DEFINITION OF APPETIZER

Appetizers are foods which stimulate the appetite, through their attractive appearance,
fragrance or appealing flavor. It is a small pieces or portions of highly seasoned food,
usually served before a meal to induce and stimulate one’s appetite. It gives appreciation
to the food we eat. A good appetizer, whether hot or cold should be light and served in
small quantities, Fresh vegetable and salads, fruits, or meat or even fish can be made
into appetizers.

HISTORY OF APPETIZER
Appetizers were originally introduced by the Athenians as a buffet in the early third century
B.C. They would serve sea urchins, cockles, sturgeon, and garlic. However they were
unpopular to start as these tiny meals weren’t followed up with a main course, leaving
everyone hungry and wanting more. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that appetizers
truly caught on, as meals evolved into more of a structured ordeal. Aperitifs came about
by the Romans and were classified as a liquid appetizer that typically contained alcohol.
In addition to inciting hunger like food appetizers, the purposes for aperitifs were also
meant to help with the imminent digestion process. These drinks would be shared from a
single glass and passed around the table to all members of the eating party. Aperitifs are
still utilized today, typically with the company of food appetizers. The word itself,
“appetizer,” as being used in the Americas and England in the1860s, is more of a local
flavor than “hors d’oeuvres.” For a time, appetizers are served between the main course
and dessert as a refresher, but by the twentieth century they had taken their place as a
precursor to the main course. On the other hand it is said that appetizers are the dishes
that can truly be considered Filipino because we are best known for using our hands to
eat the small finger foods that come with the first course. Appetizers can include anything
from fish to meat, nuts and chips. They are often served before dinner or at large family
lunches.
TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS
1. Ball Cutter – sharp edged scoop for cutting out balls of fruits and vegetables.
2. Rubber spatula – used to scrape off contents of bowls.
3. Channel knife – small hand tool in making garnishes.
4. Spatula – used for manipulating foods like spreading.
5. Wire Whip – used for mixing thinner liquids.
6. Zester – used to remove zest or citrus peels in thin strips.
7. French knife – for chopping, slicing and dicing.
8. Paring knife – used for trimming and paring fruits and vegetables.
9. Butter curler – used for making butter curls.
10. Cutting board – board for cutting fruits and vegetables.
11. Kitchen shear – cutting device for ingredients like scissors.
12. Potato Masher – designed to press potato and cooked vegetables.
13. Chiller – for keeping cold foods chilled for service.
14. Oven – for baking
 OTHER TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND UTENSIL USED IN PREPARING APPETIZERS

1. Measuring spoons – are used for measuring dry and liquid ingredients in small
quantity.
2. Measuring cups – is used to measure dry ingredients. They come in various sizes
and volumes.
3. Glass measuring cup – container which is usually transparent. It is smooth in the
inside with the graduation mark on the outside to read. This is used for measuring liquid
ingredients like water and oil.
4. Mixing bowls – these containers have smooth, rounded interior surfaces with no
creases to retain some mixture.
5. Mixing spoon. – is used for mixing ingredients. It is made of wood in different sizes
and different length of the handle.
6. Paring knife- is used to remove the skin covering of fruit and vegetables.
7. Fork - is used to combine ingredients.
8. Container of different sizes and shapes.
9. Cooking range/stove - An apparatus in which electricity or a fuel is used to furnish
heat, as for cooking or warmth. A device that produces heat for specialized, especially
industrial, purposes.
10. Refrigerator - an appliance or compartment which is artificially kept cool and used
to store food and drink. Modern refrigerators generally make use of the cooling effect
produced when a volatile liquid is forced to evaporate in a sealed system in which it can
be condensed back to liquid outside the refrigerator.
11. Strainer/colander - is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or rice or
to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through
while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a pasta strainer or kitchen
sieve.

