Before a finished dish is served on a table in a restaurant or cafe, it must not only be properly cooked by the cook, but also go through a marriage by a special commission.
What is marriage?
Brackerage is a procedure for assessing the appearance and taste of food (prepared meals). As you know, for how the dish is cooked, the main responsibility lies not only with the specialist who conducted the quality assessment, but also with the cook who prepared it. That is why chefs who are required to submit products for evaluation pass re-certification every three years. The quality commission may deprive them of such an opportunity if the dish was not prepared correctly, had sharp smells not indicated in the marriage log, etc.
The cookbook is used not only by cooks, but also by members of the evaluation committee, who can make their wishes and comments regarding the quality of the cooked food. Each magazine must be numbered, laced and fastened with special seals. As a rule, such a document is kept by the production manager (in a restaurant, cafe, canteen and other catering establishments).
Types of marriage
The rejection of finished products may be:
- Administrative, which is carried out by the heads of catering enterprises themselves or their deputies. Such a check can be carried out at any time during the working day.
- Departmental, which is carried out under the supervision of a special commission. Such experts evaluate the quality of ready-made food at catering establishments and draw up an inspection report.
General rules for conducting food marriage
To ensure that food is always of high quality and meets all the necessary standards, chefs and production managers are required to know about the rules for conducting marriage:
- Assessment of the quality of cooked food is carried out by the person appointed by the special commission. And the result of the work done by such a person must be written in the form of an inspection report or corresponding marks in the marriage register.
- If during the evaluation the commission finds any deviations from the norm of the prepared food, then such products must be sent for processing or to the sanitary-food laboratory for further analysis.
- Any food prepared at public catering facilities must undergo quality control. There are no exceptions.
- The products are always rejected before the cooks release the next batch of dishes.
Organoleptic method for evaluating cooked dishes
Marriage is closely related to the organoleptic method of food assessment, in which the determination of the quality of dishes is based on an analysis of the perceptions of the human senses. In culinary specialists of the marriage committee most often use eyesight, smell and taste. Initially, even before the initial tasting, the experts conduct a visual organoleptic assessment, that is, they examine the dish, determine its color. A visual assessment is recommended only in daylight, as the artificial light from the lamp distorts the true colors.
After a preliminary examination, the sense of smell comes into play. The marriage committee determines the smell of food. In order to correctly characterize a pleasant smell, the following epithets are used: aromatic, fodder, fresh, milk with sourness, spicy, etc. An unpleasant (specific) smell can be characterized by garlic, herring, mint, etc.
Food products are rejected only at a certain temperature, as some dishes are consumed hot, while others are only cooled. Experts of the marriage committee start the tasting carefully, as you need to be extremely careful and adhere to certain rules. For example, there is no need for a sample if the dish contains specific odors or there are suspicions that it may cause food poisoning. And it is also not recommended to try salads made from raw products, if they are not used raw.
First course rating
Organoleptic evaluation of the first dishes begins with mixing in the boiler. Already at this stage, members of the rejection commission can evaluate the type of finished food and see the color by which it can be understood whether the technology of its preparation was followed or not. When the food is well mixed, it is laid out on plates in small portions per sample.
Even before the tasting begins, a preliminary rejection of raw materials can be carried out. Experts, for example, determine whether vegetables are well washed and peeled, whether any unnecessary impurities are observed, etc.
Particular attention is paid to the appearance of soups and broths:
- Checks fluid clarity. It should not be cloudy, but on the surface there must be an amber-colored oily “film”, usually formed during the manufacture of meat and fish soups.
- The preservation of the form of slicing vegetables and other components is checked. It is recommended that vegetables do not lose their shape and do not boil too much.
- The consistency of mashed soups is checked. In other words, the density of the soup and the presence of non-mashed vegetables or other components are determined.
Determination of the taste and smell of the first course
To determine the taste and smell of the first dishes, check:
- Does it have the necessary taste?
- is there no bitterness;
- if there is any third-party flavor;
- is there a necessary smell;
- under salted or salted dish.
It is forbidden to serve food that has a specific flavor. For example, quite often come across soups that have a taste of burnt flour. It is also not recommended for tasting undercooked and overcooked dishes, soups that have a sharp and sour taste.
Second course rating
The main feature of such a marriage is the evaluation of each component of the dish separately. That is, the sauce, seasoning, the side dish itself and other products used for cooking, experts try in turn. But the final grade for one dish is general.
Evaluation criteria are determined by the type of product, therefore, each product has its own requirements:
- Pasta should not stick together and be soft.
- Meat products should be easily separated from the bones, be soft and juicy.
- The consistency of cereals, flour and vegetable side dishes is compared with what is indicated on the menu. Cereals and flour products should not contain foreign impurities, lumps. And when evaluating a vegetable side dish, special attention is paid to the quality of peeling, appearance and color.
- The meatballs, meatballs and other meat products that complement the cereal side dishes should be kept in their original shape after frying.
- Sauces should have a semi-thick consistency, amber color when containing tomatoes.
Determination of the taste and smell of the second course
The rejection of the products included in the second course, as well as the determination of taste and smell, is carried out according to the same principle as for the first course. The only feature when evaluating the second course is the determination of specific odors, especially fish and seafood in general. The fact is that seafood often takes on the smell of the environment. That is why fish must be stored away from other products.
As in the case of the first, if the second dish does not correspond to what is indicated on the menu, is improperly prepared or can cause food poisoning at all, then it is sent for analysis to the laboratory for study.
How is the rating put?
Braquerage is primarily an assessment of the quality of cooked food. Therefore, dishes are evaluated according to all indicators of the organoleptic method: color, appearance, taste and smell. Depending on these indicators, culinary products are rated:
- "Unsatisfactory." Such an assessment is made only if food can not be served at the table and even more so eat. As a rule, such dishes have odors, an unpleasant taste and a bitter aftertaste. The components of the dish can be salted, undercooked, undercooked, have an unusual shape or consistency.
- "Satisfactorily". The rating is given when the cook has changed the recipe, as a result of which the taste and quality of the dish have changed. In addition, such an assessment is made in cases where one or more indicators (appearance, color, taste and smell) seemed to the marriage committee uncharacteristic for this type of dish. Such cooked food can still be sent for processing.
- "Good". Specialists can give such an assessment in the case when the dish only slightly does not meet the standards. For example, it is under salted or one of the ingredients has boiled, overcooked and lost its shape during cooking.
- "Excellent" if the cooked food meets all standards, has a characteristic taste, color and smell.
Each assessment must be recorded in the marriage register of the established form and signed by all members of the commission.
Thus, marriage is a procedure by which you can control the quality of finished products in accordance with general rules and requirements.