45 to 60 min. total 12 to 15 min./side Not recommended Not recommended
Tenderloin half 2 to 3 lbs. 425 °F, 45 to 60 min. total 10 to 12 min./side Not recommended Not recommended
Steaks, 3/4-inch thick Not recommended 6 to 7 min./side Not recommended Not recommended
Ground meat patties Not recommended 6 to 8 min./side Not recommended Not applicable
Meat loaf, 1 to 2 lbs. 350 °F for 60 to 90 min. Not recommended Not recommnded Not applicable
Stew or Shank Cross Cuts 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick Not recommended Not recommended Not recommended Cover with liquid; simmer for 2 to 3 hours
Ribs, 4 inches 375 °F for 20 min. 8 to 10 min./side Not recomended Parboil 1 hour; then grill or roast
READY-PREPARED GAME. If picking up cooked game or other fully- cooked product from a restaurant or other foodservice outlet, be sure it is either hot or cold when you pick it up. Use hot food within 2 hours or cut it into several pieces and refrigerate in shallow, covered containers. Eat either cold or reheated to 165 °F. It is safe to freeze ready-prepared game. For recommended storage times, see the chart.
How Do You Reduce the “Gamey” Flavor?
The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution.
• Salt solution – one tablespoon per quart of cold water
• Vinegar solution – one cup per quart of cold water
• Use enough solution to cover the game completely. Discard the solution after soaking.
You can also marinate game to give it a savory flavor or to tenderize it. Always marinate it in the refrigerator (1 to 2 days for birds; 3 to 5 days for game animals). Boil used marinade before basting meat as it cooks or using as a sauce on the cooked meat. Discard any uncooked leftover marinade.
Safe Thawing
There are three safe ways to thaw frozen game: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Never thaw on the counter. Whole birds or ground meat may take 1 to 2 days or longer to thaw in the refrigerator; roasts, several days. Once the meat thaws, it will be safe in the refrigerator an additional day or two before cooking. Meat and poultry thawed in the refrigerator may be safely refrozen without cooking it first.
To thaw game in cold water, do not remove store packaging. Be sure the packaging is airtight or put it in a leak-proof bag. Submerge the product in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. A whole game bird (3 to 4 pounds) or package of parts should defrost in 2 to 3 hours; larger amounts of game may take 4 to 6 hours.
APPROXIMATE GAME COOKING TIMES
Whole game birds are safe cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures. Ground meats and other cuts of game meat should reach 160 °F. Approximate cooking times for use in meal planning are given on the chart below.
8.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Wild Game Identification
Classroom Preparation Assignment
Topic 10
Wild Game Identification and Fabrication
Name: ________________________________________ Date:________________________
1. Game animals that are raised for consumable sale must be _____________________ inspected by the USDA.
2. Which Federal agency has jurisdiction over imported game for human consumption? ______________.
3. Can you as a chef sell and serve wild game that has been harvested by hunting?
4. What six game animals are covered under the term “venison”?
5. Which wild game animal once numbered in the millions in North American and numbers near 150,000 today? _________________________________.
6. Which wild game is now considered a nuisance and causes much property damage today?
7. What is the most widely raised game bird in America today?
8. Which is the game birds is lean and dry and benefits from barding?
9. Explain who game meat differs from domesticated varieties?
10. Many oeat game because they want the wild flavor, if not how would you go about reducing the “gaminess” before cooking? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/08%3A_Wild_Game_Identification_and_Fabrication/8.02%3A_Handling_Game.txt |
Offal, also referred to as variety meats, is the name for internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone. Some cultures shy away from offal as food, while others use it as everyday food or in delicacies.
• 9.1: Introduction to Offal Identification and Fabrication
Some offal dishes are considered delicacies in international cuisine. This includes foie gras, pâté, and sweetbreads. Other offal dishes remain part of traditional regional cuisine and may be consumed especially in connection with holidays such as the Scottish tradition of eating haggis on Robert Burns Day. Intestines are traditionally used as casings for sausages. In South Louisiana pork offal is necessary for the making of Boudin Blanc and Noix.
• 9.2: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Offal
Thumbnail: Sausages from Réunion Island. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported; David Monniaux via Wikipedia)
09: Offal Identification and Fabrication
Some offal dishes are considered delicacies in international cuisine. This includes foie gras, pâté, and sweetbreads. Other offal dishes remain part of traditional regional cuisine and may be consumed especially in connection with holidays such as the Scottish tradition of eating haggis on Robert Burns Day. Intestines are traditionally used as casings for sausages. In South Louisiana pork offal is necessary for the making of Boudin Blanc and Noix.
Depending on the context, offal may also refer to those parts of an animal carcass discarded after butchering or skinning. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a rendering plant, producing material that is used for fertilizer or fuel or, in some cases, it may be added to commercially produced pet food. Table 37 lists the most common types of offal from the various species.
Table 37 Common types of offal
Species Common Offal Uses/Notes
Beef Heart Beef offal is more commonly retailed - Heart is a muscular offal. Cajun stuffed heart and Spanish Anticuchos grilled on a stick
Liver Calf liver is favored. Liver is a glandular offal. Often sautéed with onions
Kidney Kidney is a glandular offal. Kidney pie is very European.
Tongue Tongue is a muscular offal. Called Lengua in Spanish; it cooks like pot roast and is great on authentic Latin tacos. Braise this.
Tripe Tripe is a muscular offal. Used widely in Asian, Latin, and Soul
Food categories.
Oxtail The only external offal meat and is muscular. Oxtail is braised in stews and soups. Very popular is Latin and Soul food cooking.
Veal Heart See beef heart above.
Liver Veal offal is more commonly served in restaurants than other types
Kidney See beef kidney above
Tongue See beef tongue above
Brains Brains can be prepared like sweetbreads. In the old deep south they were used to "stretch" the eggs when scrambled.
Sweetbreads Thymus gland is a glandular offal. Braise, sauté, grill, or fry after preparation technique.
Pork Liver Pork offal is stronger in flavor; the liver is most commonly used in pâté.
Heart See beef heart.
Kidney See beef kidney.
Intestines Used for sausage casing and chitterlings
Skin Used to make cracklings or chicharron
Blood Used for blood sausage and black pudding (Boudin noix)
Lamb Liver Lamb offal is milder in flavor
Heart Grilled, or braised
Kidney Kidney Pie
Tongue Grilled or used for pâté.
Intestines Used for sausage casings on smaller sausages
Chicken Heart, Liver, Gizzard, Feet The first three are often referred to as giblets as a whole. Feet are external and have a large place in Asian and Soul food.
Duck/Goose Liver/ Foie Gras Fatter livers. Raised for centuries. Numerous uses both sweet and savory
Liver: Liver is very fine textured and is almost devoid of the characteristic fiber bundles found in red meat (liver has no grain). Consequently, it is very tender and can be sliced in any direction
Grilled calf liver- Maxpixel
Kidney: Kidneys are either smooth, bean-shaped (in lamb and pork) or irregularly shaped with reddish-brown lobes and deep clefts (beef). Beef kidneys are very tough and require intense moist heat cookery.
Beef Kidney - Pixabay
Heart: Heart is retailed whole, halved, or cut into slices depending on species and size. The inside of the heart contains string-like sinew, which should be removed if the heart is being stuffed and cooked. Dry heat is suitable for cooking heart. It is commonly stuffed and roasted whole or slices are seasoned and pan-fried.
Beef Heart - Wikimedia Commons
Anticuchos - Wikipedia Commons
Tongue: The surface of the tongue is very coarse and requires a long period of slow cooking to be able to remove it (six to eight hours of simmering). Once skinned, the tongue can be sliced and is quite tender. There is a very large amount of gelatin in the meat which provides a rich flavor. It is often pickled or corned before cooking
Cow tongue - Max Pixel
Tripe: Tripe is processed from the muscular inner lining of the stomach. It can be smooth or honey-combed depending on which chamber of the animal’s stomach it is harvested from. It is commonly sold fresh or pickled. Washed tripe, also known as dressed tripe, is boiled and bleached, giving it the white color more commonly seen for sale. Tripe requires moist heat cookery to break down its rubber-like texture. It is most commonly used in soups and stews.
Tripe - Wikimedia.org
Sweetbreads: Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of calves and mature beef. They are pinkish-white in color. Veal or calf sweetbreads are considered a great delicacy. They are largest in size when the calf is five to six weeks old and decrease in size as the animal ages. Sweetbreads should be thoroughly soaked in cold water, then blanched so that the membrane can be removed. They then can be braised, or cooled then sliced and breaded for pan frying.
Veal sweetbreads with fried onions and tomato ragu - photo Chef Marshall Welsh CEC
Brain: Brains are a small volume seller. They perish very quickly so are generally frozen at the plant as soon as they are harvested from the animal. They are mild in flavor and have a delicate texture. Calves brains are most commonly used. They can be prepared much the same as sweetbreads. Brain is extremely high in cholesterol.
Lamb brains- Wikimedia commons
Oxtail: Oxtail is classified as offal even though it is not an internal organ. Oxtail is mainly used for making soup to extract its rich flavors. It is more bone than meat, but the meat from the oxtail, once properly braised, is very rich in flavor
Oxtail - Wikimedia Commons
Cheeks and head: These are not technically offal, but increasingly popular are beef and veal cheeks, while pork heads are used to make headcheese, a type of sausage consisting of the meat from the head set in a gelatin base made from the cooking liquid.
Beef Cheeks in a retail pack - Wikimedia Commons
Caul fat: Fine membrane of fat which covers the stomach of hogs, Caul fat is used for barding (wrapping or covering) lean cuts of meat, ground fillings and sausage meat.
Ground pork wrapped in Caul Fat - Wikimedia Commons
Foie Gras at market in raw form - Flickr
Ground Kobe Burger with Torchon du Frio Gras - Flickr
Duo of Foie Gras torchon and Seared Foie Gras with Gastrique - Flickr
Flan of Foie Gras at el Bulli - Flickr
Chicken Feet - Wikimedia Commons
9.02: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Offal
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ______________________________
1. According to the text, some offal dishes are considered delicacies in international cuisine. Which three were highlighted here?
2. In the market place what is another word for offal?
3. Name three items from the offal category that are muscular.
4. Name three items from the offal category that are glandular.
5. Anticuchos is a Latin dish made from the ____________________ _____________________.
6. Sweetbreads come from the_______________________________________________________.
7. Long and slow cooking is required for this offal to become tender before it can be peeled and used. What is it? ____________________.
8. This offal can be smooth or honey-combed and needs moist heat methods to break down its rubbery texture. It is often used in soups and stews. What is it? ______________________________.
9. This offal is particularly prized when obtained from the younger of its species as it is larger in the animal when young and decreases in size as the animal gets older. What is this offal?
10. Which offal is “Royalty”, raised for centuries, and has uses in both sweet and savory dishes? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/09%3A_Offal_Identification_and_Fabrication/9.01%3A_Introduction_to_Offal_Identification_and_Fabrication.txt |
The "international fabrication" term refers to a mixture of minced or ground seasoned products (usually meat). As is most often the case chefs use the “lesser” cuts which normally include the less tender, less prized, and less expensive cuts of the animal. If you have ever heard the saying, “eating high off the hog”, know that this refers to the more expensive and tender cuts that are found higher on the animal. The lesser and tougher cuts are found lower on the animal. They lend themselves to braising (low and slow) or grinding to help them become palatable.
• 10.1: Sausages
Our word “sausage” comes from the Latin word “Salsus” meaning salted. Early Greeks and Romans were among the first to make sausages. There are six basic components of sausage: (1) Main ingredient, (2) Fat, (3) Seasonings and cure mixtures, (4) Spices, (5) Herbs, (6) Aromatics
• 10.2: Natural and Synthetic Casings in Sausage Making
We shall only use natural casing for the purpose of our beginning foray into charcuterie but let’s discuss what’s available to chefs who want to pursue this line of work. Synthetic casings are made for a variety of food grade materials, some of which are non-edible. Natural casing come from the intestines of sheep, pork, and cattle and should be washed in water and vinegar
• 10.3: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Sausage Making
10: International Fabrication
Our word “sausage” comes from the Latin word “Salsus” meaning salted. Early Greeks and Romans were among the first to make sausages.
Six basic components of sausage
1. Main ingredient
2. Fat
3. Seasonings and cure mixtures
4. Spices
5. Herbs
6. Aromatics
Sometimes animal or synthetic casings are used to hold sausages in a link or tube shape, but casing are not considered as a basic component due to the fact that many sausages today are made into patties or packaged in a bulk form.
Main ingredient
Usually a tough cut of meat from the leg or shoulder
An example of meat after the grinding process - Wikimedia Commons
Fat
Two common forms of fat in the sausage process are pork fat and heavy cream. Fat is an essential ingredient which has three distinct purposes in the making of good sausage. Fat provides moisture, satiety, and flavor.
Pork Fat. Photo: Max Pixel
Seasonings and cure mixes
As discussed earlier in Topic Three, sugars (in many forms), salts (likewise), and various curing agents are necessary in the charcuterie process. These help to prevent food borne illness, add flavor, and lastly where hot smoking is concerned, sugar helps to act as a browning agent in the cooking process. The curing agents are especially useful when seasoning with herbs and garlic due to the opportunity for microbe contamination found in the soil. Often chefs cook the garlic and herbs or otherwise sterilize them prior to adding them to the raw meats. This is especially a good idea if the curing process will be done without cooking.
Prague powder I, known as TCM or Pink Salt - Wikimedia Commons
Spices and Herbs
Spices may be toasted or untoasted and can vary form product type and style. They may be whole, ground, or from a prepared mix. Herbs may be fresh or dried. Italian sausage can be sweet or hot but usually has whole fennel seed in the recipe. Merguez is a Mediterranean sausage from North Africa which utilizes ground spices from the pantry of Tunisia. The French are noted for a mixture of spices called Quatre Espices and can be found in anything from pate to confit of duck. One popular recipe for Quatre Espices is one part ground cinnamon, one part ground cloves, one and one-half part ground nutmeg, and two parts ground black pepper.
Spices commonly used in Quatre Espices - Commons Wikimedia.org
Aromatics
Aromatics include wine, liquors, and zests, prepared sauces such as Worcestershire and Tabasco, and vegetables which as stated before as often cooked first. In Cajun country we are very familiar with Boudin, a sausage of rice and pork (primarily liver). Our beloved trinity of celery, onions, and bell pepper place a big role in the making of all our dishes especially Boudin. During crawfish season you can find Crawfish Boudin and I’ve seen red bell pepper used here over the normal green pepper found in the pork versio
Examples of aromatics used in sausage making - Wikimedia.org and Picryl | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/10%3A_International_Fabrication/10.01%3A_Sausages.txt |
Natural and Synthetic Casings in Sausage Making
We shall only use natural casing for the purpose of our beginning foray into charcuterie but let’s discuss what’s available to chefs who want to pursue this line of work. Synthetic casings are made for a variety of food grade materials, some of which are non-edible. Natural casing come from the intestines of sheep, pork, and cattle and should be washed in water and vinegar
Natural casing example - Wikimedia
Synthetic casings can be made from cotton, cellulose, or collagen which comes from the corium layer of split beef hide. Be careful to remove such casings prior to serving to guests.
Synthetic casing examples - Wikimedia Commons
Sheep Casings
Often referred to as “sheep hanks”, these casing provide the smallest of the three intestines used in sausage making. Merguez is traditionally made with sheep hanks for a slender sausage of 24- 26 millimeters up to 30mm
Sheep offal relating to sausage making from INSCA
Refer to course handouts and or recipes provided by your instructor via the LMS (Learning Management System) ex. Moodle®.
Hog Casings
Hog casings are referred to as “Hanks” also and we will use the intestine for many sausage preparations. The intestines are larger than sheep hanks and come threaded on rings and shipped in a salt mixture to fight bacteria. They are washed and threaded into a stuffing tube to be filled. Middles are even larger and used for specialty sausages such as the Saucisson Sec, a dried pork and garlic sausage.
Hog offal relating to sausage making fron INSCA
Beef Runners and Middles
Beef offers the largest size intestine up to 65 millimeters and is best suited for Cajun Andouille Sausage. They are often shipped in plastic buckets in a salt medium and should be washed and threaded onto the largest of the stuffer tubes when making sausage.
Beef offal relating to sausage making from INSCA
Polish white pork kielbasa - Wikimedia Commons
German Frankfurters with German warm potato salad - Flickr
German Bratwurst - Max Pixel
Sweet Italian Sausage - Pixnio
Chorizo Sausage- Wikimedia Commons
10.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Sausage Making
Name: ____________________________ Date: ________________________
1. T or F. Circle one. When making sausages, we should use the lesser and tougher cuts.
2. What does the Latin word “Salsus” mean?
3. What are the six basic components of sausage?
4. What three things does fat provide for sausage?
5. Salts and curing agents do three things for sausage; what are they?
6. What is the name of the spice we associate with Italian sausage?
7. Name the five aromatics used in sausage making.
8. What are the three Equipment Mise En Place categories noted in Topic 11?
9. After the housing is mounted on the grinder, what part goes on next?
10. What part is assembled after the worm or auger?
11. When mounting the blade, which side faces out?
12. Describe the progressive grinding technique.
13. What is produced inside fermented sausage to make the tangy flavor?
14. What do the salts and sugars do during sausage fermentation?
15. What is the white mold on fermented sausage called? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/10%3A_International_Fabrication/10.02%3A_Natural_and_Synthetic_Casings_in_Sausage_Making.txt |
Shellfish are aquatic invertebrates with shells or carapaces. They are found in both fresh and salt water. Always an important food source, shellfish have become increasingly popular in recent years, due in part to demands from health-conscious consumers. Because of increased demand and improved preservation and transportation techniques, good-quality shellfish, once found only along seacoasts and lakes, are now readily available to almost every food service operation.
11: Shellfish Fabrication
Many shellfish species are very expensive; all are highly perishable. Because their cooking times are generally shorter and their flavors more delicate than meat or poultry, special attention must be given to fish and shellfish to prevent spoilage and to produce high-quality finished products.
STRUCTURE and MUSCLE COMPOSITION
Mollusks are shellfish characterized by soft, unsegmented bodies with no internal skeleton. Most mollusks have hard outer shells. Single- shelled mollusks such as abalone are known as univalves. Those with two shells, such as clams, oysters and mussels, are known as bivalves. Squid and octopus, which are known as cephalopods, do not have a hard outer shell. Rather, they have a single thin internal shell called a pen or cuttlebone.
Crustaceans are also shellfish. They have a hard outer skeleton or shell and jointed appendages. Crustaceans include lobsters, crabs and shrimp.
The flesh of fish and shellfish consists primarily of water, protein, fat and minerals. Fish flesh is composed of short muscle fiber s separated by delicate sheets of connective tissue. Fish, as well as most shellfish, are naturally tender, so the purpose of cooking is to firm proteins and enhance flavor. The absence of the oxygen-carrying protein myoglobin makes fish flesh very light or white in color. (The orange color of salmon and some trout comes from pigments found in their food.) Compared to meats, fish do not contain large amounts of intermuscular fat. However, the amount of fat a fish does contain affects the way it responds to cooking. Fish containing a relatively large amount of fat, such as salmon and mackerel, are known as fatty or oily fish. Fish such as cod and haddock contain very little fat and are referred to as lean fish. Shellfish are also very lean.
IDENTIFYING SHELLFISH
Identifying fish and shellfish properly can be difficult because of the vast number of similar- appearing fish and shellfish that are separate species within each family. Adding confusion are the various colloquial names given to the same fish or the same name given to different fish in different localities. Fish with an un-appealing name may also be given a catchier name or the name of a similar but more popular item for marketing purposes. Moreover, some species are referred to by a foreign name, especially on menus.
The FDA publishes a list of approved market names for food fish in The Seafood List: FDA Guide to Acceptable Market Names for Food Fish Sold in Inter- state Commerce 2002. The list is updated regularly and available on the FDA's Web site at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Deviations from this list are strongly discouraged but difficult to enforce. We attempt to use the most common names for each item, whether they are zoologically accurate or not.
MOLLUSKS
Univalves
Univalves are mollusks with a single shell in which the soft-bodied animal resides. They are actually marine snails with a single foot, used to attach the creature to fixed objects such as rocks.
Abalone Discus Abalone Breakfast
Abalone have brownish-gray, ear-shaped shells. They are harvested in California, but California law does not permit canning abalone or shipping it out of state. Some frozen abalone is available from Mexico; canned abalone is imported from Japan. Abalone are lean with a sweet, delicate flavor similar to that of clams. They are too tough to eat unless tenderized with a mallet or rolling pin. They may then be eaten raw or prepared ceviche -style. Great care must be taken when grilling or sautéing abalone, as the meat becomes very tough when overcooked
Conch
Conch are found in warm waters off the Florida Keys and in the Caribbean. Beachcombers prize the beautiful peachy-pink shell of the queen conch. Conch meat is lean, smooth and very firm with a sweet-smoky flavor and chewy texture. It can be sliced and pounded to tenderize it, eaten raw with lime juice or slow-cooked whole.
Small Escargot Snails
Snails. Although snails (more politely known by their French name, escargots) are univalve land animals, they share many characteristics with their marine cousins. They can be poached in court bouillon; removed from their shells and boiled; or baked briefly with a seasoned butter, or sauce. They should be firm but tender; overcooking makes snails tough and chewy. The most popular varieties are the large white Burgundy snail and the small garden variety called petit gris.
Fresh snails are available from snail ranches through specialty suppliers. The great majority of snails, however, are available canned; most canned snails are the product of France or Taiwan.
Bivalves
Bivalves are mollusks with two bilateral shells attached by a central hinge.
Calms Clam shell
Clams are harvested along both the East and West Coasts, with Atlantic clams being more significant commercially. Atlantic Coast clams include hard-shell, soft-shell and surf clams. Clams are available all year, either live in the shell or fresh -shucked (meat removed from the shell). Canned clams, whether minced, chopped, or whole, are also available.
Atlantic hard-shell clams or quahogs have hard, blue-gray shells. Their chewy meat is not as sweet as other clam meat. Quahogs have different names, depending upon their size. Littlenecks are generally under 2 inches (5 centimeters) across the shell and usually are served on the half shell or steamed. They are the most expensive clams.
Cherrystones are generally under 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) across the shell and are sometimes eaten raw but are more often cooked.
Top necks are usually cooked and are often served as stuffed clams.
Chowders, the largest quahogs, are always eaten cooked, especially minced for chowder or soup.
Soft-shell clams, also known as Ipswich, steamer and long-necked clams, have thin, brittle shells that do not completely close because of the clam's protruding black-tipped siphon. Their meat is tender and sweet. They are sometime s fried but are more often served steamed.
Surf clams are deep-water clams that reach sizes of 8 inches (20 centimeters) across. They are most often cut into strips for frying or are minced, chopped, processed and canned.
Pacific clams are generally too tough to eat raw. The most common is the Manila clam, which was introduced along the Pacific coast during the 1930s. Resembling a quahog with a ridged shell, it can be served steamed or on the half shell. Geoducks are the largest Pacific clam, sometimes weighing up to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) each. They look like huge soft-shell clams with a large, protruding siphon. Their tender, rich bodies and briny flavor are popular in Asian cuisines.
Cockles
Cockles are small bivalves, about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long, with ridged shells. They are more popular in Europe than the United States and are sometimes used in dishes such as paella and fish soups or stews.
Mussels
Mussels are found in waters worldwide. They are excellent steamed in wine or seasoned broth and can be fried or used in soups or pasta dishes.
Blue mussels are the most common edible mussel. They are found in the wild along the Atlantic Coast and are aqua- farmed on both coasts. Their meat is plump and sweet with a firm, muscular texture. The orangey-yellow meat of cultivated mussels tends to be much larger than that of wild mussels and therefore worth the added cost. Blue mussels are sold live in the shell and average from 10 to 20 per pound. Although available all year, the best-quality blue mussels are harvested during the winter months.
Green shell (or green lip) mussels from New Zealand and Thailand are much larger than blue mussels, averaging 8 to 12 mussels per pound. Their shells are paler gray, with a distinctive bright green edge
Oysters
Oysters have a rough gray shell. Their soft, gray, briny flesh can be eaten raw directly from the shell. They can also be steamed or baked in the shell or shucked and fried, sautéed or added to stews or chowders. Most oysters available in the United States are commercially grown and sold either live in the shell or shucked. There are four main domestic species.
Atlantic oysters, also called American or Eastern oysters, have darker, flatter shells than other oysters.
European flat oysters are often incorrectly called Belon (true Belon oysters live only in the Belon river of France); they are very round and flat and look like giant brownish-green Olympias.
Olympias are the only oysters native to the Pacific Coast; they are tiny (about the size of a 50-cent coin).
Pacific oysters, also called Japanese oysters, are aqua - farmed along the Pacific Coast; they have curly, thick striated shells and silvery-gray to gold to almost -white meat. Although it may seem as though there are hundreds of oyster species on the market, only two are commercially significant: the Atlantic oyster and the Pacific oyster. These two species yield dozens of different varieties, however, depending on their origin. For example, Atlantic oysters may be referred to as blue points, Chesapeake Bay, Florida Gulf, Long Island and so on, while Pacific oysters include Penn Cove Select, Westcott Bay, Hamma-Hamma, Kumamoto and Portuguese, among others. An oyster's flavor reflects the minerals, nutrients and salts in its water and mud bed, so a Bristol from Maine and an Apalachicola from Florida will taste very different, even though they are the same Atlantic species.
Scallops contain an edible white adductor muscle that holds together the fan -shaped shells. Because they die quickly, they are usually shucked, and cleaned on board the ship. The sea
scallop and the bay scallop, both cold-water varieties, and the calico scallop, a warm-water variety, are the most important commercially. Sea scallops are the largest, with an average count of 20 to 30 per pound. Larger sea scallops are also available.
Bay scallops average 70 to 90 per pound; calico scallops average 70 to 110 per pound. Fresh or frozen shucked, cleaned scallops are the most common market form, but live scallops in the shell and shucked scallops with roe attached (very popular in Europe) are also available. Scallops are sweet, with a tender texture. Raw scallops should be a translucent ivory color and non- symmetrically round and should feel springy. They can be steamed, broiled, grilled, fried, sautéed, or baked. When overcooked, however, scallops quickly become chewy and dry. Only extremely fresh scallops should be eaten raw.
CEPHALOPODS
Cephalopods are marine mollusks with distinct heads, well-developed eyes, a number of arms that attach to the head near the mouth and a saclike fin-bearing mantle. They do not have an outer shell; instead, there is a thin internal shell called a pen or cuttlebone.
Octopus is generally quite tough and requires mechanical tenderization or long, moist-heat cooking to make it palatable. Most octopus is imported from Portugal, though fresh ones are available on the East Coast during the winter. Octopus is sells by the pound usually fresh, frozen, or whole. Octopus skin is gray when raw, turning purple when cooked. The interior flesh is white, lean, firm and flavorful.
Squid, known by their Italian name, calamari, are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. Similar to octopuses but much smaller, they are harvested along both American coasts and elsewhere around the world, (the finest are the East Coast loligo or winter squid). They range in size from an average of 8 to 10 per pound to the giant South American squid, which is sold as tenderized steaks. The squid's tentacles, mantle (body tube) and fins are edible. Squid meat is white to ivory in color, turning darker with age. It is moderately lean, slightly sweet, firm and tender, but it toughens quickly if overcooked. Squid are available either fresh or frozen and packed in blocks.
CRUSTACEANS
Crustaceans are found in both fresh and salt water. They have a hard outer shell and jointed appendages, and they breathe through gills.
Crawfish Boiled Crawfish
Crayfish generally called crayfish in the North and ‘crawfish’ or ‘crawdad’ in the South, are freshwater creatures that look like miniature lobsters. They are harvested from the wild or aqua farmed in Louisiana and the Pacific Northwest. They are from 3 1/2 to 7 inches (8 to 17.5 centimeters) in length when marketed and may be purchased live or precooked and frozen. The lean meat, found mostly in the tail, is sweet and tender. Crayfish can be boiled whole, and served hot or cold. The tail meat can be deep-fried, or used in soups, bisque or sauces. Crayfish are a staple of Cajun cuisine, often used in gumbo, etouffee and jambalaya. Whole crayfish become brilliant red when cooked, and useful as a garnish
Atlantic blue crab Snow crab
Dungeness crab Stone crab
Alaskan king crab
Crabs are found along the North American coast in great numbers and are shipped throughout the world in fresh, frozen and canned forms. Crab meat varies in flavor and texture and can be used in a range of prepared dishes, from chowders to curries to casseroles. Crabs purchased live should last up to five days; dead crabs should not be used.
King crabs are very large crabs (usually around 10 pounds [4.4 kilograms] caught in the very cold waters of the northern Pacific. Their meat is very sweet and snow-white. King crabs are always sold frozen, usually in the shell. In-shell forms include sections or clusters legs and claws or split legs. The meat is also available in "fancy" packs of whole leg and body meat, or shredded and minced pieces.
Dungeness crabs are found along the West Coast. They weigh 1 1/2 to 4 pounds (680 grams to 1.8 kilograms) and have delicate, sweet meat. They are sold live, precooked and frozen, or as picked meat, usually in 5-pound (2.2 -kilogram) vacuum - packed cans.
Blue crabs are found along the entire eastern seaboard and account for approximately 50 percent of the total weight of all crab species harvested in the United States. Their meat is rich and sweet. Blue crabs are available as hard-shell or soft-shell. Hard-shell crabs are sold live, precooked and frozen, or as picked meat. Soft-shell crabs are those harvested within six hours after molting and are available live (generally only from May 15 to September 15) or frozen . They are often steamed and served whole. Soft-shells can be sautéed, fried, broiled or added to soups or stews. Blue crabs are sold by size, with an average diameter of 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters).
Snow or spider crabs are an abundant species, most often used as a substitute for the scarcer and more expensive king crab. They are harvested from Alaskan waters and along the eastern coast of Canada. Snow crab is sold precooked, usually frozen. The meat can be used in soups, salads, omelets or other pre- pared dishes. Legs are often served cold as an appetizer.
Stone crabs are generally available only as cooked claws, either fresh or frozen (the claws cannot be frozen raw because the meat sticks to the shell). In stone crab fishery, only the claw is harvested. After the claw is removed, the crab is returned to the water, where in approximately 18 months it regenerates a new claw. Claws average 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 ounces (75 to 155 grams) each. The meat is firm, with a sweet flavor similar to lobster. Cracked claws are served hot or cold, usually with cocktail sauce, lemon butter, or other accompaniments.
Lobster
Lobsters have brown to blue -black outer shells and firm, white meat with a rich, sweet flavor. Lobster shells turn red when cooked. They are usually poached, steamed, simmered, baked or grilled, and can be served hot or cold. Picked meat can be used in prepared dishes, soups or sautés. Lobsters must be kept alive until just before cooking. Dead lobsters should not be eaten. The Maine, also known as American or clawed lobster, and the spiny lobster are the most commonly marketed species.
Maine lobsters have edible meat in both their tails and claws; they are considered superior in flavor to all other lobsters. They come from the cold waters along the northeast coast and are most often sold live. Maine lobsters may be purchased by weight (for example, 1 1/4 pounds [525 grams], 1 1/2 pounds [650 grams] or 2 pounds [900 grams] each), or as 'chix' (that is, a lobster weighing less than 1 pound [450 grams]). Maine lobsters may also be purchased as ‘culls’ (lobsters with only one claw) or ‘bullets’ (lobsters with no claws). They are available frozen or as cooked, picked meat
Spiny Lobster
Spiny lobsters, harvested in many parts of the world, have very small claws and are valuable only for their meaty tails, which are notched with short spines. Nearly all spiny lobsters marketed in this country are sold as frozen tails, often identified as rock lobster. Those found off Florida and Brazil and in the Caribbean are marketed as warm-water tails; those found off South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are called cold-water tails. Cold-water spiny tails are considered superior to their warm-water cousins.
Slipper lobster, lobsterette, and squat lobster are all clawless species found in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. Although they are popular in some countries, their flavor is inferior to that of both Maine and spiny lobsters. Langoustines are small North Atlantic lobsters.
Shrimp Brown shrimp
White shrimp Boiled shrimp
Shrimp are found worldwide and are widely popular. Gulf whites, pinks, browns, and black tigers are just a few of the dozens of shrimp varieties used in food service operations. Although fresh, head-on shrimp are available, the most common form is raw, head-off (also called green headless) shrimp with the shell on. Most shrimp are de-headed and frozen at sea to preserve freshness.
Shrimp are available in many forms: raw, peeled and deveined; cooked, peeled and deveined; and individually quick-frozen, as well as in a variety of processed, breaded or canned products. Shrimp are graded by size, which can range from 400 per pound to 8 per pound (extra-colossal), and are sold in counts per pound. For example, shrimp marketed as "21- 26 count" means that there is an average of 21 to 26 shrimp per pound; shrimp marketed as "U-10" means that there are fewer than 10 shrimp per pound.
Prawns Tiger prawn
Prawn is often used interchangeably with the word shrimp in English speaking countries. Although it is perhaps more accurate to refer to fresh-water species as prawns, and saltwater species as shrimp, in commercial practice, prawn refers to any large shrimp. Equally confusing, scampi is the Italian name for the Dublin Bay prawn (which is actually a species of miniature lobster), but in the United States scampi refers to shrimp sautéed in garlic butter
African Shrimp African Fan Shrimp
Nutrition
Fish and shellfish are low in calories, fat and sodium, and are high in protein and vitamins A, Band D. Fish and shellfish are also high in minerals, especially calcium (particularly in canned fish with edible bones), phosphorus, and potassium and iron (especially mollusks). Fish are high in a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids called omega-3, which may help combat high blood cholesterol levels and aid in preventing some heart disease. Shellfish are not as high in cholesterol as was once thought. Crustaceans are higher in cholesterol than mollusks, but both have considerably lower levels than red meat or eggs.
The cooking methods used for fish and shellfish also contribute to their healthfulness. The most commonly used cooking methods are broiling, grilling, poaching and steaming-add little or no fat.
Inspection
Unlike mandatory meat and poultry inspections, fish and shellfish inspections are voluntary. They are performed in a fee-for-service program supervised by the United States Department of Commerce (USDC).
Type 1-inspection services cover plant, product and processing methods from the raw material to the final product. The "Packed under Federal Inspection" (PUFI) mark or statement can be used on product labels processed under Type 1 inspection services. It signifies that the product is safe and wholesome, is properly labeled, has reasonably good flavor and odor and was produced under
~Procedure for Preparing Live Lobsters for Sautéing~
A whole lobster may also be cut into smaller pieces for sautéing or other preparations.
1. Using the point of a chef's knife, pierce the lobster's head.
2. Cut off the claws and arms.
3. Cut the tail into cross-sections.
4. Split the head and thorax in half. The tomalley and coral (if present) can be removed and saved for further use. The head and legs may be added to the recipe for flavor, but there is very little meat in them and they are typically discarded.
5. Crack the claws with a firm blow, using the back of a chef's knife.
~Procedure for Opening Clams~
Opening raw clams efficiently requires practice. Like all mollusks, clams should be cleaned under cold running water with a brush to remove all mud, silt and sand that may be stuck to their shells. A knife may be more easily inserted into a clam if the clam is washed and allowed to relax in the refrigerator for at least one hour before it is opened.
1. Hold the clam firmly in a folded towel in the palm of your hand; the notch in the edge of the shell should be toward your thumb.
2. With the fingers of the same hand, squeeze and pull the blade of the clam knife between the clamshells. Do not push on the knife handle with your other hand; you will not be able to control the knife if it slips and you can cut yourself
3. Pull the knife between the shells until it cuts the muscle. Twist the knife to pry the shells apart. Slide the knife tip along the top shell and cut through the muscle. Twist the top shell, breaking it free at the hinge; discard it.
4. Use the knife tip to release the clam from the bottom shell.
~Procedure for Opening Oysters~
1. Clean the oyster by brushing it under running water.
2. Hold the cleaned oyster firmly in a folded towel in the palm of your hand. Insert the tip of an oyster knife in the hinge and use a twisting motion to pop the hinge apart. Do not use too much forward pressure on the knife; it can slip and you could stab yourself
3. Slide the knife along the top of the shell to release the oyster from the shell. Discard the top shell.
4. Use the knife tip to release the oyster from the bottom shell
5. Fresh raw oysters on the half shell with seaweed garnish.
~Procedure for Cleaning and De-bearding Mussels~
Mussels are not normally eaten raw. Before cooking, a clump of dark threads called the beard must be removed. Because this could kill the mussel, cleaning and de-bearding must be clone as close to cooking time as possible.
1. Clean the mussel with a brush under cold running water to remove sand and grit.
2. Pull the beard away from the mussel with your fingers or a small pair of pliers.
~Procedure for Preparing Live Lobsters for Boiling~
A whole lobster can be cooked by plunging it into boiling water or court bouillon. If the lobster is to be broiled, it must be split lengthwise before cooking.
1. Place the live lobster on its back on a cutting board and pierce its head with the point of a chef's knife.
2. Then, in one smooth stroke, bring the knife down and cut through the body and tail without splitting it completely in half.
3. Use your hands to crack the lobsters back so that it lies flat. Crack the claws with the back of a chef's knife.
4. Cut through the tail and curl each half of the tail to the side. Remove and discard the stomach. The tomalley (the olive-green liver) and, if present, the coral (the roe) can be removed and saved for a sauce or other preparation
Various Cooking Methods. Fish and shellfish can be prepared by the dry-heat cooking methods of broiling and grilling, roasting (baking ), sautéing, pan-frying and deep-frying , as well as the moist-heat cooking methods of steaming, poaching and simmering
Packed under Federal Inspection (PUFI)
Type 2-inspection services are usually performed in a warehouse, processing plant or cold storage facility on specific product lots. A lot inspection determines whether the product complies with purchase agreement criteria (usually defined in a spec sheet) such as condition, weight, labeling and packaging integrity.
Type 3-inspection services are for sanitation only. Fishing vessels or plants that meet the requirements are recognized as official establishments and are included in the USDC Approved List of Fish Establishments and Products. The list is available to governmental and institutional purchasing agents as well as to retail and restaurant buyers. Updated copies of the list are published on the Internet.
Grading
Only fish processed under Type 1 inspection services are eligible for grading. Each type of fish has its own grading criteria, but because of the great variety of fish and shellfish, the USDC has been able to set grading criteria for only the most common types. The grades assigned to fish are A, B or C.
Grade A products are top quality and must have good flavor and odor and be practically free of physical blemishes or defects. The great majority of fresh and frozen fish and shellfish consumed in restaurants is Grade A. Grade B indicates good quality; Grade C indicates fairly good quality. Grade B and C products are most often canned or processed.
PURCHASING and STORING FISH and SHELLFISH
Determining Freshness
Because fish and shellfish are highly perishable, an inspection stamp does not necessarily ensure top quality. A few hours at the wrong temperature or a couple of days in the refrigerator can turn high-quality fish or shellfish into garbage. It is important that chefs be able to determine for themselves the freshness and quality of the fish and shellfish they purchase or use. Freshness should be checked before purchasing and again just before cooking.
Determined freshness by the following criteria:
• Smell - This is by far the easiest way to determine freshness. Fresh fish should have a slight sea smell or no odor at all. Any off-odors or ammonia odors are a sure sign of aged or improperly handled fish.
• Eyes - The eyes should be clear and full. Sunken eyes mean that the fish is drying out and is probably not fresh.
• Gills - The gills should be intact and bright red. Brown gills are a sign of age.
• Texture - Generally, the flesh of fresh fish should be firm. Mushy flesh or flesh that does not spring back when pressed with a finger is a sign of poor quality or age.
• Fins and scales - Fins and scales should be moist and full without excessive drying on the outer edges. Dry fins or scales are a sign of age; damaged fins or scales may be a sign of mishandling.
• Appearance - Fish cuts should be moist and glistening, without bruises or dark spots. Edges should not be brown or dry
• Movement - Shellfish should be purchased live and should show movement. Lobsters and other crustaceans should be active. Clam s, mussels and oysters that are partially opened should snap shut when tapped with a finger. (Exceptions are geoduck, razor and steamer clams whose siphons protrude, preventing the shell from closing completely.) Ones that do not close are dead and should not be used. Avoid mollusks with broken shells or heavy shells that might be filled with mud or sand.
Purchasing Fish and Shellfish
Fish are available from wholesalers in a variety of market forms:
• Whole or round - As caught, intact.
• Drawn-Viscera - (internal organs) are removed; most whole fish are purchased this way.
Seafood Freezing Terminology
• Fresh - The item is not and has never been frozen.
• Chilled - Now used by some in the industry to replace the more ambiguous "fresh"; indicates that the item was refrigerated, that is, held at 30°F to 34°F (- 1°C to 1 ° C).
• Flash-frozen - The item was quickly frozen on board the ship or at a processing plant within hours of being caught.
• Fresh-frozen - The item was quick-frozen while still fresh but not as quickly as flash- frozen.
• Frozen - The item was subjected to temperatures of 0°F (- 18°C) or lower to pre- serve its inherent quality.
• Glazed - A frozen product dipped in water; the ice forms a glaze that protects the item from freezer burn.
• Fancy - Code word for "previously frozen."
STORING FISH and SHELLFISH
The most important concern when storing fish and shellfish is temperature. All fresh fish should be stored at temperatures between 30°F and 34°F (- 1°C to 1°C). Fish stored in a refrigerator at 41°F (5°C) will have approximately half the shelf life of fish stored at 32°F (0°C).
Most fish are shipped on ice and should be stored on ice in the refrigerator as soon as possible after receipt. Whole fish should be layered directly in crushed or shaved ice in a perforated panso that the melted ice water drains away. If crushed or shaved ice is not available, cubed ice may be used provided it is put in plastic bags and gently placed on top of the fish to prevent bruising and denting. Fabricated and portioned fish may be wrapped in moisture-proof packaging before icing to prevent the ice and water from damaging the exposed flesh. Fish stored on ice should be drained and re-iced daily.
Fresh scallops, fish fillets that are purchased in plastic trays and oyster and clam meats should be set on or packed in ice. Do not let the scallops, fillets or meats come into direct contact with the ice.
Clams, mussels and oysters should be stored at 41°F (5°C), at high humidity and left in the boxes or net bags in which they were shipped. Under ideal conditions, shellfish can be kept alive for up to one week. Never store live shellfish in plastic bags and do not ice them.