INGREDIENTS USED IN PREPARING APPETIZERS

Spreads and Dips - Dips utilize a range of premade and fresh ingredients to create
scoopable spreads for a tray of crackers, breads or vegetables. A package of onion or
vegetable soup mix combined with a pint of sour cream or low-fat Greek yogurt stirs up
in a snap. For something fresher, a few mashed avocados, a chopped tomato, splash of
lime and sprinkling of cilantro are all you need to create a bright, festive guacamole. Food
processors are handy for quickly turning your favorite vegetables and spices into spreads.
Leftover cooked eggplant whips up into baba ghanoush with a splash of lemon and salt,
or make your own fresh hummus with a blend of canned chickpeas, garlic, tahini, salt and
olive oil. Serve with packaged crackers or chips, pre-sliced Italian bread or chopped fresh
vegetables.

Party Mixes - Party mixes combine all your favorite snacks from the packaged food
aisles, so all you need is a handful of seasoning to make them delicious. Scan cabinets
for unsweetened cereals like puffed wheat or rice and bran or corn flakes. If you want
something savory, mix in cheese-flavored snack-sized crackers or chips. To stay on the
sweeter side, add raisins, dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots. Almonds, honey
roasted nuts and sunflower seeds are also traditional stir-ins, but you can think outside
the box and reach for chocolate candies, marshmallows or wasabi peas for something
distinctive. For extra flavor, toss the mix with garlic powder, onion powder or powdered
sugar depending on the overall taste of the mix. Let guest grab their own or portion
everything into clear plastic cups for more serving convenience.

Hand-Held Appetizers - One-bite appetizers allow guests to indulge in a range of flavors.

Save time with prepacked miniature dough shells that double as serving cups for your
favorite fillings. For hot appetizers, bake miniature pie crusts filled with a mixture of eggs,
your favorite cheese and a vegetable or two for quick, bite-size quiche. Defrost light, airy
miniature shells made from phyllo dough and fill the convenient cups with cold dishes like
crab salad or coleslaw. The tarts provide just enough space for layering leftover cooked
ground beef, sour cream and a sprinkling of cheese for bite-size tacos. If cups aren't your
thing, opt for skewers instead. A thread of cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls and basil
drizzled with balsamic vinegar is a classy, easy-to-eat option.

Make-Ahead Options - Making your appetizers ahead will save you stress and time
when service rolls around. Soups are elegant appetizer options that freeze well enough
to be made several days in advance. Opt for smooth soups like creamy tomato, butternut
squash or potato leek and prepare the batches earlier in the week. Defrost the night
before and heat up just before pouring the soups into tall shot glasses as classy soup
shooters. Fried coconut shrimp or handmade corn dogs are crowd pleasers, but frying to
order is time consuming and stressful. Instead, fry up to three nights before and then
freeze the items. On serving day, bake the fried goodies in the oven to crisp them and
they are ready to serve.

CLASSIFICATION OF APPETIZER

1. Cocktails– are usually juices of orange, pineapple, grapefruit

or tomatoes served with cold salad dressings. It may be in the
form of a fruit or vegetable juice mixed with little alcoholic
beverage or seafood like shrimps, crabs, or lobsters served with
slightly seasoned sauce.

2. Hors D’ Oeuvres-refers to small portions of highly

seasoned foods. It is a combination of canapés, olives, stuffed
celery, pickled radishes, and fish. It is served on individual
plate when guests are seated. Sometimes this is simply
placed on a platter and passed around. Hors d’oeuvres are
served cold or hot.

3. Canapé– are made out of thin slices of bread in different

shapes. The bread may be toasted, sautéed in butter or dipped
in a well-seasoned mixture of egg, cheese, fish, or meat then
deep-fat fried. It is a finger food consisting of three parts: a base,
a spread or topping and garnish. They could be served hot or
cold. There are no set recipes for the making of canapés. You
may create your own combination of several different colored
items on the cut pieces of bread, toasted or fried and biscuits
The larger canapés are termed as ZAKUSKIS after the Chef Zakuski.
 4 .Relishes/Crudités– are pickled item which are raw, crisp
vegetables such as julienne carrots or celery sticks. Relishes
are generally placed before the guest in a slightly, deep, boat
shape dish.

