Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Food Service Manual for Health Care Institutions
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Exhibit 19.1. Leftover Report
Menu Cycle: Date: Meal:
Item Amount From Area Disposition Suggestions
Portion Control
Individual food service departments should determine the appropriate portion size their facilities
can accommodate for each category of food served. In setting portion sizes, the type of customers
and their nutritional needs, the type of menu served, and the food budget should be
considered. In most situations, evaluations solicited from patients, residents, or nonpatient customers
help in judging the acceptance of portion sizes and the overall quality of the food produced.
Portion control is another procedure that is used as a production control.
Many measures can be taken to ensure that equal portions of food are served. For example,
purchased supplies should meet well-defined specifications, recipes should be standardized,
and the right utensils should be used for portioning and serving (Table 19.2). Slicing machines
can ensure that equal portions of meat, cold cuts, and cheese are cut. Gram scales can also be
used for the accurate portioning of meats and other entree items. Dough cutters and pie or cake
scorers can be used to portion breads, rolls, biscuits, and desserts. Portion control of other
items is done by count, such as the number of slices of bread, packages of crackers or cookies,
pats of margarine, and so forth. Ladles, scoops, and spoons are color coded to reflect the yield.
Table 19.2 lists the approximate yield from scoops and ladles. The number of portions in
canned foods also can be estimated from the size of the can. A daily production sheet (Exhibit
19.2) should also give portion sizes.
Standardized Recipes
Standardized recipes are followed in the ingredient control area (discussed later in the chapter)
and in the production area to control the quality, quantity, and cost of the menu items prepared.
A standardized recipe is one in which the amounts and proportions of ingredients, as
well as the method of combining them, have been developed and tested for a particular food
service operation. The ingredients needed and the preparation procedures to be followed must
be stated accurately so that a high-quality product and an exact number of portions can be produced
every time the recipe is used. Substitutions for specified ingredients and changes in procedures
must be avoided.
When standardized recipes are used, changes in personnel should not affect food quality
because each ingredient and preparation detail is precisely stated in the recipe. Purchasing is
simplified because the exact quantities and forms of food needed for each food item were established
when the recipe was tested. Job satisfaction is increased because employees know they
will produce a successful product when they follow directions carefully. In addition, new
employees can be trained much more rapidly when they have standardized recipes to follow.