Skill Scale Down 2021

This skill has been impacted by the Skill Scale Down. The impact of this for this skill is as follows:

• This skill remains.

• Knowledge from Baking may be counted as Cooking knowledge.
• Knowledge from Mixology may be counted as Cooking knowledge - or as Brewing.

• For how to deal with XP, please see the page Skill Scale Down 2021 for links, information, and a player guide.

• The scope of this skill now includes what was previously covered by Baking and appropriate aspects of what was previously covered by Mixology. Please ensure that you take this into account going forward.
• The Design skill used to be a separate skill. It is now considered an intrinsic part of the skill in question. This is the case for all craft skills. Please take this into account going forward.

Overview

Development Credit: Faith

The creation of food, hot or cold, sweet or savoury - Cooking refers to the cooking in an oven of flour-based items (sweet or savoury) and also encompasses the creation of desserts, including confection work. Further, refers to the preparation and production of edible items ranging from meals to preserves.

It is also important to note that cooking usually involves heat, but not always. For example, the preparation of a salad or the technique known as ceviche (see techniques, below) are both included in the cooking skill, but do not use heat. That being said, the vast majority of cooking uses heat to produce food stuffs. From the chef in a high-end restaurant to the individual roasting a rabbit over a campfire, cooking is prevalent all over Idalos. After all, everyone has to eat.

Recipes

A list of ingredients followed by instructions on how to prepare, cook and present a dish. Whilst random success is always possible, at Novice and Competent, the cook needs to follow recipes to create a consistently successful dish. When they reach Expert, they begin to be able to adjust those recipes to fit their own taste / need and then, at Master, the character is able to create new recipes and, fundamentally, craft new dishes. A recipe can be verbal or written down.

Preparation

A large part of the cooking skill is in the preparation of ingredients. Whether that is peeling and chopping vegetables, boning a carcass or cleaning fruit, there are as many different methods of preparation as there are ingredients and dishes. Each cook will have their own preference for how they prepare, often leading to specific methods used with particular ingredients. These methods range from always using a particular type of oil in the preparation of a particular meat to always chopping particular vegetables in a specific shape.

Techniques

The processes and techniques of cooking include, but are not limited to the following. The first three are examples of basic techniques, while the last three are examples of more advanced ones.

Roasting

There are two types of roasting. First, the cooking in a stove or other enclosed heat source of meat, fish or vegetables. Second, spit roasting over a flame, often with a rotisserie turning the whole animal for roasting, although small ingredients may be held over an open fire on a long fork.

Boiling

Cooking in boiling liquid, this is most often a technique used with vegetables, although also evident in the creation of soups and stews.

Frying

Again, there are two types of frying: shallow frying, which is cooking in a flat pan, often with the addition of some oil or other fat, and deep frying which is dropping in heated oil.

Ceviche

Cooking without heat, by the use of the acid in citric fruits such as limes. This is usually used on fish or other delicate and quick-to- cook ingredients.

Steaming

Suspending over a steaming pan, usually in a bamboo container of some kind, in order to allow the steam to cook the ingredients inside the basket.

Preserving

Using one of a variety of methods to preserve ingredients. Drying out, creating jams or preserves, salting meat and a number of other methods are included in this. Creating preserves such as jam, chutney, jelly or marmalade involves a lot of heat and stove-work by reducing the ingredients in sugar and a natural gelling agent, with careful control of temperature often necessary to get the best results. Preservation techniques such as drying fruit and salting meat are usually undertaken with a recipe specific to the ingredient, stating the heat and time required. Pickling in vinegar is also included here.

Techniques for Meat Preparation

There are many, many techniques for Butchering but here are some examples of those that can be used with varying proficiency as the character progresses through Butchering.

Boning

Removing bones is an important technique, especially for meat intended for gourmet meals. This technique can be improved as the character progresses in proficiency and learns the little tricks for the different types of animals that they work with (e.g. it is important to scrape away possible bone dust from the cuts after separating them). This is how boneless cuts are prepared and requires specialized tools like the boning knife, filleting knife (for fish), meat saws, etc. It requires understanding the shape and structure of the carcass being processed. For the novice and competent butcher, it can also be a dangerous and frustrating technique when done improperly, leading to accidental injuries from excess force or wayward blades; and wasted products and ruined flavor due to poor butchering, respectively.