If a saltwater tank is not available, live lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans should be kept in boxes with seaweed or damp newspaper to keep them moist. Most crustaceans circulate salt water over their gills; icing them or placing them in fresh water will kill them. Lobsters and crabs will live for several days under ideal conditions.
Like most frozen foods, frozen fish should be kept at temperatures of 0°F (-18°C) or colder. Colder temperatures greatly increase shelf life. Frozen fish should be thawed in the refrigerator; once thawed, they should be treated like fresh fish.
~Method for Preparing Live Lobsters for Sautéing~
A whole lobster may also be cut into smaller pieces for sautéing or other preparations.
1. Using the point of a chef's knife, pierce the lobster's head.
2. Cut off the claws and arms.
3. Cut the tail into cross-sections.
4. Split the head and thorax in half. The tomalley and coral (if present) can be removed and saved for further use. The head and legs may be added to the recipe for flavor, but there is very little meat in them and they are typically discarded.
5. Crack the claws with a firm blow, using the back of a chef's knife.
~Procedure for Opening Clams~
Opening raw clams efficiently requires practice. Like all mollusks, clams should be cleaned under cold running water with a brush to remove all mud, silt and sand that may be stuck to their shells. A knife may be more easily inserted into a clam if the clam is washed and allowed to relax in the refrigerator for at least one hour before it is opened.
1. Hold the clam firmly in a folded towel in the palm of your hand; the notch in the edge of the shell should be toward your thumb.
2. With the fingers of the same hand, squeeze and pull the blade of the clam knife between the clamshells. Do not push on the knife handle with your other hand; you will not be able to control the knife if it slips and you can cut yourself.
3. Pull the knife between the shells until it cuts the muscle. Twist the knife to pry the shells apart. Slide the knife tip along the top shell and cut through the muscle. Twist the top shell, breaking it free at the hinge; discard it.
4. Use the knife tip to release the clam from the bottom shell.
~Procedure for Opening Oysters~
1. Clean the oyster by brushing it under running water.
2. Hold the cleaned oyster firmly in a folded towel in the palm of your hand. Insert the tip of an oyster knife in the hinge and use a twisting motion to pop the hinge apart. Do not use too much forward pressure on the knife; it can slip and you could stab yourself
3. Slide the knife along the top of the shell to release the oyster from the shell. Discard the top shell.
4. Use the knife tip to release the oyster from the bottom shell.
5. Fresh raw oysters on the half shell with seaweed garnish.
Procedure for Cleaning and De-Bearding Mussels
Mussels are not normally eaten raw. Before cooking, a clump of dark threads called the beard must be removed. Because this could kill the mussel, cleaning and de-bearding must be clone as close to cooking time as possible.
1. Clean the mussel with a brush under cold running water to remove sand and grit.
2. Pull the beard away from the mussel with your fingers or a small pair of pliers.
Procedure for Preparing Live Lobsters for Boiling
A whole lobster can be cooked by plunging it into boiling water or court bouillon. If the lobster is to be broiled, it must be split lengthwise before cooking.
1. Place the live lobster on its back on a cutting board and pierce its head with the point of a chef's knife.
2. Then, in one smooth stroke, bring the knife down and cut through the body and tail without splitting it completely in half.
3. Use your hands to crack the lobsters back so that it lies flat. Crack the claws with the back of a chef's knife.
4. Cut through the tail and curl each half of the tail to the side. Remove and discard the stomach. The tomalley (the olive-green liver) and, if present, the coral (the roe) can be removed and saved for a sauce or other preparation
Various Cooking Methods. Fish and shellfish can be prepared by the dry-heat cooking methods of broiling and grilling, roasting (baking ), sautéing, pan-frying and deep-frying , as well as the moist-heat cooking methods of steaming, poaching and simmering.
Determining Doneness
Unlike most meats and poultry, nearly all fish and shellfish are inherently tender and should be cooked just until done. Indeed, overcooking is the most common mistake made when preparing fish and shellfish. The Canadian Department of Fisheries recommends that all fish be cooked 10 minutes for every inch (2.5 centimeters) of thickness, regardless of cooking method. Although this may be a good general policy, variables such as the type and the form of fish and the exact cooking method used suggest that one or more of the following methods of determining doneness are more appropriate for professional food service operations:
• Translucent flesh becomes opaque - The raw flesh of most fish and shellfish appears somewhat translucent. As the proteins coagulate during cooking, the flesh becomes opaque.
• Flesh becomes firm - The flesh of most fish and shellfish firms as it cooks. Doneness can be tested by judging the resistance of the flesh when pressed with a finger. Raw or undercooked fish or shellfish will be mushy and soft. As it cooks, the flesh offers more resistance and springs back quickly.
• Flesh separates from the bones easily - The flesh of raw fish remains firmly attached to the bones. As the fish cooks, the flesh and bones separate easily.
• Flesh begins to flake - Fish flesh consists of short muscle fibers separated by thin connective tissue. As the fish cooks, the connective tissue breaks down and the groups of muscle fibers begin to flake, that is, separate from one another. Fish is done when the flesh begins to flake. If the flesh flakes easily, the fish will be overdone and dry.
Remember, fish and shellfish are subject to carryover cooking. Because they cook quickly and at low temperatures, it is better to undercook fish and shell- fish and allow carryover cooking or residual heat to finish the cooking process. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/11%3A_Shellfish_Fabrication/11.01%3A_Introduction_to_Shell_Fish.txt |
Dry-heat cooking methods are those that do not require additional moisture at any time during the cooking process. The dry-heat cooking methods used with fish and shellfish are broiling and grilling, roasting (usually referred to as baking when used with fish and shellfish), sautéing, pan- frying and deep-frying.
Broiling and Grilling
After brushing with oil or butter, fish can be grilled directly on the grate or placed on a heated platter under the broiler. Broiled or grilled fish should have a lightly charred surface and a slightly smoky flavor as a result of the intense radiant heat of the broiler or grill. The interior should be moist and juicy. Broiled or grilled shellfish meat should be moist and tender with only slight coloration from the grill or broiler.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Broil or Grill
Nearly all types of fish and shellfish can be successfully broiled or grilled. Salmon, trout, swordfish and other oily fish are especially well suited to grilling, as are lean fish such as bass and snapper. Fillets of lean flatfish with delicate textures, such as flounder and sole, are better broiled. They should be placed on a preheated broiling (sizzler) platter before being placed under the broiler.
Oysters and clams are often broiled on the half shell with flavored butters, bread crumbs or other garnishes and served sizzling hot. Squid can be stuffed, secured with a tooth pick and broiled or grilled. Brushed with butter, split lobsters, king crabs and snow crabs are often broiled or grilled. Whole lobsters can be split and broiled or grilled, or their tails can be removed, split and cooked separately. Large crab legs can also be split and broiled or grilled. Shrimp and scallops are often broiled in flavored butters or grilled on skewers for easy handling.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Broiled or Grilled
• All fish should be brushed lightly with butter or oil before being placed on the grill or under the broiler. The butter or oil prevents sticking and helps leaner fish retain moisture.
• For most fish, a simple seasoning of salt and pepper suffices.
• Most fish do respond well to marinades, especially those made with white wine and lemon juice. Because most fish are delicately flavored, they should be marinated for only a brief time. (Even marinated fish should be brushed with butter or oil before cooking.) Herbs should be avoided because they will burn from the intense heat of the broiler or grill.
• Clams, oysters and other shellfish that are stuffed or cooked with butters, vegetables, bacon or other accompaniments or garnishes gain flavor from these ingredients.
• Be careful, however, not to overpower the delicate flavors of the shellfish by adding too many strong flavorings.
Accompaniments to Broiled and Grilled Fish and Shellfish
Lemon wedges are the traditional accompaniment to broiled or grilled fish and shellfish. They can be served with sauces made separately. Butter sauces such as a beurre blanc are popular, as their richness complements the lean fish. Vegetable coulis are a good choice for a healthier, lower-fat accompaniment. If the item is cooked on a broiler platter with a seasoned butter, it is often served with that butter. Almost any side dish goes well with broiled or grilled fish or shellfish. Fried or boiled potatoes, pasta and rice are all good choices. Grilled vegetables are a natural choice.
Procedure for Broiling or Grilling Fish and Shellfish
All fish is delicate and must be carefully handled to achieve an attractive finished product. When broiling whole fish or fillets with their skin still on, score the skin by making several diagonal slashes approximately ¼ inch (6 millimeters) deep at even intervals. This prevents the fish from curling during cooking, promotes even cooking and creates a more attractive finished product. Be especially careful not to overcook the item. It should be served as hot as possible as soon as it is removed from the broiler or grill.
1. Heat the broiler or grill.
2. Use a wire brush to remove any charred or burnt particles that may be stuck to the broiler or grill grate. The grate can be wiped with a lightly oiled towel to remove any remaining particles and help season it.
3. Prepare the item to be broiled or grilled. For example, cut the fish into steaks or tranches of even thickness; split the lobster, peel and/or skewer the shrimp. Season or marinate the item as desired. Brush the item with oil or butter.
4. Place the item on a grill, presentation side down. If using a broiler, place the item directly on the grate or on a preheated broiler platter. Tender fish are usually broiled presentation side up on a broiler platter.
Baking
The terms baking and roasting are used interchangeably when applied to fish and shellfish. One disadvantage of baking fish is that the short baking time does not allow the surface of the fish to caramelize. To help correct this problem, fish can be browned in a sauté pan with a small amount of oil to achieve the added flavor and appearance of a browned surface, and then finished in an oven.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Bake
Fatty fish produce the best-baked fish. Fish fillets and steaks are the best market forms to bake, as they cook quickly and evenly and are easily portioned. Although lean fish can be baked, it tends to become dry and must be basted often.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish for Baking
The most popular seasonings for baked fish are lemon, butter, salt and pepper. Fish can also be marinated before baking for added flavor. Baked fish usually depend on the accompanying sauce for much of their flavor.
Shellfish are often stuffed or mixed with other ingredients before baking. For example, raw oysters on the half shell can be topped with spinach, watercress and Pernod (oysters Rockefeller) and baked. Shrimp are often butterflied, stuffed and baked; lobsters are split, stuffed, and baked. Many food service operations remove clams from their shells; mix them with breadcrumbs, seasonings or other ingredients; refill the shells and bake the mixture.
Procedure for Baking Fish and Shellfish
1. Portion the fish or shellfish and arrange on a well-oiled or buttered pan, presentation side up.
2. Season as desired and brush the surface of the fish or shellfish generously with melted butter; add garnishes or flavorings as desired or directed in the recipe.
3. Place the pan in a preheated oven at approximately 400°F (200°C).
4. Baste periodically during the cooking process (more often if the fish is lean). Remove from the oven when the fish is slightly underdone.
Sautéing
Sautéing is a very popular cooking method for fish and shellfish. It lightly caramelizes the food's surface, giving it additional flavor. Typically, other ingredients such as garlic, onions, vegetables, wine and lemon juice are added to the fond to make a sauce.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Sauté
Both fatty and lean fish may be sautéed. Flatfish are sometimes dressed and sautéed whole, as are small round fish such as trout. Larger fish such as salmon can be cut into steaks or filleted and cut into tranches. The portions should be relatively uniform in size and thickness and fairly thin to promote even cooking. Although clams, mussels and oysters are not often sautéed, scallops and crustaceans are popular sauté items.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Sautéed
Many types of fish - especially sole, flounder and other delicate, lean fish fillets - are dredged in plain or seasoned flour before sautéing. Seasoned butter is used to sauté some items, such as scampi-style shrimp. These items derive their flavor from the butter; additional seasonings should not be necessary.
Cooking Temperatures
The sauté pan and cooking fat must be hot before the fish or shellfish are added. Do not add too much fish or shellfish to the pan at one time, or the pan and fat will cool, letting the foods simmer in their own juices. Thin slices and small pieces of fish and shellfish require a short cooking time, so use high temperatures in or- der to caramelize their surfaces without overcooking. Large, thick pieces of fish or shellfish being cooked in the shell may require slightly lower cooking temperatures to ensure that they are cooked without overbrowning their surfaces.
Accompaniments to Sautéed Fish and Shellfish
Sautéed fish and shellfish are nearly always served with a sauce made directly in the sauté pan. This sauce may be as simple as browned butter (beurre noisette) or a complicated sauce flavored with the fond. In some cases, seasoned butter is used to sauté the fish or shellfish and the butter is then served with the main item. Mildly flavored rice and pasta are good choices to serve with sautéed fish or shellfish.
Procedure for Sautéing Fish and Shellfish
1. Cut or portion the fish or shellfish.
2. Season the item and dredge in seasoned flour if desired.
3. Heat a suitable sauté pan over moderate heat; add enough oil or clarified butter to cover the bottom to a depth of about 1/s inch (3 millimeters).
4. Add the fish or shellfish to the pan (fish should be placed presentation side down); cook until done, turning once halfway through the cooking process. Add other foods as called for in the recipe.
5. Remove the fish or shellfish. If a sauce is to be made in the sauté pan, follow the appropriate procedures.
Pan-frying
Pan-frying is very similar to sautéing, but it uses more fat to cook the main item. Pan-fried fish is always coated with flour, batter or breading to help seal the sur- face and prevent the flesh from coming into direct contact with the cooking fat. Properly prepared pa n-fried fish and shellfish should be moist and tender with a crisp surface. If battered or breaded, the coating should be intact with no breaks.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Pan-Fry
Both fatty and lean fish may be pan-fried. Trout and other small fish are ideal for pan-frying, as are portioned fillets of lean fish such as halibut. Pan -fried fish and shellfish should be uniform in size and relatively thin so that they cook quickly and evenly.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Pan-Fried
Although fish and shellfish can be marinated or seasoned directly, it is more common to season the flour, batter or breading that will coat them. Batters, for example, can contain cheese, and breading can contain nuts and other ingredients to add different flavors to the fish or shellfish. Additional seasonings come from sauces and other accompaniments served with the pan-fried fish or shellfish.
Cooking Temperatures
The fat should always be hot before the fish or shellfish are added. Breaded or battered fish fillets cook very quickly, and the fat should be hot enough to brown the coating without overcooking the interior. Whole pan-fried fish take longer to cook and therefore require a slightly lower cooking temperature so that the sur- face does not become too dark before the interior is cooked.
Accompaniments to Pan-Fried Fish and Shellfish
Lemon wedges are the classic accompaniment to pan-fried fish and shellfish. Sauces that accompany pan-fried items are made separately. Mayonnaise-based sauces such as Tartar Sauce and Remoulade Sauce are especially popular; rich wine -based sauces should be avoided. Vegetable coulis, such as tomato, also complement many pan-fried items.
Procedure for Pan-Frying Fish and Shellfish
1. Heat enough clarified butter or oil in a heavy sauté pan so that it will come one-third to halfway up the side of the item. The fat should be at a temperature between 325°F and 350°F (163°C and 177°C).
2. Add the floured, breaded or battered item to the pan, being careful not to splash the hot fat. Cook until done, turning once halfway through the cooking process.
3. Remove the food and drain on absorbent paper
4. Serve it promptly with an appropriate sauce.
Deep-frying
Deep -frying is the process of cooking foods by submerging them in hot fat. Typically, fish or shellfish are breaded or battered before deep-frying. Alternatively, they can be formed into croquettes or fritters. Properly deep-fried fish and shell-fish should be moist and tender, not greasy or tough. Their coating should be crispy and golden brown.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Deep-Fry
Whole small fish and fillets of lean fish such as catfish or halibut are excellent for deep -frying. The fillets should be of uniform size and relatively thin so that they cook quickly and evenly. Fatty fish, such as salmon, are ideal for croquettes. Peeled shrimp and shucked mollusks, especially clams and oysters, can be breaded, battered or formed into fritters and deep-fried. Deep-fried breaded or battered sliced squid or octopus served with a dipping sauce makes an excellent hors d'oeuvre.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Deep-Fried
Typically, seasonings used for deep-fried fish or shellfish are added to the breading or batter, although salt and pepper should be added after frying. Additional flavors come from sauces or accompaniments.
Procedure for Deep-Frying Fish and Shellfish
1. Shuck, peel, cut, trim or otherwise prepare the fish or shellfish to be deep-fried. Season, bread or batter it, as desired
2. Heat the fat to the desired temperature, usually around 350°F (177°C).
3. Breaded or battered fish or shellfish cook quickly and the fat must be hot enough to cook the food's interior without burning its surface.
4. Carefully place the food in the hot fat using either the basket method or the swimming method.
5. Deep-fry the fish or shellfish until done. Doneness is usually determined by color, timing or sampling.
6. Remove the deep-fried food from the fat and hold it over the fryer, allowing the excess fat to drain off. Transfer the food to a hotel pan either lined with absorbent paper or fitted with a rack. Season with salt, if desired.
7. If the deep-fried fish or shellfish is to be held for later service, place it under a heat lamp. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/11%3A_Shellfish_Fabrication/11.02%3A_Dry-heat_Cooking_Methods.txt |
Fish and shellfish lend themselves well to moist-heat cooking methods, especially steaming, poaching and simmering. Steaming best preserves the food's natural flavors and cooks without adding fat. Poaching is also popular, especially for fish. Poached fish can be served hot or cold, whole or as steaks, fillets or portions. Boiling, which is actually simmering, is most often associated with crustaceans.
Steaming
Steaming is a very natural way to cook fish and shellfish without adding fats. Fish are steamed by suspending them over a small amount of boiling liquid in a covered pan. The steam trapped in the pan gently cooks the food while preserving its natural flavors and most nutrients. The liquid used to steam fish and shellfish can be water or a court bouillon with herbs, spices, aromatics or wine added to infuse the item with additional flavors. Mussels and clams can be steamed by placing them directly in a pan, adding a small amount of wine or other liquid and covering them. Their shells will hold them above the liquid as they cook. Fish and shellfish can also be steamed by wrapping them in parchment paper together with herbs, vegetables, butters or sauces as accompaniments and baking them in a hot oven. This method of steaming is called en papillote.
Steamed fish and shellfish should be moist and tender. They should have clean and delicate flavors. Any accompaniments or sauces should complement the main item without masking its flavor. Fish and shellfish cooked en papillote should be served piping hot so that the aromatic steam trapped by the paper escapes as the paper is cut open tableside.
Selecting Fish and Shellfish to Steam
Mollusks (for example, clams and mussels), fatty fish (for example, salmon or sea bass) and lean fish (for example, sole) all produce good results when steamed. The portions should be of uniform thickness and no more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick to promote even cooking.
Seasoning Fish and Shellfish to Be Steamed
Steamed fish and shellfish rely heavily on their natural flavors and often require very little seasoning. Nevertheless, salt, pepper, herbs and spices can be applied directly to the raw food before steaming. Flavored liquids used to steam fish and shellfish will contribute additional flavors. If the liquid is served with the fish or shellfish as a broth or used to make a sauce to accompany the item, it is especially important that the liquid be well seasoned. Lemons, limes and other fruits or vegetables can also be cooked with the fish or shellfish to add flavors. Clams
and mussels often do not require additional salt, as the liquor released when they open during cooking is sufficiently salty.
Accompaniments to Steamed Fish and Shellfish
Steamed fish and shellfish are popular partly because they are low in fat. In keeping with this perception, a low or nonfat sauce or a simple squeeze of lemon and steamed fresh vegetables are good accompaniments. If fat is not a concern, then an emulsified butter sauce such as Beurre Blanc or Hollandaise may be a good choice.
Classic New England steamed clams are served with a portion of the steaming liquid; steamed mussels are served with a sauce that is created from the wine and other ingredients used to steam them.
Steaming Procedure for Fish and Shellfish
1. Portion the fish to an appropriate size. Clean the shellfish.
2. Prepare the cooking liquid. Add seasoning and flavoring ingredients as desired and bring to a boil.
3. Place the fish or shellfish in the steamer on a rack or in a perforated pan and cover tightly.
4. Steam the fish or shellfish until done.
5. Serve the fish or shellfish immediately with the steaming liquid or an appropriate sauce.
Simmering
"Boiled" lobster, crab, and shrimp are not actually boiled; rather, they are cooked whole in their shells by simmering. Although they are not as delicate as some fish, these crustaceans can become tough and are easily overcooked if the cooking liquid is allowed to boil.
Selecting Shellfish to Simmer
Lobsters, crabs, and shrimp are generally cooked by simmering. Their hard shells protect their delicate flesh during the cooking process.
Seasoning Shellfish to Be Simmered
The shellfish should not be seasoned prior to cooking. You achieve the best flavor by cooking in a seasoned or flavored liquid, typically salted water or court bouillon. A sachet of pickling spice or Old Bay seasoning is sometimes used for additional flavor. In the Bayou region of Louisiana, there are numerous seasoning other than Old Bay.
Determining Doneness
Timing is the best method for determining the doneness of simmered shellfish. This varies depending on the size of the shellfish, and how quickly the liquid returns to a simmer after the
shellfish is added. Shrimp cook in as little as 3 to 5 minute s; crabs cook in 5 to 10 minutes; and it can take as little as 6 to 8 minutes for a 1-pound (450-gram) lobster to cook and 15 to 20 minutes for a 21/2- pound (1.1-kilogram) lobster.
Accompaniments to Simmered Shellfish
The standard accompaniments to simmered shellfish are lemon wedges and melted butter. If the shellfish are to be eaten cold, the traditional sauce is a tomato-based cocktail sauce. Nearly any type of vegetable or starch goes well with simmered shellfish, the most common being fresh corn on the cob and boiled potatoes.
Procedure for Simmering or Boiling Shellfish
1. Bring court bouillon or water to a boil.
2. Add the shellfish to the liquid. Bring the liquid back to a boil and reduce to a simmer.(Whenever an item is added to boiling water, it lowers the water's temperature. The greater the amount of water, however, the faster it will return to a boil. So to accelerate the time within which the water returns to a boil after the shellfish is added, use as much water as possible.)
3. Cook until done.
4. Remove the shellfish from the liquid and serve immediately, or cool by dropping them in ice water if they are to be eaten cold.
As consumers' increase health awareness, more and more food service operations are expanding their selections of fish and shellfish. Their task is aided by the tremendous variety of high-quality fish and shellfish now avail- able. A variety of dry-heat and moist-heat cooking methods can be used with these products, and a variety of sauces and accompaniments can be served with them. Regardless of how they are served, care and attention are required in order to select, store and avoid overcooking fish and shellfish.
11.04: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Shellfish Identification and Fabrication
1. Shellfish are _______________________ _______________________ with shells or carapaces.
2. Because their cooking times are generally shorter and their taste is more delicate that meat and poultry, special attention must be given to shellfish to
3. Name three types of mollusks.
4. Name three types of crustaceans.
5. __________________ are univalve land animals that share characteristics with their marine cousins.
6. Clams, cockles, mussels, and oysters are classified as ________________________________________.
7. Names two cephalopods.
8. Name four types of crustacean
9. List four good ways to determine doneness in fish and shellfish according to the text.
10. The section on “Simmering” seems to conflict with Cajun Boiling methodology. How so? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/11%3A_Shellfish_Fabrication/11.03%3A_Moist-heat_Cooking_Methods.txt |
Time and time again students comment that this was a favorite day for them in the course, so it may be fitting that this is the last lecture a lab before your final project of the offal presentation day before deep cleaning. We will cover the basics of sushi making along with miso soup, sushi rice, and fabrication of Nigiri sushi, rolls, and Sashimi. If you are not a raw fish fan, please understand that sushi can be vegetarian or even cooked or filled with grilled or tempura fried seafood. There is a sushi for everyone; find what fits your taste or create it.
Thumbnail: Sushi (CC BY-SA 2.5 Generic; Yumi Kimura via Wikipedia)
12: Sushi Production
Sushi
In Japanese cuisine, sushi (寿 司, 鮨, 鮓) is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients including fish (cooked or uncooked) and vegetables. Outside of Japan, sushi is sometimes misunderstood to mean the raw fish by itself, or even any fresh raw-seafood dishes. In Japan, sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi and is distinct from sushi, as sashimi is the raw fish component, not the rice component. The word sushi itself comes from an outdated grammatical form of a word that is no longer used in other contexts; literally, sushi means “it’s sour.”
Sushi must contain rice, typically contains nori (and sometimes seaweed), and virtually always includes fillings or toppings such as of various types, such as seafood, chicken, tuna etc., the possibilities of which are endless. Similar to Western appetizers (although sushi is often intended to be the main course), sushi should be served in a manner that will allow eating by hand, usually in a bite or two. Many types of sushi are individually made by the cook to the appropriate size or are cut by the cook to this size before serving. Although sushi may be prepared in a wrap or roll format prior to serving, traditional ingredients lack the structural strength needed to allow them to be eaten by hand as an entire roll or wrap.
Sushi, in its simplest forms, is made by first cooking rice, then cooling it, molding by it hand or in a mold and adding a topping, or wrapping the rice in nori and adding fillings to make a roll, using a bamboo mat to help, which is then cut into smaller pieces. Usually served cool and with soy sauce, sliced ginger, and wasabi.
Sushi can be eaten as served by the cook or dipped into (or, using sliced ginger as a ‘brush’, wiped with) soy sauce and then eaten, with additional wasabi added by the brave. As a general rule, it is always appropriate to eat sushi by hand, unless it is obvious that you cannot avoid getting rice or other ingredients stuck to your fingers, in which case chopsticks should be used. Much care is put into the creation of the dish and the many methods of preparing the food indicate the importance of appearance to the educated consumer.
History
Beginning as a method of pickling fish centuries ago, sushi has evolved into an artful, unique dining experience. In its earliest form, fish was placed between two wads of rice, producing a moderately complex chemical reaction as the fish fermented, helping to preserve it. Sometime between the 14th and 16th centuries, rice vinegar started to be added to the rice to help speed up the process which took several months. Around this time the rice also started to be consumed with the fish it was used to preserve. Nori (red algae seaweed paper) was added about this period as a way to keep one’s fingers from getting sticky, thus creating the first ancestor of modern ‘makizushi’, or rolled sushi.
Sometime in the mid to late 18th century, a restaurant in Edo (modern Tokyo) started serving sushi rice alone with thinly sliced fresh fish pressed into it. This was the start of Edo-Mae sushi, which is also known as ‘nigirizushi’, or pressed sushi
Sometime after this, a chef took this one step further and eliminated the sushi rice all together: the birth of sashimi. It is important to note that sashimi specifically refers to thinly sliced raw or mostly raw fish and shellfish.
It is hard to tell when exactly the wasabi and pickled ginger were added, but it is probable they came in with the Edo-Mae sushi, as this was when the focus of sushi became enjoying the taste of the exceedingly fresh fish, and the condiments heighten the experience.
Sushi types include makizushi, nigirizushi, oshizushi, and inarizushi.
Makizushi
Makizushi (rolled sushi), or maki for short, is the kind that is most common to North American consumers (see California Rolls) as it is basically sushi layered on top of nori, rolled into a tube, and cut into thick slices. Easy to make and even easier to mass produce, it has found a wide proliferation as a new form of fast food, but still manages to be found in Japanese restaurants that still respect the tradition.
Nigirizushi
Nigirizushi (hand formed sushi), or nigiri for short, is, as stated above, a hand-formed small bed of rice with an ingredient on top (ranging from tuna or salmon to eel or egg). Nigiri sushi that is served without the rice is called sashimi. Gunkanmaki (battleship roll or boat sushi) is a nigirizushi where an oval piece of sushi rice is surrounded by nori and topped with a topping such as fish eggs.
Oshizushi
Oshizushi (pressed sushi) is similar to nigirizushi but it is formed by pressing with the aid of an oshibako, a wooden mold. Generally, the topping is placed in the oshibako first, the rice is added on top, and then the combination is pressed together with the oshibako top or lid. After pressing, the sushi is removed and cut to serving sizes.
Inarizushi
Inarizushi (stuffed sushi) is generally a pocket or pouch containing the rice and other ingredients. Materials used to make the pocket include tofu, bean curd, egg, and cabbage leaves.
Sashimi
Sashimi (basically sliced raw seafood, mostly fish without any rice) is often the most artistic form, with thin slices of fish and shellfish being formed into a range of different shapes, especially flowers. While technically not sushi, sashimi is often grouped together with the different types of sushi.
Saikuzushi
Saikuzushi is an artistic type of sushi, which makes a beautiful image. It is quite difficult to make this, and also quite expensive when bought. Rice is tinted with different colors and later sliced to make an image.
Chirashizushi
Chirashizushi, is scattered sushi with rice in a box or bowl and seaweed on top. Different kinds of seafood and fish are placed on top, including octopus, squid, tuna, alongside with chopped cucumbers and green onion. Chirashizushi has two main regional types, the version of Tokyo, and
the Osaka Version.
Edomae, or Temakizushi, is one of the most common types of sushi, with rice and fish rolled up in seaweed. Crab, octopus, tuna, shrimp, and several other types of seafood is rolled up inside the rice. It is even found in convenience stores in Japan.
Eating Sushi
An authentic sushi-eating experience can include miso soup, makizushi (sushi rolls), sashimi (pieces of fish with no rice), nigirizushi and garnishes of wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. Hot, fresh, green tea is an excellent beverage to drink with your meal, as is beer or plain water. While sake can be consumed with sushi, because it is made from rice it is considered to be too much rice in one meal.
In Japan, sushi chefs will apply a small amount of wasabi to the appropriate types of sushi during preparation. For example, sushi that features its own unique sauce will be prepared sans wasabi so as not to compromise the flavor. Western sushi chefs may do this, but some may not apply wasabi to any sushi.
Sushi can be eaten with chopsticks or by hand; nigiri sushi in particular may be eaten by hand because the rice is packed lightly and may fall apart if eaten with chopsticks.
Start your meal with simple miso soup but do not spend too much time on any one item as this is the proper Japanese etiquette. Instead, rotate through your meal to appreciate the quality of each aspect. Many people start with a mild sushi, such as tamago (a sweet, cold omelet on rice), and end with a stronger taste at the end of the meal, like a darker fish. Between different items it is recommended that a piece of pickled ginger be eaten to cleanse the palate and ensure that none of the subtle flavors of the sushi is missed.
There are different types of seafood used for sushi, and the most common ones are tuna, salmon, squid and octopus. Using expensive seaweed makes sushi taste much better. Expensive seaweed is darker in color, and is less likely to break when folded or rolled. Cheap seaweed is usually greenish in color. The type of soy sauce (shoyu) used also affects the taste of the sushi; the most commonly used brands are Kikkoman and Yamasa. Many people like to mix wasabi, which is a green colored, spicy condiment with their shoyu, which makes it quite spicy and wakening.
Condiments
Sushi is generally served with
• Wasabi
• Green horseradish (a cheap wasabi substitute) gari (pickled ginger)
• Soy sauce
• Kabayaki sauce (eel sauce) (often served on some sushi, may be used for dipping instead of soy sauce
Retrieved from “https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=2694080
Sushi / Sushi Rice
Sushi rice, termed sushi meshi or shari in Japanese, is a key ingredient for sushi and a staple of Japanese cooking. It consists of short-grain rice dressed with seasoned vinegar called sushisu. The rice is then cooled and dried for easy manipulation and to give a glistening appearance.
Ingredients
• 300g of uncooked, washed, short-grain Japanese rice
• (The Japanese measure their uncooked rice using a measurement called a Gō. This is roughlyequivalent to 150 grams when used to measure Japanese rice. One Gō is also the standard size of a rice cooker’s measuring cup)
• 400 mL of water
• 1 small sheet of Kombu (optional)
• 1 metric tablespoon (15 mL) of Sake (optional)
Sushisu (Seasoned rice vinegar dressing):
• 3 metric tablespoons (45 mL) of rice vinegar
• 1 to 2 metric tablespoons (12 to 24 g) of sugar (depending on how sweet you prefer it) 1 to 1.5 metric teaspoons of sea salt
Utencils
Rice cooker, Hangari (rice barrel), optional Shamoji (rice paddle), optional Fukin (cloth), optional
Procedure
1. About 30 minutes before starting, fill the hangiri with water and let it stand. The water saturates the wood, which prevents the rice from sticking to it.
2. Make the sushisu
3. Mix the vinegar, sugar, and salt
4. Heat the mixture in a sauce pan until everything is dissolved, but do not boil.
5. Set aside to cool.
6. Cook the rice
7. Rinse the rice. Put the rice in the cooking pot, half filled with cold water, and swirl it around with your hand. The water will turn chalky white. Carefully drain off the water, and repeat the process several times, until the water remains clear.
8. Allow the rice to stand for 30 minutes. Some recipes say the rice should remain in the cooking pot submerged in its cooking water; others say to transfer it temporarily to a colander to drain.
9. Add an 8cm-sized sheet of Kombu to the cooking pot, and the sake if you are using it.
10. Boil the water in the cooking pot.
11. Remove the Kombu from the cooking pot just as the water boils, and reduce the heat.
12. Simmer the water and rice in the cooking pot for 20 minutes.
13. Turn off the heat but do not remove cover from the cooking pot for 10 minutes (no peeking).
14. Note: A rice-cooker is often used instead of a cooking pot; these generally produce good, consistent results. The manufacturer’s directions will generally be similar to the above.
15. Add the dressing to the rice. The rice and sushisu should be mixed immediately after the rice is finished cooking with sushisu at room temperature.
16. Transfer the rice from the cooking pot to the hangiri; if you do not have one, use a large bowl or cookie sheet.
17. Cut the sushisu gently into rice with the paddle, trying not to break the kernels. (For Western chefs: this “cutting” motion is similar to the cut-and-fold used for gentle treatment of egg whites.) When finished, the rice is evenly coated with the dressing, giving it a shiny appearance.
18. Cover the rice with a cloth for a couple of minutes so the dressing is absorbed.
19. Cool the rice to body temperature by fanning it, while continuing to cut it with the spatula. A traditional hand fan or modern battery-powered fan may be used.
Note: Some sushi chefs prefer natural cooling, rather than fanning, and instead let the rice rest in the hangiri for fifteen minutes, then re-cut the rice, and continue with this process until the rice is cool.
Hangiri
In Japanese cuisine, a hangiri (半切 or 飯切), also known as handai (飯台, a rice table or rice bowl) or sushi oke, is a round, flat-bottomed wooden tub or barrel used in the final steps of preparing rice for sushi.[1] Traditional hangiri are made from cypress wood bound with two copper bands. They range in diameter from about 30 cm (1 ft.) for use at home, to 1 meter (3 feet) for use in a restaurant.
The hangiri and a shamoji wooden paddle are used to dress and to cool the rice. After cooking, the rice is transferred to the hangiri where it is tossed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. When the mixing is complete, it is covered with a cloth (fukin) and allowed to cool. A typical hangiri may cost two or three times as much as an expensive steel cooking pot.
Shamoji
A shamoji (杓文字, しゃもじ) or rice paddle is a large flat spoon used in East Asian cuisine. It is used to stir and to serve rice, and to mix vinegar into the rice for sushi. Shamoji are traditionally made from bamboo, wood, or lacquer, and nowadays often from plastic. The shamoji is dipped in water frequently during use to prevent rice from sticking to it. Some expensive plastic shamoji have non-stick surfaces. Metal is rarely used, as this is more likely to cut rice grains or to damage the hangiri wooden tub traditionally used for mixing.
Modern rice cookers may include a shamoji in the box, usually made of white plastic. Shamoji are also used to crush vegetables, such as garlic and cucumbers, as cleavers are used in Western cuisine. The shamoji has also been a symbol of unity between the mother and wife in Japanese society. In one tradition, it was passed down from one generation to the next to symbolize the family duties that were handed down.
Hangiri - Wiki a hangiri. This example is 41 cm (16 inches)
in diameter. media commons
Traditional Shamoji - Wikimediacommons
Sushi / Maki
Ingredients
• Sushi rice (all of it prepared directly beforehand)
• Fish/vegetables (this may consist of either raw/smoked salmon, tuna, etc or perhaps cucumber or avocado) Sheets of nori (red algae seaweed paper).
• You must also have a makisu or sushi roller (bamboo sticks strung together with string) Wasabi paste, powders should say how to make them into paste.
• Water
• Plastic wrap, if making inside-out rolls with rice on outside
• Sesame seeds, if making inside-out rolls with rice on outside (optional)
Instructions
1. Take the roller and place it on top of a cutting board. If making inside out rolls with rice on the outside, make sure your makisu (roller) is completely wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap. This task is simple and effective in keeping rice from sticking to where it shouldn’t and especially sanitation. Finally, put a sheet of nori shiny side down on top of the makisu. Lengthwise or longwise depends both on the roll and amount of ingredients are being rolled.
2. Dampen your hands before applying the rice. This will prevent clumping and the rice sticking to your hands, but may also make the rice less sticky, so don’t go overboard. Grab the rice with one hand and put a fistful on the center of the nori. When spreading this, leave a 2 centimeter gap on the side parallel to the bamboo. As a general rule, if you can’t see the nori through the rice, you have too much. A 6mm layer has been recommended.
3. If making an inside out roll, flip over the nori and rice quickly onto the makisu. So as the rice is now on the surface of the mat and the nori is facing you.
4. Next place the primary ingredients in a row in the middle. Then, slowly use the roller to push the nori against itself (rolling it away from you), using your thumbs and heels of hands for stability. Be careful when you reach the row of ingredients, making sure that it goes underneath the roll rather than just being pushed along.
5. When you reach the end of the nori sheet, use the roller to compact the roll a little, making sure the rice is making it all stick together. Trying to even out a bumpy roll is simple, and it’s really just a matter of hand pressure. Don’t squeeze too hard on the sides and don’t flatten the roll from the top. If you want to fix the ends of the roll, just poke about 1/2 an inch out from one side of mat and while gently holding it in place, press it with the heel of your hand a little.
6. Next remove the maki from the sushi roller, and put it on the cutting board below.
7. Before you cut, wet your knife every time to reduce sticking (don’t do it sparingly this time). This can be done using a sink, a large bowl, or a large plastic cup. A knife with dimples supposedly works well for cutting sushi. Slice the rolls from the inside out, into sections of 5, 6, or 8 (depending on roll). Cutting from the inside first will ensure that all ingredients that shift towards the outside two pieces. For the rolls of 6 or 8, cut from the center, then put one roll behind the other, and cut each half in half. If you were making an inside-out roll, you may wish to put on a line of sesame seeds primarily for garnish.
8. Serve with soy sauce and something shallow for dipping. You may also want chopsticks, pickled ginger, and wasabi if culture allows. Sashimi, Miso soup, other sushi, or just general Japanese food is also often served alongside it. Green Tea is considered the drink of choice to have with sushi.
Guest Habits
Do not be surprised if someone asks for wasabi with their soy sauce. Although this might be rare or offensive in your culture, it is very common in North American and European cultures. Also, do not be surprised if someone eats it without chopsticks. This is also very common, this time in East Asia. Sushi was originally designed to be eaten that way, until someone discovered how yummy soy sauce made it taste, reducing its portability. It is a clean way to eat maki (not for other types of sushi); you don’t need to eat them with a fork or chopsticks. This phenomenon is similar to some cultures eating pizza with their hands, others with a fork and knife. It can be seen as unnecessary and idiotic, two good ways to eat food, or the sanitary and polite way.
Common Sushi Rolls
• California Roll: avocado, crab meat or imitation crab, cucumber.
• Tuna Roll: Tuna, wrapped in rice and seaweed. This same combination is used to make plain rolls with any other type of fish.
• Spicy Tuna Roll: Tuna, spicy sauce (mixture of Japanese mayonnaise and sriracha)
• Kamikaze Roll: Tuna, yellowtail, spicy sauce
• Philadelphia Roll: Salmon (either raw or smoked), cream cheese Cucumber Roll: Sliced cucumber.Vegan.
• Egg Roll: Sliced Egg Yellow. Vegetarian.
Wasabi
Also known as Japanese horseradish (Wasabia japonica), this green root is prepared by being ground, dried, and made into a paste. It is used in Japanese cooking and is often served with sushi.
Since the plant is difficult to grow, most wasabi sold outside of Japan is just European horseradish with green coloring added.
Wasabi
Wasabi (Japanese: 山葵 or 和佐比; scientific name Wasabia japonica (syn. Cochlearia wasabi, Eutrema japonica)) is a member of the cabbage family. Commonly known as Japanese horseradish, it grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. It is green and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is different from chili pepper, which burns the tongue; wasabi’s strong sensations shoot up one’s sinus cavity instead. The historical purpose for wasabi is supposedly to kill the bacteria in the raw fish often used in sushi.
Edible Algae
Nori
Nori (海苔) is a Japanese term used to refer to edible varieties of algae in the various species of the red algae Porphyra, including most notably P. yezoensis and P. tenera. A few other algae are used as well, including some cyanobacteria. Nori is also commonly used to refer to the food products created from these so- called “sea vegetables”. Finished products are made by a shredding and rack- drying process that resembles papermaking. Nori is commonly used as a wrap for Onigiri and Makizushi.
Nori
Nori is sometimes translated laver in English, but the term usually applies to plants of the genus Porphyra and not to the finished edible sheets of nori. The English term is in any case not well known, and in the United States, the term nori is more common.
Other edible algaes commonly served in Japan include wakame, which is usually dried nori baked and seasoned with sweet soy sauce.
12.03: Classroom Preparation Assignment - Sushi
Classroom Preparation Assignment
Topic 14
Sushi
Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________________________
1. Sushi is a word that came from an outdated use meaning, _______________________.
2. Centuries ago sushi was ______________________ and layered between layers of rice.
3. As a general rule it is appropriate to eat sushi how?
4. Sometime in the late 18th century sushi chefs began to make sushi without rice or nori and called this?
5. The most commonly form of sushi consumed in North America is.
6. Name four components of an authentic sushi eating experience.
7. Rotating through the different components of a sushi meal is the way to show proper Japanese?
8. Americans often drink sake with sushi, however, green tea may be a better choice as sake is considered to be ______________________________ rice.
9. When making sushi rice the addition of _________________ adds umami flavor.
10. Nori is really an ________________________. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Meat_Identification_and_Fabrication_(Welsch_and_Thibodeaux)/12%3A_Sushi_Production/12.01%3A_Sushi.txt |
Coagulation is defined as the transformation of proteins from a liquid state to a solid form. Once proteins are coagulated, they cannot be returned to their liquid state. Coagulation often begins around 38°C (100°F), and the process is complete between 71°C and 82°C (160°F and 180°F). Within the baking process, the natural structures of the ingredients are altered irreversibly by a series of physical, chemical, and biochemical interactions. The three main types of protein that cause coagulation in the bakeshop are outlined below.
