Dr Hector Perera

I have seen lots of cooking programmes by leading and reputed cooks but none of them try to teach cooking to children. Am I correct? Nearly every Saturday morning, I see lots of new cooks in the TV. But none of them help the children to learn, they are far from kids understanding. The kitchens are full of steam and smell and one of the cooks said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-smell is everythingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ sure but you donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have wear them as an aftershave? The smell is all over, their hair, hands, face and clothes then deposit on any near by cold surface. The TV presents as well stay near the cooker as they cook and talk about cooking and at the same time they get covered with a stream of aroma from cooking. All essential oils of low boiling points escape with steam and condense on any cold surface such as clothes, hands, and hair or on the walls of the kitchen.

I will show how to minimise smell and to avoid steam and all the volatile gases depositing on you. The way the TV cooks are different to what I am going to show. What is this smell? They are the volatile gases of these food ingredients and spices. Those ingredients smells are supposed to be on the food not on your skin, face, and hands and on clothes. The smell of onions, garlic, cinnamon and volatile oils from other spices such as chillies powder, pepper and a lots to name have lots of volatile oils of very low boiling points than water. These deposit on cold surfaces such as on your face, hands, clothes and hair. When you walk around it smells like a mobile kitchen, who would like that? This would put off the kids to cook. I am sure the kids wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t like the smell of the food to be worn as after-shave or as a scent or cologne and walk around.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I would show practically how to minimise or in some cases avoid totally. How do I minimise that, OK please give me a chance to show it. Trust me I am a doctor, yes chemistry doctor.

The cooking is a very scientific thing, easy and fun but if this is not shown in a simple easy way, the kids today would be over weight adults tomorrow. I cannot remember the TV cooks talk about any chemical and physical changes as they cook. They do not pay attention to the boiling points or volatility of these gases in the food; they just cook with the cooking fire on full blast. When the kids grow up or even as kids they tend to eat nothing but take away fat and salt filled food. Have you seen the queues outside the take away shops during the lunch school hours? A few schools kids come out during the lunchtime to get take-away food. If the kids today are not taught today, they have no choice but to depend on packet, canned and precooked food. This is bad; they are full of salt, fat and preservative.

The TV cooks donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t talk about or do cooking in a scientific way. They just cook in an exhibitive manner, fast, rushing and very nervously. They want to beat the clock. The volatile gases catch fire generating smoke and this is very nice to look at but they are not aware that the food ingredients that are supposed to be absorbed to food are just burnt away. They are just like fire eaters, fire going 2 feet or more above the cooker. In some TV cooking programmes, I have seen too many cooks and the kitchens are full of steam and sometimes smoke. They look like sweating and panicking to finish certain dishes in a given time. In certain cases they serve virtually raw or uncooked lamb and pork because of the time pressure. The kids think cooking is not for them; this puts off the children to learn to cook. Am I correct?

Some cooks think swearing attracts crowds to watch their shows and every now and again they just swear and behave unexpectedly rude manner.

If we teach the kids how to cook then they can practice when they leave school but if they learn how to cook then they may try out some at home then carry on when they go to university or become parents?

I have a scientific manner or approach to teach cooking. I know the schools teach cooking but still my method is different and more modern, practical and easy to apply for day today life by not only kids but by anybody. I have been cooking in this manner at home for many years then I thought why not teach the kids this technique.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ My method is unique, energy saving [gas or electricity], very scientific and very easy to learn and I am sure the kids would love to cook using my method. My method would save gas and electricity. Gas is fossil fuel; it tends to run out soon if we are not careful also the price has increased recently on gases that means you have to pay more for the gases. I will definitely show how to save money. Imagine if ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ millions of people save gas every single day that will be a considerable saving of gases and they themselves donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have to spend that much for gases.

Let me show it to some authorities and to public on a TV show then once I show my method then it can be used by anybody. I want to show that it is my unique idea first. I wonder did Einstein tell his gravitational pull discovery to his neighbour or friends before he showed it to scientists, no that it is his idea?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
Before cooking

Before cooking you have to choose the right cooking vessels not anything. Even in science lessons we have to choose correct apparatus, not anything. For distillation different apparatus, separation, centrifuge and filtration are done using different apparatus. Similarly depend on the type of cooking you choose different utensils.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

I would avoid aluminium vessels for real cooking other than for just boiling because it dissolves. I am sure aluminium can be used as food containers but not as cooking vessels. Aluminium can damage brain but I wonder in some restaurants do they use stainless steel cooking utensils, may be not because they are very expensive. I have seen people cook meat and fish curry in these aluminium vessels and are they not aware that the ingredients such as vinegar, tamarind, lime and garcinia indica [dried black sour peel of a fruit usually used by Sri Lankans for cooking fish] can dissolve aluminium. These acids attack aluminium and it is very poisonous. Then I have to tell the kids about the volatility, steam power and a few other things. Which TV cooks talked about steam power? Steam power is a very important thing; it can lift even an elephant, honestly, I will give the proof. These TV cooks donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t talk anything like that. They say their granny or grandpa is a great cook, was in the army and navy or their mums are great cooks etc, nothing else. They hardly talk any scientific thing about cooking, why may be because they donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know. A few cooks talk about qualitative and quantitative but most of the others just ignore. The rate of a chemical reaction depends on temperature; it can either increase or slow down. I will show how to use the fire safely and economically. In cooking lots of chemical changes take place, none of the cooks talk about these chemical changes. I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t think it is too much to know by kids.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Most of their cooking is ok for adults but they are not teaching the kids, that is what I am trying to put right. I will show that the even the TV cooks are not cooking by energy saving methods, how do I do that, please give me a chance to show then one can decide whether I am right or wrong. I am sure I can revolutionise the method of cooking.

At home, I watch TV in the living room and go on the computer in my office room while cooking in the kitchen. I cook rice, pasta, fish, chicken or any meat curry two or three vegetables or a soup while I am on the computer and watching TV, how do I do that, please let me show you. I am sure you will be amazed about my cooking technique.

I will base my method of cooking on gas combustion and products, thermal capacity, thermal conductivity, adsorption, chemi-sorption, steam power, volatility of essential oils, quantitative and qualitative aspect of cooking, safety rules of cooking and use of kitchen, physical and chemical changes in cooking, rates of reaction that how fast we cook and how long we cook, germs and how to fight them, I regard the kitchen as a chemistry lab where some chemical reactions take place, after all the food is nothing but chemicals. Cooking is a chemical reaction, am I correct? People waste lots of energy for cooking; I will show to save that energy thatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s saving money.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr Hector Perera ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ email: perera6@hotmail.co.uk