Cooking Methods 101

Cooking and Baking Season is here!  I know, I too enjoy cooking and baking year round (of course!), but there is something special about holiday food, what it celebrates, and the family and friends we share it with.  To celebrate the food and flavors of the season, I find it an appropriate time to discuss cooking methods. I'm categorizing this post as the first in a series of "cook | bake tips," an array of kitchen tips and tricks I'll share from time to time.

First of all, cooking is both an art and a science.  While I'm certainly drawn to culinary creativity, it is important to first understand the chemistry responsible for the dishes we prepare.  The ingredients we use are our chemistry "solutions," and the methods we choose for combining those ingredients and, in most cases, heating them up are chemical "reactions."  Here's a reference guide for common cooking methods.  Knowing how and when to use them will help ensure success in the kitchen.

NOTE:  All of the images are linked to recipes that caught my eye while exploring the web.  Click on them for more information on the source and for the complete recipe.  I cannot wait to try them myself!

Dry Heat Cooking Methods

Dry heat cooking methods transfer heat to foods without the use of moisture or a liquid.  Heat is transferred predominantly through hot air or fat (oil or butter).  The following are examples of dry heat cooking.

Roasting and Baking

Roasting is a technique that cooks food by surrounding it with hot air, usually in an oven.  The difference between roasting and baking is the size of food.  Roasting usually refers to large pieces of poultry, meat, or fish.  Baking is another method of cooking foods by surrounding them with hot air, but it usually refers to smaller pieces of food (baked chicken breasts vs. a roasted whole chicken).  Casseroles and foods that have moisture in the form of sauce, stock, or custard are also baked (Turkey Tetrazzini) as well as cakes, breads, and other sweets (Blue Velvet Cupcakes).

Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Grilling

Grilling is a method of cooking food through radiation from a heat source below food (i.e.gas or charcoal flames).  Flipping the food is often required so that both sides are exposed to heat.  Grilling imparts a robust flavor to foods created from the smoke that forms when fat and juices drip into the heat source.

Balsamic Grilled Vegetables

Grilled Chili Burgers

Broiling

Like grilling, broiling also uses radiation, but the heat source is above the food.  This technique is commonly used as a finishing step for browning foods.

Broiled Fish Tacos

Broiled Steak with Rice Salad

Sauteing

This technique involves cooking foods over high heat with very little fat or oil.  Saute translates "to jump" in French; stirring the food often (allowing it to "jump" around the pan) is required to keep it from sticking because of the small amount of fat used. Stir frying is a variation of sauteing that is typically done in a wok.  Searing is a technique used for browning foods over high heat with very little oil or fat.  The cooking process is typically completed by either braising or stewing (see below).  Sweating is a method of sauteing over low heat using a small amount of fat.  The purpose is to soften the food but not brown it.

Spinach Saute'	Chicken Stir Fry
Frozen Seared Steak	"Sweating" Mushrooms

Deep Frying and Pan-frying

Deep Frying is a method for cooking food by fully submerging it in hot fat (350-375 degrees F).  Pan-frying uses only enough hot fat to cover the food halfway.  Before either frying method, foods are often coated in a batter or breading.

Fried Hush Puppies

Pan-fried Chicken Flautas

 

Moist Heat Cooking Methods

Moist heat cooking methods involve cooking foods in a hot liquid or steam.  Because liquids cannot exceed temperatures beyond their boiling points, these techniques do not reach temperatures necessary to "brown" foods.

Boiling and Blanching

It doesn't get more basic than boiling, which simply means to cook food by submerging it in boiling water (212 degrees F), indicated by large bubbles breaking the surface.  Blanching is a method of plunging foods into boiling water for a short period and then moving them to an ice water bath to quickly stop the cooking process. This technique is commonly used to loosen the skin from fruits and vegetables and also to set the color of vegetables before freezing.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Blanched Asparagus

Poaching

Poaching is similar to boiling, but the cooking liquid is at a lower temperature (160-180 degrees F).  Bubbles will occasionally break the surface, but the liquid will not have as much "movement" as boiling water.  This technique is used for gently heating delicate foods such as eggs and fish.

Poached Eggs

Poached Salmon Nicoise

Simmering and Steaming

Simmering involves cooking foods at just below boiling (185-205 degrees F).  This method is often used for tough cuts of meat (high temperatures would toughen the proteins).  Steaming cooks food by surrounding it with steam or vapor.  This is typically achieved by placing the food in a covered basket over a pot of boiling water.  As the water vaporizes, it rises and cooks the food above it.

Simmer: Lamb and Vegetable Stew

Steam: Sesame Ginger Broccoli

 

 Combination Cooking Methods

Combination Cooking Methods combine a dry heat method with a moist heat method. There are two combination methods: braising and stewing.  Braising involves first searing food, typically larger cuts of meat, to brown on all sides.  The meat is then partially covered in a flavored liquid and simmered (either in the oven or over the stove).  Stewing follows the same technique as braising, but the food is cut into small pieces.

Beer Braised Chicken Sliders

Irish Beef Stew

I hope you find this reference helpful, and I especially hope the the upcoming holidays are filled with lots of love (and good food) for you and your family!

Enjoy,