Aging

A storage and processing technique that is meant to improve the flavor and tenderness of the meat. Especially with meat, it also serves to let time break down the connective tissue within the meat. Most Aging is Dry-Aging, unless proper precautions are taken to accomplish wet-aging. Dry-aging is the reason for hooked racks that hang up carcasses between the stages of slaughter and cuts.

Both sub-techniques require careful monitoring of temperature and humidity in the environment. There are also different ways to incorporate salt, rice, and other approaches. Common time takes anywhere from 15 to 30 trials for Dry-Aging, but the outer layer of the meat will need to be wasted as mold will grow on the outside during the process and create a "crust". Some swear that this fungal crust improves the flavor profile of the meat.

Tying

Butcher String or Kitchen Twine can be used for this technique that helps along meat intended for cooking in flame. It keeps the shape of the meat as it is, but allows for it to cook evenly. Another reason can be for stuffing so that when the meat expands while cooking, and becomes juicer, the stuffing is kept inside.

Grinding

For the trimmed and cut-away meats, grinding is a common way to put it all together for edible use. Depending on the butcher's preference (or their customer's), the fat content will depend on how much fat was included in the trimmings. Most grinding will also combine the skill of Cooking because seasoning often is included in the process. It requires the equipment of a hand-crank meat grinder and similar tools.

Cuts of Meat

There are many types of "cuts", or pieces of meat separated from the carcass during butchering. The divisions of butchered meat can range depending on regions, traditions, cultures, preferences, and more. For this reason, only general categories are provided as specific diagrams can and should vary depending on character background, mentorship, and location.

Primal Cuts: Large cuts separated from the animal body. These are usually the first cuts made and often separate major pieces that are large such as legs, the loins, the ribs, round and chuck, and minor divisions such as brisket and flanks. Subprimal cuts are when these larger groups get broken down into specific, smaller cuts but are not considered prime or specialty cuts.

Offal or Organ Meats: Meats that are from the viscera (internal organs) and entrails of the butchered animal. This ranges a lot, but includes most internal organs while excluding muscle and bone. Some cultures treat offal as taboo food, but others treat it as everyday food. Others treat offal dishes as gourmet delicacies and some are considered traditional cuisine. The most common use for offal is in the use of casing for sausages.

Trimmings: The fat that is trimmed off the cuts of meat. Used for higher fat content mixes of meat, usually ground up or put through specific machines to make specialized foods like sausages which often use intestines to act as the encasing for prepared sausage. Trimmings can also be used to make lard.

Image

Prime Cuts: High-quality rare cuts that usually come from less than 10% of the body. Often especially tender. Filet Mignon is a prime example of this cut.

Specialty Cuts: These can range and depend on the intent of the cuts and who will be receiving them. Especially for unique animals that might not be usual livestock that a butcher works with. Just like any cut, this can be divided between meat on the bone cuts and boneless cuts.

A Note on Marbled Meat An observational technique usually applied to red meat, marbling is the appearance of the fat distribution within the meat. The higher fat distribution, the more marbled it appears. It is commonly considered that the more marbling, the higher quality the meat will be in flavor, juiciness, and tenderness.

A Note on Bone Marrow While most bones are discarded after trimming (if not kept in the meat cuts), some are kept to be used for broths, soup stocks, or even just to eat the marrow itself. Bone marrow can come from various types of bones, but the femur is best for marrow specifically.

Preservation of Meat

Storing cut meats requires some sort of preservation if the meat is going to last more than a handful of trials. Moisture causes bacterial growth, which butchers and cooks understand on a fundamental level through their work with food. Neither need to understand the chemistry to know that when food is wet and left in the open, it expires quickly.

