It is difficult to say unambiguously which of the types of heat treatment of food occurred earlier, but it can be stated with accuracy that baking food is an ancient method of preparing dishes. This method can be used in coals, in special fires, ovens and, of course, tandyrs.
Modern technologies for baking dishes include the presence of an oven, electric ovens, aerogrids and other appliances. In natural conditions, you can bake food in the heat of an ordinary fire.
Baking is one of nine basic ways of cooking. During the preparation of food on the products a characteristic ruddy crust is formed.
What products can be baked?
To use the method of baking, almost any product is suitable: meat, fish, vegetables or fruit. It is difficult, of course, to bake cereals, although as an ingredient, croup may be contained in a dish.
To properly bake the product, you must adhere to certain technological rules. For example, it is necessary to maintain the optimum temperature, depending on the properties of a particular product.
Methods of baking various products
There are three ways of baking dishes( grill, closed and open), on which depends the juiciness and special taste of cooked food.
With regard to the roasting of fish, in this case the master cooks recommend not to clean and not to gut fish at all. It is believed that after dressing the fish becomes vulnerable to high temperatures and during cooking can lose too much natural juice. Although for a closed method of baking the product can also be divided.
As for the preparation of fish as a whole, in this case the unclean carcass possesses the highest natural hermeticity. Another thing, if you want to bake only a steak or fillet.
But what about the meat of an animal or a bird? You can not put the cow in the oven! Here the solution is very simple - this way of baking is called "closed": either special containers with lids are used, or ordinary cooking foil and pockets for baking. Under their protection, the ingredients retain their natural juiciness, are saturated with each other, the dish becomes more flavorful and tastier.
Special foil can be purchased at any store in the department of household goods. Basically, it is sold in rolls, so that you can rewind as much as necessary. Note that cooking foil is great for baking meat, poultry or fish, vegetables, as well as for making desserts. Again, cereals( which we do not prepare by baking) do not require foil. Fruit in foil, too, almost never baked.
Very popular dishes are: potatoes baked in foil with bacon, onion or cheese;chicken with pineapple or carrots;meat with mushrooms or vegetables. In the foil wrap not only mixes, equally often bake only potatoes - to taste it is like a potato from a fire, a fish with spices and herbs, a whole bird, a meatloaf.
Several tricks of roasting
The technology of cooking under the foil requires that the tightness of the packaging is maintained, so it is so important when wrapping to not damage the integrity of the blade and leave no air gaps. If you completely pack the products in foil, then this is best done on a flat surface. Place the ingredients on one edge of the prepared layer and gently wrap the remaining edges, smoothing the seams well. For more confidence that the package will not open, you can burn it further, and then send it to the oven or oven.
The wrapped products in the foil can be placed in the oven in different ways: on a baking sheet, grate, brazier, in an airtight container or throw directly into the coals, if it is a stove. What you choose depends on the recipe of the dish.
How to understand that the dish under the foil is ready, if it is not visible? There may be several options for checking, for example, the degree of cooking can be judged by charring the edges of the foil. Some chefs pierce the package along with the ingredient to determine readiness. In any case, the foil is a good barrier to preserve the natural moisture, juiciness and taste of the dish.
How long does it take to bake
productsIf you do not want to pierce the foil, you can trust the approximate time for baking certain products. For example, most vegetables can last 10-15 minutes( depending on the size of the potato tubers, it can be cooked for 60 minutes).From what kind of fish, cooking time can be a maximum of 25 minutes. The bird is baked in foil for 40 minutes, but the meat of the animal needs at least an hour.
Preparation of products for baking
Preparation of ingredients for baking in foil also requires special rules, for each product they have their own. Fish in this case can already be cleaned of scales and entrails. One of the recipes says: clean the fish, wash, dry, portion, salt, pan in flour and spices, and then wrap with foil.
The bird is also preliminarily gutted. Then the carcass can be temporarily marinated or simply wrapped in spices and herbs, tied, so that during cooking, the foil is not damaged. And then wrap in an aluminum canvas.
Before baking vegetables, they should also be washed, if necessary, cleaned and cut into pieces. Then lightly add and add spices( depending on the recipe), wrap in foil and lay in the oven.
As for the thermal conditions created in the oven, this must also be taken into account when determining the level of dish placement: the higher - the hotter. Hence, it is better to place delicate products in the oven lower, but you can also put meat or root vegetables on the upper tier of the oven. Of course, ideally, during cooking it is customary to change the levels to ensure uniform baking.
The use of baked products
During the baking of products in aluminum foil they retain their natural moisture, taste and aroma. As a result, the food remains juicy, without losing the most useful components.
This way of cooking is better for those people who are struggling with excess weight, because the dish does not need to add fats. Baking foods is considered one of the most useful ways of cooking food, so dishes from the oven are so popular among supporters of a healthy lifestyle.
Note that during baking, no less appetizing crust is formed on the products than during the frying, only it does not affect harmful fats.
Baking: harm and contraindications
It is very important to monitor the maintenance of appropriate temperatures, as in the case of increased thermal activity in some products, natural fats can burn up, turning into carcinogens.
Unfortunately, during baking, B-group vitamins are destroyed, their loss can be up to a quarter of the total composition. Also, vitamin C. dissolves under the influence of high temperatures.
Refrain from dishes cooked using baking technology( especially if you managed to break cooking rules), should people who suffer from gastrointestinal disorders.