Making salad dressing

UNDERSTANDING YOUR FOOD<br /> the ultimate educational resource<br /> TEACHER NOTES<br /> <br /> teachers’ notes E1.1<br /> E1. Making Salad Dressings<br /> Pupils research recipes, from cookery books, for coleslaw. They can conduct<br /> a survey of the ingredients of commercially produced coleslaw from the<br /> containers in supermarkets, etc.<br /> Design a recipe<br /> In this section pupils have to make up their own recipe for coleslaw. They<br /> have to choose the proportions of vegetables, etc. They may decide to<br /> add other ingredients, e.g. nuts, fruit or other vegetables.<br /> They can use ready prepared dressings or one of their own (without the<br /> use of the stabiliser).<br /> They must decide how to test their product for taste, appearance,<br /> etc. (not necessarily coating ability).<br /> Design the label<br /> Pupils have to design the packaging for their product including a label<br /> which conforms to legal requirements as to the ingredients in their product.<br /> Pupil activity sheetI5 Reading the labelmay help.<br /> The label could also include any of the other information, such as<br /> storage, nutrition, etc. that is found on packaging.<br /> KS4<br /> project in food technology<br /> Timing - various<br /> Pupil activity sheet E1 accompanies<br /> this activity.<br /> <br /> MAKING SALAD DRESSINGS pupil activity E1<br /> There are many recipes for home-made dressings for<br /> salads. They are often made and added to dishes just<br /> before serving.<br /> Home-made French dressing easily separates out intothe<br /> two main ingredients. Home-made mayonnaise doesnot<br /> do this as easily if it is made carefully.<br /> Home-made dressings and mayonnaise do not have very<br /> good keeping qualities.<br /> Dressing = oil and<br /> vinegar mixture<br /> Mayonnaise = oil and<br /> vinegar mixture, plusegg<br /> yolk, or similar, to<br /> stabilise.<br /> One property that dressings need to have when used in dishes, such as coleslaw, is<br /> that they should have goodcoatingability. This means that they will cling to the<br /> ingredients. The dressing should not become watery or ‘run off’ the ingredients.<br /> Commercial dressings often containfood additivescalledstabiliserswhich help to<br /> give the dressing desirable properties.<br /> Research<br /> Find out, from recipe books, the main ingredients that are used in coleslaw salad.<br /> Try to find more than one recipe.<br /> Compare these with some recipes for salad dressings.<br /> From packaging, find the ingredients used in commercial coleslaw salads.<br /> The packaging may give you nutritional information as well. Include other information<br /> from the packaging such as storage instructions and the length of time the product<br /> will remain suitable for eating.<br /> Investigation<br /> The function ofemulsifiers and stabilisers- see separate sheet, E2.<br /> Design a recipe<br /> Imagine that you are in charge of preparing all the salads for a restaurant. You have been<br /> given the task of producing a brand new coleslaw salad which will be on sale to the<br /> general public throughout the summer.<br /> You have already researched into the sort of ingredients that go into such a salad.You<br /> now have to come up with an original recipe. You may decide to alter the<br /> proportions of the ingredients oraddnew ingredients.<br /> You may make your own dressing for the salad or use a commercially available<br /> product (if you make your own dressing it mustnotcontain a stabiliser).<br /> Once you have designed your recipe and made some trial salads, you will have to<br /> testyour product to make sure it is suitable for sale.<br /> Two of the most important aspects are likely to be what the saladtasteslike and whatit<br /> lookslike. You may decide to carry out some sort of testing on your friends and<br /> teachers.<br /> Design a label and packaging<br /> The label for your new coleslaw salad must conform to the present legalrequirements<br /> for labels. The worksheetI5, Reading the labelmay help you.<br /> You may like to work out the nutritional value (using appropriate tables of information)<br /> of your product. You should design an attractive style of packaging for your product.