Egg & Dairy Purchasing & Identification

Culinary Applications:

Egg & Dairy Purchasing & Identification

Length of Class: 1-2 Sessions

Class Duration: 90 minutes each

Lecture: 50 minutes

Instructor Demo: 40 minutes

Optional Student Activity: 90 minutes

Optional Quiz: 10 minutes

Student Objectives:

• Describe the composition, grading and handling of fresh shell eggs

• Identify market forms of eggs

• Identify categories and characteristics of milk and cream

• Identify grades and characteristics of butter

• Identify selected varieties of cheeses

• Identify the five classifications of cheese ripening

TEKS Alignment:

Culinary Arts:

(1)(A),(D); (6)(F),(J); (11)(E)

Practicum in Culinary Arts:

(7)(A); (10)(B),(D),(J)

Restaurant Management:

(1)(D),(E); (5)(B); (12)(A)

Foodservice Prep

Texas Restaurant Association

Education Foundation

Culinary Applications:

Egg & Dairy Purchasing & Identification

Instructor’s Note:This module is designed as a companion to “Breakfast Preparation Techniques”.

Lecture Guide

I.Eggs See: Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Level II, pp. 17-22

A.Composition of eggs See: Professional Cooking, 7th Edition, pp. 812-815

Instructor’s Note: Give each student an egg and a small plate. Have the students break the egg onto the plate as a visual aid.

1.Shell

a.Porous (do not wash)

b.Exchange of moisture, gases, bacteria, flavors (Truffle example:

The shell of an egg is porous. It is a common French practice to store

truffles and whole shell eggs together in a closed container under

refrigeration to flavor the egg with the essence of the truffles. This

example illustrates the porosity of the egg shell.)

2.Membrane

3.Air cell (Float test for freshness: fresh egg will sink, older eggs will float)

4.Thin white

5.Thick white

6.Yolk

7.Chalaza

8.Primarily protein

Instructor’s Sidebar: Discuss albumin, egg foams as leavening and yolk fat

B.USDA Grades (based primarily on freshness)

1.AA—freshest

2.A—fresh (industry standard)

3.B—less fresh (cold storage eggs)

C.Size grades

1.Minimum ounce weight per dozen

2.Jumbo—30 oz.

3.Extra large—27 oz.

4.Large—24 oz.

5.Medium—21oz.

6.Small—18 oz.

7.Peewee—15 oz.

8.Foodservice standard = Grade A large unless otherwise specified

D.Judging the quality of your eggs (Instructor-led Student Activity)

1.Height of yolk

2.Spread

3.Firm white appearance

E.Receiving and storage

1.45ºF or below (36ºF preferred)

2.Clean, no cracks

3.Away from odors

Foodservice Prep

Texas Restaurant Association

Education Foundation

II.Dairy productsSee: Professional Cooking, 7th Edition, pp. 834-837

A.Fresh milkSee: Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Level II, pp. 6-13

1.Use grade A only

2.Whole milk—3.5% butterfat

3.Reduced and low fat milks

4.Skim milk—0.5% butterfat or less

5.About pasteurization and homogenization

6.About buttermilk

B.Cream

1.Heavy whipping (36%-40% butterfat)

2.Light whipping cream

3.Light cream

4.Half-and-half (10%-12% butterfat)

5.About sour cream, crème fraîche and yogurt

C.Canned and dried milks

1.Evaporated

2.Condensed

3.Dried

a.Dried whole milk

b.Dried non-fat (extended shelf-life)

D.Butter

1.USDA grading (based on salt and water content, body and color)

a.AA

b.A

c.B

d.C

2.Other characteristics

a.Unsalted

b.Clarified butter

Instructor Demonstration:Clarifying butter—Whole butter contains a high proportion of water and milk solids. In many cases, it will be desirable to reduce and/or eliminate the water and milk solids in the whole butter to elevate its smoking point and reduce its burning temperature. The finished product can be used for cooking procedures such as sautéing which require high heats at which whole butter would burn and in recipes such as Hollandaise sauce in which the water in whole butter would change the characteristics of the finished product.

See: Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Level II, pp. 13-14

c.Smoking point

d.About margarine and butter

e.Storage

1)Refrigerated

2)Frozen

3)Clarified

Instructor’s Note:This section is best accompanied by a student tasting or sampling to illustrate differences between cheese varieties.”A World of Cheese” in Elective Lessons is a companion lesson to this section.

E.CheeseSee: Professional Cooking, 7th Edition, pp. 837-843

1.Composition and flavorSee: Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Level II, pp. 14-17

2.Curdling agents

a.Acids

b.Enzymes (rennet)

Foodservice Prep

Texas Restaurant Association

Education Foundation

3.Fresh cheeses (unripened)

a.Cottage

b.Farmers

c.Cream cheese

d.Fresh mozzarella

e.Ricotta

f.Feta

4.Ripening cheese

a.Mold ripening

1)From inside out

• Blue cheeses

• Roquefort

• Stilton

• Gorgonzola

• Danish

2)From outside in

• Brie

• Camembert

b.Bacteria ripening

1)From inside out

• Cheddar

• Swiss

• Colby

• Provolone

• Parmesan

2)From outside in

• Limburger

• Liederkranz

5.Varieties

a.Fresh (unripened)

b.Semi-soft

c.Soft

d.Hard

e.Blue-veined

f.Goat

1)Fresh (chèvre)

2)Aged

g.Hard grating

h.Process

6.Storage

a.Shelf life

1)Moisture content

2)Sodium content

3)Hardness

4)Aging

5)Drying and molding

Professional Cooking, 7th Edition, Wayne Gisslen, Chapter 24, pp. 812-815, Chapter 25, pp. 834-843.

Additional Reading:Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Level II, Chapter 5

Additional Resources:Cooking Essentials for the New Professional Chef, Food and Beverage Institute, Chapter 5.