20 Minute University

When it comes to restaurant wine lists, wine lovers have little to complain about these days. It's easy to find formal restaurants with superb wine lists, along with simpler roadhouses, bistros and trattorias with exciting choices. And thanks to the Internet and forward-thinking restaurateurs, consumers can peruse restaurant wine lists and menus online and make decisions before arriving at their "wine destination."

Why you should love rice

A bubbling seafood paella cooked over a wood fire in Valencia. A Vietnamese rice bowl topped with sizzling five-spice pork. An artful platter of pristinely fresh sushi. These are only a few of the global flavors that are exciting Americans today.

In every dining venue consumers are seeking excitement on the plate. If you're not challenging your customers' taste buds with international ideas, you're probably losing sales to someone who is.

The professional chef discovers raisins

When you think about cooking with raisins, what dishes come to mind first? Danish pastry? Oatmeal cookies? Bran muffins? Raisins are essential to the baker’s pantry, of course, but that’s just for starters.

Taking care of customers with food allergies

Before you begin developing a food allergy prevention plan to better serve your customers, remember a few basics. Take all food allergies seriously. Treat all guests with food allergies with respect and understanding. And remember, there are no safe shortcuts when accommodating a guest with food allergies. If someone is allergic to eggs, the food you prepare must not contain even traces of egg or be in contact with utensils or surfaces that have made contact with eggs.

Tools of the trade-the whisk

A skillful combination of well-balanced ingredients is responsible for the unique mouthfeel and texture of a cake. The properties of some of the ingredients, however—liquids, fat and air—inhibit their cohesion under normal circumstances. Yet, by using a humble whisk and the right technique, the cook can incorporate them in a way that prevents their separation. The result: A successful cake topped with luscious cream whipped to perfection. Whisks also help us incorporate thickeners like a roux or slurry into a liquid.

Understanding aquaculture

Aquaculture has been practiced worldwide in one form or another for centuries. Lowland fields and rice paddies would often be flooded by strong rains and monsoons. With these floods came an abundance of fish and aquatic organisms which flourished in this vegetation-rich environment. Once the rainy season ended and the water receded, the fish and their offspring would be harvested.

Understanding healthy eating

Over the past 50 years, eating healthfully has become increasingly challenging. When our ancestors sat down to the table, their food had traveled far fewer miles, was fresher and, most important, was less processed. In addition, because our lifestyles are generally more sedentary, our daily intake requirements—currently between 1,800 and 2,000 calories—have decreased over this same time period.

The basic terrine

Terrines, the shortened name of a dish known classically as pâté en terrine, are traditionally understood to be forcemeat mixtures baked in an earthenware mold with a tight-fitting lid. This preparation gets its name from its association with the material used to make the mold, once exclusively earthenware of unglazed clay or terra cotta.

Average Employees: The Unsung Heros

"Employees are our greatest asset.” In the hospitality industry that phrase is heard often from management. Managers tend to focus their attention on top performers or poor performers, leaving the majority of employees neglected. The average employees, though, are the unsung heroes of an organization. The Pareto Principle—named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto and also known as the 80/20 Rule—states that 80 percent of our employees fall in the middle category, those that meet the expectations established by the organization.

Rice: The Global Grain

Few ingredients cross over as many culinary borders as rice. These days, restaurant kitchens have many more types available from which to choose. “It’s important that the variety meets the needs of the foodservice operation and the specific dishes it’s intended for,” says Gary Reifeiss of Producers Rice Mill in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He contends that long-grain white or brown is a good choice for pilaf or preps like jambalaya, when you want a firmer rice. Reifeiss suggests stickier medium- or short-grain rice for sushi, risotto or rice pudding.

Fresh cheese 101

On its most basic level, cheese is simply preserved milk. To “preserve the milk,” one must lower the water activity, thereby controlling the bacteria that cause spoilage. Ironically, cheese makers achieve this process with other non-harmful beneficial bacteria. The same effect is also achieved by using acid.

The salad mix

The word salad, derived from the Latin word for salt, probably originated to describe a mixture of vegetables preserved through pickling, and enjoyed as part of the meal or to stimulate the appetite, much like today’s antipasto. In modern kitchens, chefs and operators favor salads for their low food and labor cost, ease of execution and broad acceptance among diners.

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