Home Economics / Home Management · Lesson 6

Meal planning, purchasing, spoilage, preservation, storage, kitchen, hygiene, safety and service

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Feeding the family (food storage and preservation; planning of balanced meals for different groups; kitchen plan, hygiene and safety; food purchasing; preparation and serving of meals, snacks and beverages; entertainment). JAMB Home Economics C2 (meal planning), C7 (the kitchen), C8 (safety and hygiene), C9 (food storage and preservation). Foundation for WAEC Foods and Nutrition (meal…

WAEC: Feeding the family (food storage and preservation; planning of balanced meals for different groups; kitchen plan, hygiene and safety; food purchasing; preparation and serving of meals, snacks and beverages; entertainment). JAMB Home Economics C2 (meal planning), C7 (the kitchen), C8 (safety and hygiene), C9 (food storage and preservation). Foundation for WAEC Foods and Nutrition (meal…

NECO: Feeding the family (food storage and preservation; planning of balanced meals for different groups; kitchen plan, hygiene and safety; food purchasing; preparation and serving of meals, snacks and beverages; entertainment). JAMB Home Economics C2 (meal planning), C7 (the kitchen), C8 (safety and hygiene), C9 (food storage and preservation). Foundation for WAEC Foods and Nutrition (meal…

What you will learn

Explain meal planning terms, reasons, factors and principles.
Plan balanced menus for families and special groups.
Apply guidelines for food purchasing and budgeting, with calculations.
Explain causes of food spoilage and methods of preservation and storage.
Describe kitchen types, layouts and equipment.
Apply rules of hygiene and safety, including first aid.
Describe table setting, service styles and entertaining.

Key points

Meal planning saves money and time, ensures balance and variety.
Factors: nutrition, money, time, skill, season, family, occasion.
Purchasing: list, budget, unit price, freshness, labels; bulk needs storage.
Spoilage: microbes, enzymes, pests, moisture, heat, air.
Preservation: drying, smoking, salting, sugar, cold, heat, fermentation, permitted chemicals.
Storage: cold perishables, airtight dry goods, FIFO.
Kitchen layouts: one-wall, galley, L, U, island; work triangle.
Hygiene: wash hands, separate raw and cooked, cook well, hot hot, cold cold.
Safety: prevent burns, cuts, falls, shocks, fires, gas leaks, poisoning, CO.
Burns: cool running water 20 minutes.
Service: family, plated, buffet, Russian, cafeteria.

Start here: Meal planning: terms and reasons

Meal planning is deciding in advance what foods to serve at each meal, for how many people, and how they will be prepared and served, so that the family is well fed within available resources.

Meal planning terms

Menu: a list of dishes to be served at a meal.
Course: one part of a meal served at one time (starter, main course, dessert).
Meal pattern: the number and timing of meals in a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks).
À la carte: a menu where each dish is priced separately and chosen individually.
Table d’hôte: a fixed menu with a set price for the whole meal.
Snack: a small amount of food eaten between meals (puff-puff, groundnuts, fruits).
Buffet: food laid out for guests to serve themselves.
Garnish: an edible decoration on savoury food (sliced tomato, parsley). Decoration is used on sweet foods.
Accompaniment: food served with a dish to improve it (stew with rice).

Reasons for planning meals

To provide a balanced diet for every family member.
To save money by buying only what is needed and avoiding waste.
To save time and energy in shopping and cooking.
To give variety, so meals are interesting.
To use foods in season and leftovers wisely.
To cater for special needs (baby, pregnant mother, grandparent with diabetes).
To reduce stress at meal times.

Meal patterns in Nigeria

Typical: breakfast (pap and akara, bread and tea, yam and egg), lunch (rice and stew, eba and soup), dinner (similar or lighter). Many students skip breakfast; this reduces concentration and is poor nutrition. Shift workers and farmers may have different patterns; meals should fit the family’s timetable.

Planning a week’s menu

Write the meals for seven days in a table: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. Check each day contains energy foods, protein, fruits and vegetables. Repeat dishes no more than two or three times a week. Plan the shopping list from the menu.

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Practice questions

1. Bacteria multiply fastest in the temperature range

about 5 to 60 °C
below 0 °C
above 100 °C
about −18 °C

Show answer

A: about 5 to 60 °C
The danger zone.

2. A home refrigerator should be kept at about

10 to 15 °C
−18 °C
20 °C
0 to 5 °C

Show answer

D: 0 to 5 °C
The freezer is at −18 °C or below.

3. Cooked rice left warm for hours may cause food poisoning from

Ascaris
yeast
Bacillus cereus
Plasmodium

Show answer

C: Bacillus cereus
Its spores survive cooking.

4. Lassa fever can be spread by food contaminated by

cockroaches only
rats
houseflies only
mosquitoes

Show answer

B: rats
Mastomys rats.

5. Drying preserves food mainly by

removing the water micro-organisms need
adding sugar
killing all enzymes instantly
adding salt

Show answer

A: removing the water micro-organisms need
Low moisture stops growth.

Key words

Menu: List of dishes for a meal.
Course: Part of a meal served at one time.
Meal pattern: Number and timing of daily meals.
À la carte: Dishes chosen and priced separately.
Table d’hôte: Fixed menu at a set price.
Garnish: Edible decoration on savoury food.
Food budget: Plan for spending on food.
Bulk purchasing: Buying in large quantities.
Food spoilage: Changes making food unfit to eat.
Aflatoxin: Poison from moulds on grains and nuts.
Pasteurisation: Moderate heating to kill harmful bacteria.
FIFO: First in, first out.

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