PURPOSE OF COOKING

Some foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are highly palatable when
eaten raw. However, most foods must be cooked to be acceptable to the
human palatable. The main purpose of cooking food are:
 to improve its natural flavor and palatability;
 to destroy pathogenic organisms and injurious substances
which may be found on raw foods;
 to improve its digestibility; and
 to make its maximum nutritive value available in a palatable
form.
NATURAL FLAVOR AND P ALATABILITY
 Some fruits and vegetables are highly palatable when eaten
raw because uncooked and unsoaked foods retain a good portion
of their nutritive value and natural texture and color. The effect of
cooking on the color and texture is important on its influence in
flavor. When the object is to main the origin flavor of the food, the
cooking process used should be as short as possible without
adding any flavoring materials. For example, fresh and young
vegetables should be cooked in a small amount of boiling water.
 When several foods are cooked together, an interesting blend
of flavor developed. The cooking process in this case is often
comparatively long to allow time enough for the new flavor to
develop. For example, casserole dishes, pudding, and the
local Sinigang and Nilaga are enjoyed for their interesting blend
of different flavors. Overcooking, however, is destructive of
flavors and food become soggy or stringy.
 The effect of cooking on the color and texture of food has a
great influence on flavor. The methods of cooking used must be
those, which are conserving of the natural color of food or
developing the new, desired color.
PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS AND INJURIOUS SUBSTANCE ON FOOD
 All foods in their natural state are subject to spoilage or
deterioration because of pathogenic organisms and injurious
substances found in them. Microorganisms, such as molds, yeasts,
and bacteria, grow at certain temperature generally between O
degree to 75 degrees. However, with the heat application or
exposure to temperatures near the boiling point of water,
microorganisms are easily killed.
 Illness may be caused by foods that naturally contain
poisonous substances and foods that are contaminated with
pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Cooking, through
application of heat, destroy the injurious substances in raw food
and renders the food in wholesome and safe form.
 Most cooking methods produce an interior temperature of 140
degrees to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Some baked products my
reach a temperature close to 21 degrees Centigrade. The
temperature range is one in which many harmful organisms do not
grow. All points of food must reach and maintain a certain
temperature within this range.
DIGESTIBILITY OF FOOD
  All foods undergo softening as a result of cooking, which may
render food more digestible. Some cooking processes are identical
with the process involved in the breakdown of food during
digestion. For example; the transformation of starch into dextrins
and the hydrolyses that takes place during the cooking of meat
break down the protein collagen in a connective tissues.
 Digestibility to a layman, refers not only to the completeness
of digestion and absorption but also the general feeling and after
effect of eating. When food is hard to digest, it is easily
manifested by a feeling of discomfort. Some fruits and vegetables
have to be cooked to be palatable, soft and easy to digest.
MAXIMUM NUTRITUVE VALUE
 Some foods, like fruits and vegetables group, are highly
palatable when eaten raw because unc0oked and unsoaked foods
retain a good portion of their nutritive value. However, in time of
food poisoning outbreak, people are warned not to eat raw or
half-cooked food.
 The most important nutritive change, which occurs in natural
food through cooking, is the loss of its water soluble nutrients,
hence, the retention of these nutrients in foods is directly related
to the amount of water used in cooking. Destruction of vitamins
may also be brought about by the action of heat. Studies have
shown that Ascorbic acid and Thiamine are unfavorably affected
by heat. All these, however, are small losses if compared to the
significance of the effects of cooking to assure safety from food-
borne diseases.
 These are some raw foods that have to be cooked in order that
their nutritive value can be used by the body. For example, root
crops have to be cooked to fully enjoy their carbohydrates
content. The protein content of most fish and meat are fully
utilized when cooked.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING FOOD
The aims and objectives of cooking food are as follows:
 Cooking increases palatability. Cooking pleases the eye and is
receptive to the palate and helps to stimulate the digestive juices,
thereby creating an appetite.
 Cooking helps to provide a balanced meal. The different
ingredients combined together in one dish make it easier to
provide a balanced meal.
 Cooking sterilizes the food partially. Cooking food can be
stored for a longer time and it prevents food poisoning and
diseases when stored properly. Some of the disease producing
germs is killed by cooking. They are killed because of high
temperature during the cooking process. A temperature of 600
degree Celsius applied over 30 or more minutes, kills most of the
pathogenic germs.
 Cooking retains, as far as possible, the nutritive and flavoring
ingredients. The flavor depends upon the amount and kind of
extractive present, and the acid developed. Nutritive value is
 enhanced if the fat proportion in the meat is more. While cooking,
the nutrition could be preserved by using the cooking liquor.
REFERENCE:
 Nora Narvaez-Soriano (2010), A Guide to Food Selection,
Preparation and Preservation,