Cooking Techniques
Knowing some basic cooking techniques is crucial in order to follow recipes correctly. Hopefully, this guide will help you understand how to execute these basic cooking techniques well enough to enhance your cooking experience.
- Baking- cooking food indirectly in an oven. You may cook the food covered or uncovered.
- Braising-searing food first in a little fat at a high temperature and finishing in a covered pot with liquid.
- Boiling-heating liquid until bubbles steadily break the surface of the liquid.
- Broiling-cooking food a given distance from a direct, dry heat source such as a broiler.
- Caramelizing-cooking a food until all the water is gone and the sugar browns creating a chemical reaction giving the food a browned appearance and sweetened flavor.
- Deep Frying-cooking food in enough oil or fat to fully cover the food. The fat should be 375 degrees so foods cooks quickly but thoroughly. The fat should not be too hot or it will smoke and burn the food before its done.
- Infusing-steeping foods such as fruit, herbs or teas in a hot liquid to pull flavor out of them.
- Macerating-soaking foods like fruit in a liquid to give it the flavor of the liquid.
- Marinating-soaking meat, fish, poultry, or vegetables in a seasoned liquid or marinade.
- Poaching-cooking food partially or completely submerged in a simmering, not boiling liquid.
- Roasting-cooking food in an on a rack in a pan in the oven or on a barbecue for a longer period of time. Usually roasting is used for whole vegetables and poultry or larger pieces of meat and creates a tender inside and a caramelized outside.
- Sauteing-similar to stir frying. Uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over a medium-high to high heat to quickly cook food. Make sure to not crowd the pan, stir or shake the pan using a jerking motion to move the ingredients around in the pan.
- Searing-scorching the surface of meat or fish in a pan with a small amount of oil caramelizing the outside without fully cooking the inside.
- Simmering-heating liquid over low to medium-low heat until bubbles form but do not break on the surface of the liquid.
- Steaming-placing food on a metal basket, bamboo steamer, or on a wire rack just above the water in a pot with a cover. The water should boil but not touch the food at all while the food cooks.
- Stir Frying-cooking food quickly over high heat in a lightly oiled wok or skillet stirring the food constantly while it cooks.
- Toasting-cooking or browning the top of food such bread or cheese by exposing it to a grill or other heat source.
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