Baking [top]  To cook food in a oven, thereby surrounding it with dry heat. It’s imperative to know ovens temperature is very accurate. Because most ovens are hotter or cooler then what their gauges read. It is vital to have an accurate thermometer. Boiling [top] In cookery, boiling is cooking food in boiling water, or other water-based liquid such as stock or milk. Simmering is gentle boiling, while in poaching the cooking liquid moves but scarcely bubbles. Water boiling point is roughly 212 degrees. Braising [top] Braising (from the French "braiser") is cooking with "moist heat," typically in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavor. Braising relies on heat, time, and moisture to successfully break down tough connective tissue and collagens in meat. It is an ideal way to cook tougher cuts. Many classic braised dishes such as Coq au Vin are highly-evolved methods of cooking tough and unpalatable foods. Swissing, stewing and pot-roasting are all braising types. Most braises follow the same basic steps. The meat or poultry is first browned in hot fat. Aromatic vegetables are sometimes then browned as well. A cooking liquid that often includes an acidic element, such as tomatoes or wine, is added to the pot, which is covered. The dish cooks in relatively low heat in or atop the stove until the meat is fork-tender. Often the cooking liquid is finished to create a sauce or gravy. A successful braise intermingles the flavors of the foods being cooked and the cooking liquid. Also, the dissolved collagens and gelatins from the meat enrich and add body to the liquid. Braising is economical, as it allows the use of tough and inexpensive cuts, and efficient, as it often employs a single pot to cook an entire meal. Grilling [top] A heavy metal grate set over hot coal or other heat source and use to cook foods such as meat, chicken, fish ect... BBQ is also used synonymously with grill. Molecular Gastronomy [top] Molecular gastronomy is the application of science to culinary practice and more generally gastronomical phenomena. The term was coined by the French scientist Hervé This and by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti. Both had investigated food preparation scientifically: Nicholas Kurti had given a presentation in 1969 at the Royal Institution called "The physicist in the kitchen", and This had been testing culinary old wives' tales since March 1980. The idea of using techniques developed in chemistry to study food was not a new one; it goes back to the 18th century [1]. This and Kurti decided that a new, specific discipline should be created within food science, and looked for a name. The initial proposal by This was "molecular gastronomy", but Kurti, being a physicist, insisted on adding "and physical", which is why the discipline was at first called "molecular and physical gastronomy" (this was also the title of This's Ph.D.). Poaching [top] Poaching is particularly suitable for fragile food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out. For this reason, it is important to keep the heat low and to keep the poaching time to a bare minimum, which will also preserve the flavor of the food. Roasting [top] Roasting is a cooking method that utilizes dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization of the surface of the food, which is considered a flavor enhancement. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Vegetables and poultry prepared in this way are referred to as roasted. Sauteing [top] Sautéing is a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Sauter means "to jump" in French. It most likely gets the name for one of two reasons, because the food is cooked until it "jumps" or because the food is jumped in the pan. Food that is sautéed is usually cooked for a relatively short period of time over high heat, with the goal of browning the food while preserving its color, moisture and flavor. This is very common with more tender cuts of meat, e.g. tenderloin and filet mignon. Sautéing differs from searing in that the sautéed food is thoroughly cooked in the process. One may sear simply to add flavor and improve appearance before another process is used to finish cooking it. Olive oil or clarified butter are commonly used for sautéing, but most fats will do. Regular butter will produce more flavor but will burn at a lower temperature and more quickly than other oils due to the presence of milk solids. Searing [top] Searing (or pan searing) is a technique used in grilling, roasting, braising, sautéing, etc. that cooks the surface of the food (usually meat, poultry or fish) at high temperature so that a caramelized crust forms. A similar technique, browning, is typically used to sear or brown all sides of a particular piece of meat, fish, poultry, etc. before finishing it in the oven. It is commonly believed that this acts to lock in the moisture or "seal in the juices" of the food. However, it has been scientifically shown that searing results in a greater net loss of moisture versus cooking to the same internal temperature without first searing Steaming [top] Steaming is a preferred cooking method for health conscious individuals because no cooking oil is needed, thus resulting in a lower fat content. Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients are destroyed or leached away into the water (which is usually discarded). It is also easier to avoid burning food when steaming. Steaming works by first boiling water, causing it to evaporate into steam; the steam then carries heat to the food, thus cooking the food. In western cooking, steaming is most often used to cook vegetables, and only rarely to cook meats. By contrast, vegetables are seldom steamed in Chinese cuisine; vegetables are mostly stir fried or blanched instead. Stewing [top] In cooking, stewing means preparing vegetables or meat by simmering in liquid. Unlike braising, the ingredients are generally diced. A stew may be either simmered in a pot on the stove top or cooked in a covered casserole in the oven. Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry. Stews may be thickened by reduction, but are more often thickened with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of butter and flour. |