We Don't Need Kitchen Sponges

Among all queries a cooking enthusiast may encounter, blanching of meat definitely is one of the most asked questions. There are many who highlight the importance of blanching, so much so that the meat may be harmful to our health if one does not blanch it before cooked, in the name of “toxic”(有毒). We may have been “warned” by some people who are so swore by it, they testify their opinions by showing us how “murky” or “foamy” is the water after blanching. Some may even claim that their machines can blanch meat at certain temperature in order to lift the hygiene and taste to the next level. Being a professional chef and cooking enthusiast, I am very keen to seek the truth about blanching. What Is Blanching? Blanching meat (or bones) is a process whereby the meat is heat for a short period of time and then introduced into cold water or cool air to terminate the heating process. We may begin blanching with cold water or boiling hot water. During the process, some of the proteins coagulated on the surface of the meat may be removed. In short, this serves as a pre-treatment of meat before the cooking process. Does Washing “Cleans” The Meat? I would like to share some information about meat cleaning before cooking. Contrary to common believe that meat should be washed before cooking, it is not recommended to be washed in fact. While washing fruits, grains or other ingredients may promote food safety, washing meat may not do the same trick. As explained in one of the articles on United States Department of Agriculture - Food Safety and Inspection Service , washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is NOT recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces, which in return, may cause cross-contamination. Dirt, dust or other tiny particles that soil the surface of meat during portioning by sellers in wet market, may be removed through rinsing of running water. However, some of the bacteria are so tightly attached, it is impossible to be removed regardless the times you wash the meat. In fact, there are other types of bacteria that can be easily washed off and splashed on the surfaces of your kitchen, utensils or other food. As a result, it may lead to foodborne illness in the event any of these contaminated areas are not cleaned off come in contact with cooked food or food that does not need to be heated. In conclusion, if you want to wash the meat, please be extra mindful to prevent the happening of cross-contamination. Meat sold at some supermarkets or modern butcheries, does not come in contact with bare hands during portioning. They normally are handled by trained butchers wearing appropriate attires included disposal gloves. On top of that, some of these operations have very tedious working protocols include portioning the meat right from the freezer using machines, wrapping the meats in a timely manner and to maintain the working environment to a specific temperature that minimises growth of bacteria. As mentioned in the article, the most efficient way to kill bacteria is cooking to the right temperature, at minimum internal temperature of 62.78°C or higher before removing from the heat source. Using a food thermometer by inserting it to the meat is a promising way to be certain that foodborne bacteria is destroyed during the cooking process. Is Blanched Meat Cleaner? Understanding information answered to previous query helps us to answer this question. Blanching is NOT a method to cleanse meat. This brings us to visit the earlier query about meat, and whether it is toxic? In the event animal ate or injected with toxic substance, their meat will become toxic. Pure meat from a healthy animal is not toxic. Government body like SFA (restructured from AVA, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore) is empowered to manage food related issues, foodborne disease outbreaks and food safety policies. One aspect of their wide range of services include testing on meat to ensure hygiene and healthy standards are met. In conclusion, if you have a piece of meat and suspect that is toxic, throw it away, do not attempt to consume at all. Why Blanch A Meat? 1. Removing the strong smell When I was attending university in Adelaide, I always blanched pork before cooking in order to remove the strong pork smell that was found on the surface of the pork (the pork was fresh but smell was kinda strong and not to my liking). I usually bring to boil a pot of water along with some star anise, cloves, white portions of spring onion and Shao Xing cooking wine, put in the meat, blanch until the meat colour turned lighter. Then I rinsed the meat it with some cold water before attempted to cook it. So far, pork that I buy from wet markets or supermarkets nowadays, being Malaysia, Indonesia or Australia origins, does not carry strong smell. In this instance, there is no need to undergo the blanching process. 2. Clear broth For some dishes that called for clear broth like chicken consommé in French cuisine or buddha jump over the wall (佛跳墙) in Chinese cuisine, chefs may begin the cooking by blanching the meat or bones. During the blanching process, proteins from the meat surface coagulate to form the murky liquid and foam. Chefs will drain the pot and rinse the meat to remove these unwanted proteins, before they begin to make soup stock, which will turn out to be clear. 3. Moderating flavour Some meats are naturally strong and bold in flavours. As a result, when chefs intend to moderate the flavours, they may go through the blanching process to bring down the distinctive flavours significantly. This process is commonly used when chefs are cooking for a big crowd and they need to cater to the tastebuds of wide range of diners. Besides blanching, using lemon is another effective way to moderate meat flavour too. 4. Change texture Some meats (or proteins) include but not limited to liver, kidney, brains, fish eggs, are too delicate to be handled. By blanching them first, will enable these proteins to firm up. Chefs may also simmer them in court-bouillon which may flavour them at the same time. Blanched Meat Tastes Better, True? Out of the many possible ways to make meat taste better, freshness and cooking technique are the two crucial factors. Blanching does not make a meat taste better, in fact, if you do not do it right, you may end up with firmer piece of meat to cook. More reading: Following are two other articles that I would love to recommend to you, should you be interested to know more. 1. Blanching Meat by Fred Decker 2. 暴躁兔女王的《关于跑活水这件事，我想说的是》 3. Washing Food: Does it Promote Food Safety? #blanching #blanchmeat #howtocleanmeat #跑活水 #肉有毒吗 #SGcookingclass #SGfoodie #SingaporeHomeCooks #thermomix #tm5 #tm6 #blanchmeatwithTM