Egg proteins
Eggs contain many different proteins. The white, or albumen, contains approximately 40 different proteins, the most predominant being ovalbumin (54%) and ovotransferrin (12%). The yolk contains mostly lipids (fats), but also lipoproteins. These different proteins will all coagulate when heated, but do so at different temperatures. The separated white of an egg coagulates between 60°C and 65°C (140°F and 149°F) and the yolk between 62°C and 70°C (144°F and 158°F), which is why you can cook an egg and have a fully set white and a still runny yolk. These temperatures are raised when eggs are mixed into other liquids. For example, the coagulation and thickening of an egg, milk, and sugar mixture, as in custard, will take place between 80°C and 85°C (176°F and 185°F) and will start to curdle at 88°C to 90°C (190°F and 194°F).
Dairy and soy proteins
Casein, a semi-solid substance formed by the coagulation of milk, is obtained and used primarily in cheese. Rennet, derived from the stomach linings of cattle, sheep, and goats, is used to coagulate, or thicken, milk during the cheese-making process. Plant-based rennet is also available. Chymosin (also called rennin) is the enzyme used to produce rennet, and is responsible for curdling the milk, which will then separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey).
Milk and milk products will also coagulate when treated with an acid, such as citric acid (lemon juice) or vinegar, used in the preparation of fresh ricotta, and tartaric acid, used in the preparation of mascarpone, or will naturally curdle when sour as lactic acid develops in the milk. In some cases, as in the production of yogurt or crème fraîche, acid-causing bacteria are added to the milk product to cause the coagulation. Similarly, tofu is made from soybean milk that has been coagulated with the use of either salt, acid, or enzyme-based coagulants.
Flour proteins (gluten)
Two main proteins are found in wheat flour: glutenin and gliadin (smaller quantities are also found in other grains). During mixing and in contact with liquid, these two form into a stretchable substance called gluten. The coagulation of gluten is what happens when bread bakes; that is, it is the firming or hardening of these gluten proteins, usually caused by heat, which solidify to form a firm structure.
1.02: Gelatinization
Hydrocolloids
A hydrocolloid is a substance that forms a gel in contact with water. There are two main categories:
• Thermo-reversible gel: A gel that melts upon reheating and sets upon cooling. Examples are gelatin and agar agar.
• Thermo-irreversible gel: A gel that does not melt upon reheating. Examples are cornstarch and pectin.
Excessive heating, however, may cause evaporation of the water and shrinkage of the gel. Hydrocolloids do not hydrate (or dissolve) instantly, and that hydration is associated with swelling, which easily causes lumping. It is therefore necessary to disperse hydrocolloids in water. Classically, this has always been done with cornstarch, where a portion of the liquid from the recipe is mixed to form a “slurry” before being added to the cooking liquid. This can also be done with an immersion blender or a conventional blender, or by mixing the hydrocolloid with a helping agent such as sugar, oil, or alcohol prior to dispersion in water.
Starches
Starch gelatinization is the process where starch and water are subjected to heat, causing the starch granules to swell. As a result, the water is gradually absorbed in an irreversible manner. This gives the system a viscous and transparent texture. The result of the reaction is a gel, which is used in sauces, puddings, creams, and other food products, providing a pleasing texture. Starch-based gels are thermo-irreversible, meaning that they do not melt upon heating (unlike gelatin, which we will discuss later). Excessive heating, however, may cause evaporation of the water and shrinkage of the gel.
The most common examples of starch gelatinization are found in sauce and pasta preparations and baked goods.
• In sauces, starches are added to liquids, usually while heating. The starch will absorb liquid and swell, resulting in the liquid becoming thicker. The type of starch determines the final product. Some starches will remain cloudy when cooked; others will remain clear.
• Pasta is made mostly of semolina wheat (durum wheat flour), which contains high amounts of starch. When pasta is cooked in boiling water, the starch in the pasta swells as it absorbs water, and as a result the texture of the pasta softens.
Starch molecules make up the majority of most baked goods, so starch is an important part of the structure. Although starches by themselves generally can’t support the shape of the baked items, they do give bulk to the structure. Starches develop a softer structure when baked than proteins do. The softness of the crumb of baked bread is due largely to the starch. The more protein structure there is, the chewier the bread.
Starches can be fairly straightforward extracts of plants, such as cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot, but there are also modified starches and pre-gelatinized starches available that have specific uses. See Table 1 for a list of different thickening and binding agents and their characteristics.
Table 1 – Common starches and gels used in the bakeshop
Starch or Gel Ratio Preparation Characteristics and Uses
Cornstarch 20-40 g starch thickens 1 L liquid A slurry (mixture of cornstarch and water) is mixed and added to a simmering liquid while whisking until it dissolves and the liquid thickens; or
Cornstarch mixed with sugar, and cold liquid added
Thickened mixture simmered until no starch taste remains
Used to thicken sauces when a clear glossy texture is desired, such as dessert sauces and in Asian-inspired dishes
Translucent, thickens further as it cools; forms a “sliceable” gel
Sensitive to extended heat exposure, so products become thin if held at heat for long periods of time
Waxy maize, waxy rice Dissolved in cold water
20-40 g starch thickens 1 L liquid
Added to hot liquid while whisking until it dissolves and the liquid thickens Used in desserts and dessert sauces
Clear, does not thicken further as it cools
Does not gel at cool temperatures, good for cold sauces
Quite stable at extreme temperatures (heat and freezing)
Modified starches Dissolved in cold water
20-40 g starch thickens 1 L liquid
Added to hot liquid while whisking until it dissolves and the liquid thickens Modified starches are often used in commercially processed foods and convenience products
Modified to improve specific characteristics (e.g., stability or texture under extreme conditions; heat and freezing)
Translucent, thickens further as it cools
Pre-gelatinized starches Powder, dissolved in cold liquid
20-40 g starch thickens 1 L liquid
Added to liquid at any temperature Used when thickening liquids that might lose colour or flavour during cooking
Become viscous without the need for additional cooking
Translucent, fairly clear, shiny, does NOT gel when cold
Arrowroot Powder, dissolved in cold liquid
20-40 g starch thickens 1 L liquid
Added to hot liquid while whisking until it dissolves and the liquid thickens Derived from cassava root
Used in Asian cuisines
Very clear; possesses a gooey texture
Translucent, shiny, very light gel when cold
Gelatin 15-30 g gelatin sets 1 L liquid Powder or sheets (leaves) dissolved in cold water
Added to cold or simmering liquid
Activates with heat, sets when cold
Derived from collagens in bones and meats of animals
Used in aspic, glazes, cold sauces, and desserts
Clear, firm texture
Dissolves when reheated, thickens when cold
Agar agar 15-30g agar agar sets 1 L liquid Powder dissolved in cold water
Added to cold or simmering liquid
Activates with heat, sets when cold
Extracted from seaweed
Used in Asian desserts and molecular gastronomy cooking
Used in place of gelatin in vegetarian dishes
Clear firm texture
Does not thin when reheated, thickens more when cold
Gelling agents
Gelatin is a water-soluble protein extracted from animal tissue and used as a gelling agent, a thickener, an emulsifier, a whipping agent, a stabilizer, and a substance that imparts a smooth mouth feel to foods. It is thermo-reversible, meaning the setting properties or action can be reversed by heating. Gelatin is available in two forms: powder and sheet (leaf).
Gelatin is often used to stabilize whipped cream and mousses; confectionery, such as gummy bears and marshmallows; desserts including pannacotta; commercial products like Jell-O; “lite” or low-fat versions of foods including some margarines; and dairy products such as yogurt and ice cream. Gelatin is also used in hard and soft gel capsules for the pharmaceutical industry.
Agar agar is an extract from red algae and is often used to stabilize emulsions or foams and to thicken or gel liquids. It is thermo-reversible and heat resistant.
It is typically hydrated in boiling liquids and is stable across a wide range of acidity levels. It begins to gel once it cools to around 40ºC (100ºF) and will not melt until it reaches 85ºC (185ºF).
Pectin
Pectin is taken from citrus and other tree fruits (apples, pears, etc.). Pectin is found in many different foods such as jam, milk-based beverages, jellies, sweets, and fruit juices. Pectin is also used in molecular gastronomy mainly as a gelling agent, thickener, and stabilizer.
There are a variety of types of pectin that react differently according to the ingredients used. Low-methoxyl pectin (which is activated with the use of calcium for gelling) and high-methoxyl pectin that requires sugar for thickening are the two most common types used in cooking. High-methoxyl pectin is what is traditionally used to make jams and jellies. Low-methoxyl pectin is often used in modern cuisine due to the thermo-irreversible gel that it forms and its good reaction to calcium. Its natural capability to emulsify and gel creates stable preparations.
Increasingly, cooks, bakers, and pastry chefs are turning to many different gels, chemicals, and other substances used in commercial food processing as new ingredients to modify liquids or other foods. These will be outlined in detail in the section on molecular gastronomy. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Scientific_Principles_and_Techniques_Used_in_Modern_Pastry/1.01%3A_Coagulation.txt |
Many factors can influence crystallization in food. Controlling the crystallization process can affect whether a particular product is spreadable, or whether it will feel gritty or smooth in the mouth. In some cases, crystals are something you try to develop; in others, they are something you try to avoid.
It is important to know the characteristics and quality of the crystals in different food. Butter, margarine, ice cream, sugar, and chocolate all contain different types of crystals, although they all contain fat crystals. For example, ice cream has fat crystals, ice crystals, and sometimes lactose crystals.
The fact that sugar solidifies into crystals is extremely important in candy making. There are basically two categories of candies: crystalline (candies that contain crystals in their finished form, such as fudge and fondant); and non-crystalline (candies that do not contain crystals, such as lollipops, taffy, and caramels). Recipe ingredients and procedures for non-crystalline candies are specifically designed to prevent the formation of sugar crystals because they give the resulting candy a grainy texture. One way to prevent the crystallization of sucrose in candy is to make sure that there are other types of sugar—usually fructose and glucose—to get in the way and slow down or inhibit the process. Acids can also be added to “invert” the sugar, and to prevent or slow down crystallization. Fats added to certain confectionary items will have a similar effect.
When boiling sugar for any application, the formation of crystals is generally not desired. These are some of the things that can promote crystal growth:
• Pot and utensils that are not clean
• Sugar with impurities in it (A scoop used in the flour bin, and then used for sugar, may have enough particles on it to promote crystallization.)
• Water with a high mineral content (“hard water”)
• Too much stirring (agitation) during the boiling phase
Crystallization may be prevented by adding an interferent, such as acid (lemon, vinegar, tartaric, etc.) or glucose or corn syrup, during the boiling procedure.
As mentioned above, ice cream can have ice and fat crystals that co-exist along with other structural elements (emulsion, air cells, and hydrocolloid stabilizers such as locust bean gum) that make up the “body” of the ice cream. Some of these components crystallize either partially or completely. The bottom line is that the nature of the crystalline phase in the food will determine the quality, appearance, texture, feel in the mouth, and stability of the product. The texture of ice cream is derived, in part, from the large number of small ice crystals. These small ice crystals provide a smooth texture with excellent melt-down and cooling properties. When these ice crystals grow larger during storage (recrystallization), the product becomes coarse and less enjoyable. Similar concerns apply to sugar crystals in fondant and frostings, and to fat crystals in chocolate, butter, and margarine.
Control of crystallization in fats is important in many food products, including chocolate, margarine, butter, and shortening. In these products, the aim is to produce the appropriate number, size, and distribution of crystals in the correct shape because the crystalline phase plays such a large role in appearance, texture, spreadability, and flavour release. Thus, understanding the processes that control crystallization is critical to controlling quality in these products.
To control crystallization in foods, certain factors must be controlled:
• Number and size of crystals
• Crystal distribution
• Proper polymorph (crystal shape)
Crystallization is important in working with chocolate. The tempering process, sometimes called pre-crystallization, is an important step that is used for decorative and moulding purposes, and is a major contributor to the mouth feel and enjoyment of chocolate. Tempering is a process that encourages the cocoa butter in the chocolate to harden into a specific crystalline pattern, which maintains the sheen and texture for a long time.
When chocolate isn’t tempered properly it can have a number of problems. For example, it may not ever set up hard at room temperature; it may become hard, but look dull and blotchy; the internal texture may be spongy rather than crisp; and it can be susceptible to fat bloom, meaning the fats will migrate to the surface and make whitish streaks and blotches. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Scientific_Principles_and_Techniques_Used_in_Modern_Pastry/1.03%3A_Crystallization.txt |
Non-traditional thickeners
In addition to traditional starches, there are new ways to thicken sauces and to change the texture of liquids. Some of these thickening agents work without heating and are simply blended with the cold liquid, such as modified starch or xanthan gum. These allow the creation of sauces and other liquids with a fresh, uncooked taste.
Foams, froths, and bubbles
Liquids can be stabilized with gelatin, lecithin, and other ingredients, and then used to create foams by whipping or using a special dispenser charged with nitrogen gas. A well-made foam adds an additional flavour dimension to the dish without adding bulk, and an interesting texture as the foam dissolves in the mouth (Figure 1).
Espuma
Espuma is the Spanish term for froth or foam, and it is created with the use of a siphon (ISO) bottle. This is a specific term, since culinary foams may be attained through other means.
Espuma from a siphon creates foam without the use of an emulsifying agent such as egg. As a result, it offers an unadulterated flavour of the ingredients used. It also introduces much more air into a preparation compared to other culinary aerating processes.
Espuma is created mainly with liquid that has air incorporated in it to create froth. But solid ingredients can be used too; these can be liquefied by cooking, puréeing, and extracting natural juices. It should be noted, though, that the best flavours to work with are those that are naturally diluted. Otherwise, the espuma tends to lose its flavour as air is introduced into it.
Stabilizers may be used alongside the liquids to help retain their shape longer; however, this is not always necessary. Prepared liquids can also be stored in a siphon bottle and kept for use. The pressure from the bottle will push out the aerated liquid, producing the espuma.
Foam
Foam is created by trapping air within a solid or liquid substance. Although culinary foams are most recently associated with molecular gastronomy, they are part of many culinary preparations that date back to even earlier times. Mousse, soufflé, whipped cream, and froth in cappuccino are just some examples of common foams. Common examples of “set” foams are bread, pancakes, and muffins.
Foam does not rely on pressure to encase air bubbles into a substance. Like espuma, foam may also be created with the help of a surfactant and gelling or thickening agents to help it hold shape. The production of a culinary foam starts with a liquid or a solid that has been puréed. The thickening or gelling agent is then diluted into this to form a solution. Once dissolved, the solution is whipped to introduce air into it.
The process of whipping is done until the foam has reached the desired stiffness. Note that certain ingredients may break down if they are whipped for too long, especially without the presence of a stabilizing agent.
Gels
Turning a liquid, such as a vegetable juice or raspberry purée, into a solid not only gives it a different texture but also allows the food to be cut into many shapes, enabling different visual presentations (Figure 2). Regular gelatin can be used as well as other gelling agents, such as agar agar, which is derived from red algae.
Brittle gels
Gelling agents are often associated with jelly-like textures, which may range from soft to firm. However, certain gels produced by specific agents may not fit this description.
Rather than forming an elastic or pliable substance, brittle gels may also be formed. These are gels that are firm in nature yet fragile at the same time. This characteristic is caused by the formation of a gel network that is weak and susceptible to breaking. This property allows brittle gels to crumble in the mouth and create a melt-in-the-mouth feeling. As a result, new sensations and textures are experienced while dining. At the same time, tastes within a dish are also enhanced due to the flavour release caused by the gel breakdown.
Brittle gels are made by diluting the gelling agent into a liquid substance such as water, milk, or a stock. This mixture is left to set to attain a gelled end product. It should be noted that the concentration of gelling agents used, as well as the amount of liquid, both affect gelation.
Agar agar is a common agent used to create brittle gels. However, when combined with sugar it tends to create a more elastic substance. Low-acyl gellan gum, locust bean gum, and carrageenan also create brittle gels.
Fluid gels
A fluid gel is a cross between a sauce, gel, and purée. It is a controlled liquid that has properties of all three preparations. A fluid gel displays viscosity and fluidity at the same time, being thick yet still spreadable.
Fluid gels behave as solids when undisturbed, and flow when exposed to sufficient agitation. They are used in many culinary dishes where fluids need to be controlled, and they provide a rich, creamy texture.
A fluid gel is created using a base liquid that can come from many different sources. The base liquid is commonly extracted from fruits and vegetables, taken from stocks, or even puréed from certain ingredients. The longer the substance is exposed to stress, and the more intense the outside stress, the more fluidity is gained. More fluidity causes a finer consistency in the gel.
Fluid gels can be served either hot or cold, as many of the gelling agents used for such preparations are stable at high temperatures.
Drying and powdering
Drying a food intensifies its flavour and, of course, changes its texture. Eating a piece of apple that has been cooked and then dehydrated until crisp is very different from eating a fresh fruit slice. If the dehydrated food is powdered, it becomes yet another flavour and texture experience.
When maltodextrin (or tapioca maltodextrin) is mixed with fat, it changes to a powder. Because maltodextrin dissolves in water, peanut butter (or olive oil) that has been changed to a powder changes back to an oil in the mouth.
Freezing
In molecular gastronomy, liquid nitrogen is often used to freeze products or to create a frozen item without the use of a freezer.
Liquid nitrogen is the element nitrogen in a liquefied state. It is a clear, colourless liquid with a temperature of -196°C (-321°F). It is classified as a cryogenic fluid, which causes rapid freezing when it comes into contact with living tissues.
The extremely cold temperatures provided by this liquefied gas are most often used in modern cuisine to produce frozen foams and ice cream. After freezing food, nitrogen boils away, creating a thick nitrogen fog that may also add to the aesthetic features of a dish.
Given the extreme temperature of liquid nitrogen, it must be handled with care. Mishandling may cause serious burns to the skin. Nitrogen must be stored in special flasks and handled only by trained people. Aprons, gloves, and other specially designed safety gear should be used when handling liquid nitrogen.
Used mainly in the form of a coolant for molecular gastronomy, liquid nitrogen is not ingested. It is poured directly onto the food that needs to be cooled, causing it to freeze. Any remaining nitrogen evaporates, although sufficient time must be provided to allow the liquefied gas to be eliminated and for the dish to warm up to the point that it will not cause damage during consumption.
Spherification
Spherification is a modern cuisine technique that involves creating semi-solid spheres with thin membranes out of liquids. Spheres can be made in various sizes and of various firmnesses, such as the “caviar” shown in Figure 3. The result is a burst-in-the-mouth effect, achieved with the liquid. Both flavour and texture are enhanced with this culinary technique.
There are two versions of the spherification process: direct and reverse.
In direct spherification, a flavoured liquid (containing either sodium alginate, gellan gum, or carrageenan) is dripped into a water bath that is mixed with calcium (either calcium chloride or calcium lactate). The outer layer is induced by calcium to form a thin gel layer, leaving a liquid centre. In this version, the spheres are easily breakable and should be consumed immediately.
Calcium chloride and sodium alginate are the two basic components used for this technique. Calcium chloride is a type of salt used in cheese making, and sodium alginate is taken from seaweed. The sodium alginate is used to gel the chosen liquid by dissolving it directly into the fluid. This causes the liquid to become sticky, and proper dissolving must be done by mixing. The liquid is then left to set to eliminate any bubbles.
Once ready, a bath is prepared with calcium chloride and water. The liquid is then dripped into the bath using a spoon or syringe depending on the desired sphere size. The gel forms a membrane encasing the liquid when it comes into contact with the calcium chloride. Once set, the spheres are then removed and rinsed with water to remove any excess calcium chloride.
In reverse spherification, a calcium-containing liquid (or ingredients mixed with a soluble calcium salt) is dripped into a setting bath containing sodium alginate. Surface tension causes the drop to become spherical. A skin of calcium alginate immediately forms around the top. Unlike in the direct version, the gelling stops and does not continue into the liquid orb. This results in thicker shells so the products do not have to be consumed immediately.
Videos on spherification:
Direct spherification video: Molecular Gastronomy: Basic Spherification to Make Caviar
Specialty ingredients used in molecular gastronomy
There are a number of different ingredients used in molecular gastronomy as gelling, thickening, or emulsifying agents. Many of these are available in specialty food stores or can be ordered online.
Algin
Another name for sodium alginate, algin is a natural gelling agent taken from the cell walls of certain brown seaweed species.
Calcium chloride
Calcium chloride, also known as CaCl2, is a compound of chlorine and calcium that is a by-product of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) manufacturing. At room temperature it is a solid salt, which is easily dissolved in water.
This is very salty and is often used for preservation, pickling, cheese production, and adding taste without increasing the amount of sodium. It is also used in molecular gastronomy in the spherification technique (see above) for the production of ravioli, spheres, pearls, and caviar (Figure 3).
Calcium lactate
Calcium lactate is a calcium salt resulting from the fermentation of lactic acid and calcium. It is a white crystalline power when solid and is highly soluble in cold liquids. It is commonly used as a calcium fortifier in various food products including beverages and supplements.
Calcium lactate is also used to regulate acidity levels in cheese and baking powder, as a food thickener, and as a preservative for fresh fruits. In molecular gastronomy, it is most commonly used for basic spherification and reverse spherification due to the lack of bitterness in the finished products.
Like calcium chloride, calcium lactate is used alongside sodium alginate. In regular spherification, it is used in the bath. It is also used as a thickener in reverse spherification.
Carob bean gum
Carob bean gum is another name for locust bean gum. It is often used to stabilize, texturize, thicken, and gel liquids in the area of modern cuisine, although it has been a popular thickener and stabilizer for many years.
Carrageenan
Carrageenan refers to any linear sulfated polysaccharide taken from the extracts of red algae. This seaweed derivative is classified mainly as iota, kappa, and lambda. It is a common ingredient in many foods.
There are a number of purposes that it serves, including binding, thickening, stabilizing, gelling, and emulsifying. Carrageenan can be found in ice cream, salad dressings, cheese, puddings, and many more foods. It is often used with dairy products because of its good interaction with milk proteins. Carrageenan also works well with other common kitchen ingredients and offers a smooth texture and taste that blends well and does not affect flavour.
More often than not, carrageenan is found in powder form, which is hydrated in liquid before being used. For best results, carrageenan powder should be sprinkled in cold liquid and blended well to dissolve, although it may also be melted directly in hot liquids.
Citric acid
Classified as a weak organic acid, citric acid is a naturally occurring preservative that can be found in citrus fruits. Produced as a result of the fermentation of sugar, it has a tart to bitter taste and is usually in powder form when sold commercially. It is used mainly as a preservative and acidulent, and it is a common food additive in a wide range of foods such as candies and soda. Other than extending shelf life by adjusting the acidity or pH of food, it can also help enhance flavours. It works especially well with other fruits, providing a fresh taste.
In modern cooking, citric acid is often used as an emulsifier to keep fats and liquids from separating. It is also a common component in spherification, where it may be used as an acid buffer.
Gellan gum
Gellan gum is a water-soluble, high-molecular-weight polysaccharide gum that is produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates in algae by the bacterium Pseudomonas elodea. This fermented carbohydrate is purified with isopropyl alcohol, then dried and milled to produce a powder.
Gellan gum is used as a stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, and gelling agent in cooking. Aspics and terrines are only some of the dishes that use gellan. It comes in both high-acyl and low-acyl forms. High-acyl gellan gum produces a flexible elastic gel, while low-acyl gellan gum will give way to a more brittle gel.
Like many other hydrocolloids, gellan gum is used with liquids. The powder is normally dispersed in the chosen liquid to dissolve it. Once dissolved, the solution is then heated to facilitate liquid absorption and gelling by the hydrocolloid. A temperature between 85°C and 95°C (185°F and 203°F) will start the dissolution process. Gelling will begin upon cooling around 10°C and 80°C (50°F and 176°F).
Gellan gum creates a thermo-irreversible gel and can withstand high heat without reversing in form. This makes it ideal for the creation of warm gels.
Guar gum
Guar gum, or guaran, is a carbohydrate. This galactomannan is taken from the seeds of the guar plant by dehusking, milling, and screening. The end product is a pale, off-white, loose powder. It is most commonly used as a thickening agent and stabilizer for sauces and dressings in the food industry. Baked goods such as bread may also use guar gum to increase the amount of soluble fibre. At the same time, it also aids with moisture retention in bread and other baked items.
Being a derivative of a legume, guar gum is considered to be vegan and a good alternative to starches. In modern cuisine, guar gum is used for the creation of foams from acidic liquids, for fluid gels, and for stabilizing foams.
Guar gum must first be dissolved in cold liquid. The higher the percentage of guar gum used, the more viscous the liquid will become. Dosage may also vary according to the ingredients used as well as desired results and temperature.
Iota carrageenan
Iota carrageenan is a hydrocolloid taken from red seaweed (Eucheuma denticulatum). It is one of three varieties of carrageenan and is used mainly as a thickening or gelling agent.
Gels produced from iota carrageenan are soft and flexible, especially when used with calcium salts. It produces a clear gel that exhibits little syneresis. Iota is a fast-setting gel that is thermo-reversible and remains stable through freezing and thawing. In modern cuisine it is used to create hot foams as well as custards and jellies with a creamy texture.
Like most other hydrocolloids, iota carrageenan must first be dispersed and hydrated in liquid before use. Unlike lambda carrageenan, it is best dispersed in cold liquid. Once hydrated, the solution must be heated to about 70°C (158°F) with shear to facilitate dissolution. Gelling will happen between 40°C and 70°C (104°F and 158°F) depending on the number of calcium ions present.
Kappa carrageenan
Kappa carrageenan is another type of red seaweed extract taken specifically from Kappaphycus alvarezii. Like other types of carrageenan, it is used as a gelling, thickening, and stabilizing agent. When mixed with water, kappa carrageenan creates a strong and firm solid gel that may be brittle in texture.
This particular variety of carrageenan blends well with milk and other dairy products. Since it is taken from seaweed, it is considered to be vegan and is an alternative to traditional gelling agents such as gelatin.
Kappa carrageenan is used in various cooking preparations including hot and cold gels, jelly toppings, cakes, breads, and pastries. When used in molecular gastronomy preparations and other dishes, kappa carrageenan should be dissolved in cold liquid.
Once dispersed, the solution must be heated between 40°C and 70°C (104°F and 158°F). Gelling will begin between 30°C and 60°C (86°F and 140°F). Kappa carrageenan is a thermo-reversible gel and will stay stable up to 70°C (158°F). Temperatures beyond this will cause the gel to melt and become liquid once again.
Locust bean gum
Locust bean gum, also known as LBG and carob bean gum, is a vegetable gum derived from Mediterranean-region carob tree seeds. This hydrocolloid is used to stabilize, texturize, thicken, and gel liquids in modern cuisine, although it has been a popular thickener and stabilizer for many years.
It has a neutral taste that does not affect the flavour of food that it is combined with. It also provides a creamy mouth feel and has reduced syneresis when used alongside pectin or carrageenan for dairy and fruit applications. The neutral behaviour of this hydrocolloid makes it ideal for use with a wide range of ingredients.
To use locust bean gum, it must be dissolved in liquid. It is soluble with both hot and cold liquids.
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is a sweet polysaccharide that is produced from starch, corn, wheat, tapioca, or potato through partial hydrolysis and spray drying. This modified food starch is a white powder that has the capacity to absorb and hold water as well as oil. It is an ideal additive since it has fewer calories than sugar and is easily absorbed and digested by the body in the form of glucose.
Coming from a natural source, it ranges from nearly flavourless to fairly sweet without any odour. Maltodextrin is a common ingredient in processed foods such as soda and candies. In molecular gastronomy, it can be used both as a thickener and a stabilizer for sauces and dressings, for encapsulation, and as a sweetener. In many cases, it is also used as an aroma carrier due to its capacity to absorb oil. It is also often used to make powders or pastes out of fat.
Sodium alginate
Sodium alginate, which is also called algin, is a natural gelling agent taken from the cell walls of certain brown seaweed species. This salt is obtained by drying the seaweed, followed by cleaning, boiling, gelling, and pulverizing it. A light yellow powder is produced from the process. When dissolved in liquids, sodium alginate acts as a thickener, creating a viscous fluid. Conversely, when it is used with calcium it forms a gel through a cold process.
In molecular gastronomy, sodium alginate is most commonly used as a texturizing agent. Foams and sauces may be created with it. It is also used in spherification for the creation of pearls, raviolis, mock caviar, marbles, and spheres. Sodium alginate can be used directly by dissolving it into the liquid that needs to be gelled, as in the case of basic spherification. It may also be used inversely by adding it directly to a bath, as in the case of reverse spherification.
This versatile product is soluble in both hot and cold liquids, and gels made with it will set at any temperature.
Soy lecithin
Soy lecithin, also called just lecithin, is a natural emulsifier that comes from fatty substances found in plant tissues. It is derived from soybeans either mechanically or chemically, and is a by-product of soybean oil creation. The end product is a light brown powder that has low water solubility.
As an emulsifier, it works to blend immiscible ingredients together, such as oil and water, giving way to stable preparations. It can be whisked directly into the liquid of choice.
Soy lecithin is also used in creating foams, airs, mousses, and other aerated dishes that are long lasting and full of flavour. It is used in pastries, confections, and chocolate to enhance dough and increase moisture tolerance.
As with most ingredients, dosage and concentration for soy lecithin will depend on the ingredients used, specific properties desired in the resulting preparation, as well as other conditions.
Tapioca maltodextrin
Tapioca maltodextrin is a form of maltodextrin made from tapioca starch. It is a common ingredient in molecular gastronomy because it can be used both as a thickener and stabilizer for sauces and dressings, for encapsulation, and as a sweetener. In many cases it is also used as an aroma carrier due to its capacity to absorb oil. It is often used to make powders or pastes out of fat.
Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is a food additive used as a thickening agent. It is produced through the fermentation of glucose. As a gluten-free additive it can be used as a substitute in cooking and baking.
As a thickener, when used in low dosages, xanthan gum produces a weak gel with high viscosity that is shear reversible with a high pourability. It also displays excellent stabilizing abilities that allow for particle suspension.
Moreover, xanthan gum mixes well with other flavours without masking them and provides an improved mouth feel to preparations. The presence of bubbles within the thickened liquids often makes way for light and creamy textures. It is used in the production of emulsions, suspensions, raviolis, and foams.
Being a hydrocolloid, xanthan gum must be hydrated before use. High versatility allows it to be dissolved over a wide range of temperatures, acid, and alcohol levels. Once set, xanthan gum may lose some of its effectiveness when exposed to heat. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Scientific_Principles_and_Techniques_Used_in_Modern_Pastry/1.04%3A_Molecular_Gastronomy_Techniques_That_May_Be_Us.txt |
Sous-vide cooking is about immersing a food item in a precisely controlled water bath, where the temperature of the water is the same as the target temperature of the food being cooked. Food is placed in a food-grade plastic bag and vacuum-sealed before going into the water bath. Temperatures will vary depending on desired end result. This allows the water in the bath to transfer heat into the food while preventing the water from coming into direct contact with it. This means the water does not chemically interact with the food: the flavours of the food remain stronger, because the water is unable to dissolve or carry away any compounds in the food (Figure 4).
Applications for the bakeshop
Sous-vide fruits and vegetables
Cooking vegetable and fruits sous-vide is a great way to tenderize them without losing as many of the vitamins and minerals that are normally lost through blanching or steaming. Fruits can also be infused with liquid when cooked at lower temperatures by adding liquid to the bag. Sous-vide helps preserve the nutrients present in fruits and vegetables by not cooking them above the temperatures that cause the cell walls to fully break down. This allows them to tenderize without losing all their structure. The bag also helps to catch any nutrients that do come out of the vegetable.
While time and temperature do not factor into safety for fruits and vegetables, they do have a unique effect on their structure. There are two components in fruits and vegetables that make them crisp: pectin and starch. Pectin, which is a gelling agent commonly used in jams and jellies for structure, breaks down at 83ºC (183ºF) at a slower rate than the starch cells do. In many cases this allows for more tender fruits and vegetables that have a unique texture to them.
Custards
The term custard spans so many possible ingredients and techniques that it is most useful to think of a custard as simply a particular texture and mouth feel. Custards have been made for centuries by lightly cooking a blend of eggs, milk, and heavy cream, but modernist chefs have invented myriad ways to make custards.
Using the sous-vide method to prepare crème anglaise, curds, ice cream bases, custard bases, sabayons, and dulce de leche is possible. The technique offers greater consistency and more control over the texture, which can range from airy, typical of a sabayon, to dense, as in a posset. For custards, eggs will be properly cooked at 82°C (180ºF), so if the water bath is set to this temperature, no overcooking can happen. The one constant among custards is the use of plenty of fat, which not only provides that distinctive mouth feel but also makes custard an excellent carrier of fat-soluble flavours and aromas. Lighter varieties of custard, prepared sous-vide style and cooled, can be aerated in a whipping siphon into smooth, creamy foams.
Other applications for vacuum-seal processes
Fruit compression
Vacuum-compressing fruits and vegetables is a popular modern technique that can give many plant foods an attractive, translucent appearance (as shown in the watermelon in Figure 5) and a pleasant, surprising texture. This technique exploits the ability of a vacuum chamber to reduce surrounding pressure, which causes air and moisture within the plant tissue to rapidly expand and rupture the structures within the food. When the surrounding pressure is restored to a normal level, the labyrinth of air-filled spaces collapses. As a result, light tends to pass through the food rather than being scattered and diffused, which is why vacuum-compressed plant foods appear translucent. Causing the porous structure of a plant food to collapse also imparts a somewhat dense, toothsome texture that can give a familiar ingredient, such as watermelon, an entirely new appeal.
Infusions
When adding liquids, the vacuum-seal process creates a rapid infusion—especially with more porous foods (such as adding spices to cream or herbs to melon). This can add flavour and texture in a shorter time than traditional infusions.
1.06: Activities
Activities
• Use the spherification method (both direct and reverse) to create a component for a dessert plate.
• Use the sous-vide process to cook a custard.
• Use the vacuum-seal process to compress fruit. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/01%3A_Scientific_Principles_and_Techniques_Used_in_Modern_Pastry/1.05%3A_Low-temperature_and_sous-vide_cooking_in_the_p.txt |
Customers love desserts, but not all customers will order them. In most restaurants, perhaps 50% of the customers, at most, will have dessert. A majority of diners are simply too full to order a traditional full, large dessert, but they would welcome something a little sweet or something to share. Most customers who don’t order dessert might be interested if something light, refreshing, and intriguing were offered. Therefore, when planning for variety, don’t forget to include simpler, lighter options that will appeal to diners with smaller appetites. Having a cheese platter or perhaps a savoury dessert are popular options too.
There are two stages to the art of the baker or pastry chef: first, making and baking all the doughs, batters, fillings, creams, and sauces (with the correct techniques); and second, assembling these components into finished desserts and pastries. The same principle is applied to plating dessert presentations. A plated dessert is an arrangement of one or more components. For most desserts, all the components are prepared well in advance. A plated dessert itself, however, is assembled à la minute (at the last minute). All the components needed—including mousses, meringues, ice creams and sorbets, cookies, dough, cake layers, pastry cream, and dessert sauces—are used to make a presentation that is more than the sum of its parts.
When planning for a plated dessert, there are five characteristics that should be considered. Three apply to mouth feel and flavour, and are the most important:
• Flavour
• Texture
• Temperature
The other two are visual:
• Colour
• Shape
Flavours should enhance or complement each other, such as a caramel sauce served with roasted fruit, or offer a pleasing contrast, as a tart flavour (lemon) paired with a sauce that is sweetened. To achieve this, taste the components separately and then together to evaluate and make sure they work together.
Plan for pleasing combinations of texture and temperature. If the main item is soft, such as a mousse or ice cream, add a crisp or crunchy component such as small cookies or caramelized nuts for a texture contrast. Temperature contrasts are also pleasing, such as a scoop of ice cream with a warm fruit tart.
Visually, a variety of colours and shapes can be attractive, but be careful not to include too much or the result will come across as a jumble. The plate needs to be visually appealing. Through the balanced use of colour and shape, you can present a dessert simply and elegantly. Let the food speak for itself. Brown is a good colour, and a well-prepared dessert with a few shades of brown can look very appealing. A traditional tarte tatin, for example, needs little or no garnish to make it look appealing if the apples have been caramelized properly.
All of these elements together create a palette from which an infinite number of combinations affect you differently whenever you put food on your table. Chefs and, now more than ever, pastry chefs are always trying to push the senses to the limits in never-before-thought-of ways, but the underlying principles that make food taste good are unchanged. Here is a short summary:
• Variety and diversity in textures and the elements of taste make for interesting food; avoid monotony.
• Contrast is as important as harmony, but avoid extremes and imbalance.
• Food that comes from the same place (time/season or location) usually works together.
• Fresh and ripe rules every time.
Let’s now walk through the process of deciding on and preparing a finished dish.
Step 1: Visualize
When deciding what to make, you need to draw on what you have to work with. Consider the following:
• Available ingredients: what do I have, or what can I get now?
• Past experiences: what worked, what didn’t, likes, dislikes, etc.
• Olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) memory: picture in your mind how something will taste or smell.
• Sensory triggers: what catches your eye, or what smell, sound, or feel of a raw ingredient gets you thinking of an idea?
Step 2: Flavour profile
Once you have the basic idea or main ingredients in mind, think of the flavour profile.
There are a number of elements making up all of the things you taste, depending on your cultural background, but essentially there are only a handful of elements that compose all of the taste profiles. Western definitions traditionally break taste into four major elements:
• Salty
• Sweet
• Sour
• Bitter
Asian cultures have added the following to the list:
• Umami (literally, “pleasant savoury taste”)
• Spiciness
• Astringency
Step 3: Introduce the other senses
The other senses contribute to the overall experience in a variety of ways. Imagine if food didn’t have the following attributes, which in many cases provide our first impressions, lasting memories, and overall like or dislike of a certain dish or dining experience:
• Temperature: both real and perceived (such as mint as a cooling sensation or spice as heat)
• Colour: use a wide palette
• Shape: create visual interest
• Texture: some of each creates contrast
• Mouth feel: dry, fat, rich
• Smells: avoid overpowering or distracting
• Sound: noisy, difficult foods may spoil a mood or setting
And always try to remember a few guidelines as you go along:
• Think outside the box; try new things.
• Too much of anything is never a good idea.
• Great dishes hit on multiple senses in a variety of ways.
• Look to classic combinations for inspiration, then make logical leaps. If flavours work together in one context, they will do so in another. A great example of this is the recent trend of bringing savoury pantry items into desserts. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/02%3A_Plated_Desserts/2.01%3A_Plan_Dessert_Plating.txt |
A garnish, simply put, can be just an add-on whose main purpose is decoration. However, carefully selected garnishes have other functions too. This “decorative” item can add important flavour, texture, and functional elements to the plating of the dessert, and can enhance the enjoyment of the dish.
Garnishes can solve the problem of serving a frozen component (ice cream or sorbet, for example) as part of a plated dessert. If a scoop of ice cream is placed directly onto the plate, it will start melting immediately, marring the presentation. If that scoop is placed onto an item, such as a cookie base, it will slow down the rate of melting, making it easier to serve, and allowing the customer to enjoy and appreciate the effort spent on the presentation.
Other garnishes that can be used to help present a frozen component are:
• Tuiles, which will also add visual, flavour, and texture (crunchy) elements
• Sliced fruit
• Meringue disk
• Small cookie
• Chocolate garnish
• Crumbs (cake, crushed nuts, or brittle)
Some of the more popular items that can be used as garnishes are described below.
Tuiles
These thin cookies can be shaped in numerous ways: with a stencil, spread onto a silicone baking sheet; combed; piped; or spread onto a textured flexible baking mat and then shaped while still warm. For a recipe and variations, see the Appendix.
Meringues (hard)
When making meringues, keep the ratio of sugar to egg whites 1.5-2 to 1. Meringues can be made with the common or Swiss technique, and must be dried in a low-temp oven for 12 to 36 hours. Meringue can be piped into sticks, disks, or baskets such as those made to produce the classic French dessert vacherin.
Sugar
Sugar can be used to make garnishes using several different methods. Pulled sugar is prepared by cooking a sugar syrup to between 155°C and 160°C (310°F and 320°F) and then cooling, colouring, folding, and stretching it into various shapes such as ribbons or bows. The same mixture can also be used to make blown sugar garnishes, which are created by using a pump to create a balloon out of the slightly cooled sugar syrup. Blown sugar is used to make things such as fruits, with many other possibilities. Bubble sugar is made by pouring liquid sugar (150°C or 310°F) onto a special type of paper and then lifting the paper and allowing it to run down, creating a bubbly effect.
Caramelized sugar: A sugar syrup is cooked to between 165°C and 185°C (330°F and 365°F), depending on how dark you want the caramel to be. Once cooled to the proper consistency, it can be used to make spun sugar, can be piped into shapes or sticks or drizzled over the back of a bowl to make a “caramel cup,” or nuts can be dipped into the caramel and pulled to create spikes.
Isomalt sugar: Isomalt is a special type of sugar which can be cooked to the same temperature as caramel without colouring. It also is less susceptible to moisture, so garnishes made with isomalt will hold up better in conditions with high humidity. It can be used much like regular sugar to create pulled and blown sugar, or sprinkled between two silicone baking sheets and baked at 175°C (350°F) for 12 to 15 minutes. For additional effect, it can be dusted with powdered food colours before baking.
Chocolate
Chocolate has many different applications. Too thick a chocolate garnish can overpower the dessert, so it must be delicate. In all cases, chocolate must be correctly tempered, which will ensure a crisp texture and proper sheen. Some garnishes that can be prepared are chocolate curls, fans, and cigarettes, formed by spreading a thin layer of tempered chocolate onto a marble slab and then shaping once partially set. Chocolate can also be piped into shapes, mixed with nuts and poured to form bark, or mixed with cream and used for spherification to create chocolate caviar.
Marzipan/rolled fondant
Marzipan and fondant can be rolled and cut out into shapes and figurines, or used for bases.
Dough and Pastry
Filo pastry: Filo can be buttered and layered, with flavours, such as nuts, seeds, cocoa powder, herbs, and spices, added between layers. It can also be cut into shapes and made into cups, etc., and baked.
Kataifi dough: Similar to a filo pastry but in thin strands, kataifi dough is commonly brushed with butter before being baked. Can be tied into knots or baskets and baked off. Found in Middle Eastern cuisines.
