Cold dishes, also known as cold meat, cold spell. So it is called cold meat, because the catering industry uses chicken, duck, fish, meat, shrimp and viscera and other meat materials to make it; Therefore, it is called cold spell, which means that after the cold dish is prepared, it must be cooled, loaded, such as double spell, triple spell, assorted platter, flat assorted platter, high-loaded cold dish, fancy cold basin and so on. Cold dishes are a major category next to hot dishes, forming a unique technical system of cold dishes. According to their cooking characteristics, they can be divided into 10 categories, such as fried, boiled, steamed, grilled, fried, sugar-sticky, frozen, rolled and dehydrated, and there are some specific methods in the categories. Explain that there are many cooking techniques for cold dishes, not under hot dishes. Therefore, it is customary to juxtapose it with the cooking techniques of hot dishes as two major cooking techniques. First, the characteristics of cold dishes 1. The taste is stable. Cold dishes are cold, not limited by temperature, and the taste will not be affected for a long time. This adapts to the warm sand where the guests and the host are eating and drinking and talking to each other. So it is an ideal drinking food. 2. Always sit at the table with the first dish, playing a leading role. Cold dishes are often served as the first course, and they pay great attention to the plate-loading process. Its beautiful shape and color have a certain influence on the evaluation of the whole table. In particular, some cold dishes decorated with patterns, with their colorful appreciation, make people feel relaxed and interested, which not only tempts appetite, but also plays a icing on the cake for enlivening the banquet atmosphere. 3. Cold dishes are unique in flavor, so they can be served independently, such as cold meals, banquets, cocktail parties, etc., which are mainly composed of cold dishes. 4. It can be produced in large quantities, which is convenient for stocking in advance. Because cold dishes are not eaten with frying like hot dishes, they can be stocked in advance and made in large quantities. If the convenient fast food business is carried out or a large banquet is held, the cold dish can ease the tension in cooking. 5. It is convenient to carry and eat, so it is easy to carry. It can also be used as a gift for relatives and friends. Eating on the road,' does not need to be heated, and it does not necessarily depend on tableware. 6. It can be used as a display in the window and plays an advertising role. Because cold dishes have no hot air and can be left for a long time, they can be used as ideal dishes for window display. This can not only reflect the business appearance of the enterprise. It can also show the technical level of the chef. It plays a positive role in developing the business of hotels and promoting the prosperity of the catering market. Second, the difference between cold dishes and hot dishes Compared with hot dishes, the obvious difference is that the former usually cooks first, and then knives; While the latter is cutting first, then cooking. Hot dishes generally use the natural form of raw materials or cutting, processing and copying of raw materials to form the shape of dishes; Cold dishes take silk, strips, slices and blocks as the basic units to form the appearance and shape of the dishes, and there are single dishes, assorted dishes and cold dishes with flower-and-bird patterns with high craftsmanship. Generally, the effect of hot food seasoning can be seen in time, and more attention is paid to the use of gouying to make the seasoning evenly distributed. Cold food seasoning emphasizes "taste" or adds edible seasoning O. Hot food must be heated to make raw materials into dishes, and some varieties of cold food can become dishes without heating. Hot dishes are heated by raw materials to emit hot air to make people smell the fragrance, while cold dishes generally pay attention to the penetration of spices into the muscles, making people chew more and more fragrant. Therefore, it is known as "hot dishes smell fragrant" and "cold dishes smell fragrant". Cold dishes, like hot dishes, can be seen all the year round, but also have four seasons. The seasonality of cold dishes is typically represented by "spring wax, summer mix, bad autumn and frozen winter". This is because the preserved flavor made in winter needs to go through a period of "tasting" process, and only when it is eaten in spring will it taste delicious. In summer, fruits and vegetables are abundant, which provides a wide range of raw materials for cold salad. Bad fish in autumn is ideal to stimulate appetite, and cold weather in winter is beneficial to lamb and frozen hoof cooking. It can be seen that the seasonality of cold dishes is formed with the change of objective laws. Now there is also off-season supply, because restaurants are air-conditioned, and sometimes winter varieties are supplied in midsummer, which is more popular with consumers. The flavor and texture of cold dishes are also obviously different from those of hot dishes. Generally speaking, cold dishes are characterized by rich aroma, cool and refreshing, less soup and less juice (or no juice), fresh alcohol and not greasy; Specifically, it can be divided into two types. The second type is characterized by fresh fragrance, crispness and refreshing crane. The first type is characterized by mellow, crisp and thick taste. The former type is represented by mixing, baking and masking, while the latter type is represented by halogen, sauce and roasting. They have different contents and styles.