Cured Meats

Salt is the most common way of preserving meats, getting rid of bacteria through drawing out the moisture. Often used with other methods such as drying and smoking. Placing raw meats in barrels of dry salt, in containers (kegs, etc.) to completely surround the piece could last for arcs especially when preserved in cold weather. Another method is soaking the meat in salt brine, which keeps it edible for about a season or two after butchering. Important to note that when using meats preserved through salt that it is best to soak it in fresh water to remove that salt before preparing it to cook with.

Confits

Essentially, potted meats usually of fowl (especially duck or goose) or pork. The meat is salted and cooked for a very long time, allowed to cool, and then sealed up all in its own fat. Once done, it is stored in a cool place where it can last for a couple seasons.

Frozen Meats

While not a commonly available option for the hotter and temperate regions of Idalos; For the colder regions, this is a possibility. Cities like Viden find it easy to create ice-rooms or ice-boxes, or simply use the natural cold outside. In these areas that have colder seasons, cellars and underground rooms can be packed with ice to keep cool arc-round if necessary. This can be a hassle to maintain, though, and if for any reason the ice melts or the temperature unexpectedly warms, the meat is soon in danger of spoiling.

Flour-Based Goods

Any goods which use flour as the base ingredient in their creation are covered by this. These include:

Pastry Goods

Pies, for example, fall into this category. Pastry goods traditionally refer to food which is encased in pastry in some way - either entirely, or with a pastry base or topping. Also refers to sweet pastries.

There are a number of types of pastry. These include: puff pastry, shortcrust, rough puff and the usual thick, crumbly pastry referred to as plain pastry. Sweets and pastry desserts tend to use sweet pastry, whereas savoury dishes rarely add sugar or sweetening to the mixture.

Bread

Bread comes in a variety of forms, including: "traditional" loaves, individual buns, flavoured bread, flat bread, etc. Bread might be either savoury or sweet and also comes in plain or flavoured varieties. A variety of types of flour are used in breadmaking, including: barley flour, wheat flour and rice flour. There are also regional specialisms and individual baker's specialities.

Cakes

There are a wide variety of cakes throughout Idalos. Many shops, restaurants or bakeries have their own specialisms or techniques, ranging from plain to incredibly complicated, from simple cupcakes to intricate many-tiered cakes, and everything in between.

Biscuits/Shortbread /Cookies

Individual sweet snacks, usually made to fit easily in the hand. These are often sold in batches or packets with multiple snacks inside them and can range from buttery shortbreads to chocolate chip cookies.

Desserts

A dessert is a sweet dish traditionally served at the end of a meal. There are as many different types of desserts as there are individuals on Idalos who make them, and the creation of a dessert might well use some of the techniques in pastry or chocolate. Desserts can be flour-based goods or confection work, such as cheesecake, fruit tarts or sugar baskets. In this context, desserts also include the crafting of mousses, set desserts such as jelly, pana cotta and so on, and ice creams.

Confection Work

Confection work is split into two main categories: chocolate and sugar work.

Chocolate

Chocolate is a sweet ingredient unlike any other which requires techniques to craft it into wonderful shapes and to mingle it with different flavours. Chocolate work is carried out with white, milk and dark chocolate, crafting it into individual bite-sized confections which might be boxed up and given as a gift, or made into bars of sweet chocolate which might be solid or have other ingredients as part of them. Also, there is the specific technique of tempering chocolate which requires the baker to heat it to a specific temperature then work it whilst it is cooling, but before it has cooled too much. This produces a glossy final product which has a very unique crunch and taste sensation. Chocolate work can be used to decorate cakes, desserts and pastries or it might be served in its own right with some incredibly complex and intricate chocolate creations around Idalos.

Chocolate as an ingredient is made from cocoa beans. These grow across Idalos and range in quality and taste. Scaltoth chocolate (harvested from the Scaltoth Jungle area of Scalvoris) is very different in taste from Desnind chocolate, for example and true connoisseurs are able to tell the difference in taste and texture

Sugar Work

Sugar work is a technique where sugar is melted and then used to craft shapes and textures. With a small amount of very vigorous spinning, sugar can make beautiful "baskets", or it can be shaped into a thin almost glass-like substance which is sweet and delicious. The possibilities range from simply dipping a nut in melted sugar and creating a "tail" by leaving it to drip-dry, to a molded scene or beautiful stained-glass plate.