Bric dough: Bric comes in sheets and is brushed with water, baked with cinnamon sugar, and cut to make interesting shapes. Found in Middle Eastern cuisines.
Puff pastry: Puff pastry can be rolled into sheets and used as a base, cut and twisted to form straws and allumettes, etc. Puff pastry also adds a textural component to desserts.
Choux paste: Choux paste can be piped or combed into long strands and dusted with seeds or nuts before baking.
Cheese
Sprinkle grated hard cheese carefully onto a baking sheet and bake until crisp, approximately 5 to 10 minutes at 175°C (350°F). The pieces can be broken into shards when cool.
Berries and fruit
Berries and other fruits can be used fresh or dried to make fruit leather or powders.
Dried fruit: Firm fruits can be sliced thinly and soaked in sugar syrup with lemon juice briefly before drying in a low-temperature (95°C or 200°F) oven on a silicone baking sheet for several hours. Fruit treated the same way can also be dried in a dehydrator.
Candied zest: Citrus peels can be poached in sugar syrup and then cooled and coated in finely granulated sugar.
Candied nuts and brittles
Heat sugar syrup to the hard crack stage (148°C to 155°C or 310°F to 330°F) and add toasted nuts. Remove, drain excess syrup, and cool. Nuts can also be chopped and cooked in a syrup to form a nut brittle, which can be broken into pieces or ground to make a powder. A recipe is found in the Appendix.
Rice noodles
Rice or other noodles can be deep-fried briefly and tossed in cinnamon sugar.
Cookies
A wide range of cookies, such as sugar cookies, shortbreads, etc., can be used as garnishes. Cookies can also be made from sweet dough (pate sucré), tart dough, etc.
Sponges
Different types of cakes and sponges, such as genoise, angel food, japonaise, joconde, and baumkuchen, can be sliced thinly and cut into different shapes.
“Caviar” and other interesting garnishes can be made with the reverse spherification method. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Dessert_Garnishes_and_Sauces/3.01%3A_Garnishes.txt |
Sauces enhance desserts by both their flavour and their appearance, just as savoury sauces enhance meats, fish, and vegetables. Crème anglaise, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and the many fruit sauces and coulis are the most versatile. One or another of these sauces will complement nearly every dessert.
Examples of dessert sauces
Caramel sauce: A proper caramel flavour is a delicate balance between sweetness and bitterness. As sugar cooks and begins to change colour, a flavour change will occur. The darker the sugar, the more bitter it will become. Depending on the application for the finished caramel, it can be made mild or strong. At this point, a liquid is added. This liquid will serve several roles: it will stop the cooking process, it can add richness and flavour, and it will soften the sauce. The fluidity of the finished sauce will depend on the amount of liquid added to it, and the temperature it is served at. Dairy products, such as cream, milk, or butter, will add richness; use water for a clear sauce; use fruit purées to add different flavour elements.
Chocolate sauce: Sometimes called fudge sauce, chocolate sauce is generally made from cream (or milk), butter, and chocolate, and can be served hot or cold. The proportion of each of the ingredients will affect the thickness of the final product.
Compote: French for “mixture,” a compote is cooked fruit served in its own cooking liquid, usually a sugar syrup. Compotes can be made with fresh, frozen, or dried fruits, and served hot or cold.
Coulis: French for “strained liquid,” a coulis is most often an uncooked, strained purée. Flavours remain pure, and the colours bright. One of the drawbacks of using a coulis is that it may separate quickly when used as a plating sauce. It’s best to use à la minute.
Crème anglaise: French for “English custard,” crème anglaise is a rich, pourable custard sauce that can be served hot or cold over cake, fruits, or other desserts. Made with eggs, sugar, and milk or cream, it is stirred over heat until it thickens into a light sauce. However, it’s a delicate operation: too much heat turns it into scrambled eggs! It should not get above 85°C (185°F) during the cooking process. Vanilla is the classic flavouring, but coffee, spices, chocolate, or liqueurs can be added. With additional yolks and heavy cream, it becomes the “custard” used for French ice cream. With additional yolks, gelatin, whipped cream, and flavouring, it becomes Bavarian cream.
Curd: A curd is creamy and fruit based, with citrus and berry flavours being the most popular. Made from fruit juices, eggs, butter, and sugar cooked in a process similar to crème anglaise, curds can be thick, pourable sauces or spreads.
Fruit butter: Fruit butter is a spread made from whole fruits, cooked, reduced, and puréed (if you don’t want any chunks in it) until very thick. It does not contain any butter; the term refers to the consistency.
Fruit sauce: A fruit sauce is a fruit purée, cooked and thickened with a starch. It is normally served cold.
Hard sauce: This traditional sauce for Christmas pudding, or any steamed pudding, is made by combining butter, sugar, and flavourings, often liqueurs. It is normally piped into shapes and chilled, then placed on the warm dessert just before serving.
Sabayon: Sabayon is a mixture of egg yolks, flavouring, and sugar beaten over simmering water until thick, then beaten until cool. It is traditionally flavoured with sweet white wine or liquor, then served over fresh fruit and grilled (when it is called a gratin). The Italian version of this is called a zabaglione and is flavoured with Madeira wine.
Whipped cream: This very popular dessert topping can be served plain, sweetened, or flavoured. Crème chantilly, a classic version of this, is a combination of whipped cream, sugar, and vanilla.
Applying dessert sauces
Except in the case of some home-style or frozen desserts, sauces are usually not ladled over the dessert because doing so would mar the appearance. Instead, the sauce is applied in a decorative fashion to the plate rather than the dessert. Many different styles of plate saucing are available.
Pouring a pool of sauce onto the plate is known as flooding. Although plate flooding often looks old-fashioned today, it can still be a useful technique for many desserts. Flooded plates can be made more attractive by applying a contrasting sauce and then blending or feathering the two sauces decoratively with a pick or the end of a knife. For this technique to work, the two sauces should be at about the same fluidity or consistency.
Rather than flooding the entire plate, it may be more appropriate for some desserts to apply a smaller pool of sauce to the plate, as this avoids overwhelming the dessert with too much sauce.
A variation of the flooding technique is outlining, where a design is piped onto the plate with chocolate and allowed to set. The spaces can then be flooded with colourful sauces.
A squeeze bottle is useful for making dots, lines, curves, and streaks of sauce in many patterns. Or just a spoon is needed to drizzle random patterns of sauce onto a plate. Another technique for saucing is applying a small amount of sauce and streaking it with a brush, an offset spatula, or the back of a spoon.
Sauces are a great way to highlight flavours. Choose ones that will create balance on the plate, not just for colour, but with all the components. A tart berry sauce will complement a rich cheesecake or chocolate dessert because sourness (acid) will cut through fat, making it taste lighter than it is. A sweet sauce served with a sweet dessert will have the overall effect of hiding flavours in both. Hold back on sweetness in order to intensify other flavours.
Many modern presentations may have a minimal amount of sauce. Sometimes this is done just for aesthetic reasons and not for how it will complement the dessert. Think of the dish and the balance of the components. This is the most important factor: flavour first, presentation second. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/03%3A_Dessert_Garnishes_and_Sauces/3.02%3A_Dessert_Sauces.txt |
A checklist:
• Flow from left to right
• Splash of colour on left
• Height on right side
In the western world, we read from left to right. When a new image is presented to us, we tend to scan it from the left side to the right side. You can use this knowledge to influence the placement of food on the plate. If you have a bit of colour on the left side of the plate (sauce, fresh fruit, etc.), the eye will be attracted to that. If you plan to have height on the right side of the plate (garnish, ramekin, etc.), it will draw the eye across the plate (Figure 6).
Your eye should be able to flow across the components. There should be movement on the plate. An upward curve of a tuile or chocolate garnish, a connection between two components with a caramel stick, or the flow of coulis can help direct movement and create a focal point. All these items combined will make a plate more appealing visually and attract the eye of the diner before the dessert is eaten.
The main component of the dessert does not always need to be centred, but can be placed slightly offset. Generally, sauce, ice cream or sorbet, and the main garnishes should radiate from the main component without a lot of separation. This allows the plate to have a balance of white space and not look too busy or confusing. Keeping components away from the outside edge of the plate will also help balance the presentation.
Placement on the plate
On the plate in Figure 7a, the two main components are pushed to the outside of the plate, causing the eye to focus on the emptiness (or negative space) in the middle. On the plate in Figure 7b, the components have been brought together, making a connection between all three items. This creates visual harmony.
Using the serving area of the plate well
Figure 8a shows the correct design principles (colour on the left, and a garnish that is high on the right side), which do cause the eye to move left to right, but the cake is pushed back almost to the very edge of the plate. The sauce is all on the left side. The combination of the two uses only about half of the surface area. This highlights the negative space on the plate.
In Figure 8b, the sauce is piped across the entire surface of the plate, and the cake is brought almost to the centre, creating more balance.
Flow
Figure 9a shows a dessert with a lot of sauce, done in similar shapes. The highest item is placed incorrectly, in the bottom left corner.
In Figure 9b, the presentation is simplified. Movement is controlled, drawing the eye to the tallest component. To help balance the plate, perhaps another component could have been added in the middle. Think about what might make an appropriate addition.
Media Attributions
• Modern dessert plate by Ken Harper
• Plate Placement A by Ken Harper
• Plate Placement B by Ken Harper
• Unbalanced Plate by Ken Harper
• Balanced Plate by Ken Harper
• Flow 1 by Ken Harper
• Flow 2 by Ken Harper | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/04%3A_Dessert_Presentation/4.01%3A_Design_Principles_for_Plating_Food.txt |
Finding inspiration and developing a great plated dessert is a chore in itself. But having to plan an entire dessert menu, to strike a balance of items to be offered, to choose items that will be attractive to your customers and promote good sales takes planning.
Establishments that have the most success with their dessert menu (and sales) tend to stick to the most popular flavours. Innovation just for innovation’s sake is generally not a good idea. Non-traditional ingredient pairings may work, for example, and chocolate always sells well—but if it is combined with something like beets, it will turn most people off. There is a time and place for uncommon dessert ingredients: special events, tasting menus, catering events. Desserts are a comfort food to most people, and to have an approachable menu with popular flavours will lead to the highest customer satisfaction.
A good starting point is the 5 Cs:
• Chocolate
• Citrus
• Coffee
• Custard or cheesecake
• Caramel
Chocolate
The chocolate dessert is probably the most popular one at any restaurant. Always have one dark chocolate dessert. If you need a second chocolate dessert, go with one made with white chocolate, milk chocolate, or some variation. Using a good-quality chocolate can turn a simple dessert into one with a “wow factor.” Many consumers have an understanding of the differences in chocolates, so by using a high-percentage, single-origin chocolate, the unique flavours can tell a “story” on the dessert menu.
Citrus
Many people who aren’t chocolate lovers tend to be fans of citrus. Citrus is very refreshing and can be used in many different applications.
Coffee
Tiramisu is a modern classic made with coffee. An affogato is a super-easy dessert that combines two popular items: coffee and dessert. This can be a great starting point for designing a dessert: take a popular and enjoyable flavour combination, and add other elements to it.
Custard (or cheesecake)
Having a rich, creamy, custard-based dessert is always popular. Whether it is a classic cheesecake, a crème brûlée, a flan, or a bread pudding, this style of dessert will always be popular.
Caramel
There are so many delicious treats you can make with this flavour—toffee pudding, caramel parfait, caramel candies, caramel apples, caramel sundae, caramel ice cream served with crunchy toffee bits, and a heaping spoonful of crème fraîche caramel sauce.
Other principles to consider
• Keep the wording simple and straightforward.
• Try not to repeat ingredients. If bananas are used in one item, keep it that way. Why have two desserts with the same ingredient?
• You don’t always have to use fruit. If you are in an area that doesn’t produce much fruit in the shoulder seasons, use other ingredients.
• When it’s in season, use fruit. It is a great way to showcase an ingredient that people want to taste after a year of not having it. Using fruit will also lower your food costs, and you will have an ingredient that requires little manipulation.
• Not every dessert requires a frozen component.
• The number of dessert items on the menu depends on how the kitchen can handle serving them during busy production times, without compromising the customers’ experience. Normally five to eight items on the dessert menu is a reasonable amount.
• Design a dessert menu that suits the style and cuisine type of the establishment, as well as the type of customers being served.
• Think about seasonality: offer lighter desserts in summer, richer, warmer desserts in the winter.
• Put the popular items on the very top and bottom of the menu so that customers will see the other options and perhaps choose them. Also, statistically, when a person views a menu, the eye will be drawn to the top, right-hand side of the page. Placing a less popular item in this area can help promote sales of desserts that are not the “stars.”
• Keep it small. There is nothing that better promotes customer satisfaction than to have them wishing for a “little bit more” of a dessert. You don’t want to serve a dessert that is so big it can’t be finished. This will have an effect on the customer (“I’ve had too much”), and is wasteful. Food costs can be lowered if reasonable portion sizes are used. By serving smaller amounts, greater yield can come from the recipes.
Designing a dessert
Where do you start in planning a new dessert? Once you have the main ingredient or flavour profile figured out, there are many options:
Favourites
Take classic, popular desserts (hot soufflés, crème brûlée, lemon tarts, etc.) and prepare and present them in a clean, straightforward manner. Remember that classics are classics for a reason. They are great dishes, have wonderful contrasts, and are comforting. They can remind customers of times past and conjure the great memories that accompany them. A dessert that is simple, but executed perfectly, is very satisfying on many levels.
Ingredient driven
Say you have fresh, ripe, juicy peaches. By using the principles listed above about contrast between flavour, texture, and temperature, you can design a peach dessert. For example, you might offer a slice of sponge cake soaked with a vanilla syrup and topped with sliced peaches. Or you might present a white wine sabayon pooled on top of the peaches and then flashed under a broiler, or use a hand torch to caramelize the top, finished off with a drizzle of wildflower honey. Use the different textures from the fruit and sponge cake, and the creamy sabayon, which is on the tart side, to balance the sweetness of the fruit and honey. Warmth from the broiler will contrast the lower temperature of the other components. Figure 10 shows an example of a dessert that features peaches and walnuts.
Seasonal
Use a fruit (or vegetable) and make it a “star” in the season it is harvested. For example, prepare apple desserts to serve in the fall and winter, and local strawberries and ice cream in the summer.
Deconstruct a recipe
Take the main flavour profiles of a classic dessert or combination, and reinterpret them in an intriguing fashion. For example, turn a black forest cake (Figure 11) into a plated dessert. The eponymous black forest cake of chocolate layers, whipped cream, cherry centre, and cherry topping has been very popular for over half a century, and it is a combination of flavours that everyone knows.
First, take the key components of the black forest cake (chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream) and come up with different ways to reimagine them in a modern context (Table 2).
Table 2: Deconstructing a black forest cake
Component Reimagined
Chocolate cake Rich chocolate brownie, broken into pieces; chocolate “sand” made with tapioca maltodextrin
Whipped cream Crème fraiche – shaped into a quenelle
Cherries soaked in kirsch Candied cherries and cherry–kirsch sorbet
Next, think about assembly. One option is to assemble the dessert with the brownie pieces placed on the plate first, then the crème fraiche in the centre of that, garnished with candied cherries and finished with a scoop of the cherry sorbet resting on the chocolate “sand.” The plate could be finished with some sauce and garnishes (Figure 12). This “deconstruction” has all the flavours of a classic black forest cake, but is presented in a novel format and designed with contrasts of flavour, textures, and temperatures in mind.
Now that you have an inspiration for a dessert, next comes the planning stage. This is where the design principles mentioned above apply. An easy way to plan is to draw the dessert. Putting the idea on paper can assist with placement of the components, the shapes, the scale of each component to the others, and potential garnishes. To ensure the execution of all the components balances, be prepared to make the dish over and over, tweaking the items each time. That will be the only way to ensure that you have created a memorable dessert!
4.03: Activities
Activities
• Prepare a dessert menu using the five Cs.
• Prepare the following dessert sauces:
• Fruit coulis
• Caramel sauce
• Crème anglaise
• Prepare a “deconstructed” version of a classic dessert. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Modern_Pastry_and_Plated_Dessert_Techniques_(BC_Campus)/04%3A_Dessert_Presentation/4.02%3A_Prepare_and_Plan_Dessert_Menus.txt |
Chapter 1 Learning Objectives
• To gain an historical understanding of how cities come together.
• To understand how public and private entities come together to allow cities to function.
• To understand how the public can be a guiding force in a cities direction.
• Understanding the importance of public approval in city decisions.
• How to evaluate a city from a ‘market condition’ perspective.
• Understanding popular control systems of cities
• Understanding current city design with emphasis on sustainability.
• Understand the role of suburbia and its commercial contributions.
• How to think about a place from a ‘value and worth’ perspective.
The Beginning of the Urban Transformation
Source: Charles Robinson’s The Improvement of Towns and Cities; the Practical Basis of Civil Aesthetics (1901).
The transformation from village to city was initiated by the old components of the village carried along and incorporated in the new urban unit; but through the action of new factors, they were recomposed in a more complex an unstable pattern than that of the village – yet in a fashion that promoted further transformations and development. The human composition of the new unit likewise became more complex: in addition to the hunter, the peasant, and the shepherd, other primitives entered the city and made their contribution to the existence: the miner, the woodman, the fisherman, each bringing with him the tools and skills and habits of life formed under other pressures. The engineer, the boatman, the sailor arise from this more generalized primitive background, at one point or another. The city created a higher unity out of this complexity.
This new urban mixture resulted an enormous expansion of human capabilities in every direction. The city effected a mobilization of workers, a command over long distance transportation, an intensification of communication over long distances in space and time, an outburst of invention along with a large-scale development of civil engineering, and not least, it promoted a tremendous further rise in agricultural productivity.
The archaic village culture yielded to urban “civilization” that peculiar combination of creativity and control, of expression and repression, of tension and release, whose outward manifestation has been the historic city. From its origins onward, indeed, the city may be described as a ‘structure’ specially equipped to store and transmit the good of civilization; sufficiently condensed to afford the maximum amount of facilities in a minimum space. It is also capable of structural enlargement to enable it to find a place for the changing needs and the more complex forms of a growing society and its cumulative social heritage. The invention of such forms as the written record, the library, the archive, the school, and the university is one of the earliest and most characteristic achievements of the city. The transformation of the urban environment, seen from the vantage point of our own age, seems to indicate something like same general shift that occurred with our own industrial revolution, with the same sort of emphasis on economic activities. This obscures rather than clarifies what actually occurred. The rise of the city, so far from wiping out earlier elements in the culture, actually brought them together and increased their efficacy and scope. Even the fostering of non-agricultural occupations heightened the demand for food and probably caused villages to multiply, and still more land to undergo cultivation. Within the city, there were very little of the old order exclusions: agriculture in the summer, for example, was a continuing practice on a large scale by those who lived permanently within the new walled towns.
What happened rather with the rise of cities was that many functions that had before been scattered and unorganized came together within a limited area, keeping the components of the community in a state of dynamic tension and interaction. In this union, made almost compulsory by the strict enclosure of the city wall, the already well-established parts of the new city – shrine, spring, village, market, and stronghold – participated in the general enlargement and concentration of numbers, and underwent a structural differentiation that gave those forms recognition in every subsequent phase of urban culture. The city furthered not merely a means of expressing in concrete terms the magnification of sacred and secular power, but in a manner that went far beyond any conscious intention, it also enlarged all the dimensions of life. The city became the symbol of what was possible.
There is nevertheless one outstanding difference between the first urban epoch and our own. Ours is an age of multitude of socially undirected technical advances, divorced from any other ends than the advancement of science and technology. We live in fact in an exploding universe of mechanical and electronic invention, whose parts are moving at a rapid pace ever further and further away from their human center, and from any rational, autonomous human purposes. This technological explosion has produced a similar explosion of the city itself: the city has burst open and scattered its complex organizations over the entire landscape. In short, our civilization is running out of control, overwhelmed, but driven by its own resources and opportunities.
Shaping City Development
What the people want
Often the most effective way of making city officials legitimize their actions is using "popular control" - the citizens of a community become deeply involved with the actions of their leaders. Development projects end when they lack a compelling public rationale and generate significant community opposition. Is popular participation a "loose cannon" that can only have a negative influence and lead to veto groups? The consensus answer to that question is 'not entirely.' Most of the experts feel that popular opinion can also be a strong resource for local leaders. Thus strong citizenry input can certainly hinder projects the public deems bad for the community in general, however, a united populous can play a large role in moving worthwhile projects forward.
If popular control is to be effective, a number of conditions must be satisfied. To begin with, public approval is a direct connection to the capital investment process. This is not easy to accomplish because investment decisions often fall outside local government. The use of non-profit corporations, whose boards are appointed and whose revenue sources are independent, insulates development from public accountability. Nevertheless, even public benefit corporations must hold hearings, entertain popular motions, and justify their actions. Quite often issues spill over their ordinary boundaries and into public arenas. When this occurs, elected officials gain bargaining advantages by putting together coalitions that can play a vital role in the urban development game.
Next, public authorities must have the managerial and organizational capability to muster political support for business. Credible bargaining requires a stable and active constituency, whose collaboration can extend to business in a 'quid pro quo' process. In the United States and Canada, non-profit organizations have filled the gap between public and private sectors and have served as a vehicle for low- and moderate-income housing. Great Britain, Austria, France, and Nordic countries rely on forms of corporatism to bring about negotiated settlements, and 'mixed corporations' carry out certain kinds of developments.
Last, sufficient 'social capital' should occur to bolster popular participation. As scholars have recognized, democratic institutions require an attitude of cooperation and trust among the citizenry. For democracy to work, citizens must share similar values and pursue common objectives. This depends upon the social culture of an area. The culture of a city expresses values and norms that underlie development priorities. Some distressed cities are characterized by persistent racial or class polarization, and this deeply affects the development agenda. Here, the popular call is for jobs and housing. Other, more affluent cities may embrace a more political culture. Here, an active citizenry puts a great deal of attention on environmental issues and collective benefit.
Public approval and involvement
Cities vary in their capacity to organize public approval. Some cities work through neighborhood councils that exercise discretion over land use. Other cities give expression to popular opinion through programmatic political parties. Still others, offer few outlets for popular participation and actually design institutions so that local democracy is discouraged with cohesive political party systems.
Some Western European cities combine neighborhood government with cohesive party systems. This combination stimulates popular expression, furnishes bargaining advantage, and influences development. In Paris for example, political control over major development rests on a system of neighborhood city halls and an organized party system stretches into central government. The result is a city filled with public amenities, collective benefits, and massive housing subsidies. Amsterdam tells much the same story. A system of neighborhood councils and disciplined political parties assures a strong popular voice. As a result, the city enforces stringent rent controls and establishes historic preservation districts.
In London, a system of borough governance connects to disciplined, highly competitive political parties. Given the political significance of development issues for British parties, it is difficult for non-party interests to offer inducements that split politicians away from their partisan agendas. Further, when it comes to negotiating with business interests, programmatic political parties are capable of providing a powerful, and united, bargaining resource to elected governmental authorities. The key is a stable base of political power that affords significant bargaining advantages in dealing with business organizations and shaping development priorities.
This previous discussion gives a basic synopsis of who participates in city development which sets the premise for Savitch and Kantor's (2002) discussion of the essentials of city bargaining. These authors define city bargaining as the ability of a city to garner resources in order to maximize its choices and ultimately realize its objectives in the capital investment process. Further, bargaining over city development turns on specific kinds of resources that have a cumulative impact on city choices and include market conditions, governmental support, popular control systems, and local culture.
Market conditions
Market conditions consist of the circumstances or forces that make cities more or less appealing to private capital. Such elements include:
• Geographic characteristics (Singapore as a gateway to Asia);
• Political reasons (Brussels as the seat of the European Union);
• A by-product of business circumstance (New York as a financial capital),
• Vital strategic roles (Houston as an oil center or Denver for its financial investments),
• Cultural reasons (New Orleans as a food city),
• Religious reasons (Jerusalem as a sacrosanct city).
Whatever the reasons, ‘market conditions’ make a city highly valued and constitute an inherent advantage for attracting investment and continuing attention.
As one might expect, favorable market conditions put a city in a stronger bargaining position and give it greater control over capital investment and development. Diversified cities with a varied employment base are usually in a better position to control capital investment.
By contrast, single-industry towns have difficulty turning down any kind of capital investment. This weak position is particularly acute in cities with resource depletions or circumvention of their particular geographic advantages. The flight of investment from cities as Detroit and older industrial cities have left them desolate and they are desperate to give away property or garner private investment at virtually any cost.
Market conditions are a composite of many different circumstances. They reflect larger economic fluctuations that put city investment at a premium (rejuvenating downtowns) or put city investment efforts at risk (the recent economic meltdown). The indicators of market conditions are dependent upon the state of a national or regional economy as well as how a city fares in a global market. Most cities can measure their market condition by the creation of a modern employment base, the increase or decrease in available jobs, the value of office space, and a willingness to invest in property within a jurisdiction. Interestingly, population growth or decline may or may not be associated with a city's market condition.
Governmental support
This form of support refers to practices used in conjunction with city, regional, or national authorities to intervene in the marketplace. Support mechanisms come into play in order to strengthen public control over development. They include planning, land-use controls, fiscal support, differential tax policies, and infrastructure or housing construction. These supports often carry out on a ‘metropolitan’ or ‘regional’ basis and usually involve the integration of functions or fiscal capacity between governments.
Governmental integration may be vertical and take place between higher and lower levels of authority such as city to state to national government. For example, a city may entice an out of state industry to move to their city by heightening the interest of the business by collaborating with the state to secure tax incentives as well. Integration can also be lateral and include cooperation among equal levels of government over a wider region. In either vertical or lateral integration, localities can 'borrow' bargaining resources or transfer negotiations with business into more-favorable arenas. Integration can also include more encompassing and irregular processes of governance that unite officials at all levels and incorporate public private partnerships. Professional sports franchises fit under this form of integration. Often state and regional efforts are required to secure business that garners national recognition and broad revenue. Governmental systems that are well integrated are better able to channel economic development and shape the marketplace. Poorly integrated or diffuse systems have less capacity, though such systems may hold other advantages and be better at economic stimulation.
A combination of qualitative assessments and quantitative indicators are useful to analyze governmental support. These include descriptions of governmental institutions and their impact, accounts of governmental cooperation on planning and development, explanations of housing policies, assessment of housing subsidies, and analyses of intergovernmental aid.
Popular control systems
Popular control systems refers to the means by which citizens express their preferences and make leaders accountable. Popular control also encompasses a larger process through which city development become legitimate This process may vary along several dimensions, including the scope of public participation, the extent to which participation is organized, and the effectiveness of electoral mechanisms in ensuring accountability in the process of legitimization. Cities may organize popular control around formal neighborhood governments or civic groups, they may work through mass-member or programmatic political parties, they may use voting to encourage widespread awareness and involvements, or they may organize legislative councils around small wards. Generally, electoral districts based on representation by neighborhood wards are more sensitive to popular expression than at-large representation. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.01%3A_Shaping_City_Development.txt |
Cities with strong popular control systems exercise greater influence over capital investment by business and influence the course of economic development decisions. ‘Popular control’ may work to enhance development and provide projects with legitimacy, or popular control may serve as a focal point of opposition. Popularly elected councils are more open to welcoming new business and give endorsement to the construction of office buildings. They have also opposed highways and airport construction.
It is not easy to measure popular control because of cross-cultural differences. Voting and political party participation may mean one thing in Naples, Florida, and quite another in Houston, Texas. Nevertheless, we can gauge popular control by investigating local institutions, by examining citizen access to decision-making, and by looking at the prevalence of citizen groups. Competition for elected positions is also assessable as well as the role political parties play in transmitting citizen demands into community actions.
Thus, the concept of 'local culture' is applicable in a particular way. This phrase refers to the norms and values that create a disposition toward the development agenda. Cities bear a history, an experience with conflict and cooperation as well as a social structure that go into the making of local culture. That culture ultimately helps determine what kind of development popular opinion most values. Is it job and construction or is it green space and historic preservation?
There is a connection between what leaders negotiate for their constituents and the values of those constituents. Cities with a high 'materialist' (pro-business) culture will generally opt for jobs, income, and tangible benefits that are easily divisible. Cities with a strong degree of 'post-materialist' (social, for the people) culture are more concerned with preservation of the built or natural environment, and those benefits are generally indivisible. These preferences often mean that cities with materialist cultures are more likely to agree with business objectives than cities with post-materialist cultures. Bargaining and city development will then take different courses.
We can draw upon measures of local culture by examining data on a city's social composition. This data will tell us whether a particular city is predominantly blue collar or white collar. We can also rely on household size to determine whether cities are disposed toward a 'materialist' or 'post-materialist culture. Finally, one can look at attitudes toward development and assess popular priorities.
Generally, local governments compete for private capital in the international marketplace and they adopt policy strategies to influence the terms of their participation. City governments draw upon a variety of bargaining advantages or resources in support of these strategies. The more bargaining advantages held by a city, the greater its ability to shape city development. Variation in outcomes is a product of four specific kinds of resource variables by which one can evaluate cities: market conditions, governmental support, popular control, and local culture.
When these variables work cumulatively toward a strong public position, public actors are able to shift the risks and costs of development onto the private sector. An advantageous ‘bargaining position’ means that cities will pursue a development policy that Savitch and Kantor call "social centered." A social-centered development policy puts priority on strong public direction, activist planning, and preservationist policies. It also emphasizes collective benefits or public amenities. Social -centered development means that cities will make demands upon business and pursue 'linkage policies' - compensation to support a collective benefit in exchange for the right to develop. These include charging environmental impact fees, requiring contributions for moderate-income housing or mass transit, exacting public amenities, and imposing stringent architectural standards. In many European cities, social-centered development is part of a comprehensive planning process that establishes the location, placement, and design of construction.
However, when these variables work cumulatively toward a weaker public position, the public sector tends to absorb risks and costs. Often a disadvantaged bargaining position means that cities rely more heavily on an economic logic and pursue development that bears the label of "market-centered." This kind of development policy emphasizes fee development. Minimalist planning (little thought regarding the surrounding area or the effect on a city's citizenry), and strong economic growth. It accomplishes this by offering inducements to business such as tax abatements, providing public aid for capital projects, making land contributions, relaxing architectural standards, and doing away with zoning regulations. Cities that adopt such policy are essentially embracing a 'build as you may' policy toward business.
It is important to note that the difference between a ‘social-centered’ and a ‘market-centered’ orientation concerns the manner in which a city conceives its development strategy, controls its resources, and conducts its strategy. Do not confuse this with a lack of competitiveness or unwillingness to compete. Some cities legitimately see social-centered development in their long-term interests and as enhancing their competitive edge. Cities may see careful planning and an abundance of public amenities as a genuine attraction for investors, particularly for company headquarters or high-tech industry. To be social centered has more to do with how a city conceives and manages its development than with whether it competes in the international market. Historically, social-centered have become more competitive, but they also have retained their taste for collective benefits and demands of businesses that want to locate there. Naturally, market-centered cities are more consistently competitive both internally and externally. Their own development strategies center on competition and are undertaken because they appear to be the best way to perform in the international marketplace.
Figures 2.1 and 2.2 portray these propositions and list major attributes of each variable. The alternatives center on 'ideal types'.
Figure 2.1 Social - Centered Development
Driving Variables
(structure)
Market Condition (favorable)
Evidenced by: high investment; job growth; successful economic conversion; sunk investments; high office rents and low vacancy rates; economic diversity; well established; market niches.
Steering Variables
(agency)
Popular Control (active)
Evidenced by: decentralized decision-making (neighborhood governments); numerous civic organizations; ward based voting; program-oriented involvement; policies favoring competition.
Governmental Support
(integrated)
Evidenced by: vertical government integration; lateral regional integration; strong fiscal support; coordinated planning and development; and publicly supported borrowing.
Local Culture
(advanced)
Evidenced by: white collar base; abundant managerial and professional employment; small sized households; values favor indivisible benefits.
Process Bargaining Positions (public advantage)
Evidenced by: demands on business; development fees; development linkages; stiff architectural requirements; location and design directives; restrictive zoning
Outcome Development (social centered)
Evidenced by: *strong public direction; Emphasis on public amenities and social redistribution; regulated development through intensive planning; historic preservation; green space and environmental protection; disfavor toward subsidized housing and mass transit.
Source: Savitch and Kantor. 2002. Cities in an International Marketplace.
Figure 2.2 Market - Centered Development
Driving Variables
(structure)
Market Condition (unfavorable)
Evidenced by: low investment; declining or stagnant employment figures; unsuccessful or struggling economic conversion; mobile capital; low office rents - high vacancy; non-diversified economy; poor market niches
Steering Variables
(agency)
Popular Control (passive)
Evidenced by: centralized decision-making (neighborhood governments); weak civic organizations; at large voting; non-competitive policies.
Governmental Support
(diffuse)
Evidenced by: Low or non-existent integration; lateral regional integration; low fiscal support; Non-existent or uncoordinated planning; private borrowing
Local Culture
(worker orientation)
Evidenced by: Blue collar base; stagnant managerial and professional employment; large sized households; values favor divisible benefits
Process Bargaining Positions (public disadvantage)
Evidenced by: Inducements to business Tax abatement; No linkages; non-existent or few architectural and design controls; lax or non-existent zoning; low cost or free land and clearance
Outcome Development (market centered)
Evidenced by: Weak public direction; emphasis on income, growth and jobs; free development and limited to no planning; pursuit of higher property tax and base; disfavor toward private housing and automobile routes.
Source: Savitch and Kantor. 2002. Cities in an International Marketplace
The figures link each of the four variables to a bargaining and development process. Note that two of the variables - market conditions and governmental support - are designated as driving variables while the other two - popular control systems and local culture - are designated as steering variables. Driving and steering variables derive from the metaphor of an automobile, whereby the drive train furnishes power to propel the vehicle, while manipulation of the steering mechanism puts the vehicle on itsactual route. In this sense, driving variables confer economic power to cities and grant public leaders leverage as they bargain with business. By comparison, steering variables have more.
Although these resources do not usually change rapidly, they are more likely to reflect local habits and institutional developments. For example, steering resources can change in response to electoral reforms, immigration of new social groups into the community, voter registration drives, or even the rise of civic leaders with new ideas about politics.
The distinction between steering and driving forces is significant because it allows us to examine the play of structure versus agency in city building. One of the central questions has to do with the actual choices (agency discretion) that citizens have in coping with global restructuring. Do local political efforts and resources matter or, are cities driven to accommodate forces of global magnitude? The driving concept helps to identify variables closely connected to structural circumstances. The steering notion points to things over which there is more agency. By examining their interplay, you are able to highlight what, if anything, cities can do to alter their trajectories of development. This also enables the comparison of constraints on policy choices in different cities. Additionally, it helps to explain why particular cities take different policy roads.
The variable labels in each figure are within their respective development patterns. Market conditions categories are favorable or unfavorable, and the attributes follow. The governmental support centers on ‘integrated’ or ‘diffuse’ and a list of attributes. The popular control classification is either active or passive. Local political culture centers on ‘materialist’ or ‘post materialist’. Each attribute of either type of culture appears in the list. The process explanation extends from two bargaining positions - public advantage or public disadvantage. The outcome classification is either social-centered or market-centered development. It is important to note that these models are not purposeful in defining causal theory but rather to indicate policy directions and alternatives, or the lack of alternatives that might exist in a city.
Of course, any variation of market- or social-centered development is possible, even likely. City development has more to do with nuance than with a simple set of choices about whether or not to develop. Many studies on the politics of development use the phrase "pro-growth" or "anti-growth." These perspectives may oversimplify the issue because the norm for most cities, most of the time, is to undertake some kind of development. That development may be market-centered and produce jobs, or it may be social-centered and create museums. Both kinds of development are different, but both are also meaningful.
In a parallel manner, some scholars make distinctions between policies that promote "development" versus those that promote "consumption." Presumable, building infrastructure for an industrial park is "development while constructing a museum is "consumption." In reality, those distinctions are difficult to make because the line between development and consumption is quite porous. Access roads for industrial development can also be useful to private motorists on a consumer vacation. Museums and city attractions visited by consuming local residents can also attract tourists and stimulate a recreational industry. Whether a policy is developmental or consumptive can be subject to rapid and incessant shifts in usage. Public amenities (a form of social-centered development) are useful to enhance job development in some cities. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.02%3A_Evaluating_a_City.txt |
Smart Growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a range of housing choices. The term 'smart growth' is particularly useful in North America. In Europe and particularly the UK, the terms 'Compact City' or 'urban intensification' have often been used to describe similar concepts, which have influenced government planning policies in the UK, the Netherlands and several other European countries.
Smart growth values long-range, regional considerations of 'sustainability' over a short-term focus. Its sustainable development goals are to achieve a unique sense of community and place; expand the range of transportation, employment, and housing choices; equitably distribute the costs and benefits of development; preserve and enhance natural and cultural resources; and promote public health.
The concept of "smart growth" emerged in 1992 from the United Nation's adoption of Agenda 21 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Driven by "new guard" urban planners, architects, developers, community activists, and historic preservationists, it accepts that growth and development will continue to occur, and so seeks to direct that growth in an intentional, comprehensive way.
Smart growth principles focus on developing sustainable communities that are good places to live, to do business, to work, and to raise families. Some of the fundamental aims for the benefits of residents and the communities are increasing family income and wealth, improving access to quality education, fostering livable, safe and healthy places, stimulating economic activity (both locally and regionally), and developing, preserving and investing in physical resources.
Principles and practices
There is a need to distinguish between smart growth "principles" and smart growth "regulations". The former are concepts and the latter their implementation, that is, how federal, state, and municipal governments choose to fulfill smart growth principles. One of the earliest efforts to establish smart growth forward as a regulatory framework were put forth by the American Planning Association (APA). In 1997, the APA introduced a project called Growing Smart and published "Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook: Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines smart growth as “development that serves the economy, the community, and the environment. It changes the terms of the development debate away from the traditional growth/no growth question to how and where should new development be accommodated” Smart growth is related to, or may be used in combination with the following concepts.
There are 10 accepted principles that define smart growth:
• Mix land uses
• Take advantage of compact building design
• Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
• Create walkable neighborhoods
• Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
• Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
• Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
• Provide a variety of transportation choices
• Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
• Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
The smart growth approach to development is multifaceted and can encompass a variety of techniques. For example, in the state of Massachusetts smart growth came to fruition by a combination of techniques including increasing housing density along transit nodes, conserving farmland, and mixing residential and commercial use areas. Perhaps the most descriptive term to characterize this concept is 'Traditional Neighbor Development', which recognizes that smart growth and related concepts are not necessarily new, but are a response to car culture and sprawl. Many favor the term 'New Urbanism', which invokes a new, but traditional way of looking at urban planning. There are ranges of best practices associated with smart growth that include:
• Supporting existing communities
• Redeveloping underutilized sites
• Enhancing economic competitiveness
• Providing more transportation choices
• Developing livability measures and tools
• Promoting equitable and affordable housing
• Providing a vision for sustainable growth
• Enhancing integrated planning and investment
• Aligning; coordinating; and leveraging government policies
• Redefining housing affordability
• Making the development process transparent
Related but somewhat different, are the overarching goals of smart growth, and they include:
• Making the community more competitive for new businesses
• Providing alternative places to shop, work, and play
• Creating a better "Sense of Place"
• Providing jobs for residents
• Increasing property values
• Improving quality of life, expanding the tax base
• Preserving open space and controlling growth
• Improving safety | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.03%3A_Smart_growth__Emphasis_on_Sustainability.txt |
For many, the word suburb conjures up an image of post-World War II single-family-tract homes, produces of the age of automobiles and superhighways. Yet one basic fact of American suburbia is that it has existed virtually as long as the nation itself. It is not the offspring of the car or, postwar federal mortgage insurance and freeway programs. Suburbia was a creation over the past two centuries by millions of Americans who wanted to pursue an economic endeavor or lifestyle incompatible with the policies or development patterns of central cities. The American suburb is a prime example of the nation's tradition of expansive freedom and mobility. Taking advantage of the abundance of peripheral land, entrepreneurs and home seekers in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries' pursued their own particular aspirations in outlying communities. They laid out sprawling factories, estates, residential subdivisions, and shopping malls, creating a way of life not possible within the confines of the central city. Moreover, state lawmakers maximized the opportunity for local self-rule, allowing Americans in all types of outlying communities, whether densely or sparsely populated, industrial or residential, to fashion their destiny exempt from the dictation of central city rulers. Suburbia reflects the desire of Americans over the decades to do it their own way, to create alternative communities in pursuit of a profit or a dream (Teaford, 2008: 1).
Any discussion of suburbia would be remiss without the seminal thoughts on that subject by Jon Teaford, author of The American Suburbs that depicts the United States as truly a suburban nation. Majorities of Americans live in the suburbs, and a large share work, shop, and spend their leisure time there as well. Rural cities accounts for a dwindling proportion of the nation's population and business, as do the once preeminent central cities of our country. For example, the cities of Atlanta and Boston are home to only about ten percent of the people in their respective metropolitan areas, and the figures for other major cities is not much higher. New Orleans is another example of the loss of centripetal pull facing once dominant cities. Post Katrina New Orleans is now virtually surrounded by cities, as a collective, with populations a minimum of twice the populations of the former central city itself. In general, central cities are no longer central to the lives of most metropolitan Americans; the amorphous mass beyond the core city limits is the workplace, playground, marketplace, and bedroom of America.
For our country, the notion of city limits has been vital to the concept of suburbia. Unlike in Britain, where the term suburb refers to a peripheral area whether inside or beyond a major city's boundaries, in the United States the federal census bureau and most commentators have defined suburbia as that zone within metropolitan areas but beyond central city limits (Jackson, 1985). Because of the strong tradition of local self-rule in the United States, this political distinction between suburb and central city has been vital to discussions of suburban development, lifestyle, and policy. American suburbs are not simply peripheral areas with larger laws and more trees than districts nearer the historic hub. They are governmentally independent political units that can employ the powers of the state to distinguish them-selves from the city. With cities in control over land use planning and independent taxing and regulatory powers, they can individually mold their residential and business development. With separate school governments’ they can fashion an educational system suitable to the class aspirations of their residents. Any discussion of American suburbs must confront the rivalry and tension between the central cities and outlying jurisdictions. The American suburb is not just a neighborhood; it is a distinct governmental entity with all the coercive power necessary to fashion its own destiny.
