Newbie Culinary Trivia

7- Meat is essentially muscle tissue - and is made up of 3 major components: Protein, Fat and Water. On average, what  % of each makes up the meat that you eat?

Water is about 75% of Muscle tissue - which is why Shrinkage is a major problem in cooking meat - if you lose too much moisture, you could have dry meat and weight loss (which is bad when you want your piece of meat!)

Protein is about 20% - and coagulates when it is cooked. Once it has coagulated (think: doneness) enough, you would consider the meat to be "done" or ready to eat

Fat is pretty much the rest - almost 5% - of the muscle. However, many types of meat CAN have more fat - but it's normally what's SURROUNDING the muscle. Certain types of beefs can be up to 30% fat! (BTW - Fat is a good thing for 3 reasons: Juiciness (Marbling) , Tenderness, and Flavor)

 

 6- How many types of flour can you name? How many types are there?

Types of Flour:

All-purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat; it may be bleached or unbleached. It is usually translated as "plain flour."

Bread flour is white flour made from hard, high-protein wheat. It has more gluten strength and protein content than all-purpose flour. It is unbleached.

Buckwheat Flour is gluten-free which makes it a good choice for anybody with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. 

Cake flour is a fine-textured, soft-wheat flour with a high starch content. It has the lowest protein content of any wheat flour. This flour will be better able to hold its rise and will be less liable to collapse for baked goods.

Gluten flour is usually milled from spring wheat and has a high protein. It is used primarily for diabetic breads, or mixed with other nonwheat or low-protein wheat flours to produce a stronger dough structure.
Instant flour (Wondra from Gold Medal) is granular and formulated to dissolve quickly in hot or cold liquids. It will not work as a substitute for all-purpose flour, although there are recipes on the container for popovers and other baked goods. It is used primarily in sauces and gravies.
Organic flour is used in the same way as regular flour. It must follow U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations to be labeled "organic."
Pastry flour also is made with soft wheat and falls somewhere between all-purpose and cake flour in terms of protein content and baking properties. Pastry flour makes a tender but crumbly pastry. 

Rice Flour - Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It can be made from either white or brown rice.
Self-rising flour, sometimes referred to as phosphated flour, is a low-protein flour with salt and leavening already added.

Semolina flour is used in making pasta and Italian puddings. It is made from durum wheat, the hardest type of wheat grown. The flour is highest in gluten. When other grains, such as rice or corn, are similarly ground, they are referred to as "semolina" with the grain's name added, i.e., "corn semolina" or "rice semolina."

Spelt flour is one of the most popular and widely available non-wheat flour. Spelt flour as a nutty and slightly sweet flavor similar to that of whole wheat flour. It does contain gluten and is a popular substitute for wheat in baked goods. 

Teff flour - Teff is an ancient grain, tiny in size yet packed with nutrition. It is simple to prepare and similar to millet or quinoa in cooking. Teff is packed with nutrition.

Whole Wheat Flour is made from the whole kernel of wheat and is higher in dietary fiber and overall nutrient content than white flours. It does not have as high a gluten level, so often it's mixed with all-purpose or bread flour when making yeast breads. Whole wheat flour is equivalent to British whole meal flour. 

 

Source: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/FlourTypes.htm 

5- What is a Sachet d'epice?

A- French for "spice bag", it's a small cheesecloth sack containing herbs and spices used to add flavor to stocks

4- What does the word "cookie" mean?

A- Dutch for "a small  cake"

3- How many types of eggs can you find in the grocery store and what's the difference between them? I'll give you a hit.. one of them is Grade A....

A- There are Grade AA, Grade A & Grade B.
Grade AA-The insides of the egg cover a small area. The white is firm. There is a lot of thick white around the yolk and a small amount of thin white. The yolk is round and stands up tall.
Grade A-The insides of the egg cover a medium area. The white is pretty firm. There is a good amount of thick white and a medium amount of thin white. The yolk is round and stands up tall.
Grade B- The insides of the egg cover a very wide area. The white is weak and watery. There is no thick white and the large amount of thin white is spread out in a thin layer. The yolk is large and flat
Grade B is used in other egg product & baked goods!!

2-What's the difference between Tomato Puree, Tomato Paste, and Tomato Sauce?

puree - unseasoned tomato 'stuff', cooked briefly and strained making a thick liquid
paste - cooked tomatoes - strained, reduced to thick, rich, somewhat sweet tomato 'stuff'
sauce - has salt, pepper, and other seasonings added - a thinner puree

1- Can you name the 3 types of fat?

A- Saturated, Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated