How are top cooking methods used by all chefs useful to know

Top Methods of Cooking You Should Know

There are really two important cooking methods that you need to know about; the dry heat method and the moist heat method. The dry heat cooking methods do not need any water and use dry heat to cook something; some examples are steaming, baking, grilling, and roasting. Under the moist heat cooking methods, we use liquids to cook the food; some examples include are boiling, frying, stewing, barbecue, and basting. Let us look at some of these methods further:

1. Grilling

This is a fast, dry and very hot way of cooking, where the food is placed under an intense radiant heat.

You can use various sources of heat for grilling: wood burning, coals, gas flame, or electric heating.

Before grilling, food can be marinaded or seasoned.

A similar method to grilling is broiling, where the heat source originates from the top instead of the bottom.

Grilling is the method of cooking food over direct heat. The food is exposed to the flames and the heat comes from the coals underneath the grate. You can grill over an open flame or in a grill pan. Grill grates are used, and the food that is grilled usually has charred lines on it.

2. Steaming

This means cooking your food in water vapour over boiling water.

For this, it’s handy to have a steamer, which consists of a vessel with a perforated bottom placed on top of another containing water.

Steam rises as the water boils, cooking the food in the perforated vessel above.

For steaming, food is placed in a steamer which is kept over hot liquid. The steam cooks the food but the water or liquid being used for steaming does not come in contact with the food itself.

Simmering

This involves cooking liquid on top of a stove in a pot or pan. It should be carried out on a low heat, and you will see bubbles appearing on the surface of the liquid as your dish cooks.

3. Searing

Searing refers to browning of food. Seared food has a brown and caramelised appearance from the outside. Food can be seared when small amounts of fat are used over high heat to give the outside a caramelized appearance, while the inside is not cooked through. Searing fish or meats is quite common.

4. Boiling

When food that is cooked in water reaches 100° Celsius, it is in the boiling stage. In this method, the food is completely immersed in water and boiled until soft and tender.

5. Sautéing

To sauté food is one of the most common steps that we follow while cooking anything. Food is cooked in very little oil or fat until it turns tender. This is usually done in a pan and the food is cooked over medium to high heat.

6. Poaching

In order to poach food, it needs to be submerged in water that is between 71° Celsius and 82° Celsius. The food remains in the water until it is completely cooked.

 

 

7. Broiling

Similar to grilling, the heat source comes directly from the top.

You should be able to adjust your oven setting to broiling, but be careful, as this cooking methods works quickly and your meal could easily become burned.

Favourite dishes for broiling include chicken, beef and fish.

Broiling requires the source of heat to come from the top and mostly ovens are used to broil. The setting can be adjusted to broil so that the top heat source is the only one that comes on.

However, while broiling, one must keep an eye on the food, as it cooks very fast.

8. Baking

Can you spot the difference between baking and roasting? Regarding the technique, both of them are the same. Similar to roasting, baking involves heating the food with indirect heat coming out from all sides of the oven.

A difference between baking and roasting is that baking is applicable for desserts, such as cakes, pastries, bread, and pizza. With meat, vegetables, and other things, people use “roast”.

This involves applying a dry convection heat to your food in an enclosed environment.

The dry heat involved in the baking process makes the outside of the food go brown, and keeps the moisture locked in.

Baking is regularly used for cooking pastries, bread and desserts.

Baking simply means cooking food items (usually uncovered) in an oven using dry heat. This method of cooking is used for foods like bread, cakes, cookies, muffins, lasagna, etc.

9. Roasting

Roasting is also a very common cooking method. People roast meat, such as beef tenderloin, prime rib, pork loin, fruit, and vegetables.

An oven is the needed equipment for roasting. The temperature often lies between 200 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the thickness and the desired degree of tenderness.

There are several types of roasting based on the equipment used. Oven-roasting is suitable for poultry, high-quality meat, and vegetables. Another type is pot-roasting, which uses low heat. If you have wood, I recommend that you try spit-roasting.

Tandoor roasting involves the use of clay ovens. It is ideal for Italian bread, fish, meat, and vegetables.

If you are considering roasting vegetables, go ahead with it. It is a great idea to upgrade the taste of the vegetables. It is best to roast eggplant, squash, pumpkin, and cauliflower.

Another potential food for roasting is whole chicken or turkey. Roast it in a roasting pan or rotisserie spit.

Roasting is basically a high heat form of baking, where your food gets drier and browner on the outside by initial exposure to a temperature of over 500F.

This prevents most of the moisture being cooked out of the food.

The temperature is then lowered to between 425 and 450F to cook through the meat or vegetables.

This method is similar to baking as it involves the use of an oven to cook the food. Mostly, meats or vegetables are roasted. Food is cooked until it turns beautiful golden brown.

10. Blanching

Blanching

Here the food is part-cooked, and then immediately submerged in ice cold water to stop the cooking process.

All sorts of vegetables can be blanched, including green beans, asparagus and potatoes.

This cooked method is suitable for vegetables, such as asparagus. The aims are to keep the original flavor and texture.

The first step in blanching is boiling the food halfway. Then take it out and submerge it in ice water. The amazing thing about blanching is that it helps prevent the loss of flavor and eliminate pesticide residue and microbial load.