Given suburban success in overshadowing the core cities, the term suburb has become problematic for contemporary America. In the twenty-first century, American suburbia is no longer ‘sub’ to the ‘urb’. In fact, many scholars and informed observers regard Americans as living in a - world where the concept of suburb is perhaps obsolete. Other alternative terms have begun to arise such as edge city, techno-burb, or urban realm, but the term ‘suburb’ survives in the American language and seems destined to remain part of the nation's vocabulary. Complicating the problem with nomenclature is the reality that the suburbs are a diverse collection of communities, embracing markedly different patterns of settlement. Some or older industrial communities; others are depicted by sleek, glass-encased office towers and glitzy shopping malls; still others are low-density, semi-rural retreats; and a large number are aging residential towns with single-family, detached houses on small lots. Thus, the communities we call suburbs are neither subordinate to the historic hub nor outwardly similar to one another in appearance, economic base, or social composition.
Despite their increasing independence and manifold diversity, the suburbs do share a common characteristic that distinguished them from the central cities and enables one to consider them as a distinct class. From their founding and throughout the history of their development, central cities have perceived themselves as regional centers - hubs that dominate their edges and extremities and compete with other great cities in the nation and the world. This view of their role was basic to the development of the urban empires of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries'. In addition, it underlay efforts to bolster the centripetal pull of older hubs during the urban renewal era. Even in the twenty-first century, it has been evident in the central cities' initiatives to maintain an emotional grip on a large extremity populace by securing or retaining professional sports teams and building the facilities for these symbols of big-league status. The ‘core city development’ focus is the notion of their centrality to the olives of a regional population.
The suburbs, however, are those unique communities where the driver for development was not the need or desire to be the city, the dominant hub of a region, or one of the great centers of the nation. They acquired the bulk of the nation's offices, retailing, and manufacturing space and the accompanying jobs, and some populous, rapidly expanding communities labeled boom-burbs grew to be as large as or larger than some of the older, better-known central cities. The suburbs welcomed the resulting tax revenues and did not necessarily discourage population growth or commercial development. Moreover, they grew relatively independent of the older core city, their residents having little concern for or interest in its welfare or problems. The underlying rationale in their development was not a desire to become one of the nation's great cities. Their leaders were fashioning principalities, not empires. Whether industrial suburbs, upper-middle-class residential havens, boom-burbs, or other types of communities, they did not aspire to be central cities, the focus of all metropolitan endeavors, or the rival of London, Paris, New York, or Chicago.
The suburbs are the product of a different mentality from that underlying the central cities, and that mentality survives to this day. Suburbia's multitudinous communities have rendered the older notion of the city largely obsolete and have created the amorphous metropolitan regions of today where there is no dominant single focus for the lives of residents throughout the area. They are not subordinate to the ‘urb’; but they are subversive to the whole concept of the ‘urb’, the commercial and cultural focus of an extensively populated edge extremity and thus perhaps are deserving of the title suburb after all. Their gain marks the victory of the amorphous metropolitan mass over the focused metropolis of the past. They have supplanted the concept of the city as a center with the now prevailing notion of the city as a fragment.
In the United States, then, the ‘suburbs’, are not peripheral complements to the city; instead, they have largely superseded the city, creating a new center-less world where the old, clear-cut boundaries between urban and rural commuters traveling in every direction have dissolved and the long-standing centripetal pull of downtown has diminished to a faint tug. Americans have liberated themselves from the city and fashioned a post-urban nation with population spread over vast regions and commuters traveling in every direction. The diverse communities beyond the central city limits may have little in common, but together they have reconstituted the settlement patterns and lifestyle of the nation, subverting traditional notions of the city.
This subversion has elicited choruses of complaints and few concepts have been so roundly damned or assumed such pejorative connotations as that of the suburb. For years, the literate classes of the city with a discouraging lack of perception or imagination smeared the area beyond the central city as a bland, homogeneous zone producing dull drones in look-alike houses whose culinary tastes tended toward a Big Mac and who deemed a chrome plated car high art. Consuming miles of virgin countryside, draining wetlands, leveling forests, displacing endangered flora and fauna, portraying suburbanites as shallow hoards wreaking havoc with civilization and nature. Critics identified ‘suburban sprawl’ as a major national problem, a blight threatening the environment and the general welfare of American society. Recognizing the subversive nature of the suburban trend, central city mayors repeatedly blamed their problems on uncaring residents beyond the municipal limits, and generally, stereotyping suburbanites as selfish, materialistic, exclusive, and indifferent to the problems of the nation and the world (Teaford, 2008).
In truth, the suburbs include some of the most densely populated communities as well as areas zoned to accommodate more horses than humans. Suburbia reflects the ethnic diversity of America more accurately than the central cities, providing homes for a variety of races. It comprises slums as well as schools as well as mansions, main streets as well as malls, skyscrapers as well as schools. Some suburbs are particularly gay-friendly; others are planned for senior citizens. Some suburbs are synonymous with fine schools; others are examples of educational failure. Traveling though the suburbs one sees a full range of experience, a diversity of lifestyles, a rich variety of built forms and environments. Comprising a majority of Americans, suburbia is not a homogenized haven that is undifferentiated from other communities. It is a vivid mosaic composed of all the varied fragments of life and society.
Some suburbanites who spend their entire lives in the suburbs seem to believe some of the conventional stereotypes that clash with the reality around them. Moreover, these stereotypes influence the nation's public policy debates. Central city officials continue to exploit traditional conceptions of an essential hub surrounded by bedroom communities, claiming that their core jurisdictions re-quire the bulk of public aid and concern. Many suburbanites continue to view their turf as refuges, decrying the traffic, commerce, and influx of diverse people who seem to shatter this long-standing and beloved image. Suburbanites cling to a stereotypical suburban-ness long after the stereotypical community of single-family homes with happy families comprising two heterosexual parents and two amiable children has disappeared. Similarly, leaders of the historic hobs attempt to perpetuate a sense of their communities' centrality decades after the department stores have moved to suburban malls and downtown movie palaces have yielded to outlying multi-screen venues. Metropolitan Americans in both the central city and suburbs clutch at dreams that are increasingly incompatible with the changing reality.
Economic development in the great metropolitan regions of America as well as governance of those regions now centered in suburbia. American business has moved to the suburbs, and the suburban response to commercial development is a significant factor in the nation's recent economic history. The willingness of suburbanites to welcome additional business has markedly influenced commercial decentralization. Suburban business incentives and tax policies can prove a boon to certain businesses deemed desirable where as other commercial concerns might struggle to find a suburban site. The complex maze of suburban government reveals adaptations of the government structure to suburban needs and desires. Characterized by a strong belief in grassroots rule and government tailored to the citizenry, American suburbia has developed a public sector baffling to many but satisfactory to millions of residents and taxpayers. Suburban government may be difficult to comprehend but it has worked for many decades and continues to do so (Teaford, 2008).
Other significant issues are housing and the barriers to equal access to the suburbs. Though the suburbs house a broad range of people, including both the rich and the impoverished, a major concern of the early twenty-first century is housing ‘affordability’ and whether the American dream of a single-family home may prove beyond the reach of a growing share of the citizenry. Often criticized for their exclusionary policies, which effectively bar moderate and low-income citizens, many residential suburbs in the twenty-first century may well increasingly become the domain of the fortunate few or they may become the home of the unfortunate many who have heavily mortgaged their futures in a desperate bid to secure a suburban home no matter the cost. From the traffic jam of morning commuters to the tranquility of suburban evenings, the nature of metropolitan life will depend on the planning of suburbia, decisions about ‘what’ and ‘how much’ land neighborhoods should consume, and how it may be developed. Thus, knowledge of the evolution, development, policies, and plans for small communities is essential to understanding the region. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.04%3A_Suburbia.txt |
Basic to the American suburbs is the fact that suburbia is the preeminent zone for business in the United States. As far back as the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries', industries were already moving to the suburbs and during the thirty years following World War II retailing migrated outward, creating the landscape of parking lots and malls familiar to all. Finally, during the last quarter of the twentieth century, a mass migration of office space confirmed the commercial supremacy of the suburbs. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, the heart of American business was in the suburbs. The suburbs contained the majority of American manufacturing, retailing, and office space. In the suburbs and smaller outlying bedroom communities surrounding large cities was where most individuals earned and spent most of their cash.
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, there have been no signs of a shift away from this preeminence. Scholars and journalists argue about the exact pattern of suburban business, retailers and developers attempt to discover and satisfy the shopping and spending desires of suburban consumers, and local government officials seek to maximize their tax revenues from the abundance of commercial activity. All of them recognize that the business future of the nation is in the suburbs. That is where the money is (Degross, 2003).
Changes in shopping patterns
One could argue that there is no sector of American business possessing a stronger identification with suburbia than retailing. With the declines of the great downtown department stores during the second half of the twentieth century, suburbia has emerged as the preeminent place to shop. It is the mother lode of modern consumerism, the destination of shoppers seeking to satisfy their passion for spending.
Power center
During the last decades of the twentieth Century, the inescapable symbol of suburban shopping was the mall. Yet the opening of the Mall of America with over 520 units in 1992 did not mark the beginning of a new golden mall age. The Mall of America actually marked the ‘end’ of the nation's love affair with the enclosed suburban shopping center to some extent as the hands of the category killers, the big box stores such as Walmart and Target.
Thus, the 'power center' emerged as the next generation shopping location. The International Council of Shopping Centers defines a power center as " a center dominated by several large anchors, including discount department stores, off-price stores, warehouse clubs, or category killers. With "only a minimum amount of small specialty tenants" (ICSC, 2006). These stores built to attract bargain hunters are among the most formidable rivals for the enclosed mall. At a power center, the shopper can find more for less, taking advantage of the prices and inventory offered by the hulking giants of twenty-first-century retailing.
Lifestyle center
Further undermining the enclosed mall is the "lifestyle center." During the first decade of the twenty-first century, these open-air centers of upscale chain specialty stores with an ample supply of restaurants and entertainment venues became the latest rage in retailing and a new feature of the nation's suburbs.
Basic to the lifestyle concept is the creation of a pleasurable ambience of well-designed and tastefully landscaped outdoor plazas and walkways. The centers are intended to be reminiscent of the small town main streets of yesterday, but with such upscale retailers as ‘Ann Taylor’, ‘Banana Republic’, and ‘Pottery Barn’ never found in those small towns. Additionally, they have plenty of parking thus correcting a flaw that destroyed main street retailing in years past. The concept is a modernized version of the traditional marketplace. It is a return to the character and the ambience of small towns with enhanced offerings that include ‘in-demand retailers’, ‘restaurants’, ‘entertainment’, and services for a ‘complete shopping experience’.
Town center
A variant of the lifestyle center is the town center. Like their lifestyle cousins, town centers are open air with attractive public spaces and a main street ambience. They are mix-use centers including not only retailing and entertainment, but also office, housing, and public facilities such as libraries. Their intention is to be 24-hour venues, places where people live, work, and play that will recreate the liveliest urban streets. The mix-use town center brings together everything people want in one attractive place, often generating two or three times the draw of a traditional shopping center. Many people are hungry for homes in a true town center that allows them to walk to stores, restaurants, entertainment, even work (Lockwood, 2003).
In any case, suburban retailing is continually reinventing itself. It is not dependent on the fortunes of the traditional enclosed mall. Instead, suburbs throughout the nation are breeding grounds for the shopping options of tomorrow (Field, 2006). Further, suburban governments welcome this form of financial growth. Local officials have repeatedly expressed their preference for commerce over residential developments. Commercial developments tend to produce jobs, revenue for the city, and all of this occurs with minimal impact regarding community services need to generate revenue.
It is with a certain amount of irony that peripheral areas originally conceived as residential retreats of wholesome family life have developed into the domain of American commerce. They have sprouted edge cities, diffused into edgeless cities, and spawned a succession of enclosed malls, power centers, and lifestyle venues. By the early twenty-first century, many of these former bastions of the American family and home wanted nothing more than to be rid of child-producing families and housing subdivisions sucking cash from local treasuries. Changing patterns of work, shopping, and leisure, as well as the fiscal realities of American local government, have made a mockery suburban stereotypes. American suburbia of the early twenty-first century is not a haven or retreat. It is where Americans earn and spend as well as sleep. It is the primary focus on the majorities' way of life. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.05%3A_Commercial_Suburbia.txt |
Places have a certain preciousness for their users that is not part of the conventional concept of things that one considers useful or valuable. A crucial initial difference is that place is indispensable; all human activity must occur somewhere. Individuals cannot do without place by substituting another product. People can, of course do with less place and less desirable place, but they cannot do without place altogether (Logan and Molotch, 2007: 17).
Use value
Even when compared to other indispensable commodities such as food, - a place is still particular in its essence. The use of a particular place creates and sustains access to additional use values. One's home in a particular place, as an example, provides access to school, friends, work placed, and shops. Changing homes disrupts connections to these other places and their related values as well. Place is thus not a discrete element, like a toy or even food; the precise conditions of its use determine how other elements, including other commodities, will be used. Cox (1981: 433) speaks of "home' as a vested interest "spilling out of the individual household and its dwelling and projecting itself onto neighbors, streets, local businesses, schools, and other institutions." Any individual residential location connects people to a range of complementary persons, organizations, and physical resources.
The stakes involved in the relationship to place can be high, reflecting all manner of material, spiritual, and psychological connections to land and buildings. Places represent "the focusing of experiences and intentions, onto particular settings full with meanings, with real objects, and with ongoing activities" (Relph, 1976: 141). Numerous scholars from Anderson (1976) to Whyte (1943) have shown that given places achieve significance beyond the more casual relations people have to other commodities. Although the connection to place can vary in intensity for different class, age, gender, and ethnic groups, individual relationships to place are often characterized by intense feelings and commitments appropriate to long-term and multifaceted social and material attachments.
Location value
These social and material attachments create an asymmetrical market relation between buyers and sellers. People pay what property owners demand, not because the real estate unit is worth it, but because the property is held to have peculiar or idiosyncratic location value and benefits. Access to resources like friends, jobs, and schools is so important that residents (as continuous consumers-buyers) are willing to resort to all sorts of 'extra-market' mechanisms to fight for their right to keep location relations intact. They organize, protest, use violence, and seek political regulation. They strive not just for tenure in a given location but for stability in the surrounding neighborhood as well (Logan and Molotch, 2007:18).
Neighborhoods
According to Castells (1983) location establishes a special collective interest among individuals. People who have bought into the same neighborhood share a quality of public services (garbage pickup, police behavior, and so forth); through these forms of 'collective consumption' residents have a common stake in the area's future. Residents also share the same fate when natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes threaten and when institutions alter the local landscape by creating highways, parks, or elements that disfigure a location. Individuals are not mutually dependent on what goes on inside a neighborhood including the composition of an area. They also feel the effects of what goes on outside it as well. The standing of a neighborhood in relation to other neighborhoods creates conditions that its residents experience in common. Each place has a particular political or economic standing in relation to other places that affects the quality of life and opportunities available to those who live within its boundaries. A neighborhood with a critical voting block for example, may generate high levels of public services or large numbers of patronage jobs for its working-class residents, thereby aiding their well-being. A rich neighborhood can protect its residents' life styles from external threats in a way that transcends personal resources, even those typically associated with the affluent (Dear, 1981).
Neighborhoods organize life chances in the same sense, as do the more familiar dimensions of class. Giddens (1973: 108-110) notes the importance of spatial segregation as a "proximate factor of class structure as an aspect of consumption rather than production which acts to reinforce the separations" produced by unequal market capacity.
Like class and status groupings, and even more than many other associations, places create "communities of fate" (Stinchcombe, 1965: 181). Thus, one must consider the stratification of places along with the stratification of individuals in order to understand the distribution of life chances or market opportunities. People's sense of such dynamics, perceived as the relative "standing" of their neighborhood, gives them some of their spiritual or sentimental stake in place - thus further distinguishing home from other, less life-significant things or places with some value attached.
Material versus psychological
Although there is much academic debate on the subject, the material use of place does not separate from psychological use; the daily round that makes physical survival possible takes on emotional meanings through that very capacity to fulfill life's crucial goals. The material and psychic rewards thus combine to create a feeling of "community." Much of residents' striving as members of community organizations or just as responsible neighbors represents an effort to preserve and enhance their networks of sustenance. Appreciation of neighborhood resources, so varied and diffusely experienced, gives rise to "sentiment," the sense that a particular place uniquely fulfills a complex set of needs. When residents' speak positively of use values, they imply fulfillment of all these needs material and non-material (Logan and Molotch (2007: 21).
Retailers
Although residents are the foremost examples of people who pursue use values through property, others also pursue use values through property, and these people operate in a manner different from what the market model would imply. Retailers, for example, depend on geographical context and often develop enduring connections to a given location. Proximity to customers can be their most important location resource. Moreover, some of the same factors important to residents affect their prospects: physical amenities, community services, and a social network supporting the makeup of the neighborhood, including the shops. A retailer may depend not only on a substantial number of people nearby but on a certain type of residential enclave. An exclusive restaurant would benefit from a more affluent residential population. Thus, merchants have an ongoing stake in a particular social makeup of place.
Retailers like residents may, or may, not welcome nearby development, which could mean new competitors as well as an expanded market. These necessities cause retailers, as a group, to have mixed interests; they may serve an intermediate social role in conflicts that arise between residents and place entrepreneurs. Their role is not easily predictable, however, since it is contingent on the specific form of retailing, and whether, or not, the present residential population will enhance or inhibit future profit making. Retailers may also own extensive property themselves, further complicating their interests in a neighborhood.
Corporations
Individual corporations typically derive their own use values from a particular location. Whatever the basis for corporate location decisions (commonly referred to as maximizing access to raw materials, markets, and labor), firms do not usually depend on intensification of adjacent land for the success of their own operations. They may benefit from a nearby assortment of business support services that will deliver, together, a collective economy for the area but there is no inherent need for land-use intensification in general. Of course, such firms can also simultaneously own land and buildings; and this ownership may eventually override other considerations. Corporations principally involved in productive enterprise may later find their real estate holdings their greatest asset, At that point their interest shifts from the use values of a place to its exchange value, once again blurring the neatness of connecting a place to its use or exchange value (Logan and Molotch, 2007).
Business attachment to place
There are three important general observations about business attachments to place. First, compared to those of residents, the satisfaction that owners and operators derive from place is less diffuse. Their paramount interest is the profitability of their operations; concerns with place turn heavily on how well land, buildings and locations in general serve that overarching goal. Second, businesses, as compared to residents, have a greater opportunity to move to another place should conditions in one place cease to be appropriate. Free of at least some of the constraints holding residents, such as sentimental ties to family and access to schools and jobs, businesses can exit more easily. Firms that have not committed major facilities to a given location (sunk costs) are particularly mobile. Finally, a firms' use of place is less fragile than that of residents. Capital can adapt to changes such as noise, odor, and ethnic succession, whereas the effect of such change on residents is immediate and more serious. Of course, some forms of capital do have specific location needs, but these location needs will adjust only by extreme changes such as traffic issues such as road construction, or poor communications (Pred, 1977, 1980).
The lack of entrenchment and firm connection felt by businesses presents tends to reduce government control over such entities. Although residents vary in their attachment to a neighborhood, businesses' attachment to place is much weaker overall. This adds to the difficulties of those, like government officials or neighborhood leaders, who might try to control them. At the other extreme are residents like the elderly poor who are permanent to the place they use. The most vulnerable participants in place markets are those with the fewest alternatives (Janowitz, 1951).
Place as monopoly
The ownership of land is inherently monopolistic providing owners with complete control over the total supply. There can be no additional entrepreneurs or any new product. The individual owner also has a monopoly over a subsection of the marketplace. Every parcel of land is unique in the access it provides to other parcels and uses, and this quality underscores the specialness of land and buildings as commodities. Thus, owners control access to it as well as its given set of spatial relations.
Construction Effects on Price
New construction has less bearing on market dynamics than one might think. New units on the same land can never duplicate previous products. Each product, old or new, is different and unique, and each therefore reinforces the monopoly character of property and the resulting price system. For example, building space on the top floor of a skyscraper is more desirable than the same square footage just one floor lower. Conversely, you cannot duplicate the advantages of street-level retail space on a floor above. These additional types of relationships also give places their monopolistic character (Markusen, 1979).
Another curious aspect of real estate is its essentially "second-hand" nature (Turner, 1977: 39). Buildings and land are continuously ‘sold, resold, or rented and re-rented’. In a typical area, no more than 3 percent of the product for sale or rent consists of new construction. Not only land, even the structures on any piece of land can have infinite lives; neither utility nor market price need decrease through continuous use. In truth, successive investments can often build upon rather than devalue a location (Harvey, 1983). Since the amount of new property on the market at any given moment is ordinarily only a small part of the total that is for sale, entrepreneurs' decisions to add to this supply by building additional structures will have a much more limited impact on price than would the same decisions with other type of commodities (Markusen, 1979). Each unit is typically prices in relation to the surrounding units.
In contrast, areas where building construction is more rapid have higher rather than lower costs, even when demand factors are statistically controlled. This makes sense when one considers price a function of comparison to other surrounding structures. With new and old forms of construction, there is a pricing balance while new construction alone produces new and generally, higher priced ‘comparable pricing’ based on construction costs.
Similarly, relatively high vacancy rates are not associated with lower rent levels that suggests that new construction leads local markets to a new, higher pricing structure rather than equilibrating a previous one. Given the fixed supply of land and the existence of relational advantage of one building over another, more money entering an area's real estate market not only results in more structures being built but also increases the price of land and quite plausibly, the rents on previously existing "comparable" buildings. Thus, higher investment levels can push the entire price structure upward (Appelbaum and Gilderbloom, 1983). | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.06%3A_Thinking_about_a_Place.txt |
City Summary Exercise \(1\)
• Introductory paragraph
• City/suburban appeal
• City industrial/service sector appeal
• Discuss why the city is a ‘good fit’ for your business
• Provide example where applicable
Discussion Questions \(2\)
1. What is the most effective way to make city officials take legitimate actions when making city decisions?
2. How can popular opinion be a strong resource for community leaders?
3. Market conditions consist of circumstances that make cities more or less appealing to private capital. List three of the major elements and explain how they might affect leasing costs.
4. What do pro-business cities value from private capital?
5. What do ‘social’ cities value from private capital?
6. What are the driving variables in a social-centered city?
7. What are the driving variables in a market-centered city?
8. How do the bargaining positions differ in market versus social cities?
9. List five major factors of smart growth.
10. What are the different type of shopping centers in suburbia?
11. Explain ‘use’ value and ‘location’ value. How do they differ?
12. What is the ‘second-hand’ nature of real estate?
13. What is a suburb?
1.08: Chapter Glossary and Notes
Glossary
Popular control. The citizens of a community become deeply involved with the actions of their leaders.
Social capital. Democratic institutions require an attitude of cooperation and trust among the citizenry. For democracy to work, citizens must share similar values and pursue common objectives. This depends upon the social culture of an area. The culture of a city expresses values and norms that underlie development priorities.
Public approval and involvement. Some cities work through neighborhood councils that exercise discretion over land use. Other cities give expression to popular opinion through programmatic political parties. Still others, offer few outlets for popular participation and actually design institutions so that local democracy is discouraged with cohesive political party systems.
Market conditions. Market conditions consist of the circumstances or forces that make cities more or less appealing to private capital. Such elements include geographic characteristics, political reasons a by-product of business circumstance, vital strategic roles, cultural reasons, and religious reasons.
Governmental support. Refers to practices used in conjunction with city, regional, or national authorities to intervene in the marketplace.
Popular control systems. Refers to the means by which citizens express their preferences and make leaders accountable. Popular control also encompasses a larger process through which city development become legitimate This process may vary along several dimensions, including the scope of public participation, the extent to which participation is organized, and the effectiveness of electoral mechanisms in ensuring accountability in the process of legitimization.
Local culture. This phrase refers to the norms and values that create a disposition toward the city’s development agenda. Cities with high 'materialist' cultures will generally opt for jobs, income, and tangible benefits that are easily divisible. Cities with a strong degree of 'post-materialist' or ‘social’ cultures are more concerned with preservation of the built or natural environment, and those benefits are generally indivisible. These preferences often mean that cities with materialist cultures are more likely to agree with business objectives than cities with post-materialist cultures.
Social centered. A social-centered development policy puts priority on strong public direction, activist planning, and preservationist policies. It also emphasizes collective benefits or public amenities.
Market-centered. Minimalist planning (little thought regarding the surrounding area or the effect on a city's citizenry), and strong economic growth. It accomplishes this by offering inducements to business such as tax abatements, providing public aid for capital projects, making land contributions, relaxing architectural standards, and doing away with zoning regulations. Cities that adopt such policy are essentially embracing a 'build as you may' policy toward business.
Driving variables. Refers to market conditions and governmental support. Driving variables confer economic power to cities and grant public leaders leverage as they bargain with business.
Steering variables. Steering variables have more to do with choices about the strategic direction of development. Because steering variables focus on local preferences, they can be used by public leaders to garner indigenous support for a given policy preference.
Smart growth. An urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented,walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a range of housing choices.
Suburbs. Those unique communities where the driver for development was not the need or desire to be the city, the dominant hub of a region, or one of the great centers of the nation. They acquired the bulk of the nation's offices, retailing, and manufacturing space and the accompanying jobs, and people. In the suburbs and smaller outlying bedroom-communities’ surrounding large cities are where most individuals earn and spent most of their cash.
Notes
Anderson, Elijah. 1976. A Place on the Corner. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.
Appelbaum, Richard P., and John Gilderbloom. 1983. Housing Supply and Regulation: A Study of the Rental Housing Market. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 19(1), 1-18.
Castells, Manuel. 1983. The City and the Grassroots: A Cross-Cultural Theory of Urban Social Movements. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Cox, Kevin R. 1981. Capitalism and Conflict around the Communal Living Space. Pp. 431-456 in Michael Dear and Allen J. Scott (eds.), Urbanization and Urban Planning in Capitalist Society. New York: Methuen.
Dear, Michael. 1981. Social and Spatial Reproduction of the Mentally Ill. Pp. 481-497 in Michael Dear & Allen J. Scott (eds.), Urbanization and Urban Planning in Capitalist Society. New York, NY: Methuen.
Degross, Rene. 2003. Room at the Malls. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 6, 1D. Field, Katherine. 2006. Power Surge, Chain Store Age, 82: 123. Giddens, Anthony. 1973. The Class Structure of the Advanced Societies. New York: Harper Row.
Harvey, David. 1983. Class Monopoly Rent, Finance Capital and the Urban Revolution. Pp. 250-277 in Robert W. Lake (ed.), Readings in Urban Analysis: Perspectives on Urban Form and Structure. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University.
Jackson, Kenneth T. 1985. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Lockwood, Charles. 2003. Raising the Bar. Urban Land, 62: 77.
Logan, John R., and Harvey L. Molotch. 2007. Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Markusen, James R. 1979. Elements of Real Asset Pricing: A Theoretical Analysis with Special Reference to Urban Land Prices. Land Economics, 55(2), 153-166.
Pred, Allan Richard. 1977. City Systems in Advanced Economics: Past Growth, Present Processes, & Future Development Options. London: Hutchinson.
Pred, Allan Richard. 1980. Urban Growth and City Systems in the United States, 1849-1860. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Relph, E. 1978. Place and Placelessness. London: Pion.
Scholl, David, and Robert B. Williams. 2005. A Choice of Lifestyles. Urban Land, 84: 89.
Stinchcombe, Aurther L. 1965. Social Structure and Organizations. Pp. 142-193 in James March (Ed.), Handbook of Organizations. New York: Rand McNally.
Teaford, Jon C. 2008. The American Suburb: The Basics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Turner, D. M. 1977. An Approach to Land Values. Berkhamsted (U.K.): Geographical Publications.
Weiffering, Eric. 2002. 10 Years Later, the Mall of America Still Stands Alone. Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4 August, 1A.
Whyte, William F. 1943. Street Corner Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/01%3A_The_City/1.07%3A_Classroom_Preparation_Assignments.txt |
Chapter 2 Learning bjectives
• Understand demographics and the usefulness and limitation of numerical data.
• Comprehend the psychographic nature of customer attitudes, interests, and opinions.
• Understand the importance of customer behavioral characteristics.
• Understand the importance of generational differences.
• Apply the customer decision cycle for making purchases.
• Gain the ability to define your customers.
• How to gauge your customers across various considerations.
• Understand how customers equate price and assign value to products.
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.”
Richard Branson
“There is only one boss. The customer. He can fire everybody in the company from the chairperson on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. “
Sam Walton
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”
Peter Drucker
Customers
Every restaurateur understands that customers are the life's blood of the operation. But having said that, many foodservice operations fail to accurately identify just who their customer is, or engage in the analysis of a marketplace to determine if enough of the desired customers exist in numbers large enough to consistently support the operation continually. The importance of knowing one's customer is not a proverb. Construct menus around the wants and need of a clientele. The facility itself should be attractive and entice the desired customer the operation wishes to attract and retain. Customers will not know what an operation is about or the types of food served until the restaurant informs them but marketing is difficult when you have not defined whom it is that you want to attract. Thus in order to define a specific target market, or market segment, defining the "market" (city, neighborhood, location and so forth) clearly is an important first step, preferable before you refine your concept and consider an actual location.
Concept to Market
There are generally one of two ways is used to enter a marketplace. First, an operation can develop a restaurant concept, theme, menu, facility design, align suppliers, and so on, and bring the entire package to a marketplace - the method utilized by established chain operations, as in Figure 1. This method assumes well thought out components and systems that have undergone testing in other markets. Any weaknesses will have come to the surface by this time. The one unknown is ‘how’ the marketplace will respond to the concept. Adjustments to an existing concept can be difficult. This can be a weakness in a competitive market long standing.
Concept Tailored to Market
Second, the location can be determined and the concept, menu, facility, and suppliers can be ‘tailored’ to fulfill the needs and wants of the target market that resides in that trading area. If there are several target markets in a trading area, it is vital that that the operation determine which ones best match the strengths of restaurant - especially in the areas of food and service.
If a particular market segment were not a good match for the menu and service you intend to offer, it would be fruitless and expensive to develop a marketing strategy that attempts to attract those guests. It would be much better to select and match the best possible segments with the abilities of the operation. In this way, your marketing strategy is more likely to yield positive results.
Consider all segment possibilities afforded by trading area. Your restaurant's offerings may be attractive to numerous segments of that market. Additionally, you do not want to unnecessarily or unknowingly ignore a target market that may seem marginal today but proves to be a substantial profit contributor with a little shaping and your restaurant's positioning. For example, what about the 'delivery' of your products? You may not initially consider take-out business important in your full-service restaurant. You should consider it, though, if you are located near state government offices, medical offices and hospitals, colleges, or an industrial complex. Guests introduced to your restaurant through a take-out experience may become regular in-house diners someday. If they do not become in- house diners you have developed a clientele that does not pressure your dining room which allows you to continue to market for in-house guests. In any case, most of your important decisions begin with the clear understand of exact who your customer is. The purpose of this chapter is to present ways to make those determinations.
Demographics – Numerical Data
Now this form of data is readily available on Web sites and in census reports (see, www.censusscope.org). This form of data is also easy to obtain from private companies that specialize in nation or geographical data customized to your needs. Finding demographic information is no way near as difficult as in the past (see Figure 1.1).
Table: 1.1 Resources for Demographic Information
Where to Ask What to Ask For
Department of Economic Development, Chamber of Commerce, City Planning Office Maps, employment statistics (average income, unemployment rates, plans for upcoming commercial and residential developments, data about retail, food, and beverage sales, shopping habits and patterns, major employers, and industries
Building Department, Planning and Zoning Department, Commercial Realtors Area master plans, residential occupancy and housing statistics, property values, urban renewal projects, zoning information - property laws, about parking, signage, building height, permits, and any other construction-related restrictions.
Local Publications (newspaper, magazines) Dining guides, advertising rates, restaurant reviews, some business demographic data
Transportation Department Proposed road improvements, types and routes of public transportation, traffic count data by roadway.
Department of Revenue and Taxation Property taxes by address (for neighborhood averages), breakdowns of real estate taxes, Income and sales tax figures.
Utility Company Past patterns of gas or electric bills at an address, information about typical rates, seasonal usage, conservation discounts.
Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourist information - data on numbers, spending habits, annual events, and average attendance, dates and sizes of upcoming conventions and meetings.
Demographics are the statistical characteristics of human populations in a specific geographical area. Demographics are useful to identify the study of quantifiable subsets within a given population, which characterize that population at a specific point in time. Themes such as the number of people (adults, children, other), ages, mobility, or lack of mobility, gender, income levels, education, ethnicity, employment status, and housing are related to the eating-out and drinking-out behavior of consumers. While demographics essentially reflect numerical data, such data can reveal characteristics of interest to a restaurant operation. For example, a large number of two-income households in the treading area would indicate the potential for considerable dinner take-out business. Why take out? While two individuals working in a household would appear to drive sit-down business, and often this is the case, the key aspect is that both individuals are working. At the end of the day both are more apt to be tired and only interested in picking up a meal on the way home. This drives another important point. Income alone is not adequate to determine how consumers will spend their disposable income. A new neighborhood with nicely appointed homes and a late model car in the driveway can be an indication of an affluent neighborhood, or you could in fact be observing families who are financially overextended and are truly candidates for continual support for your operation - research situations thoroughly. If the trading area contains a large number of retiree population, there is probably a strong potential for the effective use of 'early-bird' specials. Age is an important demographic variable. For example, baby boomers typically reflect a market segment that dines out a lot and is interested in trying new foods and beverages.
A demographic or demographic profile is a marketing term used to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. This will typically include 'age bands' (such as teenagers who do not wish to purchase the same products that appeal to an older population). 'Social class bands' (as the rich may want different products than middle and lower classes and may be willing to pay more), and gender (partially because different physical attributes require different hygiene, eating, and clothing products, and partially because of the male/female mindsets).
A demographic profile is also useful to determine the ‘when’ and ‘where’ of advertising placement to achieve maximum results. In all such cases, it is important that the advertiser get the most results for their money, and so careful research is necessary to match the demographic profile of the target market to the demographic profile of the advertising medium. This, understand the demographic profile of a trading area is vital to operational decisions as well as marketing decision. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.01%3A_Demographics_-_Numerical_Data.txt |
Psychographics is the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Because this area of research focuses on attitudes, interests, and opinions, (or AIO psychographic factors). Psychographic studies of individuals or communities can be valuable ‘marketing strategy’ in conjunction with demographics, opinion research, and social research in general. They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and organizational demographics variables (sometimes called firmographic variables), such as industry, number of employees, and functional area.
Consumer Characteristics
Psychographic consumer characteristics center on peoples' lifestyles. They include things such as their personalities, where they live, habits, leisure activities, ideologies, values, beliefs, and attitudes. Attitudes are especially important to any retailer, and they include things such as propensity to save, work ethic, acceptance of alternative lifestyles and cultures, willingness to accept risk, brand loyalty, and adaptation to cutting-edge technology.
Table: 1.2 Foodservice Psychographic Life Cycle
Cycle Stage Age Consumer Characteristics
Childhood
Early 5 or under Need toys and child portions. May require a baby-sitter in a hotel environment.
Late 6 - 12 Important influence on choice of place to eat out. Recreation programs’ for pre-teens help sway decisions of this group.
Teenagers
Younger 13 - 15 Becoming independent consumers but most typically without ‘significant’ income. Major influence on dining out. Recreation facilities used independently.
Older 16 - 19 Independent consumers’ often employed part-time with a high need for social activity.
Young Adults
Young Singles 20 - 24 In the labor force/or post-secondary education full time. Adequate income for small-scale use of foodservices, such as dating. Travel with family or on very low budget.
Young Married 25 - 34 Predominately two-income families, but family formation expenditures and investments often reduced available funds for travel. Like lively, informal dining places. High travel interest.
Middle Age
Younger 35 - 49 Income rises considerably, but children at home or in college require significant continuing support. Highest propensity to eat out, and travel.
Advanced 50 - 64 Income at peak, though sometimes reduced at early retirement. Very high propensity to travel. Eat out less often than young middle-age groups.
Senior Citizens
Young 65 - 74 Fixed but adequate income. Retirement means an affluent leisure class. Generally healthy and vigorous. Intent to enjoy life. Regular, but less frequent restaurant customers. Some special diet considerations.
Old 75 - 84 More health problems: often widow or widower living alone. Prone to depression. May require nursing home care. Special diet considerations more prevalent. Most rapidly growing population segment in North America.
Very Old 85 plus 7 of 10 are women. Frail and elderly, but alert and very prosperous. Require special diets and assistance.
Psychographics provide better insights into marketing behavior than demographics, but they can be difficult to gather. Most people do not like telling strangers about their personal lives. In the twenty-first century, we seldom have to make personal inquiries. Market research firms are aware of which of customers go on cruises, have children under four, live in homes and apartments, are single, and so forth. Market researchers base their customer analysis on things such as credit card history and psychographic profile illustrated in Table 1.2. Using such information allows them to categorize restaurant customers based on lifestyles. A customer could be described as interested in a healthy lifestyle, consumers of fine wines, international travelers, and like to try new things on the menu. This form of information would certainly be more useful than viewing your average customer as married, age 47, and female.
Customer base shifts
It is important to have a good idea of your current customer's profile. Who are your customers? Where do they come from? Why do they like to visit your operation? How much do they like to spend - and how often do they visit the restaurant? If this information is not gathered and compared over time, an operator will not be able to tell if or how their customer base is changing over time. Eventually, all customer bases shift to a lesser or greater extent. A restaurant operator must be able to anticipate and prepare for such changes. Both demographic and psychographic profiles can provide useful insights and indicate future trends. Restaurant operators can learn working the dining room. Getting to know their guests can yield equally valuable information. You can never know too much about your guests. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.02%3A_Psychographics_-_Attitude_Interests_and_Opinions.txt |
Psychographics should not be confused with demographics, for example, historical generations may be defined both by demographics, such as the years in which a particular generation is born or even the fertility rates of that generation's parents, but also by psychographic variables like attitudes, personality formation, and cultural touchstones. For example, the traditional approaches to defining the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X, or Generation Y, also referred to as Millennials, and Generation Z, the Plurals, have relied on both demographic variables (classifying individuals based on birth years) and psychographic variables (such as beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors). For example, generations born into technology have a much higher propensity to understand and use technological products at a higher rate than generations less familiar with such developments.
Baby Boomers
Baby boomers are people born during the demographic Post-World War II baby between the years 1946 and 1964. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2011), the term "baby boomer" is culturally contextual as well. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise date definition, even within a given territory. Different groups, organizations, individuals, and scholars may have widely varying opinions on what constitutes a baby boomer, both technically and culturally. Ascribing universal attributes to a broad generation is difficult, and some observers believe that it is inherently impossible. Nonetheless, many people have attempted to determine the broad cultural similarities and historical impact of the generation, and thus the term has gained widespread popular usage.
Baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values; however, many commentators have disputed the extent of that rejection, noting the widespread continuity of values with older and younger generations. In Europe and North America, boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of widespread government subsidies in post-war housing and education, and increasing affluence (Owram, 1997).
As a group, they were the wealthiest, most active, and most physically fit generation up to that time, and amongst the first to grow up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time (Jones, 1980). They were also the generation that received peak levels of income therefore they could reap the benefits of abundant levels of food, apparel, retirement programs, and sometimes even "midlife crisis" products. The increased consumerism for this generation tends to be excessive (Pinker, 2011).
One feature of the boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before. In the 1960s, as the relatively large numbers of young people became teenagers and young adults, they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the change they were bringing about (Owram, 1997). This rhetoric had an important impact in the self-perceptions of the boomers, as well as their tendency to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon.
Size and economic impact
Seventy-six million American children were born between 1945 and 1964, representing a cohort that is significant because of its size alone. In 2004, the UK baby boomers held 80% of the UK's wealth and bought 80% of all top-of-the-range cars, 80% of cruises and 50% of skincare products (Howe and Strauss, 1991).
In addition to the size of the group, one thing that sets the baby boomers apart from other generational groups is the fact that "almost from the time they were conceived, Boomers were dissected, analyzed, and pitched to by modern marketers, who reinforced a sense of generational distinctiveness" (Gillon, 2004). There is support from the articles of the late 1940s identifying the increasing number of babies as an economic boom, such as a 1948 Newsweek article whose title proclaimed "Babies Mean Business" (Newsweek, 1948). In contrast, the 'age wave' theory suggests an economic slowdown when the boomers start retiring during 2007–2009. Projections for the aging U. S. workforce suggest that by 2020, 25% of employees will be at least 55 years old (Chosewood, 2012).
Baby boomers control over 80% of personal financial assets and more than half of all consumer spending. They buy 77% of all prescription drugs, 61% of over-the-counter drugs, and 80% of all leisure travel. A survey found that nearly a third of baby boomers polled in the United States would prefer to pass on their inheritance to charities rather than pass it down to their children (Sullivan, 2007).
Cultural identity
Boomers grew up at a time of dramatic social change. In the United States, that social change marked the generation with a strong cultural cleavage, between the proponents of social change and the more conservative. Some analysts believe this cleavage played out politically since the time of the Vietnam War to the mid-2000s, to some extent defining the political landscape and division in the country (Sullivan, 2007). Starting in the 1980s, the boomers became more conservative, with many regretting the cultural changes they brought in their youth (Bowman, 2011).
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Post World War II baby boom. The 2011 publication "The Generation X Report", based on annual surveys used in the Longitudinal Study of today's adults, finds that Gen Xers in the report are people born between 1961 and 1981, are highly educated, active, balanced, happy, and family oriented. Gen Xers are often called the MTV Generation (Isaksen, 2002). They experienced the emergence of music videos, new wave music, electronic music, glam rock, heavy metal, alternative rock, and hip-hop (Wilson, 2011).
Compared with previous generations, Generation X represents a more apparently heterogeneous generation, openly acknowledging and embracing social diversity in terms of such characteristics as race, class, religion, ethnicity, culture, language, gender identity, and sexual orientation (Isaksen, 2002).
Unlike their parents who challenged leaders with an intent to replace them, Gen Xers are less likely to idolize leaders and are more inclined to work toward long-term institutional and systematic change through economic, media and consumer actions. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Generation X statistically holds the highest education levels when looking at current age groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009).
