With any celebration, food is the top of mind priority in terms of planning and preparation. Once the food is set, everything else practically follows. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, food will always be the priority of Filipinos in celebrating the joyous season of the year.

More than the presentation and the aesthetic appeal of food, there are other things that can give any meal an awesome note.  One of these factors comes from the pulse of the people in terms of food preferences. People are often influenced by their inner cravings when choosing what to eat.

Taking the hint from various food preferences, you may want to include in your food platter menu something for cheese and pasta lovers, since they represent majority of your prospective clientele.

However, you must consider that these dishes need to be handled properly and it is best to serve these dishes fresh.

Fresh is Best

Food with cheese and other dairy products (such as milk, cream, etc.) are prone to spoilage and highly susceptible to contamination.

When done the right way, your meals can be the creamiest and tastiest food. But if done otherwise, you might end up with a bad review from your clients or from your family for receiving an overly sour pasta and a cheesy dish with awfully bad smell.

To ensure food safety of cheese and pasta dishes, do take note of the following:

• Always remember to maintain their holding temperature at a safe level. This means that dairy products, especially milk, must remain refrigerated to avoid spoilage of the milk itself. Indicate to keep food platter refrigerated if not to be consumed immediately.
• When cooking with dairy, always remember to cook it last since it has a limited and short shelf life – not to mention the transport time it needs to reach your clients or your loved ones. Always cook these types of dishes fresh and make sure that it will be consumed immediately. Add a label to indicate shelf life with “Consume Before” date.
• In making food platter deliveries, consider to separate the dairy-based sauce from the pasta. In this manner, the steam and moisture from the pasta will not affect the sauce’s susceptibility to spoilage further avoiding the growth of microorganisms that causes food to easily go off.

With these tips, you can definitely pull off delicious dairy-filled recipes safely. Try our Linguine in Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Baked Shrimp that will surely be a hit for your cheese and pasta lovers. These are made with AJI-GINISA® Flavor Seasoning Mix and AJI-SHIO® Garlic Seasoning Mix that will surely give your food platter business an upgrade while cutting your costs.

While most of the foods to be prepared needs to be freshly made, there are other food items and dishes that can be made in advance in order to maximize time and cost. Watch out and stay tuned for these dishes!