Category: Culinary

A South Indian Variant Of Banana Bread

Banana is one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world. It is grown in nearly 107 countries, the major banana growing regions being India, China, Brazil, Ecuador, Philippines, and Indonesia. The post popular variety is the dessert bananas, which are yellow when fully ripe. The fruit is soft and sweet and is mostly eaten as dessert.

Nutritionists consider banana a remarkable fruit for its digestive and therapeutic value. The fruit is mainly composed of carbohydrates with some amount of fat, protein, and minerals. Bananas contain three natural sugars C fructose, glucose, and sucrose. Combined with natural fiber, banana provides instant energy. It has proved to be a great healer for a multitude of illnesses such as depression, PMS, anemia, blood pressure, heartburn and many more.

Culinary Usage

The popularity of bananas has led to a wide variety of culinary usage. The fruit is savored as banana bread, banana cream pie, banana chips, banana ketchup, banana pudding, banana split, to name a few.

Banana bread

Mashed yellow bananas are used to make this very popular dish. Easy availibity of bananas and the simplicity of the recipe has made banana bread an immensely popular food item. Banana bread, also called banana nut bread is actually a quick bread similar to corn bread, biscuits, muffins, pancakes, soda bread, and scones. Quick breads are leavened with either baking soda or sodium bicarbonate. Unlike yeast breads, which take hours, to prepare, quick breads can be made in a jiffy. However, there are banana bread recipes that are yeast type. Egg is usually a common ingredient though vegetarians use soy yogurt or tofu. Chopped nuts such as walnuts and pecans are ingredients to make banana nut breads.

Today we are giving you a recipe of a very popular type of banana bread made in south India. Named Buns, this food item is prepared using mashed over ripe bananas. Buns will not come under the category of a quick menu; nevertheless, they are worth a try.

South Indian banana bread (buns)
Ingredients
“1 cup refined wheat flour
” tsp baking soda
“S cup sugar
“1 tsp pepper corns
“Three medium sized overripe bananas
Instructions
“Mash the bananas
“In a medium sized bowl, mix all ingredients.
“Add water bit by bit to make smooth dough.
“Allow the dough to ferment overnight or for a period of 7-8 hours. The mixture will rise to double the size.
“Divide the dough into ping-pong sized balls.
“Roll out the balls into circular shape.
“Deep fry in oil until golden brown.
“Take out each bun and place it on tissue paper to remove excess oil.

South Indian banana bread is savored hot on its own or with any chutney of your choice. Many prefer to eat this bread lukewarm. Buns are popular in south India as a breakfast item or as a snack.

Culinary Schools Start Your Own Restaurant

The demand for cooks and assistant culinary artists is expanding; it is just because the chow trade is increasing as well. For that reason, many people were able to forecast that this can be a good livelihood choice. At present, quite a few would like to evolve into a gourmet chef.

If you’re among those individuals who are faithful about cooking and would like to become an ace in cuisine, taking lessons in culinary arts would seem imminent; particularly now that it is studied as an art.

Baking at this moment is not only paying notice to basic dishes. Assorted culinary programs now offer programs in a variety of categories, which include:

?Distinctive Cuisines ?Style Cookery ?Regional Culinary science ?Desserts ?Sauces ?Pastry Planning ?Knife Techniques ?Healthy Foods ?Desserts ?Holiday Foods ?Wine and Beverages ?Chocolates ?Safety and Hygienics ?Cost Executive ?Food and Nutrition ?Food Handling and Cataloging

After graduating from any of the culinary schools, you can be an executive chef, sous-chef, pastry chef, gourmet chef, saucier, wine steward, chef garde manager and more. In any way, you can put up your own eating house.

culinary schools offer three types of certificate: Level 1, which focuses on elementary nutrition or cookery introduction; Level two, which is aimed at for more accomplished cooks; and Level 3, which is for resourceful cookery.

Getting enrolled in a culinary schools will not only give you a degree that will be accepted in the entire earth, you will also get directed in an fantastic facility, educated by experts of culinary arts and given job placement support after finishing the program.

You can get the enlightenment you’ll need about a certain cooking or gastronomic culinary school by visiting their office personally or by traveling their websites. By doing so, you’ll find more about the courses they are offering and the range of education fees.

culinary schools

Career Options in 2011

Rising unemployment rates in the recent past have made hunting for a job a guerilla search. The good news is that while most sectors in our economy have suffered cutbacks in employment, many of them are now back in business and are ready to hire. Here’s what you should be doing.

Still in college or heading there? You have the opportunity to make the smart career choices now that can hone your skills for the job opportunities that are in greater demand today.

Already employed? Now is the time to consider upgrading your credentials with a course that could augment your skills and qualify you for promotions or a new career.

Careers that Show Excellent Growth Prospects

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, certain sectors of our economy are showing more optimistic signs of growth.* To enhance your job marketability, below are a few career options you should consider pursuing in 2011.

Healthcare. Its not for everyone, but if you’re looking for the likelihood of job security, this could be the place for your skills. During the recession, the healthcare industry was one of the few industries that actually hired more people. Plus, employment rates have been rising in almost every field of specialization. Career options are open in nursing, healthcare management, medical assisting, and accounting in hospitals and long-term facilities.