Entrepreneurship
According to authors Michael Hais and Morley Winograd, "small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit that Gen Xers embody have become one of the most popular institutions in America. There has been a recent shift in consumer behavior and Gen Xers will join the “idealist generation” in encouraging the celebration of individual effort and business risk-taking. As a result, Xers will spark a renaissance of entrepreneurship in economic life, even as overall confidence in economic institutions declines. Customers, and their needs and wants (including Millennials) will become the North Star for an entire new generation of entrepreneurs" (Winograd and Hais, 2012).
According to Kjetil Olsen of Elance, the company which conducted the study, "the big issue for Generation X (born 1961 and 1981) was the end of a job for life," unlike "today's Generation Y (born 1982 to 1993) who appear to be seriously questioning the nature of having a traditional job at all" (Silvera, 2014). In 2012, the Corporation for National and Community Service ranked Generation X volunteer rates in the U.S. at "29.4% per year", the highest compared with other generations. These rankings are the result of a three-year moving average between 2009 and 2011 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2013).
Millennials
Millennial Generation (known as the Millennial or Generation Y) are the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates when this generation starts and ends. Researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1981s to the early 2000s.
Traits and values
Strauss and Howe (2000) believe that each generation has common characteristics that give it a specific character, with four basic generational archetypes, repeating in a cycle. According to their theory, they predicted Millennials would become more like the "civic-minded" G.I. generation with a strong sense of community both local and global.
Strauss and Howe's research has been influential, but it also has critics (Hoover, (2009). Jean Twenge, the author of the 2006 book Generation Me, considers Millennials, along with younger members of Generation X, to be part of what she calls "Generation Me" (Twenge, 2006). Twenge attributes Millennials with the traits of confidence and tolerance, but also identifies a sense of entitlement and narcissism based on personality surveys that showed increasing narcissism among Millennials compared to preceding generations, when they were teens and in their twenties. She questions the predictions of Strauss and Howe that this generation will come out civic-minded (Twenge, 2012).
The Pew Research Center issued a report in March 2014 about how "Millennials in adulthood" are "detached from institutions and networked with friends." (Pew Social Trends, 2014). The report says Millennials are somewhat more upbeat than older adults about America’s future are with 49% of Millennials saying the country’s best years are ahead though they are the first in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt and unemployment.
Both the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study of high school seniors and the American Freshman Survey, conducted by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute of new college students showed an increase in the proportion of students who consider wealth to be an important attribute. The percentages by generation include 45% for Baby Boomers (surveyed between 1967 and 1985) to 70% for Gen Xers, and 75% for Millennials. The percentage who said it was important to keep abreast of political affairs fell, from 50% for Baby Boomers to 39% for Gen Xers, and 35% for Millennials. The notion of "developing a meaningful philosophy of life" decreased the most across generations, from 73% for Boomers to 45% for Millennials. The willingness to be involved in an environmental cleanup program dropped from 33% for Baby Boomers to 21% for Millennials (Healy, 2012).
Eric Hoover (2009) posited that much of the commentary on the Millennial Generation might be partially accurate but overly general. He cites that many of the traits they describe apply primarily to white affluent teenagers who accomplish great things as they grow up in the suburbs; who confront anxiety when applying to super-selective colleges; and who multitask with ease as their ‘helicopter’ parents’ hover reassuringly above them. During class discussions, he has listened to black and Hispanic students describe how some or all, of the so-called “core traits” did not apply to them. They often say the "special" trait, in particular, is unrecognizable. Other socio-economic groups often do not display the same attributes commonly attributed to Generation Y. "It's not that many diverse parents don't want to treat their kids as special," he says, "but they often don't have the social and cultural capital, the time and resources, to do that." (Hoover, 2009).
Ron Alsop (2008) called the Millennials "trophy kids," a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where mere participation is frequently enough for a reward, and an issue see primarily in corporate environments. Some employers are concerned that Millennials expect too much from the workplace. Studies predict that Millennials will switch jobs frequently, holding many more jobs than Generation Xers due to their great expectations (Alsop, 2008). Additionally, educational sociologist Andy Furlong described Millennials (in his book Youth Studies: An Introduction) as optimistic, engaged, and team players (Furlong, 2013).
David Burstein, author of Fast Future (2013), describes Millennials' approach to social change as "pragmatic idealism," a deep desire to make the world a better place combined with an understanding that doing so requires building new institutions while working inside and outside existing institutions (Burnstein, 2013). Millennial characteristics vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. There is a marked increase in use and familiarity with communication, media, and digital technologies. In most parts of the world its upbringing was marked by an increase in a 'neoliberal' approach to politics and economics; the effects of this environment are under dispute (Seabrook, 2007).
Demographics
Strauss and Howe (1991) projected in their 1991 book "Generations" that the US Millennial population would be 76 million. Later, Neil Howe revised the number to over 95 million people (in the US). As of 2012, the estimation of approximately 80 million US millennials is widely accepted (Schawbel, 2012).
The economy has also had a dampening effect on Millennials' ability to date and, ultimately, get married. In 2012, the average American couple spent an average of over \$27,000 on their wedding. A 2013 joint study by sociologists at the University of Virginia and Harvard University found that the decline and disappearance of stable full-time jobs with health insurance and pensions for people who lack a college degree has had profound effects on working-class Americans, who now are less likely to marry and have children within marriage than those with college degrees. Further, USA Today reported that Millennials are "entering the workplace in the face of demographic change and an increasingly multigenerational workplace" (Armor, 2014).
Digital technology
Junco and Mastrodicasa (2007) expanded from China to the United States on the work of Howe and Strauss to include research-based information about the personality profiles of Millennials, especially as it relates to higher education. They conducted a large-sample (7,705) research study of college students. They found that Next Generation college students, born from 1983–1992, were frequently in touch with their parents and used technology at higher rates than people did previously. In their survey, they found that 97% of these students owned a computer, 94% owned a cell phone, and 56% owned an MP3player. They also found that students spoke with their parents an average of 1.5 times a day about a wide range of topics. Other findings in the Junco and Mastrodicasa survey revealed 76% of students used instant messaging, 92% of those reported multitasking while instant messaging, 40% of them used television to get most of their news, and 34% of students surveyed used the Internet as their primary news source (Junco and Mastrodicasa, 2007).
Gen Xers and Millennials were the first to grow up with computers in their homes. In a 1999 speech at the New York Institute of Technology, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates encouraged America's teachers to use technology to serve the needs of the first generation of kids to grow up with the Internet. Many Millennials enjoyed a 250+-channel home cable TV universe. In June 2009, Nielsen released the report How Teens Use Media that discusses the latest data on media usage by generation. In this report, Nielsen set out to redefine the dialogue around media usage by the youngest of Generation Y, extending through working age Generation Y compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers (Cabral, 2010). One of the more popular forms of media use in Generation Y is social networking. In 2010, research published in the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research claimed that students who used social media and decided to quit showed the same withdrawal symptoms of a drug addict who quit their stimulant (Cabral, 2010). Mark Prensky coined the term 'digital native' to describe Generation Y "K through college" students in 2001, explaining they "represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology (Prensky, 2013)."
Generation Z
Generation Z is one name used for the cohort of people born after the Millennial Generation. There is no agreement on the exact dates of the generation with some sources starting from the mid-2000s to the present day (Poggi, 2013).
Traits and trends
Many members of this generation are highly connected, having had lifelong use of communication and media technology like the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, and mobile phones, earning them the nickname " digital natives " (Schmidt and Hawkins, 2008).
According to Hais, Winograd, and DeBord, the name "Plurals" reflects that Generation Z are the most diverse of any generation in the United States; estimates state that 55% are Caucasian, 24% are Hispanic, 14% are African-American, 4% are Asian, and 4% are mixed race or other. Hais and Winograd (2012) stated that Plurals exhibit positive feelings about the increasing ethnic diversity in the United States, and they are more likely than older generations to have social circles that include people from different ethnic groups, races and religions. According to DeBord (2012), Plurals are "the least likely to believe that there is such a thing as the American Dream," while Boomers and their Millennial children are "more likely to believe it"(Hais and Winograd, 2012; DeBord, 2012).
Relationship marketing. Plurals, with a more acute knowledge of technology, lend themselves to targeting through relationship marketing, a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns emphasizing customer retention and satisfaction, rather than a dominant focus on sales transactions. As a practice, relationship marketing differs from other forms of marketing in that it recognizes the long-term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising such as robot calling with sales promotional messages.
With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to evolve and move forward as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels. This includes tools for managing relationships with customers that goes beyond simple demographic and customer service data. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing efforts, (a combination of search optimization and strategic content), public relations, social media and application development. Electronic marketing has become, and will continue to be a primary activity for product sense making as new generations become even more reliant on the computer information that has morphed into different modes as laptops, notebooks, IPads, and cellular phone applications. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.03%3A_Generations_-_Differences.txt |
When foodservice consumers make decisions concerning the purchase of products and services, a decision step process must take place. A broad variety of variables exists based on wants and needs (behavioral aspects) that influence this decision process in the mind of the consumer. Figure 1.3 shows a collective of theories that show both external and internal influences that come into play as consumers make purchase decisions.
This cycle illustrates the major steps progression in the decision-making process, as well as the role external and internal influences play as individuals make purchase decisions. Understanding this cycle is important because both external and internal influences play key roles in the consumer purchase actions, foodservice owners and operators need to develop awareness of the specific influences that are most important to their particular target market segments in a given trading area.
Figure 1.3: Consumer Decision Model
Figure 1.3 indicates five key elements in the decision-making cycle: problem recognition - the foodservice need; the information search to address the need, evaluation of alternatives, the purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation. The particular trading area and its consumer and market conditions influences each element in the decision-process.
Problem recognition, the need
The decision -making process begins with problem recognition, which occurs when a consumer realizes a difference between his or her actual state, the need for a meal or service, and the desired state, that meal or service that fill the need. Thousands of different stimuli can trigger the awareness of a food need - the problem needing a solution. For example, if one feels hungry when while driving down for an interstate highway, this could trigger the need to search for restaurant signage for ways to address one's hunger. From another perspective, the need to feel important and treated with the utmost respect could lead a different potential customer to search for an upscale hotel with a concierge to help with the decision and reservation process. Additionally, the need may not begin within a single individual. If a couple comes home after both have worked all day, and one decides it would be best to go out rather than make an effort to cook, this creates a joint need that only one of the individuals may have felt. At times, to attract one individual in a family is to garner the other as well. The operation must be able to address a constantly changing broad variety of needs that consumers are attempting to satisfy when they fine the need to dine out (Reid and Bojanic, 2006).
Information search
Once the need for food under any condition reaches a conscious level, the cycle holds that consumers seek to gather or retrieve information (see Figure 1.4). This search can involve a variety of information sources, including reference groups and members of the immediate household, as well as the mass media in form of advertising. Typically, consumers will make comparisons from a number of information sources based on the effort required and the credibility of the source.
If the felt need is as basic as the need to eat because of hunger, the information retrieval process is likely to be brief. That is, the restaurant facility selected in this case is likely a likely choice primarily because of convenience, and the number of sources of information consulted is likely to be quite small. In other situations, the number of sources consulted could be much larger. Consider a convention planner who is coordinating the annual meeting for a professional association.
Figure 1.4: Consumer Involvement Based on Perceived Risk
This individual is likely to consult several sources of information before selecting an appropriate city or hotel for this important event. The important thing for the hospitality
owner or operator to remember is that consumers rely to a certain extent on the mass media for information. The amount of information to research and the length of the consumer decision-making process will increase with the consumer's level of involvement. Consumers tend to be more involved when there is a greater perceived risk of making a wrong choice, which is associated normally with high-priced products or services, situations where visibility is high, or when the event in question involves greater complexity.
As illustrated in Figure 1.4, consumers tend to compare the benefits of search such as value, enjoyment, and self-confidence in the selection with the costs including money, time, or convenience to determine the perceived risk. There are also many other situational factors that will affect the amount of information search, such as knowledge of the product, demographics, in particular income and education, and the market environment.
Evaluation of alternatives
Once the consumer has gathered a sufficient amount of information, the third element in the decision-making process is to evaluate possible
alternatives. When customers are asking themselves at which of several possible restaurant should they dine go through a cognitive process in answering that question, whereby they weigh the positives and negative aspects of each alternative. They also examine the benefits of the product-service mix of each restaurant. Consumers consider the relative importance of each benefit of the product-service mix by making trade-offs between the various benefits and their levels. Ultimately, a group of brands will surface of consideration in the final purchase decision. The decision made centers on the perceived risk associated with each alternative.
Marketing managers in other industries have long recognized this mental process and have used it to their advantage in advertising and promoting their products and services. Rather than simply discussing products and services as if they exist in a vacuum, firms make direct comparisons with the competition. This assists the consumer's cognitive process of evaluating alternatives. Of course, every advertiser makes certain that its product or service compares favorably with those of the competition based on the criteria selected for the comparison.
Making Purchase decision
The fourth stage in the consumer decision-making cycle is the purchase decision. It is at this point that the individual actually makes the decision. All external and internal variables come together to produce a decision and the willingness of the individual to take risks. This risk factor offers a tremendous competitive advantage for hospitality operations. When customers step through the from door of a McDonald's, Burger King, Red Lobster, or any other nationally recognized chain, they are taking a much smaller risk than if they entered an independent restaurant about which they knew very little. Customers typically perceive less risk with the chain operation because the product-service mix is better known to the customer - although superiority certainly not always the case. Independent operations must work hard to establish themselves and reduce some of the risk consumers’ associate with patronizing a restaurant where the restaurant offerings are not well known.
Post-purchase evaluation
This is an additional moment-of-truth when the consumer considers the dining experience and determines if they will return in the future. Following the product-service mix consumption, the final stage is post-purchase evaluation. How did the actual experience compare with the expectations prior to purchase? Was the product-service mix meet the standards anticipated?
Post-consumption feelings focus on two factors: the expectations of the consumer, and the actual performance by the foodservice operation. For this reason, it is very important for any restaurant operation to deliver the products and services promised in advertising promotion or personal selling. Failure to perform at or above the level anticipated by the customer (remember, good is expected as a minimum requirement) is likely to lead to negative post-consumption appraisals. These negative feelings produce dissatisfaction and reduce the level of repeat patronage with no additional referrals a given.
From a management perspective, it is important to promise ‘less’ and deliver ‘more’. Said differently, under-promise and over-deliver. This is a key concept in producing satisfied customers. Finally, remember there is a time-period between the purchase of restaurant operation services, and consumption. During this period, consumers may have second thoughts or negative feelings about the purchase made that refer to 'cognitive dissonance.' Thus, it is important for foodservice operators to run advertisements that depict ‘satisfied’ customers. Always continue to suggest the positive elements of dining in your operation (Blanchard and Bowles, 1993).
Restaurant strengths can compensate weaknesses
Consumers often use a compensatory strategy to allow a product's strengths in one or more areas to compensate for deficiencies in other areas. Said differently, consumers view products and services as bundles of attributes. The final set of alternatives that a consumer is considering for purchase will contain products or services that have various combinations of thee visible attributes and their level of delivery. This evaluation of numerous attributes approach assumes that consumers are capable of evaluating each of a product's benefits and then arriving at an overall assessment, or scores, for products compared to alternative products. Consumers tend to make these complicated comparisons and trade-offs and then choose the product that achieves the highest score.
In sum, restaurant owners and operators should always remember that while many consumers are willing to overlook certain weaker elements of the operation to enjoy a restaurant's strengths, this is not always the case. Some consumers do not allow product strengths in one area to compensate for deficiencies or weaknesses in other areas. Instead, consumers place more emphasis on individual attributes and in some cases develop minimum thresholds to use in evaluating products and services. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.04%3A_Customer_Decision_Cycle.txt |
In the hospitality setting, there is an additional perspective of the consumer, and potential consumer, that should always be remembered, considered and addressed as part of the service aspect of any concept - that of the guest. Not all customers frequent any restaurant concept on a weekly or monthly basis. As such, they are not ‘known’ to the operation in a personal sense. Every operation tends to pay special attention to those customers that frequent an establishment on a regular basis because that frequency will form the base for predictable regular sales. This is especially true for regular restaurant customers. Without question, they deserve the proper attention. However, an operation should not forget that every guest, even the patron who came to the concept by chance, is a potential regular guest. These individuals are the cultivation of future opportunities and growth. This writing would be remiss without a look at the different categories as well as the psychographic attitudes, interests, and opinions of the frequent customers, and those who customers you can convert to more frequent supporters of the operation or at the very least, verbal champions of your offerings and service.
The frequent guest
Greet regular customers by name - this is a wonderful opportunity for the operation to create a bond with this customer. A friendly 'how are you' that is not too familiar is also appreciated. If a guest now and then makes personal conversation when they arrive or during the meal, it is important to have a short conversation with the guest. If a conversation will cause neglect to other guests at that moment, service the waiting guest and then return for a pleasantry or two. If frequent guests have not been for a while, make it a point to tell them how glad you are to see them. To show your concern for them, it is very important that you remember the preferences of your regular guests - favorite entrees, drinks, or special food they prefer. For example, if the guests like seafood, make sure you call the availability to their attention. In sum, it is important that frequent guests feel they are receiving personal, preferential treatment. That treatment does not always have to be extravagant, - small personal touches that let that guest know they are remembered go a long way in building lasting relations. After all, why would customers who have experienced an enjoyable meal, personal service, and good conversation fail to return?
The occasional guest
While all customers should receive excellent service, the occasional guest will not receive the same treatment as frequent guests simply because they are not know personally. The operation will not know their names or preferences, and trying to gather such information at one seating would most certainly appear intrusive. The only way to show these guests how much you appreciate their patronage is by providing attentive and friendly service, and assistance with the menu offerings. The occasional customer should never have the impression that you are doing less for them or that they must wait longer than the frequent guest would wait. First class food and service is truly the only way to make a regular customer out of an occasional guest. You may not always be successful, but you should always make every effort - this guest might recommend your operation to an acquaintance who eventually will become a frequent guest. Occasional guests can and do serve a 'reference' role.
The tourist
Put yourself in the place of a tourist, and you can imagine how important it is to find friendly cooperation when dining away from home. Help with the menu is in most cases greatly appreciated. Assist with the selection of food and beverages and explain them as well as possible, especially when there is a language barrier. Recommend local delicacies and the proper beverages to enhance them. If a guest orders a beverage that does not compliment the food and insists on it, serve it without further comment. At times, travelers seek familiarity, even at those times when another choice would be more beneficial. When dealing with tourists, always keep in mind that the quality of your service affects the reputation your region enjoys in other parts of the country - and abroad. If you are a proficient ambassador, other tourists will be entering your door.
The handicapped guest
When dealing with physically or mentally handicapped guests, you must sensitively offer as much help as is needed without being patronizing or showing pity. Do not forget that a temporarily handicapped guest needs your help as well. A guest with an arm or a leg in a cast may be very grateful if you cater to their needs a bit. For instance, offer a chair so they can put their leg up; if an arm is in a cast, ask a guest if they need assistance in cutting the food. Seat guests in wheelchairs where they can easily reach the exit or restroom without having to maneuver between the furniture.
Blind guests, without escorts, should asked if they prefer assistance to a table. When the guest wishes to order, ask if they would like menu suggestions. Always mention the house specialties. Also, ask if they need any special dishes or utensils or if they would like the food prepared in a particular way, such as pre-cut.
You can be of great help to a guest with a speech problem if you take your time and do not interrupt, even when your intention is to help. Mentally handicapped guests usually come with an escort. If you feel they need special attention, ask the escort how you can be of assistance. In general, the best help for handicapped guests is to treat them as normally as possible.
Older guests
Older guests are always grateful when you help them with coats and seating. They typically appreciate seating at a quiet table. Never seat older guests near the air conditioner, or in a draft. When making menu suggestions, recommend lighter dishes and avoid spicy foods.
Small children
It is important to remember that children are consumers in addition to their parents. In many cases, they become key decision-makers in determining where the family will dine. Never take children for granted. Provide small children with a highchair or booster seat if they cannot reach the table. Give them the smallest flatware possible. Do not give knives to children under four. Glasses should be sturdy; replace stemware with tumblers. When taking the order, call the parents' attention to the children's menu. The parents have the final authority over what the children will order, and their wishes overrule those of the children.
Impatient children often become noisy and tend to fidget, which makes their parents nervous and disturbs guests at other tables. To avoid this problem, serve, the children as quickly as possible. A restaurant should always provide children with some in-house activity to keep their attention and make the meal more pleasant for their parents. Again, if the child enjoys the experience, they will be eager to return. In turn, if you satisfy the children, you will satisfy the parents, as well as all the other guests. The extra effort will be worth it. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.05%3A_The_Psychographic_Nature_of_the_Guest.txt |
A study of the potential customers available in a trading area is actually a study of the location and the potential customers. The primary questions you seek to address include “What is the 'description' of the potential customers available in a market?
Table 1.3 depicts the necessary customer demographic information to gather regarding a trading area. In essence, you are gathering information to help determine the appropriate way to segment groups of individuals.
In essence, you are gathering formation to determine the appropriate way to segment groups of individuals to target. You will use the demographic information you gather to define your 'approach' to the segment(s) you select to target with your restaurant concept. First, you define the potential customer base, and then, you identify the segments within that base that appear to be a good fit for your operational strengths.
Table: 1.3 Customer Study Inclusion
Population Size For at least a 3-mile radius. This represents a normal trading area for a restaurant.
Age Groups You may target one segment or multiple segments in a small city. This includes children, teens, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. Each have different characteristics. Include a psychographic definition for an age group
Male/Female Understand the percentage of each is important as each group has differing dining habits, and lifestyles that a restaurant must accommodate.
Income Disposable income is an important consideration. Income drives behavior and behavior translates into frequency. The foodservice industry typically functions on a 'nice' to have basis rather than as a 'need' to have. People must be able to afford your concept.
Single, married, household This figure can affect the distribution of restaurant traffic and how people will arrive at the restaurant - as a couple, a group of four, someone alone, and so forth. It will eventually speak to the table layout in your dining room.
Education Education speaks to the frequency of dining out. The higher the education, the more meals consumed away from home.
Occupation Education, income, occupation, tend to influence each other - blue collar and white-collar populations have different lifestyles and eating patterns.
Other relevant information Consider ethnic origins, regional differences and so forth, as these are other important factors. Customers must have an affinity for the cuisine the restaurant offers.
How can we match customer needs and preferences with a proper menu?” In essence, you are gathering formation to determine the appropriate way to segment groups of individuals. The demographic information you obtain will be useful to define your 'approach' to the segment(s) you select to target with your restaurant concept. First, you define the potential ‘customer base’ you identify the segments within that base that appear to be a good fit for your operational strengths.
You are conducting a feasibility study to predict the potential of a business using demographic, psychographic, marketing (city, state, and so forth), and personal knowledge, your own or others to determine 'who' you will target. The study should include a detailed discussion or summary of what you found concerning the following elements: (1) size of the population; (2) age groups; (3) male/female; (4) income; (5) single, married, household information; (6) education; (7) occupation; and (8) other relevant information. Use charts and graphs to condense information into more useable collectives. Also, include the sources for the information you obtain which helps to support the credibility and accuracy of your findings. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.06%3A_Defining_Customers__Where_to_Begin.txt |
Once the demographic numbers have been crunched, and psychographic faces has been placed on age groups, and generational inputs and differences are considered, the new foodservice operator is still faced with the difficult task of defining customers. Is there such a thing as a 'typical' customer? Is there some commonality among all customers? Research has been done in this area and a few common characteristics have been uncovered that help to illuminate the essence of a restaurant customer.
Personal opinion influences selection
When considering an evening out at a new restaurant, customers tend to rely primarily on information obtained from personal sources. They will ask the opinions of friends, relatives, and acquaintances they consider knowledgeable and trustworthy. If they must rely on strangers, they will seek out people who they think are familiar with the restaurant business such as restaurant critics, or hotel front-desk personnel or the concierge. Restaurants should attempt to affect positively those persons potential customers may contact. Larger cities have concierge associations that operators can host to create productive relationships with association members by letting them experience their restaurants so that accurate advice is available to hotel guests.
Post-purchase decision is key
Customers generally determine that a restaurant's food and service were great the following morning when they wake up and say "what a great meal we had last night." For a restaurant, that is as good as it gets. Restaurants provide experiences that are difficult to judge beforehand. All of a restaurant's first-time customers are taking a chance; they are there on a trial basis. If you give them excellent product and service that exceeds their expectations, chances are they will come back and tell their friends. If you fail to meet customers' expectations, they will generally not return - and they will tell their friends about the disappointing experience.
Price equals quality
Customers often use price as an indication of quality. Customers who enjoy fresh seafood and see a shrimp entree on the menu for \$6.75 may assume that it is a low quality, frozen product since fresh domestic shrimp are usually considerably higher in price. When a restaurant attempts to influence customers demand with price, take care to ensure that inaccurate consumer perceptions about the products' quality do not result. If an operation is not careful, it could accidentally give the impression that the restaurant is cheaper, or more expensive, than it really is.
Inform customers and reduce risk
Customers generally feel that they are taking some 'risk' before they purchase a meal in a restaurant. They cannot judge the evening a head of time so it is natural that they are somewhat apprehensive - at least until they get to know your operation and are comfortable with the servers. It is paramount that a new restaurant be sensitive to the ‘customers' initial feelings because so many people eat out in groups, with family, friends, business contacts, clients, and so forth. If a customer wants to impress their associates or business clients, they will generally take them to a favored restaurant they have visited often. If your restaurant is one of these operations, it will enjoy this type of loyalty. This is the strongest type of loyalty a restaurant can achieve. Not only does the customer return, you stand to garner his or her circle of friends and associates which in turn leverages the restaurants sales revenue.
Customers complain
Customers have a tendency to blame themselves when they are dissatisfied with a meal. A person who orders a seafood gumbo for the first time at a new restaurant may be disappointed with the dish but not complain because he blames himself for the poor menu choice. He loves the way his favorite restaurant fixes the dish and thinks he should have known that the new restaurant would be unable to prepare it the same way. When the server asks how everything was, he replied, "okay."
Employees must be sensitive to the fact that many dissatisfied customers may not complain. They should be alert to potential sources of guest dissatisfaction so they can address them quickly. In this particular case, the food server should have noticed that the guest was not eating the meal with pleasure and should indicate that the restaurant would be happy to replace the dish with an alternative that could be prepared and brought out quickly. This is a clear opportunity to impress the guest - always take it. Thus, a negative and be transformed into a positive because most of the time the guest will decline your offer. However, points accrue with the guest, who will appreciate the gesture - and win you another chance for their patronage.
Negatives are opportunities in disguise
I recently brought a business associate to lunch at a restaurant I have enjoyed for years. While it had never happened before, both of our menu selections were inaccurate. Upon placing the plates on the table, the waiter looked carefully, and to his dismay, noticed the problem. To his credit, his reaction was instant - "I 'm sorry, this is not correct." Before I could speak, he had whisked the plates from the table and taken them back to the kitchen. I assume he would return with the proper order. To my surprise, the correct order did return quickly to the table, carried by the restaurant manager - followed by the writer. The manager conveyed his apology and asked if he could do anything to "overcome this inconvenience we created for you?" I thanked him for the quick response and assured him that the problem was resolved. At that moment several things had occurred. First, I never got a change to complain - the waiter did that for me. Second, the attentive waiter acted immediately - on his own. Third, the manager understood the opportunity and acted on it. If things remained unsettled with the new meals, he was personally ready to respond to any dissatisfaction. In the end, the actions of the restaurant created a situation that dispelled the problem entirely. Finally, the restaurant, based on the meal and the actions of the restaurant, gained another customer - my guest was as impressed as I was and could not stop talking about what happened and what the restaurant did to make sure we enjoyed our meal. Customer satisfaction results by attacking problems with opportunistic responses. It is that simple. You could also consider the cost of replacing a meal versus the cost of replacing a customer. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.07%3A_The_Customer_across_Considerations..txt |
Customer and Competitive Analysis Exercise \(1\)
1. Introductory paragraph
2. Complete demographic information on the population in the area.
3. Based on this information, an estimate of overall market demand.
4. Direct and indirect competitor information: prices, hours of operation, size, menu type, other characteristics of the competitor.
5. The potential for new entrants in the area.
Example
City and Customer Analysis
Location: Seattle, WA
Introduction- Why this location?
The city of Seattle aspires me to grow and better myself as a chef along with starting my own business up to my moral standards. This city is the ideal location for me to find inspiration for my menu choices because of my love for seafood and farmer’s markets. Here is a fun fact from multiple online sources stating, “Seattle is ranked the most literate city in the country, with the highest percentage of residents with a college degree or higher.” For the sake of not giving my hopes up and to actually succeed in Seattle, extensive research on being aware of the demographics and their wants is an important step. I will point out facts on my future potential customers.
Demographics
The citizens of Seattle will be my paychecks and future income, so it is necessary to know facts on the people. Many questions should be answered before going into further decisions on the kind of business to attain, such as: population growth and how it compares to employment, average income and how many stable home owners there are, and the age groups and how to market towards them? Below are listed facts and visuals that I have gathered from www.seattle.gov online:
2010 Census estimates for Seattle:
• 2010 population count: 608,660
• Population in households: 583,735
• Number of households: 283,510
• Average household size: 2.06
• Average family size: 2.87
• Population in group quarters: 24,925
Economic Characteristics:
• Population in labor force: 383,688
• Median household income:
• \$63,470 Per capita income: \$42,369
Housing Characteristics:
• Owner-occupied homes: 135,156
• Median value of homes: \$441,000
Jobs: “A positive relationship between government and businesses is important to the well-being of Seattle. By working with financial institutions and the business community, we are able to encourage small business start-ups and their growth. Our Plan recognizes that small businesses such as artists and restaurants make a significant contribution to the culture and character of the city and seeks to ensure that their businesses have the opportunity to thrive.”— 2035.seattle.gov
Age: In 2010, nearly three-quarters of Seattle residents were adults between 18 and 64 years of age, with an especially high concentration of young adults (age 25 to 34). The highest rates of population growth between 2000 and 2010 were for children under five and adults age 55 to 64.
From my extensive research on the people of Seattle, I’ve grown more confident that my kind of business can succeed in this city’s community. The data given clearly shows that Seattle is still an upcoming city with educated, thriving, and economically balanced demographics. All of this gained knowledge will allow me to dig deeper into the psychographics that explain the attitudes and interests of Seattle’s people. The next step will give my business focus points of hard decisions that shall be made to satisfy the customers.
Psychographics
The general lifestyle of the people in Seattle was what drawn me to choose this city. My older brother moved to Seattle after he graduated with a Ph.D. from med-school and now lives with his boyfriend and his dog in a studio apartment. As my brother and his boyfriend being my personal source to Seattle, I was able to know what specific details I needed to look for in my research. The red rectangle area on the map is the detailed origin of researched psychographics
Examples:
Young Digerati: Wealthy Middle Age Family Mix
• Tech-savvy and live in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe. Affluent and highly educated, Young Digerati communities are typically filled with trendy apartments and condos, fitness clubs and clothing boutiques, casual restaurants and all types of bars, from juice to coffee to microbrew. Many have chosen to start families while remaining in an urban environment
Money & Brains: Upscale Older Mostly w/o Kids
• The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all - high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots with expensive cars in the driveway.
Urban Elders: Midscale Middle Age Mostly w/o Kids
• Urban Elders, a segment located in the downtown neighborhoods of such metros as New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Miami, are more likely to be renters than other households in their age cohort. They enjoy the cultural options available to them in their communities, frequently attending musical performances and other live events.
The Cosmopolitans: Midscale Middle Age Mostly w/o Kids
• Educated and upscale, The Cosmopolitans are urbane couples in America's fast-growing cities. Concentrated in major metro areas, these households feature older homeowners without children. A vibrant social scene surrounds their older homes and apartments, and residents love the nightlife and enjoy leisure-intensive lifestyles.
Connected Bohemians: Midscale Younger Mostly w/o Kids
• A collection of mobile urbanites, ‘Connected Bohemians’ represent the nation's most liberal lifestyles. Its residents are a progressive mix of tech-savvy, young singles, couples, and families ranging from students to professionals. In their funky row houses and apartments, Bohemian Mixers are the early adopters who are quick to check out the latest movie, nightclub, laptop, and microbrew.
TOURISM: (Washington State’s 4th-largest industry)
Year Total Overnight Seattle/King Co. Visitors Total Seattle/King Co. Visitor Expenditures
2014 19.2 Million
2013 18.69 Million \$6.0 Billion
2012 18 Million \$5.6 Billion
Summary - What is the "description" of the potential market?
The conducted research formed my feasibility study to conclude that I am more confident as ever in my future and career as a chef. Throughout the demographic surveys collected, I admit that I am astonished by how content I am with all the facts that I have discovered. Along with my gain of personal knowledge about the city, Seattle is looking like my next step. This data collection is only the first step to a long process of realization of what business will meet my desires as well as those of the community.
In conclusion, my potential market is best described as profitable in my eyes because of their choices in life to keep on improving and the constant look for someone new to enjoy. Since I also share similar lifestyles as those in Seattle, I keep finding more answers on why the city would be great for my own chance to build happiness. It is important to me as a person and a chef to be inspired by local resources for the best chance at success. The information I have gathered on how Seattle grows together in success as a community gives me assurance that this city is the right fit to bring my culinary ambitions and ideas into action.
Works Cited List all references – this bolsters your work by indicating you did your research.
Discussion Questions \(2\)
1. What are demographics?
2. What is a demographic profile?
3. Where can you find demographic data?
4. What are psychographic and why are they important to a foodservice operation? How do they differ from demographics?
5. What is the importance in knowing your customer’s ‘lifestyle’?
6. What are the ‘internal influences’ affecting consumer decisions?
7. What is the importance of a customer’s ‘post-purchase’ evaluation to a foodservice operation?
8. What are the major elements to consider when conducting a customer study?
9. When considering generational differences, which element is the most important – demographic or psychographic information? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/02%3A_The_Customer/2.08%3A_Classroom_Preparation_Assignments.txt |
Glossary
Existing development. An operation with an ‘in place’ restaurant concept, theme, menu, facility design, aligned suppliers, and so on. The entire package enters a marketplace - the method utilized by established chain operations.
Market Design. The location determines the concept, menu, facility, and suppliers, which the restauranteur tailors to fulfill the needs and wants of the target market that resides in that trading area. If there are several target markets in a trading area, it is vital that that the operation determine which ones best match the strengths of restaurant - especially in the areas of food and service.
Demographics. The statistical characteristics of human populations in a specific geographical area. Demographics are useful to identify the study of quantifiable subsets within a given population, which characterize that population at a specific point in time. Themes such as the number of people (adults, children, other), ages, mobility, or lack of mobility, gender, income levels, education, ethnicity, employment status, and housing are related to the eating-out and drinking-out behavior of consumers.
Psychographics. The study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Because this area of research focuses on attitudes, interests, and opinions, (or AIO psychographic factors). They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and organizational demographics variables (sometimes called firmographic variables), such as industry, number of employees, and functional area.
Generational differences. Historical generations may be defined both by demographics, such as the years in which a particular generation is born, but also by psychographic variables like attitudes, personality formation, and cultural touchstones.
Consumer decision cycle. This cycle indicates five key elements in the decision-making cycle: problem recognition - the foodservice need; the information search to address the need, evaluation of alternatives, the purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation. The particular trading area and its consumer and market conditions influences each element in the decision-process.
Notes
Howe, Neil; Strauss, William (1991). Generations: The History of Americas Future, 1584 to 2069. New York: William Morrow. pp. 299–316.
Green, Brent (2006). Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions. New York: Paramount Market Publishing. pp. 4–5.
Chosewood, L. Casey (July 19, 2012). "Safer and Healthier at Any Age: Strategies for an Aging Workforce". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
Schuman, H. and Scott, J. (1989), Generations and collective memories, American Sociological Review, vol. 54 (3), 1989, pp. 359–81.
Miller, Jon (Fall 2011). The Generation X Report: Active, Balanced, and Happy. Longitudinal Study of American Youth – University Of Michigan. p. 1. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
Isabel Sawhill, Ph.D; John E. Morton (2007). "Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
Steuerle, Eugene; Signe-Mary McKernan; Caroline Ratcliffe; Sisi Zhang (2013). "Lost Generations? Wealth Building among Young Americans. Urban Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
Beutler, Brian (2016-09-20). "Don't Blame Millennials for This Scarily Close Election. Blame Baby Boomers. New Republic. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
Metcalf, Stephen (1 May 2016). "Donald Trump, Baby Boomer". Slate. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
Klara, Robert (4 April 2016). "5 Reasons Marketers Have Largely Overlooked Generation X". Adweek. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
Coupland, Doug. "Generation X." Vista, 1989.
"Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America's largest generation". Pew Research. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
Badtram, Gene. "Working Together: Four Generations". Enterprise Management Development Academy (EMDA). Retrieved 18 June 2016.
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Chapter 3 Learning Objectives
• Understanding a restaurant as a ‘living’ entity.
• Gain a working knowledge regarding customer evaluation.
• Understanding competitor diversity
• Understand the different types of competitors.
• Understanding the criteria to evaluate a competitor.
• Understand the importance of a competitor’s age.
• Understand the different ‘types’ of competitors.
• Learning to evaluate successful competitors.
• Learning how to evaluate the strength and weakness of a competitive environment.
• Understanding the competition evaluation criteria.
• Learning how to research your competition.
“The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.”
Colin Powell
“But anybody who steps into the lane beside you is the biggest competition because they made it to the finals.”
Usain Bolt
“It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better.”
Gianni Versace
Competition
The most important overarching theme a new entrant competitor needs to comprehend clearly is what it is that you are actually evaluating. First, competitors can disappoint their customers over time with poor or inconsistent food or service, aging facilities that look un-kept, a lack of imagination, or cleanliness, and so forth. In such cases that will, through their inability to provide for their customers, sent business to you.
On the other hand, operations can flourish through excellent food and service, pristine surroundings, an inviting physical environment - and a consistently fresh attitude where their customers are concerned. Such foodservice operations build barriers for their competition. When dealing with a perceptive competitor, you must market and pry customers away from them - because they give their customers no reason to leave or explore other operations. They set the bar high and defy your attempts to lure customers away.
The food and beverage industry is highly competitive both within and across dining segments. Whether the foodservice facility is a corporate or single-owner entity, an inability to constantly observe and negotiate the competitive terrain which quick reaction is most certainly a prelude to failure. Competitive intelligence can make the difference between being a leader in your trading area segment, or a follower. Said differently, proactive operations have higher success chances than operations that react to competitive occurrences in the marketplace.
The Living Aspect of Restaurants
Most restaurants are comparable to the human life cycle in terms of age and attention. They undergo a birth of the concept, a growth pattern, after five to ten years they reach maturity, the onset of senescence, and ultimately demise if the concept does not rejuvenate. Along this same line of thinking, think of human growth from the 'attention needed' perspective. At birth, a child requires virtually most of your attention, less but still an adequate amount of attention as it as it matures, to the point where, in old age, it requires a significant amount of attention again. Restaurants and concepts parallel this scenario. There is no mystery about the life cycle of restaurants, nor is there any absolute inevitability about a restaurant's senescence. Unlike human beings, restaurants can be ‘revived’ periodically.
Restaurant decline
A major reason restaurants decline over time is the changing demographics of the area in which it is located. Areas rise and fall and the restaurants within them are likely to follow the fate of the trading area. Fashions change, the colors and textures that are popular today fall out of favor as younger up and coming customers search for something new and exciting. Top- management ages, and the aging process influences operational decisions. They can engage in 'superstitious' learning, continuing actions and ways of making decisions that maintain the status quo - they do what worked until it works no longer. When they search for 'problems' to fix - in truth their focus is not the ‘problem’ that ails them. In reality, it is something they did correctly in the past that they continued to embrace for too long. The restaurant concept that excited the public when it first appeared becomes tired after several years, its power faded as newer concepts become available in the same community. Menus that were innovative at one time become no longer appealing.
Restaurant design and buildings that were novel and attractive when new lose their luster when compared with new, larger, more expensive designs. Over time, the cost of entry into a market place has risen, especially for a luxury venue. In the 1960"s a few hundred thousand dollars was enough to produce an imposing restaurant facility which, by the mid 1970's looked fairly uninteresting compared with restaurants with investments of one million dollars or more. The current bar is substantially higher for a large city luxury venue designed to attract an affluent clientele.
Fresh concept development has historically been an important issue in the restaurant industry, but in the twenty-first century, it is more vital than ever as restaurant rows are rising up in almost every community. Restaurant clusters today include family restaurants, luxury restaurants, and a whole variety of casual themes and fast food (QSR) restaurants as well. The old line of thinking was that restaurants compete among their business segment, but when one examines 'who' is located next door, it appears clear that the competition for consumer food dollars spans concepts and the QSR, casual, and fine-dining genres. A soon as a restaurant format begins to become stale, it must rejuvenate. Nearly every major chain operation is constantly undergoing renovation. They add color, changing its seating arrangements, perhaps adding garden tables, hanging plants, private booths, more current equipment based on the new technology of the day. The menu variety expands including more healthy menu options, dining personnel use different uniforms, and the expansion of products that make menu boards difficult to decipher thus moving the ordering of food in a restaurant closer to a form of 'rocket science' that can frustrate customers. After all, the primary goal is to 'counter the competition' which often occurs at the expense of 'considering the customer.'
New concept advice
When coming up with a concept for a new restaurant, do not be afraid to gather ideas from existing concepts in the market place. If you look carefully, you will notice that many similarities exist across concepts. Examine what you consider to be their strong points; look for their weak points; find a format with a successful track- record. Evaluate the entire 'system' of a known concept - then improve on that system.
Generally, there is no such thing as a completely new restaurant concept. There are only modifications and changes, new combinations, changes in design, layout, menu, and service. Consider the prudence of this advice as it relates to custom actions. People patronize what is familiar to them - they are excited about seeing a new perspective on a proven system. The style of service may be drawn from one, the method of food preparation from another, the menu could be a 'fusion' of ideas or cuisines, or, a combination of several successful operations plus one or two items that represent modifications in preparation, presentation, and service. The pricing policy could be similar to other pricing policies - policies well received by the consumers of the trading area. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.01%3A_The_Living_Aspect_of_Restaurant.txt |
When analyzing competitors, it is important to determine the total amount of food service dollars’ currently spent by customers in your trading area. These data are invaluable and provide an idea of how much money there is available to food service operations as a collective. This analysis will indirectly indicate how hard the operation must fight to protect and increase its portion of the marketplace. These numbers are typically available from various suppliers to your operation such as food or beverage suppliers, local restaurant association, or the place that most restaurant operators would never think to inquire - the local sales tax official. Sales tax information is a matter of public record.
