Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Design & Technology
Design & TechnologySystems, electronics and cooking techniques25 min★★ difficulty

Building competent cooking techniques

Good cooking is a set of reliable, repeatable skills. Master a handful of techniques and you can adapt almost any recipe safely and confidently.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Cooking and nutrition: Become competent in a range of cooking techniques, including selecting and preparing ingredients and using a range of equipment safely

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Become competent in a range of cooking techniques, including selecting and preparing ingredients and using a range of equipment safely

Key learning points

  • • Selecting and preparing ingredients
  • • Core techniques
  • • Using equipment safely

This lesson at a glance

  • 25 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

becomecompetentcookingtechniquesselecting

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Building competent cooking techniques

An English teaching video on this topic from Epicurious. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Become competent in a range of cooking techniques, including selecting and preparing ingredients and using a range of equipment safely

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Selecting and preparing ingredients

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Selecting and preparing ingredients

Choosing fresh, in-season ingredients improves flavour and nutrition. Preparation skills — washing, peeling, chopping to an even size, and following the 'use by' dates — set up a dish for success and reduce food waste.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Core techniques

Techniques such as sautéing, simmering, baking and grilling each use heat differently. Sautéing uses quick, high heat with little fat; simmering gently cooks food in liquid just below boiling, keeping delicate ingredients intact.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

Why is a sharp knife generally safer than a blunt one?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

Which technique cooks food gently in liquid just below boiling?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Using equipment safely

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Using equipment safely

Knives should be sharp (a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one, as less force is needed) and held with a claw grip on the guiding hand. Hobs, ovens and blenders each need specific safe handling, such as turning pan handles inward and letting blades stop before removing a lid.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

Why turn pan handles inward on a hob?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

____ such as sautéing, simmering, baking and grilling each use heat differently.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Building competent cooking techniques

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Why is a sharp knife generally safer than a blunt one?

  2. 2. Which technique cooks food gently in liquid just below boiling?

  3. 3. Why turn pan handles inward on a hob?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Report

Why the first prototype broke

A team designed a phone stand from 3 mm plywood. The brief said it must hold a 200 g phone at 60° and survive being knocked. The first prototype looked right but snapped at the joint after two knocks.

The team tested again and found the grain of the plywood ran across the narrowest part of the joint, so the wood split along it. They widened the joint from 8 mm to 20 mm, turned the piece so the grain ran along the load, and added a small fillet at the corner to spread the force.

The second prototype survived twenty knocks. It used 15% more material and took four minutes longer to cut — a trade-off the team recorded in their evaluation.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the fault in the first prototype and explain why it happened.
  2. List the three changes the team made and what each one does.
  3. Write an evaluation of the second prototype against the brief, including the trade-off.

  • Design sheet

    Diagram

    Sketch two ideas with measurements and notes, then photograph the sheet.

    2 labelled sketches

  • Evaluation

    Writing

    Write how well your idea meets the brief and what you would change next time.

    6–8 sentences

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

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    Become competent in a range of cooking techniques, including selecting and preparing ingredients and using a range of equipment safely

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