PLASTICS ARE NOT SAFE TO BE USED FOR HEATING UP FOOD IN DIRECT CONTACT. For the past 2 months, I have spent some time to read about cookware materials due to my concerns of plastic cookwares. Unfortunately what my mum warned me since childhood that plastic is not safe to get in touch with our food, especially hot food or during heating, is still a concern after decades of technology advancement. I called up a friend, who is a Chemical engineer to enquire about how safe is plastic material being used as cookware. She made a very simple layman explanation to me, that plastics are simply chains of like molecules linked together, namely polymers. This is why many plastics begin with “poly,” such as polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. Polymers often are made of carbon and hydrogen and sometimes oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, fluorine, phosphorous, or silicon. The term “plastics” encompasses all these various polymers. Then I raised a question that there are plastics that called themselves "high quality" plastics that fit to be used in the hospital for cancer patients. Is that such a thing? She told me to do more reading about the use of plastic wares from cancer patients perspectives. I did, the answer is negative. Because plastics are polymers. They are a combination of materials. While certain types of materials can withstand higher heat, there are other materials in plastic that has lower melting point. In short, plastic is NOT a stable chain of molecules. We have no idea when some of the plastics melt into our food during heating. Some plastic cookwares emphasized that they are BPA-free. BPA-free does not mean the plastic is safe to contact directly with our food, especially during heating. Read more about BPA-free on National Geographic. There are plastic cookwares that need to be kept away from exposure to sunlight, at least this is how we taught in order to prolong the life span of the plastic cookwares. If we expose the plastic cookwares to sunlights, chances are the cookwares face decay very soon. For a cookware that will decay due to heat from sunlight, will that be safe for use to cook? NO. If you care about your family's health, avoid plastic cookwares by all means. If you have any cooking gadget that contains plastic accessories, please avoid to use it during heating up of food, so that whatever plastics that melted will not get into your body through food intake. I am making a change of my cookwares at home, if you care about health, please do more readings and make a wise choice. Health is wealth. #BPAfree #thermomix #plasticcookware #simmeringbasket #plasticisnotsafe #foodsafety

喜爱蓝莓吗？小巧可爱的蓝莓是很多人的心头好。 但是，对于这些小颗粒的果实，清洗也着实是一个问题。 有些人随便用水一冲就吃，但是这个做法实际上是无法去除蓝莓表皮上的污垢的。 这里， 我想和大家分享一下清理蓝莓的概要。 首先，烧开一锅五十度的温水，水量足够盖过要清洗的蓝莓就可以了。 接着放入一滴蔬果清洁液和蓝莓，用勺子顺着同意方向搅拌大约三分钟的时间。 熄火，让蓝莓在温水里再待两分钟的时间， 用清水冲洗一遍， 就可安心食用了。 Blueberry cleaning steps Prepare a pot of water at 50°C, enough to cover all blueberries. Add a drop of baby fruit cleaning liquid (optional) and blueberries, use a wooden spoon to stir in one direction for approximately 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, let blueberries soak for another 2 minutes. Rinse blueberries with tap water and drain. Is plastic food safe? Read more. Ready to serve. If you have a Thermomix, you may click HERE to view the autowash steps.