Equipment

Basic

At its most basic, cooking requires a heat source, something to cook in (usually a pot or pan) and nothing else. Boiling or deep frying requires a pan, roasting might require a tray to put in the over and so on. Basically, however, all that is needed is the heat source to cook the food and something to put the food on or in.

Advanced

As the cook gets more advanced, they might begin to experiment with techniques, quantities and measures. These will require, or will be enhanced by, more advanced equipment such as measuring cups, better cookware and so on. See the price list for current prices.

Presentation

The serving up of a completed dish, or putting in a jar the finished jam or chutney. The presentation of food is important and the axiom of "the first bite is with the eyes" applies here. Basic presentation means putting the food on, or in, whatever item will be used to serve it (plate, jar etc). As the cook moves up the levels of experience, they begin to consider aesthetics of first the food itself (e.g: putting a piece of crisped skin with a chicken breast, slicing meat to make it look more appealing), then the placement of the food on the plate (e.g: trying to create a balanced look to a dish, considering colour and how to make one ingredient stand out more) and finally, the crockery used to serve it (e.g: the shape, size and colour of a plate, how the food is placed on the plate).

Related Skills

Skills such as Gardening and Hunting, for example, allow the character to know what ingredients they have, or indeed to procure their own. Appraisal helps with judging the quality of produce.

Skill Ranks

Novice (0-25)

The novice cook is learning basic techniques and considering recipes which are pre-existing and not too complex. More advanced techniques or recipes are beyond the novice cook. However, they might well have a few simple dishes which they cook regularly and well. Still, they stick to the recipe and do not have the skill, or the taste buds, to develop a recipe further yet. Preparation and presentation are likely to be basic, not using any fancy methods of either. A novice cook not following a recipe is likely to end up with something inedible, tasteless, burnt or under-cooked.

They will also be learning the basic techniques, ingredients and recipes for flour-based goods and will be focusing on learning recipes and basic techniques for desserts. As a novice, one is unlikely to be doing any sugar or chocolate work, focusing instead on learning the basics of their trade. Basic foods created by the novice will be of a reasonable quality, but the character is not yet able to produce anything other than the most simple and basic items.

The Novice Butcher is capable of basic assistance to butchery. Learning the tools and equipment involved is common at this stage, as is the basic cuts and handling of bodies during the processing stage. Certain techniques might be completely unknown to the novice, though, as they are just getting the understanding that butchery is not simply swinging a cleaver about and hacking apart a body. Even that, without strength or endurance, they will find difficult.

Without guidance from a more advanced butcher, the Novice will find this out the hard way when running into portions of bone, or accidental corruption of the meat through improper removal of innards, or any number of things that can go wrong from start to finish. It is possible they may also hurt themselves on the very tools meant to aid, or might find themselves with a dull blade but no sharpening rod, and realize how important maintenance of the butcher's knives and workspace can be.

Competent (26-75)

When the character reaches competent they are able to follow more advanced and complex recipes. They can also begin to adjust basic recipes. At competent level, basic techniques are mastered and advanced techniques begin to be learned. Also, more subtleties (such as temperature control, for example) in basic techniques are used. At this level, the preparation becomes more complex, usually in terms of uniformity of size and shape and the cook might start considering presentation.

A competent cook is able to produce goods of a reasonable quality and these make up the majority of chefs and bakers up and down Idalos. They are able to produce tasty flour-based products and desserts. At competent, they may begin to work with chocolate and sugar, although this is still at a basic level. They are able to create basic products with ease and, with the aid of a detailed recipe, they are able to produce more complex items. At this level, though, the baker is not able to craft their own specialties but must still rely on the recipes of others.

At Competent, the butcher has realized how important preparation of tools and workspace is. The butcher keeps their knives ready, with a sharpening tool nearby for quick use. They are less likely to ruin the finished product and can now go through the entire process of butchering with reasonable success.

