Courtesy of CIAprochef.com

You don't have to get on a plane to taste one of the glories of Brazilian cooking ... or a bubbling cassoulet from Southwest France ... or a Tuscan soup that tastes like somebody’s grandmother made it. Beans can take you there.

Through The Culinary Institute of America’s ProChef e-learning, “The World Bean Kitchen: Passport to Flavor,” presented by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association, debunks some of the myths that surround the cooking of dry beans. Learning segments include “Beyond Bean Basics,” “Bean Nation: The American Experience,” instructional videos and more.

Courtesy of the American Lamb Board

Barbecuing lamb brings together a richly flavored, homegrown product and one of America’s specialty cooking methods. It also helps teach our students about cuts of lamb that they may not often cook.

The term barbecue is somewhat confusing. To many in the United States it refers to outdoor cooking in general. To others, it conjures up images of putting burgers or steaks on the grill. For culinarians and many of those who live in the south, barbecuing refers to a very specific cooking method where low, indirect heat is used to slow cook full-flavored and tougher cuts of meat. Often the heat comes from burning wood, so a rich smoky flavor is infused into the meat. Various cuts of lamb are ideal for this cooking method and yield up some really tasty treats.

By Kim Reddin, courtesy of the National Onion Association

Onions provide color and texture to a dish, but their flavor is what really makes them irresistible and virtually irreplaceable in the kitchen. From raw to caramelized, the flavor of an onion has many layers.

Onion Production
Commercially grown in 20 states from coast to coast, onions are the third-largest fresh-vegetable industry in the United States; Idaho-Eastern Oregon, Washington and California are the leading production areas.  The National Onion Association estimates that fewer than 1,000 U.S. farmers plant more than 142,000 acres of onions each year. Americans consume nearly 20 pounds of onions per capita annually.

Flavor Factors
Onion flavor is determined by many factors including genetics, planting location, soil and temperature.  While compounds such as sugars and organic acids can contribute to what people taste, a special class of biologically active organosulfur compounds is what actually give onions their distinctive flavor and aroma.

Courtesy of Dow AgroSciences LLC

A Guide to Choosing What’s Right for Your Kitchen

Educators today often lack three key ingredients to a successful program: time, energy and resources. Each school year and curriculum offers a host of opportunities to discuss a variety of topics, but educators are charged with presenting students with the most important, useful and applicable information in a short period of time.

Today, some foodservice and food-processing companies are recognizing these needs and are investing their time, energy and resources to supporting culinary educators with the tools needed to provide their students with current and applicable information as they enter the workforce. One such company, Dow AgroSciences, saw a need for these tools and decided to help culinary educators provide their students with information and expertise from Dow AgroSciences’ Omega-9 Oils team.

An e-learning lesson plan at ciaprochef.com sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice.

Every great cup of coffee begins with top-quality beans: the right variety, grown in the right place, and processed the right way. The more you know about the beans, the more enlightened coffee consumer you will be. After all, the only other ingredient in the brew is the water.

This lesson plan, part of ciaprochef.com—The Culinary Institute of America's Web site for foodservice professionals—was sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice and includes the following areas of training: