Food presentation

Food Presentation is the art of modifying, processing, arranging, or decorating food to enhance its aesthetic appeal. The visual presentation of foods is often considered by chefs at many different stages of food preparation, from the manner of tying or sewing meats, to the type of cut used in chopping and slicing meats or vegetables, to the style of mold used in a poured dish. The food itself may be decorated as in elaborately iced cakes, topped with ornamental sometimes sculptural consumables, drizzled with sauces, sprinkled with seeds, powders, or other toppings, or it may be accompanied by edible or inedible garnishes.

The arrangement and overall styling of food upon bringing it to the plate is termed plating. Some common styles of plating include a 'classic' arrangement of the main item in the front of the plate with vegetables or starches in the back, a 'stacked' arrangement of the various items, or the main item leaning or 'shingled' upon a vegetable bed or side item. Item location on the plate is often referenced as for the face of a clock, with six o'clock the position closest to the diner. A basic rule of thumb upon plating, and even in some cases prepping, is to make sure you have the 5 components to a dish; protein, traditionally at a 6 o'clock position, vegetable, at a 2 o'clock position, starch at an 11 o'clock position, sauce and garnish.

III. Answer the following questions:

1. What is food processing? 2. What kind of food is necessary for food processing? 3. What do you know about the history of food processing? 4. What causes the development of modern food processing technology? 5. What did Nicolas Appert invent and how did it change the food technology? 6. How did World War II and the space race influence food processing technologies? 7. What are the drawbacks of food processing? 8. What are the benefits of food processing? 9. What is the main goal of food presentation? 10. What is plating?

IV. Use the following words and word combinations in the sentences of your own:

to transform raw ingredients into food, early spoilage, harvested crops, reconstituted juices, prehistoric ages, food borne disease, roasting, pursuit of convenience, smoking, middle-class working wives, steaming, and oven baking, archaeological evidence, to serve military needs, distribution tasks, micro-biological safety of food, seasonal availability, dried instant soups, peeled potatoes

V. Say if the following sentences true or false. Correct the false ones:

1. Food processing typically takes dirty, harvested crops or butchered animal products and uses these to produce ugly, marketable and often long shelf-life food products. 2. The production of animal feed uses different food processing technologies. 3. Preparation of deadly fugu fish is rather simple and can be performed by any cook. 4. Food processing technologies began to develop only after World War II. 5. Canned goods are no longer used in food industry as it is very expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans. 6. Seasonal availability of many foods is considered to be one of the benefits of food processing. 7. It takes processed foods less time to start spoilage than fresh foods. 8. Processed foods become delicate and not suitable for long distance transportation. 9. Food processing usually causes a lot of food borne diseases. 10. Food processing can significantly worsen the taste of any food. 11. Processed food is rather dangerous for people with allergies and diabetics. 12. It is not a surprise to find a metal fragment in processed food. 13.Many scientists think that food presentation is absolute waste of time.