Evaluating your competitors
The most important overarching theme a new entrant competitor needs to comprehend clearly is what it is that you are actually evaluating. First, competitors can disappoint their customers over time with poor or inconsistent food or service, aging facilities that look un-kept, a lack of imagination, or cleanliness, and so forth. In such cases that will, through their inability to provide for their customers, sent business to you.
On the other hand, operations can flourish through excellent food and service, pristine surroundings, an inviting physical environment - and a consistently fresh attitude where their customers are concerned. Such foodservice operations build barriers for their competition. When dealing with a perceptive competitor, you must market and pry customers away from them - because they give their customers no reason to leave or explore other operations. They set the bar high and defy your attempts to lure customers away. Figure 2.2 contains important themes by which potential or existing competitors can compare and contrast to each other, as well as your operation's strengths and weaknesses.
General Evaluation
A good place to start would be the telephone book or Website for the marketplace. This will give you an idea of the number of competitors in each restaurant segment (QSR, casual, fine dining, and so forth). Another good source for competitor information is a city's Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's function is to make known all businesses in the community so do not expect them to provide you with an evaluation of different operations. They will acknowledge the existence of, but not a quality comparison. Observe the restaurant operations that are similar to your concept and gauge their marketing effectiveness and number of clientele during different meal periods. A time effective and efficient method of gathering relevant information is to 'mystery-shop' the competition to determine their strengths and weaknesses and whether or not they pose a threat to your concept. Figure 2.2 contains important themes by which potential or existing competitors compare and contrast to each other and your operation's strengths and weaknesses.
Another effective way to determine the approximate sales of a competitive operation would be to sit in the parking lot and do customer counts during various meal periods over a few days, arrive at an average check amount by bundling say an appetizer, entree and dessert from their menu and simply do the math. This can be time consuming, but prior to opening your operation a new entrant is essentially invisible to potential competition. You can speak with servers in the dining room, sample food, and gather impressions from other customers from conversation. Additionally, one can observe 'who' their customers are in terms of age, financial position, couples, families, and so forth. Observation is powerful and telling if well structured.
Age of the competitor
Understanding how long a competitor has been operating in a marketplace is another important consideration that needs evaluation. Typically, over time, a restaurant will proceed down one of two paths. The first path leads to ongoing success through customer connections with birthdays, anniversaries, meals with loved ones who have passed on - in short, a repository of wonderful memories of times experienced and offerings that have achieved the term 'comfort food.' This occurs over some years or over generations in some cases. Beware of these operations, you are not simply dealing with another restaurant, you are facing an 'institution' in the community, which can be a formidable task that takes a healthy amount of consideration.
Number of restaurants in a Trading Area
This includes the overall number of restaurants in the marketplace as well as the restaurants you compete against on a daily basis. It is important to remember that a trading area has a finite amount of disposable income for food service and the number of competitors available to customers will dilute the share of that potential revenue to your operation. Markets can over-saturate or, become under-served - you must be aware of which scenario exists.
Diversity of competitors
Think about the different restaurant marketplace groupings. For, example, what about the ethnic breakdown? How many, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Soul, Cuban are available to the public? Is there a void that your concept could fill? What about price diversity? Can you group restaurants by price points? Service is another area of importance. What are the different types and levels of service offered in the marketplace?
Types of Competitors
There are two basic types of competitors - both are important to know. The first type are 'direct' competitors, foodservice operations that are after the same customer, have similar types of menu, level of service, and are within plus or minus 15% of your pricing. The second type are the "indirect’ competitors who sell food and beverage but are not usually going after the same type of guest. For example, a fine-dining restaurant is an indirect customer for a quick service restaurant (QSR) like Burger King - and likewise from the perspective of the QSR operation. Remember, the importance of knowing all of your competitors lies in the quantification of disposable income - there is only so much and everyone wants a portion.
Entry barriers to the marketplace
A competitor can place or cause different types of barriers for your operation to overcome as a cost of entry into the marketplace. A physical barrier could be a prime location in an area with limited parking, or well a well-lighted parking area adjacent to the restaurant - the only close lot on the block. Physically, your operation could stall because there is no available location in the exact area you need to service the trading area. Emotional barriers such as generational barriers - habits, memories and good
times remembered. A competitor's strong service component could be difficult to replicate in a known trading area. The core competencies and competitive methods of your competitors can come together to present obstacles to your operation. This is another important reason why visiting the competition is a vital to assessing their capabilities. When any new operation enters a marketplace, there will be a reaction to the new competitor. Knowing this, take the time beforehand to evaluate your competitors to understand what capabilities they have to react to your entry into the market in a way that could be hurtful to you.
Another barrier could come in the form of licensing such as a liquor license. How easy or difficult is it to obtain one? Learn in advance. If licenses are scarce and you are lucky enough to have one, you may be able to relax just a bit - but not too much! A potential competitor aware of the issue may request an exemption prior to opening. Licensing is often a moving target - and not to taken for granted as a certainty or uncertainty by any competitor.
Successful competitors
Pay special attention to competitors who are obviously successful. What can you learn from them and implement in your own operation? It is a good idea to 'benchmark' the competition. Benchmarking is the process of determining ‘who is the best’, say, in terms of service level, value, food quality, and variety of menu offerings. Who is setting the standard in the marketplace? What is the standard? Can your operation emulate that standard? If you are aware of where the bar sits prior to opening your operation, you can plan strategies that help you reach or surpass that standard. You should determine how that ‘best’ status came about, and determine what you need to do in your operation to gain that status. If you do not know what the standard is, you cannot measure your operation and thus improve your standing.
Reality should always drive your operational goals. First, the goal is never to be the best. To be the best, you must first learn exactly what it is that you can master. Thus, you can only be the best at things you do extremely well. Extremely well is the most accurate way to state that proposition. Think of it all this way: does a customer ever look forward to a bad meal? No, the minimum expectation is a 'good' meal and as such, the minimum stand acceptable to your operation must be at a higher level than ‘good’. Good only suffices - it never inspires. 'Good' as a standard is what a strong competitor is hoping you see as an everyday requirement from your staff.
Affiliation of competitors
Affiliation can denote strength or weakness - sometimes where you might least expect it to appear. For instance, if there are quite a few chain operators, they can typically hold out a long time in a tough competitive market. Nevertheless, chinks in the armor do in fact exist. Chain operators are generally financially strong but lack the flexibility to make menu changes or pricing adjustments. Chain operators, then, are the keeper of the status quo. The products offered are the same from one geographical region to another which does not always please all of the customers all of the time. Chain operations are a bit like government. When democrats and republicans argue their respective positions, normally everyone get a little but no one gets everything they either want or need. They are often sitting ducks for an operation with consistently good innovative food and service.
Independents do have strength
The independent restaurateur does not usually have the financial strength of the larger chain operators which leaves them in danger during poor economic times are from threats launched by their larger counterparts. Additionally, their operational strengths are typically lacking in areas such as management, cost structures, menu engineering, and environmental scanning. However, a well-informed independent can overpower a larger operation by playing to strengths that are un-encumbered by corporation ideologies. They can change, re-direct, and produce products tailored to their clientele. New York City is a perfect example of a major city with fewer chain operators than a small community because of the large number of generational small operations that abound and offer eclectic food tailored to their neighborhoods and community. Chains lack the flexibility and discerning quality to compete in that form of arena. Thus, the message is simple, do not fear your competition, but equally, do not fail to assess their strengths and weakness - and the marketplace itself.
Competitor marketing strategies
These strategies focus on the seven basic principles of hospitality marketing. All competitors in one way or another manipulate these principles commonly referred to as the 'marketing mix' of an operation. Price: the dollar amount you place on your products. When combined with the other principles, it denotes a certain value that should be consistent with the perceived value the target audience places on your products and services. Product: This includes your menu items as well as any other products and services that you buy, prepare, or sell to your clientele. Promotion: This is the overall message you relay to your target market, including advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, and public relations efforts. Place: This includes the location of your restaurant, the surrounding neighborhood, and its accessibility and visibility. Process: This consists of the way in which you deliver your service. Do you have a wait staff? Do you utilize a buffet? Do customers get their own soft drinks? How do you handle take-out orders? Do your servers prepare items such as desserts in the dining room? Participants: the people you want to participate in your operation. You choose them. They are your customers, employees, and other stakeholders, such as purveyors and other outside service providers. Physical evidence: Your physical facilities create a particular atmosphere. They provide tangible clues to the customer. For instance, the exterior appearance can denote a casual restaurant. It can also send a message regarding who is welcome and who is not. A neat and clean dining room provides the customer with evidence of a well-managed restaurant.
The first four are the traditional principles developed for marketing all tangible products. The other three are unique to restaurants. Managers often think of marketing and advertising as the same thing. However, advertising is just one form of promotion, which in turn is just one element of the marketing mix. Depending on the situation, an operation may not even use advertising in their mix. While all of the marketing principles are interrelated, the marketing mix is normally unique to the type of restaurant segment. For example, the mix needed for a successful quick-service restaurant will differ significantly from the one used by an upscale steak or seafood operation.
Differentiation is important, but eventually emulation of your innovations by your competition will occur. Thus, an operation cannot become stagnant in its marketing efforts. The key is to create a ‘differentiation’ strategy that renders you unique. It is impossible to copy uniqueness.
The best way to tell which of your competitors are ‘winners’ is to look at as many competitors as possible. When you can observe the collective marketing schemes of the trading area and identify positive results, you can formulate a productive plan regarding what to do, and of greater importance, what not to do.
Signature items
What are their main moneymakers? Can you match them or do improve on them? If you intend to copy a product made popular by a competitor make sure that it is as good as, or better, that the original product. Consumers will judge your product by the taste profile of the original product - and customers must perceive the new product to be a better value.
Competitors' strengths and weaknesses
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors' is almost as vital as understanding your own core competencies and vulnerable areas. Always play to your strengths and always be shoring up your weaknesses. For any operator the first step toward success begins with the ability to honestly assess where you and your operation stand - what do ‘we’ and ‘others’ do really well, and what would make us a better company.
Do not try to go head to head with a competitor who is especially skilled in particular aspects of foodservice operations. Until your company becomes established, avoid competitors who know how to hold up well in a murderous competitive environment. Better to let those types of opportunities go by the wayside. It would be more profitable in the end to stake out a trading area where you can grow unencumbered and establish your concept, your operation, and yourself and partners where applicable. Initially, try to compete against those who are reluctant to challenge you. Build your brand before you clash with established operations.
Market niches - any available?
Are there any market niches vacant in the trading area? This is a way to eliminate head-to-head confrontations with established competitors. Is there a valid reason why no one is offering a certain type of menu - or is this an opportunity waiting to be explored?
Competitor stability
Are foodservice operations constantly opening and closing in the marketplace, or is the area stable? Either way you need to be on the right side of this kind of cycle. An un-stable competitive environment usually indicates there is no compelling reason for guests to visit the local restaurants. If so, evaluate what you might do to avoid this situation. To compete you will have to do something to stand out, something that compels customers to visit you consistently. If possible, try to focus on one or two competitors' life cycles. How did they start? How was the pre-opening marketing, and initial customer contact handled? What significant changes did they make along the way? If they went out of business, was it because of operational difficulties or uncontrollable events such as a major rent increase?
In sum, evaluate the path of the failed operation and avoid their errors. When an operation enters a market place, all customers' know about the company is the image and actions presented to them. All positives equal a positive impression. A problem a customer does not see is not a problem. You will generally not lose clientele because of it. If a difficulty reaches the customer, you must always act immediately to correct the issue because a problem equals reduced value in the mind of the consumer and value is what prompts continuous return customer to your operation. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.02%3A_Understand_Your_Competitors.txt |
Competitors – where to begin
Having a clear knowledge of competitor tactics in a trading area, and marketplace in general, along with their strengths, and the opportunities any competitive weaknesses might present to you is one of the most important form of analysis that any new operation should engage in. Choices will have to be made regarding ‘who’ you intend to compete against and the more you really know about what a competitor does well and where weaknesses lie will help you to position your operation for success.
Weaknesses in Hospitality
Among the general weaknesses that habitually surface in foodservice operation, and as such should be included in the criteria by which you evaluate your trading area competitors, include:
• Location
• Areas served
• Facilities
• Amenities
• Poor price/ value perception
• Poor brand/image
• Poor reputation
• Poor or incorrect positioning
• Weak or lacking human resource talent
• Low financial resources
• Inadequate or dated technological resources
• Little repeat business
Ninety-five percent of all new restaurants cease doing business within two to five years of operation. The following are some of the reasons why they were doomed from the start.
Location and Areas Served
Finding the right location is one of the most important steps to building a successful foodservice operation. Convenience is a key aspect that drives consumer actions. Something as simple as being on the wrong side of the road, the outbound lane for example, when breakfast sales are a point of concentration, the inbound lane when its dinner customers you intend to attract. Consumers travel certain paths to complete the requirements of their day. Is the speed limit slow enough (40 miles per hour or less) to allow them to see your signage and safely into your parking lot? If you are, say, two blocks off a major thoroughfare where consumers go to shop, what will cause them to leave that path to visit your restaurant? In turn, what will you do to cause that change? To effectively market some individuals you would need to know where they reside (could be a different city) and their interests.
Being near one type of customer can leave you distant from another without a strong marketing plan. Consider a casual restaurant located among streets of medical offices and a large hospital. While this may prove to be a wonderful location for breakfast and lunch sales, the situation drastically changes when the neighborhood becomes empty when the offices close in the late afternoon. What will you do to attract dinner sales? A location needs to be viable in the present as well as the future. If the operation intends to attract customers during multiple day parts, the location must be viable for those times of day. A location is more than a building. It is also convenience and accessibility.
When McDonald's began to grow, they clearly defined children as a primary market segment. As such, they build restaurants in neighborhoods with children. Initially, the closeness to families was a major asset but in time things changed. They realized that their strategic location strategy was flawed. In five years, children grew and moved away leaving the company with facilities located in areas with little to none of the market when needed to attract. How do they position their current locations?
Facilities
The facility must be attractive and inviting to the consumer in some way. Elaborate building is typically not the answer. Quaint, quirky, modern, simple elegance, warmth, and so forth are all themes that attract customers. One important way to think about a facility as part of an overall scheme is to view it as a place of 'transition' for the customer. In the morning, the consumer is moving from sleep to activity and typically, the mood needs to be relaxing yet upbeat to transition them into the morning. For lunch, consumers are normally facing time constraints as they transition into the afternoon. In the evening, the customer is winding down from lunch the mood and a more relaxed pace is best for this day part. The service and mood of the restaurant facility in terms of lightings, sounds, and so forth should contribute to a calmer environment as the customers puts the tediousness of the day behind.
Amenities
An amenity is something that enhances the customers' comfort, convenience, or enjoyment. In a restaurant, an amenity could be mood lighting, seating with a wonderful view, free Wi-Fi and Internet service, amusements for children, and so forth. Physically, amenities could also include the attractiveness and value of area surrounding the restaurant or the actual restaurant structure itself. From a more aesthetic and subjective perspective, amenities can exist in a non-physical sense such as pleasant and agreeable service interaction. Attention, courtesy, pleasantry, and politeness are amenities in our field. As such, a memorable service experience is an amenity that all operations would like to offer to their clientele.
Poor Price / Value Perception
Most consumers are aware that 'something for nothing' is closer to be being a myth than a proverb. Thus, sandwich shops seek to be the home of the best 'over-stuffed' sandwich in town and customers arriving at restaurant are thrilled to see other customers leaving with 'to go' boxes, or 'doggie' bags. Excess is always associated with value in the mind of the twenty-first century customer. Of course, good food at a reasonable price is also value. A restaurant that offers fresh, well-prepared products that are grown or harvested from some other locale is also a valuable consideration - even at a higher price if price and value are reconciled.
Typically, restaurants within the same business segment should be relatively close in terms of price unless the reasons for a higher price are visible and believed justifiable to the consumer. If the customer does not perceive a legitimate justification for what they are paying in comparison to what they receive - value immediately becomes the issue that drives thee consumers away from a return visit. A lack of value rarely received a second change from cost conscious consumers. How would you rate your competitors?
Poor Brand / Image
A 'brand' is a name of a product or entity, or even an attribute that makes consumers feel a certain affinity for something or someone. Visual elements usually link to a name and that name is associated with and infers quality, value, youth, elegance, entertainment, and so forth. Another word that associates well with 'brand' or 'image' is reputation.
Sadly, not all foodservice operations establish endearing thoughts when you hear their name or see their facility and logo. However, it is not the fault of the consumer. They gave the restaurant the benefit of the doubt from the start. Every restaurant begins with a positive image. A poor image is something a restaurant acquires based on its actions - they control their image. A poor image is nothing more than the customers' reaction to poor performance by the restaurant.
Poor / Incorrect Positioning
Positioning refers to creating an image that the consumer visualizes when they hear your name, see your facility, or marketing. What the customer visualizes is your 'position' in terms of value, quality, current relevance, or numerous other attributes that individuals use to group and compare different people and places. To arrive at a positioning strategy, the restaurant must be able to describe a typical customer. Who are our customers and what do they want or need us to provide? What do they think of us now? Is it what we want them to think? What can we do to change what they think? What did we want to promote about our company? What should our marketing and promotions convey? These are some of the questions a company might address to arrive at, maintain, or repair a market image, or 'position' the consumer to think a certain way about the restaurant.
Weak or lacking human resources
One of the elements that makes a restaurant successful is a qualified labor pool. Typically, the acquisition of qualified workers become an after construction 'taken-for-granted' - a point of concern when needed but seldom considered from the planning stage. Labor positively, or negatively, affects a foodservice operation in four main ways. The obvious first way would include the production of the menu. The menu is useless without the eye-hand coordination and cooking skills necessary to bring it to fruition. Does a skilled labor pool exist within the trading area in question?
Secondly, without the proper personnel, the service aspect of your operation will generally fall short of the mark. Customer interaction is one of the most important roles and personality is only teachable to some extent. Good service staff understand when to approach the table and when to keep space between themselves and the customer. They understand people and situations alike.
The third reason for the importance of a qualified labor force is that they are the individuals who interact with the customer. They are both face and communication with the consumers with whom you wish to attract to your operation, and establish lasting relationships. The importance of communication is two-fold. Your employees transfer specifically selected information that you wish to convey to the consumer and equally, they also gather information 'about' the consumer that the operation needs to have on hand to evaluate its customer base, and to personalize the service intended.
The fourth way qualified labor aids the restaurant operation is in the form of efficiency. Efficient operation in terms of preparation, waste, the ability to multi-task, and the speed of task accomplishment are vital elements of successful foodservice - an extremely labor-intense industry.
Low financial resources
Financing the operation extends well beyond the facility, equipment, and staffing. The operation must have adequate funds available to be viable until customers become familiar with the operation and sales exceed costs into profitability. This involves an additional expenditure – execution of the marketing plan and advertising the business to acquire the aforementioned customers. One of the most frequent mistakes made by new businesses is undercapitalizing daily operation costs and thus the ability sustain marketing efforts. There is an old adage: “if you build it they will come” in food service this is true if to things are true. First, they have to know you are there. Second, they have to have a reason to try your concept. It takes funding to convey both messages.
Inadequate or dated technological resources
It is important to utilize the most current technology affordable. Technology can be a ‘competitive method’ and an edge in ‘efficiency’ allowing for lower costs and pricing than your competitors. Older competitors generally utilize older technology. As a new business, this can be advantageous to positioning your concept as both ‘value’ and affordability in the eyes of consumers. An additional benefit can come in the form of lower maintenance and replacement costs
Little repeat business
Something is affecting the customer’s decision to return. From the broad perspective, segmentation and positioning needs a critical look. Pricing may be an issue that bears examination. Another factor is the price and value relationship. Service may also be the key to unraveling the dilemma. When customers are not returning everything bears scrutiny. There may be one aspect, or multiple, aspects of the operation that are not passing the customer’s post-purchase examination of the transaction. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.03%3A_Competitors_-_where_to_begin_and_weakness_in_hospitality.txt |
Competitor analysis
The simplest way to evaluate a competitor is to use your own judgement about how the operation looks from a distance, the ease of reaching the location, and what it feels like to be a customer. Remember, before you enter a marketplace, you are technically ‘invisible’. You can observe the different day-part menus; and estimate the age and income of the operation and its management. Figure 2.1 lists a variety of important criteria to get a true feel of both the physical customers; or dine in and experience the food, the service, and the attitudes of the employees and similar and psycho-textural aspects of competitors. Do not limit that consideration to only ‘direct’ companies that are to your own concept - extend the analysis to ‘indirect’ operations that could take a bite out of your bottom line.
Personnel
How could workers not be available in a marketplace? Years ago, I took the availability of personnel for granted until I opened a corporate unit in a beach community on Long Island, New York. There was little competition, which was a break from highly competitive markets and a large population who shunned cooking at home. But one of the most exciting aspects of that city, from the standpoint of the customers' ability to support a restaurant operation, ultimately proved to be a nightmare I had not previously faced during the many years I established market units. The city had an average family income of greater than six-hundred thousand dollars. While this sounds good, when the dust cleared, no one of employable age really needed to work. The only workers I could attract were young individuals who needed a job because mom and dad felt they needed experience out in the world. "Could I have Friday night off?" was a horrifying question because money was not the issue or the element that made them stay. I was able to maintain a staff via a competitive reward system, but I learned that a market could always be wonderful in some ways and less so in others. I never approached worker availability as a given again.
While the aforementioned themes are by no means the only ways good workers aid in the success of an operation, it becomes obvious that labor availability in all facets of the operation is never a given. After all, without the lowly dishwasher who takes pride in his or her work and continuously polished the silverware, the restaurant's reputation for cleanliness would go by the wayside. Everyone plays a part - value the pieces in the puzzle that is a restaurant.
As you observe competitors, do they appear to have a sense of value when it comes to their workers? Do workers appear knowledgeable and well trained? Are they smiling when away from the table? Workers seldom conceal their negative feelings when they think the customer is unaware.
Typically, there will be a lot of information to process and digest as you search the trading area for niches and underserved customers. Your study, if done properly, will help to address what you will do, and of the greatest importance - why you will do it. Figure 2.2 provides the appropriate questions to ask and as such, the appropriate and revealing information about competitors that can be vital to your success.
Figure 2.1 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Rate each competitor on the following criteria: 5 = excellent and 1 = poor
Competitor 1 Competitor 1 Competitor 1
Competitor Name _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Criteria Score Score Score
Name recognition _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Market Share _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
QSR, casual, fine dining _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Food quality _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Banquet facilities _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Service quality _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Price/value perception _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Marketing effectiveness _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Sales Staff _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Organizational culture _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Employee skills and attitude _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Employee turnover _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Speed of service _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Cleanliness _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Profitability _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Information technology _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Website - Social Media _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Location _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Accessibility _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Visability - sign, building _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Parking _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Outside lighting _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Figure 2.2: Analysis of Primary Competitors
Who?
Who are our primary competitors?
Who are their customers?
What?
What are their primary and secondary products and services?
What are their core strengths and weaknesses?
What opportunities exist competitively?
What threats do they pose to our operation?
What specifically do ‘they’ do better?
What specifically do ‘we’ do better?
What market segments and sub-segments do they attract and why?
What competitive advantages do they possess?
What distinct competencies do they possess?
What are their competitive methods?
Where?
Where do they sell their products and services?
Where do they operate?
When?
When are their products and services most in demand (Time of day, week, month, or year)?
When do customers see them as their first choice for purchase?
Why?
Why do we compete directly with our competitive set?
Why do consumers purchase their products and services?
Why do we compete directly with these organizations?
Begin with your potential direct competitors, competitors that you might compete against daily, or those foodservice operations that your customers would consider at the same level with your operation.
Figure 2.3 illustrates some of the primary, or personal, ways a potential new entrant could gather information on the aforementioned points, and others, and secondary information gathered from sources not personally observed to analyze a competitive stance in the marketplace in question. These sources provide a great starting point for your information search.
Figure 2.3 Primary and Secondary Sources of Competitors
Primary Sources
Parking lot observations
Customer surveys
Vendor injuries
Competitors' employees
Daily event or reader boards
Mystery shoppers
Reservation calls
Visiting the competition
Secondary Sources
Business journals
Press releases
Company brochures
Trade Associations
Website data
Chamber of commerce
Travel associations
Vendor information
Trade publications
News articles
Business journals
Marketing material
Website guest reviews
Convention and visitors bureau
Tour operators
Local colleges and universities
Use Excel charts and sector analysis or box plots to get a visual idea of your proposed marketplace. You may not be the only consumer of the information you gather. Keep in mind, if you will be approaching a lender for financing, they will be interested in knowing how you intend to compete against established foodservice operations. The more awareness and accuracy you display in discussing the competitive environment, the better a lender will feel regarding your chances for success.
Researching Your Competitors
There are many different ways of researching potential competitors. For multi-unit chain foodservice operations with a national geographic focus, other methods might prove more useful than personal observation in creating the 'big picture' of who your competitor really is.
Larger operations may operate across the country or in others and as such, the personal visit may not be the most efficient or helpful way to proceed with information gathering. Thus, if a company is diverse and, or, publicly traded, their information then becomes a matter of public record.
Publications and the Internet are now very effective ways to gather information since larger companies are using these forms of media to communication with consumers. More established foodservice operations have a Website presence with their hours of operation, location, and in many cases a menu. Keep in mind that successful operations practice what they preach. What do the journals and other publications, company marketing material, and the Internet say the company message and the consumer about the competitor, and of great importance, what did you find upon visiting the operation? Is experience the same? | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.04%3A_Evaluate_the_Competition.txt |
The following themes, as well as those I mention in Figure 2.1, should be investigated, and thoroughly presented, as part of the criteria used for the 'direct' competitor portion of any feasibility study.
• Similar attributes in products and services
• Pricing within plus or minus 15 percent
• The proximity of the operation (1 mile? 3 miles?)
• Hours of operation
• Style of service
• Menu pricing
• Beverages offered
• Menu offerings
• Other general attributes
Similar attributes
A direct competitor is normally in the same business segment as your operation. What products and services do these operations offer to the trading area? I s there an over-abundance of one type of product and very little of another? Is the marketplace entirely lacking entirely in a type of product that you are competent to produce? If you can fill a niche in the trading area that does not exist, you would initially have little to no direct competition - which is always a plus.
Similar pricing
Customers in your direct business segment will typically be within, plus or minus, fifteen percent of the current competitive price range in the marketplace, or within fifteen percent of the pricing structure, your concept intends to use. Understanding your competitions 'pricing’ is another important aspect that directly relates to value in the minds of consumers. In general, consumers typically have a price point in mind that they will not exceed - to pay more erodes the value of the meal. Of course, which price is acceptable, and which price tips the scale in the negative direction, is a psychographic issue. Be aware of how your potential competitors are handling the pricing function from the 'value' perspective. Are they discounting the price with specials on certain nights of the week? How do they treat pricing in their competitive advertising scheme?
Competitor proximity
Trading areas generally do not extend beyond a three- mile radius of a foodservice operation. Although, some factors may help a restaurant to extend its pull beyond the three mile demarcation - or actually cause that radius to shrink to one mile or even much less. In a small community, consumers may be willing to drive across town for lunch if the traffic patterns are such that the trip completion can occur in five or ten minutes. On the other hand, downtown areas, for example, may pose parking difficulties for consumers who do not want to leave and give up their parking spot for a meal. In such cases, having a location within walking distance can be a necessity to reach the intended consumers of an operation. In yet another situation, in a prime downtown entertainment area of a city, the consumer may be moving from one venue to another, meeting friends, or looking for a quick meal. A foodservice operation one block away from the activities could be off the beaten path and considered out of the way - even though the distance a consumer would have to travel is one block. Where your competitors are located and how close to each other, and your operation, could make a huge difference in terms of your operation's success. Always consider the proximity of other competitors. Why are they located there? Does a strategic advantage exist from their location?
Hours of operation
Most foodservice operations do the majority of their business during lunch and dinner service. Quick service restaurants (QSR) are typically open the largest number of hours per day serving all day parts. Casual restaurants will also make themselves available to the consumer for most day parts including late evenings in some cases. The fine-dining restaurants are typically productive during the lunch and dinner portions of the day. What hours of operations and day parts are your competitors utilizing in their respective marketing mix scheme? In a downtown location surrounded by many businesses and possibly government offices, it might make sense to open for breakfast as workers arrive early and are looking for coffee and something quick to sustain them until lunch. Breakfast can also introduce customers to your concept and help them to become better acquainted with your menu offerings during lunch and dinner. At the other end of the day, an entertainment district in a trading area may practically limit the hours of operation to dinner service and late-night business.
Take a moment to not only know just who your competitors are in terms of 'name' and ‘menu’ but equally begin to dissect their target market. Where are they located in terms of that market, and how each competitor addresses the market from their own perspective of what it means to compete in that area? For instance, Outback Steakhouse opens for ‘dinner only’ in most markets and does not accept reservations. Is this necessarily what the trading areas truly desires? The answer lies in Outback's operation strategy. They do not feel they are at their competitive best trying to extend to the other day parts. Another issue for this company is the number of trained employees necessary to sustain multiple day parts based on the size of their operation and the volume they must do to be successful. From their perspective, they are at their best for dinner and thus attacking this service segment alone gives them the best opportunity to top the competition.
Style of service
Service can be a moving target for many restaurant operations. From a broad perspective, as Figure 2.3 illustrates, the least amount of service required for food delivery would be the vending machine increasing along the scale to high customer attention in a fine dining establishment.
Service is essentially an interactive process. How much attention the customer receives is an operational decision that varies from one competitor to another. Service links equally to the restaurant concept and the need, or lack of a need, to turn tables. Thus service is a function of business segment in the sense that quick service restaurants generally provide what might be called 'transactional service,' just enough to complete the transaction at hand. Casual restaurants can provide service ranging from little to adequate service depending on the restaurant theme and method of operation. The highest level of skill and server awareness in typically required in the fine dining segment of the industry.
Figure: 2.3 Service Required by Foodservice Segment
Are your competitors ‘position’ allow them to serve and interact with their clientele? Interaction is an important element of service because this is generally the only point of contact an operation has with a customer. In fact, customers' interaction with the service staff is generally the only interaction a customer will experience with a company. How would you rate your competitors' performance in the area of service? Is service a core strength - or do opportunities exist to better service the trading area?
Menu pricing
Two important concerns are at the forefront of any menu pricing. First is the issue of 'value.' Does the competition have a ‘cost’ or ‘value’ leadership position in
the trading area? Consumers are always value conscious and how much they are willing to pay is typically a major consumer concern. Pricing also speaks to portion size as a value relationship. How do the competitors compare to each other in terms of pricing as it relates to portions and ultimately to the value of the meal? The second issue speaks to the range of pricing competitors use in the trading area. What is the price range for each of your competitors? Where do you see ‘your’ pricing in comparison to others - higher, lower, or within the same range of pricing? Pricing a menu and services too high can give the impression that that your operation is not value conscious. Price to low and many will think what you offer is of inferior quality? You must strike a balance with consumers. Image denotes pricing, pricing confirms image.
Beverages
Beverage sales can be a lucrative profit center for a restaurant operation. Are your competitors taking advantage of beverage sales? Do they sell alcoholic beverages? If
so, do they operate a full bar type of service or is alcohol sales limited to simply beer and wine? Is their approach to beverage sales effective in your opinion? Can you observe an increase in traffic during different day parts resulting from beverage sales to the operation?
Menu
The menu is a very important aspect of restaurant sales because it is the operation's primary tool to convey the restaurant's theme, 'position' in relation to other competitors, and offerings created to attract consumers. The menu is also the primary and often, the only source of revenue for the operation. Is the menu priced to breakeven, compete
with other competitors, or priced to make a good profit for the establishment. Most competitors have reasons for their offerings and price points. What is the menu saying to you about each particular competitor? The 'size' of the menu in terms of offerings is of importance for several reasons. First, customers demand a good selection of food and beverage items. Realistically, too large a menu is also at the center of an operation's waste issue. Does the competition offer variety in terms of the different types of selections (meat, chicken, seafood, and so forth) offered, or is there an abundance of one or two types of entrees? If the restaurant is quick service, is the menu easily prepared, or does it appear to create difficulty for the employees?
Other questions would include the ethnicity of a menu and how focused toward one cuisine a menu may be. Does the menu change often or is it static? A static menu would remain the same year-round. While a consistent menu has advantages, it can also after time, become repetitive to the consumer. A variable menu, on the other hand, could vary by day, week, month, or seasonally, to take advantage of product availability and pricing. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.05%3A_Criteria_for_a_Competitor_Analysis.txt |
Age of the operation
The age of an operation is important from several perspectives. Typically, most operations must rejuvenate their physical operation as well as their internal operation every five to ten years. Facilities begin to appear stale and menus a bit boring as new competitors enter the marketplace with new and vibrant operations. Stale operations not keeping up with shifting trends or styles are targets for new entrants into the marketplace. Does the competition appear current, or in need of a face lift? On the other hand, age does have its merits. Have certain competitors been around for so many years that they have achieved 'generational' status - appealing to several generations of families?
Chain or independent operations
Is the competitive terrain comprised of large chain operators, independent operators, or a combination of these two different type of competitors? Chain operations typically have strong plans and structure while many independent operators have formal training and thus less structure. That is not to say that, in the case of food quality, one form of operation presides over the other in all cases. Having more structure for instance, can restrict a company's flexibility in the face of a changing environment. It can also result in menus that are more generic and taste offerings as the company strives for similarity across geographical areas. A well-informed independent operation is mobile in comparison to the more stringent corporation way of thinking and acting. Large companies typically do not offer ‘comfort’ food specialties, and likewise, the typical independent operation lacks the organizational structure and marketing prowess of a large nationwide operation. Look carefully at your potential trading area. What forms of competition exist there, and evaluate the strengths and blindsides of all.
Competitors - successful or less so
Most trading areas have foodservice operations that are highly successful and some that have not enjoyed success the extent of other in the market. This is an important assessment that to make as one considers whom they will compete against as a primary competitor. Understanding which companies have arrived, are up and coming, or past their prime and trending downward is key to positioning your own operation strategically into the area and structuring a scheme for success. Who are the successful operators in the area? What products and services do they offer, are they new, have they maintained a successful operation over time? These are key questions necessary to evaluate with accuracy where your company should be in a market.
What companies are doing - or can do - to garner success is paramount to your operation because at some point, you will enter the market and some competitive reaction will be forthcoming from these competitors. Understanding what strengths they can bring to bear in a competitive struggle strengthens your ability to plan and move against them. For example, if a strong market competitor is a low price leader, structuring your new operation with new technology kitchen equipment which reduces labor cost and allows for low pricing would be your initial 'counter' to the pricing strength of that company. If they attempt to reduce prices - you are ready. If another large competitor has strong capitalization, and spends large sums of money on television and radio advertisement, you develop a strong Internet, social media, and coupon strategy - effective and less expensive to meet your budgetary requirements.
When are they busy?
Knowing when your competitors are at their best is vital to competing. You will also have to engage in a marketing scheme to attract and maintain you customer base and knowing what days, and day parts, require the most attention is key to structuring a marketing scheme that produces result for your operation. Marketing is an expensive process and having the knowledge regarding where you will spend your precious dollars will certainly help to increase the impact of your marketing efforts and help to keep advertising expenditures at reasonable spending levels.
Indirect Competitors
When considering a trading area, it is important to evaluate all of the competition doing business there because in the end, it all comes down to the amount of disposable income the potential consumer has to spend at any given point in time. This particular aspect of competitor evaluation often goes unconsidered in the haste to enter a market. New operators tend to look only at those companies they feel are similar to their own. If you are in the quick service segment in a smaller community and a large buffet style casual establishment enters the market and garners a sizable income stream from the existing consumer base, would you not consider them a competitor even though they do not have drive-thru or counter service? How about a multiple unit supermarket chain that does a huge take out business at very reasonable prices? ‘Who’ are they competing against - the practical answer is everyone! Have a keen knowledge of every competitor. Will you always confront or sustain injury from one competitor at a time, or will it be a nibble here and a nibble there that becomes quite noticeable in dollars and cents at the end of the month. The only thing worse than sustaining financial injury from a competitor is failing to know which competitor(s) injured you.
New entrant potential
What is the potential does the trading area offer to other foodservice operations that may want to enter the marketplace after you? Can a marketplace appearing quite favorable in the present allow others to follow your example? The answer to that question is neither right nor wrong in the sense that you will always have to compete in some way against someone. However, understanding the potential for other new entrants is key to protecting your own operation.
How fast is the area growing and in what direction is the growth occurring? If the grown is happening along a major thoroughfare where land prices and space is at a premium, your potential new entrant will in most case be well-capitalized, said differently, a chain operation. This does not have to be a negative, but it must be a consideration. Starting a new business is an expensive process and knowing and evaluating what might occur down the line beforehand help to protect your investment in the future.
Under-served customers
Do underserved customers exist in the trading area that might attract new entrants, present you with an opportunity to lock in a portion of the trading area rather than the entire area? Underserved could mean a lack of foodservice operations in a particular portion of the trading area, or it relates to a type of cuisine not offer by any of the area competitors. This is also an important reason for truly evaluating your marketplace - niches often simply go unnoticed.
Growth restrictions
While the opportunities for additional grown in an area might possibly be detrimental to you operation, the reverse is also true. A new operation is at its best in a trading area in a growth trajectory rather than on the decline. Remember the importance of where the consumers in a trading area receive income and the security of that income - they will supply your revenue. If your consumers are not stable, neither is your operation.
Another form of growth restriction is a restriction on space. Can a location under consideration expand at that site to accommodate a growing clientele? Is there room for say patio seating, or another floor? One of the most dangerous situations a restaurant can face is the need to grow. If grown can occur in a current location, this is the best-case scenario. Think of the situation from this perspective. An operator can achieve success for numerous reasons that pertain to the current location such as the 'feel' of the building, lighting, parking safety, view, and of importance in many cases, the personality of the wait staff, and the chemistry in the kitchen. Growth that requires a new location always runs the risk of failing to duplicate the elements of success that exist in the initial location. Thus issues such as space, zoning, and possibilities for expansion for all key initial considerations. How you intend to staff a new location has a direct effect on the ‘internal chemistry’ and production standards of the current operation.
Other type of restrictions would include ease of entry for other competitors including ‘your’ own potential entry into the market. A lack of real estate space can be both a protective and prohibitive element for an operation. How easy is it for new competition to locate into the trading area? Are licenses for alcohol or gaming available or difficult? Would waste disposal be a restrictive issue?
Labor force
Does an adequate amount of available labor reside within the trading area under consideration? Not having enough available workers can seriously restrict both the operation as well as the growth of any foodservice operation. Another issue is the quality of the worker's skill level. Unskilled labor could easily restrict the speed of service, and the very items your operation could offer. A complicated menu requires skilled labor to execute it. Thus, un-skilled labor can jeopardize speed, product quality, and at its worst, cause question as to whether the menu desired can be prepared without workers with higher skill levels. If skill levels are low in the marketplace, where could you find higher quality workers? Is there a solution to that issue? If not, you might have to re-think what you offer to the consumer, and how you prepare it - which could involve some make or purchase decisions that will ultimately speak to the quality of your operation.
Competitors have a say
Finally, in the end, you should always evaluate your competitors in terms of their potential competitive actions toward your operation at some point in time. Thus knowing your own abilities and weaknesses is where evaluating the competition actually begins. Always be truthful and realistic with yourself and your operation. The first step in sizing up or fending off a competitor is to understand your own ability to withstand the competitive element inherent to this industry. Strengths do not exist in a vacuum; doors open and close; and if truthfully acknowledged, weaknesses can generally move toward a successful conclusion. Before entering a marketplace, spend time thoroughly evaluating your competitors, their strengths, weaknesses, and of importance, their ability to respond to your actions. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.06%3A_Other_Attributes_to_Consider.txt |
In sum, to analyze a potential marketplace properly, it is best to begin with secondary data, data available from multiple sources. Think deeply about what you find, and any questions that information surfaces. These questions and concerns will drive your search for primary data, the data your research generates. Finally, you will form impressions and gut feelings about what you find – factor these elements into your competitive equation to formulate an appropriate strategy for the market.
Remember: Secondary analysis and Primary analysis + internal analysis = strategy
Sources of Information on Competitors - Primary
• Review of competitors events or reader boards
• Parking lot observations
• Customer surveys
• The use of mystery shoppers
• Vendor inquiries
• Nightly calls assessing availability
• Speaking with competitors employees
• Visiting competitors
Sources of information – Secondary
• Financial websites
• Company annual reports
• Brochures and other collateral
• Press releases
• News articles
• Business journals
• Trade publications
• Trade associations
• Marketing material
• Chambers of Commerce
• Travel Agencies
• Guest reviews posted on websites
Information you should try to obtain
• Company’s historical background
• Physical and online presence
• Ownership and management entities
• Analysis of key financial ratios
• Products and services available and pending
• Facility demand, capacity, and condition
• Corporate and location specific marketing initiatives
• Pricing strategies
• Distribution strategies
• Key personnel and cultural environment
• Forward looking plans for acquisition, repositioning, and expansion or contraction.
The business should then develop a SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) for all of its competitors. Often from this process, your business may learn that its needs to adjust its competitive set. Afterwards, the business should conduct its own SWOT analysis. Following the development of the competitive SWOT and revision (if necessary) of the organizations SWOT, the company should apply the “5W’s) analysis to ask itself the following questions:
Who?
• Who are our primary competitors? Are they aware of our business?
• Who are their customers?
What?
• What are their primary products and services?
• What are their ancillary products and services?
• What are their strengths?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What opportunities exist for our competitors?
• What threats exist for our competitors?
• What do they do better than we do?
• What do we do better than they do?
• What market segments and sub-segments do they attract and why?
• What competitive advantages do they possess?
• What distinctive competencies do they possess?
Where?
• Where do they sell their products and services?
• WHere do they operate?
When?
• When their products and services are in high demand (time of day, week, month, or year)?
• When do customers see them as their first choice for purchases?
Why?
• Why do we compete directly with our competitive set?
• Whey do consumers purchase their products and services?
• Why do we compete directly with these organizations?