5. Petite Salad– are small portions and usually display the

characteristics found in most salad.

6. Chips and Dips- are popular accompaniments to potato

chips, crackers, and raw vegetables. Proper consistency in the
preparation is important for many dip. It must not be so thick that
it cannot be scooped up without breaking the chip or crackers, but
it must be thick enough to stick to the items used as dippers.

7. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – are the simplest

appetizer. Fruits are good appetizers because they give an
attractive appearance, fragrance, appealing taste and
delicious flavor. For example, you could serve a platter of
thinly sliced cucumbers, chunks of red bell pepper and baby
carrots. For a fruit tray, consider serving red and green
grapes, as well as chunks of mango with toothpicks inserted
in them. Since appetizers should always easy to pick up with
the fingers, it should never be drippy or messy so you need
to avoid certain fruits or veggies (for example, chunks of
avocado or watermelon are probably not the best appetizer
choices).

8. Finger foods– are variety of appetizers wherein the only

requirement is that you keep everything small enough to be
picked up with the fingers and eaten with little mess. If you
want to serve your favorite homemade sausages, cut them
into small pieces, wrap them with a small piece of pastry shell
and bake. Or, serve your favorite baked sweet potato fries
with a mayonnaise-based dipping sauce. Individual quiches
filled with ham and cheese is another good option.
 ACCOMPANIMENTS USED FOR APPETIZER

Accompaniments are highly flavoured seasonings of various kinds offered with certain
dishes. The object of offering accompaniments with dishes is to improve the flavour of
the food or to counteract its richness or texture.

1. Horsd’oeuvr’es hor sd’oeuvres grapefruit cocktail: served with: castor sugar

2. Horsd’oeuvr’es hor sd’oeuvres tomato juice: served with: worcestershire sauce
3. Horsd’oeuvr’es hor sd’oeuvres oysters : served with: cayenne pepper pepper mill
chilli vinegar tabasco sauce lemon wedge brown bread & butter
4. Snails : served with: brown bread & butter horsd’oeuvres hor sd’oeuvres
5. Shrimps: served with: cayenne pepper pepper mill lemon wedges hot breakfast
toast horsd’oeuvres hor sd’oeuvres
6. Ham mousse: served with: hot breakfast toast horsd’oeuvres hor sd’oeuvres
7. Gull’s egg served with: brown bread & butter oriental salt horsd’oeuvres hor
sd’oeuvres
8. Smoked salmon served with: cayenne pepper pepper mill lemon wedge brown
bread & butter horsd’oeuvres hor sd’oeuvres
9. Asparagus: served with: hollandaise sauce (if hot) vinaigrette (if cold)
horsd’oeuvres hor sd’oeuvres
10. Globe artichoke hollandaise sauce (if hot) vinaigrette (if cold) horsd’oeuvres hor
sd’oeuvres

PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES USED IN STORING APPETIZERS

1.REFRIGERATE - to make or keep cold or cool specifically : to freeze or chill

for preservation

2.COLD STORAGE - storage (as of food) in a cold place for preservation

3.CHILLING - Preservation method in which raw or processed food is cooled to a

temperature between zero degree and five degree Celsius (0°C-5°C). Chilling retards
spoilage and prevents food poisoning by slowing the growth of microbes (present in all
food) during storage.

SANITARY PRACTICES WHEN STORING APPETIZERS

1. Handle the food properly to prevent contamination and spoilage.

2. Wash utensils and equipment thoroughly.
3. Keep off hand to minimum contact to ingredients and food.
4. Keep away from food when you are ill.
5. Store food and ingredients properly
6. Safeguard the food during distribution and serving.

Tips: Chill to refrigerate or to reduce the temperature of food.

Place it to a cold storage like refrigerator to preserve perishable food.