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Food

Pickles and Other Preserved Foods

Pickling is just one of the many ways of preserving food. Historically, early records show that people first preserved their food during the war. This is necessary to maintain food supply. Today, we preserve food, fruits and vegetables to avoid spoilage, to keep them fresh and to still enjoy them even when they’re out of season. Preserving food also makes it more tasty, adding more flavors and even texture to the food.

In pickling, vegetables are soaked in brine and vinegar solution for a day or more and placed in a tightly sealed jar. The solution is first brought to a boil and then poured over the vegetables. Cucumber is the most common vegetable used. Sometimes, to produce a half-sour taste, no vinegar is used in pickling food.

Another method in preserving food is drying. By evaporating water content in food, this reduces bacterial activity usually conducive in moist environments. Dried fish and meat are some examples. Dried raisins and mangoes are some snack treats that are preserved using this process.

Freezing is a method of preserving food by preventing microbial growth using extreme cold temperatures. Meat, fish and sometimes also vegetables such as peas are frozen to maintain their freshness. Refrigeration also slows down food spoilage but do not preserve the food in its edible state for a long time. Fruits and vegetables are refrigerated to keep them fresh for a few more days.

Using sugar to preserve food is one very tasty of doing it. Cooking the food in heavily sweetened syrup creates a condition unfavorable for bacterial survival. Fruit jams and jellies use this method of preservation. So almost any fruit can be enjoyed even when they are not in season. Strawberries, mangoes, oranges, peaches and many other fruits that were used to be enjoyed only once a year can now be tasted year-long in jams or jellies. One type of this method is glazing where fruits are coated with sugary syrup but is extracted from the syrup. Apples and cherries are some examples of glazed fruits.

Smoking fish and meat can also preserve them. Heat from the smoke dehydrates the food thus reducing conduciveness for bacterial growth. This method also makes the food tasty by giving it a varied aroma and sometimes spices are also added in the preservation process.

Using fat can also preserve food for a day or two. Frying fish and meat for example extends its edibility. And there is also a method of preserving meat called potting where meat is set in a pot and sealed with a layer of fat. Potted liver is an example.

There are many more ways of preserving food. Knowing what is the best method to use for a particular food stuff helps in avoiding food spoilage. Food can be recycled and even common food can be made interesting and more tasty. Preserving food using different types of methods also offers a range of taste and variety to the food making it more enjoyable and sometimes even more nutritious.

Restaurant

Restaurant Dining Room Service Improvement – Staff Scheduling Tips Part 2

Proper staff scheduling is extremely crucial for providing excellent restaurant dining room service. There are 2 basic concepts that can improve restaurant service immensely. In every way, a balance must be achieved by matching labor needs to the forecasted business.

The first concept is the “on call waiter” who can be scheduled for any shift necessary. The “on call waiter” function is to call the restaurant about 1/2 – 1 hr. before the work shift commences food service to see if he/she is needed to come in and work that particular shift.

The “on call” function is useful in many ways in the case of outdoor dining where business literally depends on the weather. If the weather is right for outdoor seating, the “on call waiter” will be asked to come in to work. If it’s raining, then the “on call waiter” will not be asked to report to work — though the phone call to the restaurant should still be made. Basically, if the staff is sufficient for that particular restaurant shift, then the “on call waiter” will not be needed.

Another useful function for the “on call waiter” is when there is an extremely important event scheduled. In this case, there can be absolutely no staff shortages for that event. Simply by communicating properly and timely over the telephone, the dining room will be covered completely saving the service staff time and the restaurant wasted payroll.

This system is flexible, and should be used with common sense, not haphazardly. Depending on the situation, there can even be more than one “on call waiter” for a shift. By the same token, you may not even use an “on call waiter” for many of the slower work shifts. Every restaurant must figure out what system works best for them, and make the adjustment.

The second restaurant service staff scheduling concept is the “maintenance runner” which works best when there is more than one food runner working per shift. Once again, this concept will prove how proper staff scheduling is directly tied to improving dining room service.

In a small restaurant, there may be only one food runner needed for the shift delivering food from the kitchen areas to the dining room areas. The runner is responsible for keeping those dining room areas and floor areas clean, since it is usually part of the sidework.

If this sidework doesn’t get done, it is obvious where the blame lies. (Technically it’s everyone’s job to keep the restaurant clean, but it ultimately should be the food runner’s job to keep the service/ kitchen areas, waiter food prep areas, and floor areas clean.)

Now, on the other hand, a large restaurant that uses 3 runners per shift is definitely transporting a higher volume of food from the kitchen areas to the dining areas. Therefore, things will get a bit messier because of the added food traffic. To compound the problem, with more than one runner, things will get confusing as to whose responsibility it is to keep the above restaurant areas clean.

The solution to this headache lies within the restaurant service staff scheduling. Simply place “maintenance runner” on a pre-designated schedule spot, and rotate fairly. For easy labeling on the schedule, a simple MR abbreviation next to the name or shift— and it’s good to go for each needed shift. The “maintenance runner” will ultimately be responsible for the sweep up and wipe-up jobs-especially before and after each shift. Cleanliness, especially floors, will also lessen the risk of bodily injury such as slippage from an unclean floor.

These simple dining room service scheduling concepts will help ensure that the restaurant is properly staffed and maintained with regards to safety and sanitary guidelines.

XNews

How to Have a Great Field Trip

Do you remember when you were a kid, excitedly stepping onto a great big bus early in the morning, headed off to a field trip? Field trips mean new and exciting experiences for students, so they can leave long lasting impressions. It is the perfect time to make the subjects they are learning about come alive, and to show them just how fun learning about the world around them can really be. Here are a few tips on how to make your next field trip great.

Be Prepared

Well before the exciting day arrives, do your research and write up a list of everything your students will need to do and know in order to arrive prepared. This list may include suggestions for proper attire, including weather appropriate clothing and footwear that will fit the planned activities, suggestions for lunches to pack, and what is OK to bring and what must be left at home. For example, some trips might be a good time for cameras, but for others, like museums that do not allow photography, cameras should be left at home. Depending on your destination, you may want to give a special talk about the right kind of behavior for the trip as well. Making it very clear what is expected of your students before you are out and about will help to ensure that the day goes smoothly.

Make It Memorable

The best way to ensure that your field trip will really stick with your students is to have them truly engaged in the place that you are visiting. There are some destinations that will create this engagement naturally. For others, however, like a walk through a forest or other natural setting or a trip to an art museum, you may need to help them keep their focus. You know your students best, so plan for what you know will hold their interest. If they are mature and already interested in their destination, a simple worksheet might be enough. For a rowdier or more easily distracted crowd, consider something a bit more exciting, like a scavenger hunt.

Transportation

One last critical step that you need to remember is to secure a good source of transportation. When you are choosing a bus service, be sure to take the time to seek out a reliable company that you can trust to get you and your students where you need to be, comfortably. It can be difficult to feel quite as excited about a trip after you have just made a long, uncomfortable journey. By choosing a bus service that offers climate controlled buses, you can deliver your students to their educational destination feeling fresh and ready to learn.