Common Opportunities
• New demand generators entering the market.
• Current demand generators expanding their operations within the market.
• An upswing in the economy.
• New technological advances.
• Increased consumer propensity to spend.
• Customizable bundling of hospitality products.
• New and more effective channels of distribution.
• New opportunities for segmentation.
• Increased demand for newer products and greater services.
• Current supply leaving the market.
• Contraction of current supply.
• No scheduled renovation or expansions of existing competitive supply.
• Change in ownership or operational direction of top competitor(s). | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.07%3A_Competitive_Analysis_Summary.txt |
Competitive Analysis Exercise \(1\)
1. Introductory paragraph
2. Direct competition
3. Indirect competition
4. Types of food
5. Price, quality, service, hours of operation, etc.
6. Rank your competitors
7. Discuss strengths and weaknesses – theirs and yours
8. Discuss opportunities and consider threats
Example
Competition in the Gulch
FILLING A NICHE IN A COMPETITIVE NEIGHBORHOOD
The Goal
The first concept explored the demographics and psychographics of The Gulch district of Nashville. To recap, this district is the only LEED certified neighborhood in the southern United States. Its many condominium complexes are home to a large percentage of young, educated, working-class millennials. The Gulch is also home to a 20% minority of older individuals who are old enough to receive Social Security but have not yet retired. In addition to this local population, the neighborhood is located in the heart of Nashville, a location that still attracts a significant amount of tourism to the area.
This data indicates certain parameters that, if implemented in a restaurant’s image and marketing, could lead to establishing not simply a successful restaurant in this neighborhood, but an institution that becomes as much as part of the neighborhood as its residents are. To do so, we must carefully compete with not only the other restaurants and institutions in the area, but also the ones that will join the neighborhood in the future.
My goal, therefore, is to establish a restaurant that will become the neighborhood’s go-to spot for a quick, filling lunch that the locals will fill fulfilled when they spend their money here. Since this is a local business catering primarily to educated, working-class local customers, I’d like my restaurant to be part of their lifestyles, a choice they feel good about making on all aspects: financially, health-wise, and even environmentally.
EXISTING COMPETITORS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The area is very much a ‘social-centered’ development area denoting the careful, specific, and detail planning of every aspect of the neighborhood; it did not become the South’s only LEED certified neighborhood just on random chance. One aspect of a social-centered development is its generally well-established market niches, and The Gulch is no exception. The competition—both direct and indirect—must undergo careful assessment in order to find the right niche for my restaurant, even if it means sharing and competing within that niche with other restaurants.
Direct Competition
Though there are several restaurants in The Gulch, we must especially consider those that will compete with our aim to become a local go-to spot for residents to grab a quick bite without making a large social or financial commitment. The financial commitment is an important one. Of the 25 eateries in the neighborhood, eight are fine dining restaurants with pricey menus; many even require reservations. These are not direct competitors for my restaurant. We will focus on inexpensive meals for working, busy locals. However, that leaves over a dozen eateries that are competitors with my concept, so I must examine these to fill a niche in the neighborhood.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen (insert pictures)
Located down the street from the condominiums’ and businesses of the neighbor-hood is one of the most famous southern food eateries in the city, if not the south in general. It is casual as well as cheap, with most meals being under \$10. This restaurant a Nashville institution that attracts locals and tourists alike. The cafeteria-style eatery is constantly busy, often with a line leading from the cashier exiting the restaurant. On paper, it may be a fierce competitor with my concept. However, from personal experience, many locals do find the food overrated, especially considering the lines one must brave in order to receive the plate of food. In addition, Arnold’s is only open for lunch during the week. It closes on the weekends. This leaves a lot of opportunity to attract people who may want a cheap lunch, maybe even southern country cooking, but who do not want to battle exorbitant lines, and who may want to eat it for lunch or dinner any time of the week.
Otaku Ramen (insert pictures)
This ramen shop is located in the heart of the residential condominiums, and, in fact, markets heavily to the locals who may live right above the shop. Though its menu is very limited, featuring only ramen and a few appetizers, all bowls are \$12, making it a relatively easy decision for those who want an inexpensive, filling lunch. It is open for breakfast and lunch all days of the week except Monday. Otaku Ramen tends to market to the same segmentation profiles I would like to attract to my concept: young, workers who may live or work nearby and want a casual, inexpensive lunch that is filling and unique. It features an open kitchen, which is also a bar for individuals to sit at, as well as an additional beverage bar, which offers more individual seating as well. For an extra fee, this ramen shop even delivers to nearby locals. From my personal experience eating and working at this restaurant, there are aspects customers dislike. As with Arnold’s, the restaurant is nearly constantly busy, and the space is very small, so the environment is not often as relaxing as customers would like it to be. Secondly, though the meal itself is inexpensive, the drinks offered are limited and expensive. Therefore, a \$12 bowl of ramen with a Coke and a tip to the server can easily end up costing one person \$20.
Saint Anejo (insert pictures)
Featuring a Mexican-style menu with dozens of offerings for both lunch and dinner under \$10 as well as a sizable and inexpensive drinks menu, Saint Anejo could potentially be an ideal lunch spot for locals heading into or coming out of work or for meeting friends at a spot that will not break the bank. However, Saint Anejo has the same problem Otaku Ramen or even Arnold’s has: locals might simply get tired of the food if all they serve is one type of cuisine. The Saint Anejo menu is static even though it is a locally owned restaurant. Locals might simply get tired of the food if there is not enough change. Additionally, getting to Saint Anejo is a bit of a walk, as its a few blocks from the cluster of condominiums and breweries where many live and work.
Potbelly Sandwiches/Subway
Because these two business serve the same type of meal for similar prices and are located in the same area in the neighborhood, I will group them together. These businesses are certainly competition to a restaurant that aims to be a quick, inexpensive bite to eat for working locals. They are not a far walk from any of the residences, and they are consistently cheap. However, they do one thing: sandwiches. Potbelly makes milkshakes and ice cream while Subway can do breakfast and pizzas, but their primary meal is the sandwich. Realistically, I see myself competing the most with these two businesses. They are quick, cheap, casual, and consistent. However, they are also chain restaurants. They will not offer daily specials, and they do not offer any alcoholic drinks. They will not cater to the local crowd and make them feel like this is “their spot.” Simply, these businesses are competition, but they are not an institution like the one I am aiming to be.
Other Competitors
The five restaurants mentioned above are the five restaurants that share qualities of the establishment I hope to have. There are many other restaurants in the Gulch, but they do not share the qualities of my concept for many of the reasons listed above. The other restaurant competitors tend to be chains, much like Subway or Potbelly, or they have specialized cuisine, like Saint Anejo or Otaku Ramen. They might serve only burgers or only breakfast, but those places leave a niche for people who do not like to eat chain-restaurant burgers every week.
Indirect Competitors
Local businesses other than restaurants will consume the disposable income of the neighborhood as well. It would be wise to examine these, too.
The Turnip Truck
A local grocery store dedicated to selling organic and/or local produce, The Turnip Truck would be a destination for a young, educated worker who wants to eat consciously and healthy. This is exactly the market I am targeting. Though this business is not a restaurant, this will be where the locals spend their money on food if they do not go out to eat. I need to market my restaurant in a way that locals will realize I am serving the same healthy, environmentally conscious foods that they can buy at the Turnip Truck. Perhaps once my business is established, I can see about collaborating with The Turnip Truck to serve their produce while using their name to associate my business with the fresh, local produce they offer.
Zollikoffee
Though this is a coffee shop or a restaurant, I cannot ignore their cheap offerings for lunch and dinner. The atmosphere a local coffee shop offers is especially one that would attract locals who like to relax for breakfast or for lunch. One feature is that Zollikoffee is a good distance’s walk from the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood. If I locate my business more conveniently to the residential buildings, perhaps Zollikoffee will not be a major threat to my operation.
POTENTIAL COMPETITION
The Gulch is Nashville’s fastest-developing district. Even a fast-food chain coming into the market could be a threat to a business like mine. However, The Gulch lacks a restaurant with a menu that changes often, according to what is in season. It lacks an eatery with a complete focus on fresh ingredients for lunch and dinner for working-class folk. A fast-food chain cannot compete with a local restaurant with a fluid menu. This is how my restaurant will become an institution in the neighborhood.
Discussion Questions \(2\)
1. What are the seven basic principles of hospitality marketing?
2. What are ‘entry barriers’ to a marketplace?
3. Why would you want to emulate qualities of successful operations in a marketplace?
4. Why is it important to understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
5. What is the advantage of a market niche?
6. What are the twelve general weaknesses foodservice operations must overcome?
7. How important is the customers’ price /value perception?
8. How does a restaurant acquire a poor brand image?
9. What are the primary sources of information to assess a competitor?
10. What are the criteria for a competitor analysis and how could each of the criteria be advantageous or, a hindrance to your operation?
3.09: Chapter Glossary and Notes
Glossary
Trading Area Restaurants. The overall number of restaurants in the marketplace as well as the restaurants you compete against on a daily basis
Direct competitors. Foodservice operations that are after the same customer, have similar types of menu, level of service, and are within plus or minus 15% of your pricing.
Indirect competitors. Restaurants that sell food and beverage but not trying to attract the same type of guest. For example, a fine-dining restaurant is an indirect customer for a quick service restaurant. The importance of knowing all of your competitors lies in the quantification of disposable income - there is only so much and everyone wants a portion.
Competitor marketing strategies. These strategies focus on the seven basic principles of hospitality marketing referring to price, promotion, place, process, participants, and physical evidence. All competitors in one way or another manipulate these principles commonly referred to as the 'marketing mix' of an operation.
Disposable income. The money left after one pays all necessary monthly expenses.
Notes
Rainsford, Peter, and David H. Bangs. (1996). Restaurant planning guide. Upstart Publishing.
Walker, John R. (2007. The restaurant from concept to Operation. Wiley.
Stair, Ralph, and George Reynolds. (2009) Principles of Information Systems. Cengage Learning.
Barcellona, Nicola. 2017). Restaurant Competitor Analysis: How to do it. Forketers Restaurant Marketing. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/03%3A_The_Competition/3.08%3A_Classroom_Preparation_Assignments.txt |
Chapter 4 Learning Objectives
• Understanding segmentation and its importance as a customer selection process.
• How to identify the market for segmentation.
• Understanding the various ways to think about segmenting a marketplace.
• Apply segmentation criteria.
• Gain a working knowledge of segmentation variables.
• Learning the decision process for selecting market segments.
• Understand the broad segmentation strategies.
• Comprehend the similarities among different segments.
• Understand how to profile each market segment selected.
Generally, market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into subsets (groupings) of consumers’, who have common needs and priorities, and then designing and implementing strategies to target them. Market segmentation strategies are useful to identify the target customers, and provide supporting data for positioning to achieve a marketing plan objective. Businesses may develop product differentiation strategies, or an undifferentiated approach, involving specific products or product lines depending on the specific demand and attributes of the target segment.
Prior to beginning the segmentation process, the potential operator must clearly define the marketplace itself in terms of city and area, potential customers, and existing and future competition as such:
Elements of the Trading Area
• geographic area
• the major descriptors of the target market such as demographics, psychographics, and behavioral characteristics and
Industry Structure
• Existing competitors (primary and secondary)
• Potential competitors and the market conditions that aid or hinder their entry
• Product substitutes in general that could hamper sales
• Suppliers’ products and services needed for operation.
What is Market Segmentation?
By definition, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers’ (known as segments) based on some type of shared characteristics. In dividing or segmenting markets, researchers typically look for shared characteristics such as common needs, common interests, similar lifestyles, or even similar demographic profiles. The overall aim of segmentation is to identify high yield segments – that is, those segments that are likely to be the most profitable or that have growth potential – so that these can be selected for special attention (i.e. become ‘target markets’).
There are many different ways to segment a market. Business-to-business (B-to-B) sellers might segment the market into different types of businesses. While business to consumer (B-to-C) sellers might segment the market into demographic segments, lifestyle segments, behavioral segments or any other meaningful segment. The most common approach is a progression of segmentation, targeting, and positioning (known as STP). The STP approach highlights the three areas of decision-making
The process of segmenting the market is deceptively simple. Seven basic steps describe the entire process including segmentation, targeting and positioning. In practice, however, the task can be very laborious since it involves poring over loads of data, and requires a great deal of skill in analysis, interpretation and some judgement. Although a great deal of analysis needs to be undertaken, and many decisions need to be made, marketers tend to use the so-called S-T-P process, that is Segmentation→ Targeting → Positioning, as a broad framework for simplifying the process and outlined here in Figure 1.1:
Figure 1.1: Segmentation Process
Segmentation Targeting Positioning
1. Identify market and segments
2. Identify, select and apply base or bases to be used in the segmentation
3. Develop segment profiles
4. Evaluate each segment's attractiveness
5. Select segment or segments to be targeted
6. Identify optimal positioning for each segment
7. Develop the marketing program for each segment
Market segmentation assumes that different market ‘segments’ require different marketing programs – that is, different offers, different prices, different promotion, different distribution or some combination of marketing variables. Market segmentation not only identifies the most profitable segments, but also to develop profiles of key segments in order to better understand their needs and purchase motivations. Insights from segmentation analysis subsequently support marketing strategy development and planning. Many marketers use the S-T-P approach to provide the framework for marketing planning objectives. That is, identify your market segments, select one or more segments for targeting, and position products or services in a way that resonates with the selected target market or markets.
Market Segmentation: Brief Historical Overview
Richard S. Bedlow, a specialist in the history of business at the Harvard Business School identifies four stages in the evolution of market segmentation:
1. Fragmentation (pre 1880s): Small regional suppliers who sold goods on a local or regional basis categorized the business economy.
2. Unification or Mass Marketing (1880s–1920s): As transportation systems improved, the economy underwent unification. Standardized and branded goods now occurs at a national level. Manufacturers tended to insist on strict standardization in order to achieve scale economies with a view to penetrating markets in the early stages of a product's life cycle - like the Model T Ford. In Henry Ford’s words: “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black”
3. Segmentation (1920s–1980s): As market size increased, manufacturers were able to produce different models pitched at different quality points to meet the needs of various demographic and psychographic market segments. The era of market differentiation based on demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors.
4. Hyper-segmentation (1980s+): a shift towards the definition of ever more narrow market segments. Technological advancements, especially in the area of digital communications, allow marketers to communicate with individual consumers or very small groups sometimes known as one-to-one marketing.
Wendell R. Smith was the first to introduce the concept of market segmentation into the marketing literature in 1956 with the publication of his article, "Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation as Alternative Marketing Strategies." Smith's article makes it clear that he had observed "many examples of segmentation" emerging and to a certain extent saw this as a natural force in the market that would "not be denied." Smith was codifying implicit knowledge that available in advertising and brand management since the 1920s.
Contemporary market segmentation emerged in the twentieth century as marketers responded to two pressing issues. Demographic and purchasing data were available for groups but rarely for individuals and secondly, advertising and distribution channels were available for groups, but rarely for single consumers. Between 1902 and 1910, George B Waldron, working at Mahin's Advertising Agency in the United States used tax registers, city directories and census data to show advertisers the proportion of educated vs illiterate consumers and the earning capacity of different occupations etc. in a very early example of simple market segmentation. In 1924 Paul Cherington developed the 'ABCD' household typology; the first socio-demographic segmentation tool. With access to group level data only, brand marketers approached the task from a tactical viewpoint. Thus, segmentation was essentially a brand-driven process.
Until relatively recently, most segmentation approaches have retained this tactical perspective in that they address immediate short-term decisions; such as describing the current “market served” and are concerned with informing marketing mix decisions. However, with the advent of digital communications and mass data storage, it has been possible for marketers to conceive of segmenting at the level of the individual consumer. Extensive data is now available to support segmentation at very narrow groups or even for the single customer; allowing marketers to devise a customized offer with an individual price that for dissemination via real-time communications.
A key consideration for marketers is whether to segment or not to segment. Depending on company philosophy, resources, product type or market characteristics, a business may develop an undifferentiated approach, or differentiated approach. In an undifferentiated approach (also known as mass marketing), the marketer ignores segmentation and develops a product that meets the needs of the largest number of buyers. A differentiated approach targets one or more market segments, and develops separate offers for each segment.
Even simple products like salt are highly differentiated in practice. In consumer marketing, it is difficult to find examples of undifferentiated approaches. Even goods such as salt and sugar, once treated as commodities, are now highly differentiated. Consumers can purchase a variety of salt products; cooking salt, table salt, sea-salt, rock salt, kosher salt, mineral salt, herbal or vegetable salts, iodized salt, salt substitutes and if that is not enough choice, at the brand level, gourmet cooks are likely to make a major distinction between a rare salt and other competing brands. The following table outlines the main strategic approaches to think about creating segments.
Table 1: Main Strategic Approaches to Segmentation
Number of segments Segmentation strategy Comments
Zero Undifferentiated strategy Mass marketing: no segmentation
One Focus strategy Niche marketing: focus efforts on a small, tightly defined target market
Two or more Differentiated strategy Multiple niches: focus efforts on 2 or more, tightly defined targets
Thousands Hyper-segmentation One-to-one marketing: customize the offer for each individual customer
A number of factors are likely to affect a company's segmentation strategy:
• Company resources: When resources are restricted, a concentrated strategy may be more effective.
• Product variability: For highly uniform products (such as sugar), an undifferentiated marketing may be more appropriate. For products that can be distinctive such as QSR or casual themes then either a differentiated or a concentrated approach is appropriate.
• Product life cycle: For new products, one version might be useful at the launch stage, but expanded to a more segmented approach over time. As more competitors enter the market, it may be necessary to differentiate.
• Market characteristics: When all buyers have similar tastes, or are unwilling to pay a premium for different quality, then undifferentiated marketing is an appropriate strategy.
• Competitive activity: When competitors apply differentiated or concentrated market segmentation, using undifferentiated marketing may prove to be fatal. A company should consider whether it ‘can ‘use a different market segmentation approach. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/04%3A_Segmentation_in_a_Marketplace/4.01%3A_What_is_Market_Segmentation.txt |
Segmentation begins with the analysis of the city itself from a broad perspective. From that point, the information gathering process should steadily move inward. The marketplace, trading area, and consumer profiles should follow. Once the consumer profiles are established, the competition comes under scrutiny and grouping - who else wants to attract the segments you might choose?
Thus, after researching the entire marketplace and customer base, it is now time to identify groupings of customers with similar attributes that influence their purchasing patterns within the total population. The goal of dividing the trading area into segments is to create a market strategy for your food service operation that (1) identifies targeted groups, (2) divided the industry into identifiable business segments, and (3) allows you to estimate the total local demand for the business segments chosen as viable consumers for your concept.
Identifying Market Segments - the Process
Begin with the identification of the market segments you organization will appeal. Decisions should embrace a rationale for reasoning through 'why' this will occur and these segments are appropriate. To address the appropriate segmentation questions the following sub-questions should considered prior to selection and rationale. The following what, where, when, and how questions will help guide your information gathering and keep the process on target.
What?
• What do our customers need, want, and desire?
• What primary products and services do our customers buy?
• What is the annual worth of our average customer?
• What products do we off, or intend to offer?
• What trends are occurring with could potentially have an impact consumer buying?
• What new products could we develop to capitalize on trends and potential consumer interests?
• What products could we use, or develop, to add more value from the perspective of the consumer?
Where?
• Where do we sell, or intend to sell, our products and services in demand?
• Where do customers prefer to make their purchases (dining room, take out delivery, etc.)?
• Where should we sell our products and services to attract our desired consumers?
When?
• When are our products and services in demand (how often)?
• When do our customers and potential customers buy (day part, week, or year)?
How?
• How far in advance will consumers purchase our products and services?
• How would consumers prefer to contact us (directly, online, etc.)?
• How can we bundle together good and services to increase the customer's desire to purchase?
• How can we customize our products and services to reach various niche markets available in the trading area?
• How else should we consider thing about these potential consumers?
• How do, or will, consumers perceive the price value of our offerings?
• How could we change our price/value positioning if it were necessary to do so?
While this list of questions is by no means exhaustive, it provides a wonderful place to begin and at this point in the process, selection decisions and rationale (reasons for choosing them) formulation should be underway. The rationale is vital to the process because the reasons for selecting consumer segments and their associated behavior patterns will play an important part in the marketing scheme developed to attract them, and products and services offered to keep them. Now come the more appropriate grouping questions.
• Why do these consumers have similar buying patterns?
• What data supports this?
• Why is this demographic or psychographic attribute a good way to use to segment the population of the trading area (income, education, lifestyle, and so forth)?
• Why do our current customers purchase our products and services?
• Why do our potential customers purchase products and services from competitors?
As the data undergoes analysis and consideration, the need for and use of perceptual maps deserves consideration. These maps are probably the most appropriate method to convey the opportunities and threats an operation would face should they enter the market place.
See the following box plot. Visual representation makes things clear for everyone.
As part of the segment identification process, discuss the industry business segment from a competitive point of view. Divide the foodservice industry into competitive groups using themes such as similar attributes, pricing, type of service, and so forth. It is also important to describe the foodservice industry from another perspective - that of the consumer. Clearly state the information on which your arguments turn. In sum, you are reducing the market down to segments, competitors, and consumers based on gathered information, the nature of the competition, and how consumers perceive the environment.
Segmentation Strategy
What grouping strategy would be the most appropriate and effective as far as targeting groups in the trading area? How you group consumers ultimately determines how you would devise the organization's marketing program and the types of advertisement and promotion that would lend itself to attracting the right consumers to your operation. Who is you primary target audience - the consumers who are the best fit for your products and services. Who are your secondary, or indirect, target audience - those who might use your services less frequently, or be attracted to you over time?
Segment Demand
What is the total segment demand for the marketplace? Although this is a dollars and cents question, the purpose of arriving at the total demand for the marketplace is to determine whether, or not, the market can adequately support additional foodservice operations. This is the first step in calculating the adequacy of the segments you elect to target in the trading area. For example, if you chose to target individuals in the age range of 18 to 25 years, is there a sufficient number of these consumers to support your concept? If not you would have to expand your consumer base to include say 26 to 35 years of age ;or beyond if you are interested in locating in a smaller community. You might have to approach consumers up to the age of 65 to have a large enough base to insure enough potential customers on any given day. The importance of knowing whom you must attract affects, the physical facility, the menu you serve, the pricing you use, and the variety of marketing needed to reach and appeal to the larger range of consumer interests of the broader range of consumers you would need to be successful.
Once you have computed the total foodservice dollars spend in the marketplace, you then quantify the total amount of potential sales (\$\$\$) for foodservice products in your chosen business segment in your trading area. This type of information is typically obtainable from the city Chamber of Commerce, city sales tax records, commercial real estate agencies, and demographic information related to city revenue. Other methods would include the following: (1) In some cases, foodservice organizations will assign a revenue estimate to the population count, say 50 cents to \$1.00 or more to each resident in the trading area and projects a potential revenue figure. (2) A new operation could calculate the population percentage of the selected target segment age groups in relation to the total population of the marketplace and assume that percentage of the total foodservice revenue as a place to develop the potential revenue available to a restaurant operation. (3) An organization could also assume a percentage of the revenue that your competition would garner from the trading area as well and back this figure down to the reasonable amount you might obtain. (4) An established organization could project, based on their previous sales history, what a new operation in a different location might obtain based on a proven concept and how other trading areas and competitive elements have received and supported the concept.
The method(s) used to determine the ‘segment demand dollar calculation’ is at the discretion of the organization. It is important to develop a rationale explaining 'why' the method(s) used become the ‘choice’ to make the calculation. This has two purposes. First, it forces the organization to look critically at the viability of moving forward with their concept. Second, it provides documentation regarding the ‘choice’ to lenders who are scrutinizing the prudence of financing the venture. The more careful the process, the more credibility the results will appear when the presentation occurs. Thus, although other methods were available, these methods form our selection based on the following reasons.... It lets lenders know that your organization was aware of various methods to determine the needed information and a careful selection process ensued to use accurate and appropriate methods of selection to produce the best information possible.
Once all of the calculations are complete, the organization should be able to make a determination regarding what share of the targeted segment(s) your operation will attract based on the number of competitors in the general trading area and the total demand in the restaurant segment. Other questions of importance can receive assessment based on the number of seats provided to consumers by the competitions as well as the seating potential of your operation.
Method of delivery
A major consideration that may surface from examining the restaurant segment or the physical location would concern how customers will receive your products or services. Will seating in the dining room be the sole method of delivery used? Will other delivery methods be considerations for reaching customers? For example, a dining room can be significantly extendable by promoting drive-through business, carry out business, or a delivery service. The organization should select delivery methods that would significantly enhance their chances to receive an average or greater market share. Areas of the operation such as these are important issues to consider initially because they would affect the physical layout of the operation for proper implementation. The movement of people is an important consideration regarding a restaurant's layout. For instance, the ease for customers to place and pick up a carry out order. Although this sounds simple, proper location and connection to the restaurant's kitchen are important issues that require thoughtful consideration.
Identifying the market for segmentation
The market for a given product or service known as the market potential or the ‘total addressable market’ (TAM). The market analyst should begin by identifying the size of the potential market. For existing products and services, estimating the size and value of the market potential is relatively ‘straightforward’. However, estimating the market potential can be very challenging when a product or service is ‘totally’ new to the market and no historical data on which to base forecasts exists.
A basic approach is to first assess the size of the broad population, then estimate the percentage likely to use the product or service and finally to estimate the revenue potential. For example, when the ride-sharing company, Uber, first entered the market, the owners assumed that Uber would be a substitute for taxis and hire cars. Accordingly, they calculated Uber's TAM based on the size of the existing taxi and car service business, which they estimated at \$100 billion. They then made a conservative estimate that the company could reach 10 percent share of market and used this to estimate the expected revenue. To estimate market size, a marketer might evaluate adoption and growth rates of comparable technologies.
Another approach is to use historical analogy. For example, the manufacturer of HDTV might assume that the number of consumers willing to adopt high definition TV will be similar to the adoption rate for Color TV. To support this type of analysis, data for household penetration of TV, Radio, PCs and other communications technologies is readily available from government statistics departments. Finding useful analogies can be challenging because every market is unique. However, analogous product adoption and growth rates can provide the analyst with benchmark estimates used to cross validate other methods that might be useful to forecast sales or market size. A more robust technique for estimating the market potential is the Bass diffusion model, which is the equation that follows:
N(t) – N(t−1) = [p + qN(t−1)/m] x [m – N(t−1)]
Where:
N(t)= the number of adopters in the current time period, (t)
N(t−1)= the number of adopters in the previous time period, (t-1)
p = the coefficient of innovation
q = the coefficient of imitation (the social contagion influence)
m = an estimate of the number of eventual adopters
The major challenge with the Bass model is estimating the parameters for p and q. However, the Bass model has been so widely used in empirical studies that the values of p and q for more than 50 consumer and industrial categories have been determined and are widely published in tables. The average value for p is 0.037 and for q is 0.327.
Major bases used for segmenting a market
A major step in the segmentation process is the selection of a suitable base. In this step, marketers are looking for a means of achieving internal homogeneity (similarity within the segments), and external heterogeneity (differences between segments). In other words, they are searching for a process that minimize differences between members of a segment and maximize differences between each segment. In addition, the segmentation approach must yield segments that are meaningful for the specific marketing problem or situation. For example, a person's ‘hair color’ may be a relevant base for a shampoo manufacturer, but it would not be relevant for a seller of food services. Selecting the right base requires a good deal of thought and a basic understanding of the market under scrutiny.
In reality, marketers can segment the market using any base or variable as long as it is identifiable, measurable, actionable, and stable. For example, some fashion houses have segmented the market using women's dress size as a variable. However, the most common bases for segmenting consumer markets include geographic, demographic, psychographic tendencies and behavior. Marketers normally select a single base for the segmentation analysis, although, some bases can be combined into a single segmentation with care. For example, one can combine geographic and demographic data, but other bases are rarely suitable for combination. Given that psychographics includes demographic variables such as age, gender and income as well as attitudinal and behavioral variables, it makes little logical sense to combine psychographics with demographics or other bases. Any attempt to use combined bases needs careful consideration and a logical foundation.
Demographic segmentation
Segmentation according to demography centers on consumer- demographic variables such as age, income, family size, socio-economic status, etc. Demographic segmentation assumes that consumers with similar demographic profiles will exhibit similar purchasing patterns, motivations, interests and lifestyles and that these characteristics will translate into similar product/brand preferences. In practice, demographic segmentation can potentially employ any variable used by the nation's census collectors.
Typical demographic variables and their descriptors are as follows:
• Age: e.g. Under 5, 5–8 years, 9–12 years, 13–17 years, 18–24, 25–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60+
• Gender: Male, Female
• Occupation: Professional, self-employed, semi-professional, clerical/ admin, sales, trades, mining, primary producer, student, home duties, unemployed, retired
• Social class (or socio-economic status): A, B, C, D, E, or I, II, III, IV or V (normally divided into quintiles)
• Marital Status: Single, married, divorced, widowed
• Family Life-stage: Young single; Young married with no children; Young family with children under 5 years; Older married with children; Older married with no children living at home, Older living alone
• Family size/ dependents: 0, 1–2, 3–4, 5+
• Income: Under \$10,000; 10,000–20,000; 20,001–30,000; 30,001–40,000, 40,001–50,000 etc.
• Educational attainment: Primary school; Some secondary, Completed secondary, Some university, Degree; Post graduate or higher degree
• Home ownership: Renting, Own home with mortgage, Home owned outright
• Ethnicity: Asian, African, Aboriginal, Polynesian, Melanesian, Latin-American, African-American, American Indian etc.
• Religion: Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Other
Segmentation base Brief explanation of base (and example) Typical segments
Demographic Quantifiable population characteristics. (Age, gender, income, education, socio-economic status, family size or situation). Young, Upwardly-mobile, Prosperous, Professionals (YUPPY); Double Income No Kids (DINKS); Greying, Leisured And Moneyed (GLAMS); Empty- nester, Full-nester
Geographic (geo-clusters) Combination of geographic & demographic variables. Rural farmers, Urban professionals,
Psychographics Lifestyle, social or personality characteristics. (typically includes basic demographic descriptors) Socially Aware; Traditionalists, Conservatives, Active 'club-going' young professionals
Behavioral Purchasing, consumption or usage behavior. (Needs-based, benefit-sought, usage occasion, purchase frequency, customer loyalty, buyer readiness). Tech-savvy ; Heavy users, Enthusiasts; Early adopters, Opinion Leaders, Luxury-seekers, Price-conscious, Quality-conscious, Time-poor
Geographic segmentation
This form of segmentation divides markets according to geographic criteria. In practice, markets can be segmented as broadly as continents and as narrowly as neighborhoods or postal codes. Typical geographic variables include:
• Country: USA, UK, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand.
• Region: North, North-west, Mid-west, South, Central.
• Population density: central business district (CBD), urban, suburban, rural, regional.
• City or town size: under 1,000; 1,000–5,000; 5,000–10,000 ... 1,000,000–3,000,000 and over 3,000,000.
• Climatic zone: Mediterranean, Temperate, Sub-Tropical, Tropical, Polar.
The geo-cluster approach combines demographic data with geographic data to create richer, more detailed profiles. Geo-cluster approaches are a consumer classification system designed market segmentation and consumer profiling purposes. They classify residential regions or postcodes on the basis of census and lifestyle characteristics obtained from a wide range of sources. This allows the segmentation of a population into smaller groups defined by individual characteristics such as demographic, socio-economic or other shared socio-demographic characteristics.
Consider Geographic segmentation to be the first step in international marketing, where marketers must decide whether to adapt their existing products and marketing programs for the unique needs of distinct geographic markets. Tourism Marketing Boards often segment international visitors based on their country of origin. By way of example, “Tourism Australia” undertakes marketing in 16 core geographic markets; of which China, UK, US, New Zealand and Japan are priority segments because they have the greatest potential for growth and are extremely profitable segments with higher than average expenditure per visit. Tourism Australia carries out extensive research on each of these segments and develops rich profiles of high priority segments to understand their needs and how travel decisions are determined. Insights from this analysis drive travel product development, allocation of promotional budgets, advertising strategy and in broader urban planning decisions. For example, in light of the numbers of Japanese visitors, the city of Melbourne has erected Japanese signage in tourist precincts.
Behavioral segmentation
Behavioral segmentation divides consumers into groups according to their observed behaviors. Many marketers believe that behavioral variables are superior to demographic and geographic data for building market segments. Typical behavioral variables and their descriptors include:
• Purchase/Usage Occasion: regular occasion, special occasion, celebration, and gift giving
• Benefit-Sought: economy, quality, service level, convenience, access
• User Status: First-time user, Regular user, Non-user
• Usage Rate/ Purchase Frequency: Light user, heavy user, moderate user
• Loyalty Status: Loyal, switcher, non-loyal, lapsed
• Buyer Readiness: Unaware, aware, intention to buy
• Attitude to Product or Service: Enthusiast, Indifferent, Hostile; Price Conscious, Quality Conscious
• Adopter Status: Early adopter, late adopter, laggard
Note that these descriptors are merely commonly used examples. Marketers customize the variable and descriptors for both local conditions and for specific applications. For example, in the health industry, planners often segment broad markets according to 'health consciousness' and identify low, moderate and highly health conscious segments. This is an applied example of behavioral segmentation, using attitude to product or service as a key descriptor or the variable customized for the specific application.
Purchase/usage occasion
Purchase or usage occasion segmentation focuses on analyzing occasions when consumers might purchase or consume a product. This approach customer-level and occasion-level segmentation models and provides an understanding of the individual customers’ needs, behavior and value under different occasions of usage and time. Unlike traditional segmentation models, this approach assigns more than one segment to each unique customer, depending on the current circumstances.
• Immediate Eat (34%): Driven by the need to snack, indulge or an energy boost.
• Home Stock (25%): Driven by the need to have something in the pantry to share with family in front of TV or for home snacking.
• Kids (17%): Driven by need for after school snacks, parties, treats.
• Gift-giving (15%): Products purchased as gifts, needs include a token of appreciation, a romantic gesture or a special occasion.
• Seasonal (3.4%): Driven by need to give a present or create a festive atmosphere. The products are relevant on feast days such as Christmas, Easter.
Benefit Sought
Benefit sought (referred to needs-based segmentation) divides markets into distinct needs, perceived value, benefits sought or advantage that accrues from the purchase of a product or service. Marketers using benefit-sought segmentation might develop products with different quality levels, performance, customer service, special features or any other meaningful benefit and pitch different products at each of the segments identified. Benefit segmentation is one of the more commonly used approaches to segmentation and is widely used in many consumer markets including motor vehicles, fashion and clothing, furniture, consumer electronics and holiday-makers.
Other types of Consumer Segmentation
In addition to geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral bases, marketers occasionally turn to other means to segment a market, or, to develop segment profiles.
Generational segments
A generation is definable as "a cohort of people born within a similar span of time (15 years at the upper end) who share a comparable ‘age’ and ‘life stage’ and who were shaped by a particular span of time (events, trends and developments)." Generational segmentation refers to the process of dividing and analyzing a population into cohorts based on their birth date. Generational segmentation assumes the shape of people's values and attitudes by the key events that occurred during their lives and that these attitudes translate into product and brand preferences.
Demographers, studying population change, disagree about precise dates for each generation. Dating is normally achievable by identifying population peaks or troughs, which can occur at different times in each country. For example, in Australia the post-war population boom peaked in 1960, while the peak occurred somewhat later in the USA and Europe, with most estimates converging on 1964. Accordingly, by definition Australian Boomers are those born between 1945 and 1960 - while American and European Boomers depict those born in 1945 to 1964. Thus, the generational segments and their dates discussed here are approximations only.
The primary generational segments identified by marketers are:
• Builders: born 1920 to 1945
• Baby Boomers: born about 1945–1965
• Generation X: born about 1966–1976
• Generation Y: also known as ‘Millennials’; born about 1977–1994
• Generation Z: also known as Centennials; born 1995–2015
Unique characteristics of selected generations
Millennials Generation X Baby Boomers
Technology use (24%) Technology use (12%) Work ethic (17%)
Music/ popular culture (11%) Work ethic (11%) Respectful (14%)
Liberal/ tolerant (7%) Conservative/ traditional (7%) Values/ morals (8%)
Smarter (6%) Smarter (6%) Smarter (5%)
Clothes (5%) Respectful (5%) Not applicable
Cultural segmentation
Cultural segmentation is useful to classify markets according to cultural origin. Culture is a major dimension of consumer behavior and can be used to enhance customer insight and as a component of predictive models. Cultural segmentation enables the use of appropriately constructed communications for particular cultural communities. Cultural segmentation is applicable to existing customer data to measure market penetration in key cultural segments by product, brand, channel as well as traditional measures of recently, frequency and monetary value. These benchmarks form an important evidence-base to guide strategic direction and tactical campaign activity, allowing the restaurateur to monitor engagement trends over time.
One can map Cultural segmentation according to state, region, suburb and neighborhood. This provides a geographical market view of population proportions and may be of benefit in selecting appropriately located premises, determining territory boundaries and local marketing activities. Census data is a valuable source of cultural data but not meaningfully applicable to individuals. Name analysis is the most reliable and efficient means of describing the cultural origin of individuals. The accuracy of using name analysis as a surrogate for cultural background in Australia is 80–85%, after allowing for female name changes due to marriage, social or political reasons or colonial influence. The extent of name data coverage means a user will code a minimum of 99 percent of individuals with their most likely ancestral origin. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/04%3A_Segmentation_in_a_Marketplace/4.02%3A_Segmentation_-_Where_to_Begin.txt |
In ‘market-targeting’ a group of consumers become the focus of the marketing program. Another major decision in developing the segmentation strategy is the selection of market segments that will become the focus of special attention (known as target markets). The marketer faces a number of important decisions:
• What criteria should we use to evaluate markets?
• How many markets should we enter (one, two or more)?
• Which market segments are the most valuable?
When a marketer enters more than one market, they often labeled segments as the primary target market, and secondary target market. The primary market is the target market selected as the ‘main’ center of marketing activities. The secondary target market is likely to be a segment that is not as large as the primary market, but has growth potential. Alternatively, the secondary target group might consist of a small number of purchasers that account for a relatively high proportion of sales volume perhaps due to purchase value or purchase frequency.
In terms of evaluating markets, three core considerations are essential:
• Segment size and growth
• Segment structural attractiveness
• Company objectives and resources.
Criteria for evaluating segment attractiveness
There are no formulas for evaluating the attractiveness of market segments and a good deal of judgement is necessary. Nevertheless, one can utilize a number of considerations to assist in evaluating market segments for overall attractiveness. The following lists a series of appropriate questions to ask.
Segment size and growth
• How large is the market?
• Is the market segment substantial enough to be profitable? (Segment size can be measured in number of customers, but superior measures are likely to include sales value or volume)
• Is the market segment growing or contracting?
• What are the indications of sustainable growth in the long term?
• Is the segment stable over time? (Segment must have sufficient time to reach desired performance level)
Segment structural attractiveness
• To what extent are competitors targeting this market segment?
• Do buyers have bargaining power in the market?
• Are substitute products available?
• Can we carve out a viable position to differentiate from any competitors?
• How responsive are members of the market segment to the marketing program?
• Is this market segment reachable and accessible? (i.e., with respect to distribution and promotion)
Company objectives and resources
• Does this market segment align with our company's operating philosophy?
• Do we have the resources necessary to enter this market segment?
• Do we have prior experience with this market segment or similar market segments?
• Do we have the skills and/or knowledge to enter this market segment successfully?
The restauranteur should design the marketing program with the needs of the target market in mind. When the segments have been determined and separate offers developed for each of the core segments, the marketer's next task is to design a marketing program (also known as the marketing mix) that will resonate with the target market or markets. Developing the marketing program requires a deep knowledge of key market segment's purchasing habits, their preferred retail outlet, their media habits and their price sensitivity. The marketing program for each brand or product should be based on the understanding of the target market (or target markets) revealed in the market profile.
Developing the marketing program and positioning strategy involves:
Positioning is the final step in the S-T-P planning approach; Segmentation → Targeting → Positioning; a core framework for developing marketing plans and setting objectives. Positioning refers to decisions about how to present the offer in a way that resonates with the target market. During the research and analysis, that forms the central part of segmentation and targeting, the marketer will have gained insights into what motivates consumers to purchase a product or brand. These insights will form part of the positioning strategy.
According to advertising guru, David Ogilvy, "Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm. A good brand positioning helps guide marketing strategy by clarifying the brand’s essence, what goals it helps the consumer achieve, and how it does so in a unique way."
Perceptual mapping is often appropriate to understand consumers' mental representations of brands within a given category. Traditionally two variables (often, but not necessarily, price and quality) are used to construct the map. A sample of people in the target market polled to explain where they would place various brands in terms of the selected variables. Average results across all respondents are plot on a graph. The final map indicates how the average member of the population views the brand that make up a category and how each of the brands relates to other brands within the same category. While perceptual maps with two dimensions are common, multi-dimensional maps are also used.
Why is it desirable to break a trading area down into groups, or segments? Numerous owners and managers of foodservice operations ask this question because, from their perspective, it would always be better to approach all of the potential customers in a market. Many operators feel that they would effectively weaken their competitive position and ultimately their profits. It is not difficult to think that if an operator were to segment the market and target their marketing efforts only on a few segments, then the result might be a reduction in sales volume. However, as history has shown more often than not, this type of approach proves invariably shortsighted because it fails to consider the reasons underlying a market segmentation approach - reaching customers through similar wants and needs. The basic premise of market segmentation is to allocate what are usually limited resources so that a return on investment can occur.
Segmenting a marketplace, when done properly, is a very effective way to improve sales and profits because it allows the operation to target specific individuals in the trading area who are more likely to patronize the restaurant. Think of it this way, if you were going to market a mixed neighborhood, singles, young adults, and senior citizens, what would your message say that appeal to everyone in that area? The task becomes difficult. Each group of individuals has different wants and needs. Your operation may well have the ability to offer each group something of value, but how you communicate that 'value' to each group of potential customers is what segmentation considers among other things. Regarding promotion in a segmented trading area, a restauranteur can promote different product-services mixes to meet the needs of the different segments. | textbooks/workforce/Food_Production_Service_and_Culinary_Arts/Restaurant_Design%3A_Concept_to_Customer_(Thibodeaux)/04%3A_Segmentation_in_a_Marketplace/4.03%3A_Selecting_target_markets.txt |
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