Basic Dishes and Service
Senior 2 · Home Science
Basic Dishes and Service
Lesson 2 of 4
22 min
Let's begin
Salads, eggs and sandwiches are the quickest dishes a cook can make, and they are the basis of school packed lunches, breakfasts and snack stalls all over Kigali. Because a salad and a sandwich are not cooked, hygiene matters even more than usual.
In this lesson you will follow three simple recipes with quantities, and learn how to scale a recipe up or down for a different number of people.
Ingredients: 300 g cabbage; 150 g carrots (about 2); 200 g tomatoes (about 2); 1 ripe avocado; 1 small onion; juice of 1 lemon; 1 tablespoon oil; a pinch of salt.
Method:
Why these steps: the salad is not cooked, so washing is the only control of dirt and germs. Dressing is added at the last moment so the vegetables stay crisp; lemon juice slows the browning of avocado.
Eggs must be fresh and uncracked. For young children, pregnant women and elderly people, cook eggs until both white and yolk are firm, to kill any Salmonella.
Ingredients: 8 slices of bread; 4 hard-boiled eggs; 1 ripe avocado; 1 tomato; salt.
Method: mash the avocado with a pinch of salt and spread it on 4 slices; add sliced egg and tomato; cover with the other slices; press lightly and cut each sandwich into two triangles. Keep cool and covered until eaten.
Question: The salad recipe serves 4. How much cabbage, carrot and tomato is needed for 12 people?
Solution: Scale factor = new number of people ÷ original number = 12 ÷ 4 = 3. Multiply every ingredient by 3: cabbage 300 × 3 = 900 g; carrots 150 × 3 = 450 g; tomatoes 200 × 3 = 600 g; 3 avocados, 3 onions, juice of 3 lemons, 3 tablespoons oil.
Question: A class of 30 each needs one egg sandwich. A loaf gives 20 slices and eggs are sold in trays of 30. How many loaves and trays are needed?
Solution: 30 sandwiches × 2 slices = 60 slices; 60 ÷ 20 = 3 loaves. One egg per sandwich = 30 eggs = 1 tray.
Tip
Memory hook: "scale factor = new ÷ old". Work out the factor once, then multiply every ingredient by it.
Exam technique: when a recipe is scaled, round sensibly at the end (you cannot buy 2.5 onions, so buy 3), and say that seasoning such as salt is adjusted to taste rather than multiplied blindly.
Why is dressing added to a salad just before it is served?
Solution: Salt and acid in the dressing draw water out of the vegetables, making them soft and watery if they stand too long. Adding it at the end keeps them crisp.
How long should an egg be boiled to be hard-boiled, and what should be done straight afterwards?
Solution: 9 to 10 minutes, then cool it at once in cold water.
The omelette recipe uses 2 eggs for 1 person. How many eggs are needed for 7 people?
Solution: 2 × 7 = 14 eggs.
Scale the salad recipe (for 4) down to 2 people. How much cabbage is needed?
Solution: Scale factor = 2 ÷ 4 = 0.5; cabbage 300 × 0.5 = 150 g.
Summary
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa.
