Cooking Food for Class 3 EVS
In this concept, the students will learn about cooking food and different types of meals consumed in a day.
After reading the concept, students will be able to:
- Know about types of meals.
- Know about the difference between healthy food and junk food.
- Recall what is a balanced diet and the importance of balanced diet.
- Identify different types of cooking utensils.
- Know what is raw food and can give raw food examples.
- Analyse why should we eat cooked food.
- Recall different types of cooking methods.
Each concept is explained to class 4 students using descriptions, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.
Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept of the Cooking Food provided in PDF format.
What is Food?
- Anything that gives us energy is called food.
- Food mainly comprises carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
- Each of these components has a specific role to play.
Meals Plans:
- We eat three main meals in a day.
- The number of meals may vary as per the appetite, age, and kind of work of an individual
- A school-going child must be hungry more frequently than an adult.
a) Breakfast:
- It is the first meal of the day that is eaten in the morning. Breakfast should be rich in proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fibres.
b) Lunch:
- It is the second meal of the day and must consist of the right amounts of cereals, vegetables, and meat. Lunch is eaten in the afternoon.
c) Dinner:
- It is the third meal of the day taken at night. Dinner should be lighter than breakfast and lunch. One must have dinner at least 2 hours before sleeping
Food For Different Age Groups:
- New-born babies do not have teeth; their digestive system is not capable of digesting heavy or hard food materials. Hence, they are fed milk
- Children after the age of 7 months are given semi-solid food, including juices, soups, mashed vegetables, etc.
- School-growing children and young adults can eat all types of food.
- Older people eat light food which can be digested easily. They also consume liquid foods because their teeth become weak with age.
Healthy Food and Junk Food:
- The food which provides all the nutrients necessary for the growth and development of the body is called healthy food.
- Food that contains unhealthy fats harmful to our body is called junk food.
- Junk food leads to obesity.
Balanced Diet:
- The diet that gives us all the required nutrients in the correct proportions is called a balanced diet.
- A balanced diet is required for proper growth and development of the body.
Cooking Utensils:
Different utensils are used for cooking. The selection of utensils is based on the type of dishes to be cooked and the cooking method. Some of the utensils commonly used in the kitchen are as follows—
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| Wok | Pan | Bowl |
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| Teapot | Grater | Pressure cooker |
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| Ladle | Spatula | Tongs |
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| Chopping board | Knife | Sieve |
- Utensils can be made using various materials.
- Generally, they are made of steel. Non-stick pans, cookers, etc., are made using a special material called Teflon.
- In the early days, copper, brass, and clay were used for making utensils.
Raw Food and Cooked Food:
- The skill of preparing food using different ingredients, which improves the food taste and makes raw food suitable to eat, is called cooking
- Cooking makes the following changes in food
- It makes food soft and chewable.
- It improves the taste of food.
- It makes the food digestible.
- Some food items can be eaten without being cooked.
Examples: Fruits and some vegetables like cucumber, tomato, radish, onion, lettuce, etc.
Cooking Methods:
- Food is cooked using various ways. Some of them are roasting, baking, frying, deep frying, steaming, stewing, grilling, etc.
Examples:
| Cooking method—Steaming |
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| Cooking method—Frying |
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| Cooking method—Baking |
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| Cooking method—Roasting |
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| Cooking method—Stewing |
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Cooking Essentials:
- A stove is used for cooking at present. It needs fuel to operate.
- The fuels used for cooking are LPG, firewood, cow dung cake, kerosene, and CNG.
- CNG and LPG are the most common fuels these days as they do not emit harmful gases on burning and are safer to use.
- Hot induction plates use electricity as fuel.
- Apart from fuel and stove, different ingredients are used to make food items. Let us see the ingredients of some familiar dishes below—
| S.no. | Name of the Dish | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| a. | Idli/Dosa | Rice and urad daal |
| b. | Dhokla | Chickpea flour |
| c. | Cake | Refined wheat flour, eggs, butter |
| d. | Ice cream | Milk, sugar and cream |
| e. | Milk cake | Milk |
| f. | Biryani | Rice, vegetables/chicken/mutton |
| g. | Momo | Refined wheat flour, vegetables/chicken |
New Words:
Fuel: Materials that produce heat when burnt.
Baking: Cooking something in dry heat without exposure to flame.
Obesity: The deposition and storage of extra fat in the body.
Stewing: Slow cooking done on a low flame.
Did You Know?
- The world record of cooking for the longest period in one go is registered in the name of Lata Tandon from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India. She cooked non-stop for 87:45 hours!!!
- Cooking can prevent many food-related illnesses that would otherwise occur if the food is eaten raw. When heat is applied while preparing food, it can kill harmful germs present in food.
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