Specialization starts to happen at this point, and the butcher's personal track starts to become clear with what they focus their attention on as they gain experience and study the trade. There will be moderate failures when it comes to more advanced techniques, such as harvesting tricky items. Given practice, though, things that were impossible for the Novice are now just difficult for the Competent Butcher.

Expert (76-150)

At expert, the character can start to amend recipes, even complex ones, to make them more appropriate to their own needs. All techniques are known and able to be performed now. Preparation and presentation are recognised for how important they are and are given equal weighting to the cooking. As the character starts to be able to experiment with their own recipes, they begin to combine flavours and textures in new ways, some of which work and others which very much do not. Wonderful meals can be created by this individual and they are able to bring out flavour from some of the most bland ingredients.

No longer relying on recipes for anything other than the most complex items, an expert baker has the ability to combine flavours and proportions / ratios in order to fine-tune pre-existing recipes. They might add new ingredients or experiment with a different method of preparation, use of temperature or so on and are able to work all except the most complex sugar and chocolate work. An expert cook is a sought-after employee as they are able to tailor what they create in a restaurant, for example, to accompany the items on the menu.

The Expert Butcher doesn't have to rely on anyone else, unless they choose to have assistants to their trade. Tools and workspace tend to be impeccable, for easier processing. By this point, the butcher has experience with numerous animal carcasses and how to take them apart and cut them into pieces. Advanced techniques of trimming arise at this stage, such as going further and making sausage which won't get other people sick.

Specialties are common depending on what kind of creatures that the butcher has studied, and the other skills the character has developed alongside Butchering. Certain techniques to sweeten or salt or otherwise influence the flavor or texture of the meat (such as aging) appears at this level. The Expert Butcher have specific understandings special to them about blood loss, muscle and fat, bones and anatomy.

Master (151-250)

With mastery of the skill comes the ability to create and craft recipes as well as preparing, cooking and presenting exquisite dishes. Truly a master of their craft, each bite is a taste sensation and they have developed an apparently instinctive knowledge of how to cook. From a simple soup to a feast for a King, this individual is able to cook marvelous food and present it beautifully. They understand food on a level that most never reach and they can often go on to become pioneers in their field.

Mastery of the art means that the character can produce edible wonders which are perfectly balanced and utterly delicious. This character has no need of recipes, they are able to draw on their wealth of knowledge to understand what is required of any particular dish. Creations by this character are sought after and they can craft beautiful chocolate and sugar work, light desserts and fantastic pastry or bread. They are at the peak of their craft and skill.

The Master Butcher is beyond any of this profession. Local butchers through Idalos tend to be Experts in the craft but Master Butchers are the artisans of the lot. They have taken Butchering to a completely new level. Whether through their meticulous preparation, or their masterful grasp on advanced techniques, or even pioneering a new approach or specialty meat, none can compare to the cuts and finished products that a Master Butcher has created.

Meats cut by master butchers tend to be in high demand between chefs, elites, and connoisseurs of dining. It is also said that there is no one on Idalos who understands meat more than a Master Butcher. All that remained difficult for the previous levels is now as easy as the Master Butcher wishes it to be. Instead, their focus turns to personal flourish and pride in their work. Wasted byproduct is almost unheard of, as minimal as can be, as the Butcher can figure ways to use most parts of the animal.

Progressing Cooking

• Capstones
• Grandmasters
• Tier 2 PCs

Cooking Knowledge

The collapsible below has examples of Skill Knowledge for this skill. If you are unsure of what Knowledge is, please check the Knowledge Primer for details. Please remember that our Peer Reviewers will be checking to make sure that your Knowledge claim is appropriate to what you have learned in the thread and ensuring that you are not duplicating knowledge.

A guide to knowledge can be found here (this link takes you to the site) and the person reviewing your thread will do so following the steps laid out in the Peer Reviewer Guide. If you wish to use one of these knowledge in your request, please ensure that it is appropriate to your thread.