Energy Sector. As gas costs continue to rise, focus today has turned to saving energy and discovering alternative fuel sources. Opportunities lay ahead in marine, wind, and solar energies, carbon management, and more.

Business Administration. Business will always require administrators and managers, and opportunities are growing. Sales and customer service representatives are also in demand. Plus, with business gone global, more multinational companies are looking for people who are willing to travel or relocate to different parts of the world.

Information Technology (IT). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT is one of the fastest-growing job markets.** There is a huge demand for a top-level, higher-end IT workforce, which includes talented systems designers and software developers. Internet publishers have good job prospects as well. The IT industry is dynamic, and a bright future could lie ahead for those who can keep up with the pace of information technology.

Good News for Fresh Grads
The job market for fresh grads is growing. Entry-level job postings for candidates with less than one year of experience have increased by 13 percent from the previous year at the end of 2010.***

Courses can prepare you both practically and academically to face real-life challenges in todays job market. There are a wide range of degree programs to consider in order to pursue a career in any of these growing fields, including health sciences degrees nursing administration degrees, information technology degrees and more.

*United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Statistics.” dol.gov/dol/topic/statistics/index.htm
**”Fourth Quarter 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report” Beyond.com, Inc. beyond.com/Media/BeyondcomCareerTrendAnalysisReport-4QT10.pdf
***Koc, Edwin and Mimi Collins. “Job Outlook 2011: College Hiring Outlook Positive in All Regions.” NACE. naceweb.org/Press/Releases/Job_Outlook_2011__College_Hiring_Outlook_Positive_in_All_Regions.aspx

Your Culinary Career

Many people are surprised by the broad range of employment opportunities available on completion of a Culinary Degree. When you graduate from Culinary School, you might choose to work in a restaurant, at a resort, or in catering. The job choice you make can set the direction for your career. Working in a restaurant is very different than working in the catering business for instance. There are different skills required for these jobs, and working in one field does not give you qualifications for the other. Keep this in mind before deciding which Culinary Career you intend to pursue. After you graduate, you have the opportunity to review the skills you have and decide from there what food service venue you want to focus your career on. During the first several years of your culinary you will spend a lot of time practicing your skills and then finding your niche.

One of the basic skills you will utilize throughout your Culinary Career is your technical skill. This set of skills includes cooking methods, knife skills, and line cooking. Another skill is that is learned is culinary. Budding chefs train to make food taste good. Chefs will learn seasoning, flavor combinations and plate presentations to

The most basic skill, the one that schools are designed to teach, is the technical. These skills are the basis of every chef’s talent – knife skills, cooking methods, timing, mise en place, and (the ultimate technical skill) making cooking on the line graceful, even during the rush. The other skill taught in school is culinary. Most chefs have a good palate to begin, but training for the nuances of flavor and seasoning, new flavor combinations, creative plates and presentations, delving deep in to a cultures cuisine all take training and practice.

The other two skill sets are what distinguish a cook from a Chef. A Chef is concerned with more than his/her own piece of the kitchen – they have the whole kitchen as a responsibility. With this in mind, organization is key. The chef has to stay organized, run the kitchen smoothly and efficiently, and conduct business.

Hand in hand with directorial skills are managerial skills. A chef understands how to work with people and get them to work for him/her. These skills are the highest level because they involve sharing knowledge and skill with those working for you. The most often-seen method is training, but ultimately being a mentor to a cook and to develop their career is the highest skill a chef can accomplish.

Culinary School Internship Programs

Culinary school internship programs are a vital part of the education and training process as you work towards a career as a chef or as any other type of culinary professional. During your internship you will not only improve and refine your skills in the kitchen, you will also make contacts in the culinary industry and learn how the restaurant business works. Your school may require a three-month or six-month internship, in which case you must find a program that fulfills the school’s requirements. Even if your culinary school doesn’t require an internship, though, it is so beneficial that you’d be better off doing it anyway.

There are culinary school internship programs in bakeries, catering businesses, country clubs, food service companies, pastry shops, resorts and, of course, restaurants. The internship you choose should reflect the specific career you want to go into. This temporary and probably unpaid position could potentially lead to a job offer once you’re done with school, so you should definitely choose a place where you would actually want to work.

The first step to getting into a good culinary school internship program is learning about your school’s criteria and what types of programs they will consider for academic credit. You may need to be in good academic standing to qualify for an internship, so make sure you’re keeping up your grades. There may also be prerequisite courses you will need to have taken before you can do an internship through your school, so make sure you have those classes and exams out of the way first.

Before you go any further, at this point it would be a good idea to talk with a career services counselor at your school. Give the counselor a copy of your rsum and tell him or her about your goals; he or she should be able to advise you on a suitable business or restaurant where you can apply for an internship. Then you can begin the process of applying and interviewing for internships. Make the most of this valuable experience-it could be the first real step from school to your dream career.

Find best culinary schools and culinary programs on CulinarySchoolsU.com and start your path to a rewarding career. CulinarySchoolsU.com is an online education resource offers information about top culinary schools of USA and Canada that are offering best culinary degree programs in various disciplines.