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T
HE METHOD
The "Chef Touch" represents a cooking system for
foods that undergo preliminary vacuum packing.
To achieve such packing, specific bags are used
made of plastic material resistant to certain heat
treatments.
Once cooked, the food can be immediately
consumed and can undergo rapid temperature
drop before being stored at refrigeration or
freezing temperature.
The food is served after removing it from the
wrapping used during cooking and in the event of
its undergoing storage treatment (refrigeration or
freezing) it can be subsequently heated to service
temperature.
The products cooked using Chef Touch have
better organoleptic and nutritional qualities than
those cooked using traditional methods.
Thanks to this method in fact, the loss of
nutritional elements, juices and volatile aromas is
greatly reduced.
Vacuum packing allows the food to cook without
direct contact with the air or the surrounding
steam, thus reducing or eliminating completely:
• The evaporation of volatile aromatic substances,
• The loss of humidity during cooking, which
causes a loss of nutritional elements
• The formation of oxidised components
Chef Touch is suitable for various types of food
preparation especially for enhancing a number of
meat, fish and also vegetable dishes.
M
ICRO-ORGANISMS AND FOOD
Food normally contains various kinds of micro-
organisms.
Some of them can be considered "useful",
contribute to the preparation of the foods
themselves and do not represent any risk for
consumers or for product storage.
For example, charcuterie, cheeses and wine owe
their identity above all to the action of bacteria
which have improved and transformed the
"structure" in the successive "ageing" stages.
In nature, there are other species of micro-
organisms called "pathogens" which are detrimental
for the human health.
Such micro-organisms can also be present in the
food we consume and can come into contact with
food from the surrounding environment, from
contamination by human beings or from the raw
materials themselves.
Vacuum product packaging, a key factor of the
Chef Touch, reduces the level of oxygen in
contact with food and thus allows inhibiting the
growth of different microbial forms; at the same
time, it creates the ideal environment for the
growth of other micro-organisms called "anaerobic"
able to live and proliferate in the absence of
oxygen.
Such species can also be pathogens and therefore
harmful for human health. Among the best known
anaerobic pathogens is Clostridium Botulinum, able
to live without oxygen and produce a highly toxic
toxin if the product is not stored properly (storage
times and temperatures different to those
suggested).
Vacuum packaging does not eliminate micro-
organisms entirely and cannot therefore be used in
itself as a room temperature storage method.
In order to cook thanks to Chef Touch, it will thus
be necessary to respect standard hygienic
procedures and follow the instructions shown in
the operator's manual relating to the following
aspects:
• Use of fresh raw materials and ingredients;
• Use of the "KitchenAid vacuum machine
appliance" and specific cooking packs;
• Compliance with minimum cooking times
indicated by "KitchenAid steam oven" and
IFU tables;
• Immediate consumption of food or rapid
temperature reduction by means of
"KitchenAid blast chiller"
• Compliance with storage times and
temperatures indicated in operating instructions.
Introduction to “Chef Touch”