However, it does have some weak points. Blanching can remove the nutrients that do not go well with heat. It can also release effluent and cause the leaching of water-solute.

Blanching and boiling are almost the same, but in blanching, the food is par-cooked, then it is submerged in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

11. Stewing

Stews are everyone’s famous dish. The tender meat goes with a delicious gravy. They are a perfectly comforting dish for a cold night! The procedure of stewing is very similar to braising, so let me clarify them for you.

The main difference between stewing and braising is that people cut the meat into small pieces in stews, while a braised dish includes large chunks of meat. In addition, people immerse the food partly in the liquid when stewing. But they soak it entirely when braising.

Another dish similar to stew is soup. Compared to soups, stews are weight thicker and contain less liquid. Furthermore, people mostly serve stews on a plate while they serve soups in bowls.

Stewing is similar to braising. The ingredients are first seared then cooked in liquid.

12. Deep-frying

Frying

There are 2 methods of frying, namely pan-frying and deep-frying. Deep-frying involves emerging the food completely in oil. It will come out evenly cooked and crispy on the outside.

When people pan-fry food, they just use a medium amount of oil. It often accounts for ½ inch of the pan. People submerge the food in the oil. When one side becomes crispy, people flip it over to fry the other side.  

People often fry food in a fryer or shallow pan. You can fry any type of food, literally, any. The most common choices are potatoes, hot dogs, chicken, and plantains.

To make it more crispy, you may want to coat it with flour or breadcrumbs.

This means cooking your food in fat – there are several variations of frying:

• Deep-frying, where the food is completely immersed in hot oil
• Stir-frying, where you fry the food very quickly on a high heat in a oiled pan
• Pan-frying, where food is cooked in a frying pan with oil; and
• Sauteing, where the food is browned on one side and then the other with a small quantity of fat or oil.

Frying is one of the quickest ways to cook food, with temperatures typically reaching between 175 – 225ºC.

Deep-frying means cooking the food in hot oil or fat. The food is cooked until its colour turns to golden. It is crispy on the outside, and the inside is cooked completely.

13. Braising

If you have ever eaten braised food, did you notice that it is very tender, bold, and flavorful? To create such a complex taste, people first sear the food with oil in a pan. Then cook it in a large pot filled with a small amount of liquid, broth or butter.

Braising is a complicated cooking method. But what it brings to the food is fantastic. To braise any food, you just need a standard pot. You can also use a dutch oven or casserole dish.

People often braise meats, such as chuck roast, lamb, shank, or pork shoulder. These tough and cheap meat types will get tender quickly. Sometimes, people also add vegetables, such as root vegetables and leafy greens like celery and fennel.

Besides vegetables, you can stew legumes, such as green beans, chickpeas, and lentils. Braising it with wine or a broth gives it a soft texture. 

Similar to searing, the ingredients are seared then cooked in water. Foods that are usually braised are high in protein like pot roasts.

Why not make a hearty braised dish for your next dinner?

First the food is sauted or seared, and then simmered in liquid for a long period of time until tender.

14. Shallow-frying

Here the oil only reaches to about half-an-inch up the pan and food is cooked on one side first, before being turned over to the other side so it can be completely cooked.

15. Barbecue

Grilling

Barbecuing requires food like meats and briskets to be cooked for long and slowly over a spit that is fuelled with the smoke produced from either coal or wood.

16.Poaching

This involves a small amount of hot liquid, ideally at a temperature between 160 and 180F.

The cooking liquid is normally water, but you can also use broth, stock, milk or juice.

Common foods cooked by poaching include fish, eggs and fruit.

17. Simmering

This method is applicable to rice and grains, such as oats, quinoa, and millet. You will get a delicious cereal or porridge for breakfast by simmering grains. 

You can apply the simmering method to make soups and stocks. That protein and fats from the meat make a perfect broth for soups and stews. You may also want to simmer root vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, to make them tender.

People also simmer legumes and beans to give them a deliciously soft texture. It may take several hours for them to become tender.

 Cooking Methods That Involves More Than One Technique

Sometimes you have to combine different cooking methods to create tasty dishes. Here are 2 methods that consist of more than 1 technique. However, they are not difficult at all.

Which Cooking Method is Best for Retaining Nutrients?

Steaming is a good way to retain nutrients. By steaming the food, the water-soluble vitamins are also retained, which otherwise are lost in the other cooking processes.

Why is Baking Healthier Than Frying or Grilling?

Grilling doesn’t use much fat and is often done over an open flame on a grill grate or a grill pan. Food is prone to sometimes burning and also produces carcinogens, which is a cancer-causing agent. Frying is done in oil or fat, and if the temperatures reach a higher point, it can also cause carcinogens. Since baking does not cause carcinogens to form and it also retains more water-soluble vitamins, it is considered to be a healthier alternative.

Is Barbecuing a Healthy Method of Cooking?

While most barbecued foods are thought to be unhealthy, barbecuing can be a very healthy method of cooking since less fat is needed to cook the food, and most of it even drips out during the cooking process, meaning that the food cooked is much healthier. Using leaner cuts of meat and more fruits and vegetables make barbecuing healthier than normal since there are less unhealthy fats retained in the meat by the end of the cooking process.