Mastering the Art of Cooking: 10 Essential Methods Explained

Mastering the Art of Cooking: 10 Essential Methods Explained

Methods of cooking.
Answer.

Cooking Media Food can be cooked in various media or no media at all. Air, water, steam and fat or their combinations are used as cooking media. Food can be cooked by a combination of media, e.g., Upma and halwa involve the combination of fat and water. Cooking in Air Grilling, roasting and baking take place in air. Roasting and baking are essentially the same. The term roasting is used for meat cooking, and baking is used for breads, buns, cakes and biscuits. Food is cooked partially in dry heat and partially in moist heat. Cooking in Water: Boiling or simmering involves cooking in water. The medium transferring heat is water.

Mastering the Art of Cooking: 10 Essential Cooking Methods

• Roasting.
  • Split roasting Is done only with good quality meats. The food is brought into contact with direct flame in front of a bright fire. The food is pasted over with fat and is turned regularly to ensure even cooking and browning. Roast meats have an excellent flavour and are served in large hotels and special restaurants, e.g., barbequed meat.
  • Oven roasting: This is done in a closed oven with the aid of fat. First-class meat, poultry and vegetables are put into a fairly hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes, and the temperature is lowered to allow the joint to be cooked. Cooking in a moderate oven for a longer time produces a better-cooked joint than cooking at a higher temperature for a shorter period. Aluminium foil is used. The joint is larded or raised with fat. This cooking is an improvement on oven roasting as the meat retains its moisture and flavour.
  • Pot roasting: This is for cooking small joints and boils when no oven is available. A thick, heavy pan is available, and enough fat is melted to cover the bottom of the pan. The joint is browned when the fat is hot. The joint is then placed on a couple of skewers to prevent the joint from sticking to the pan. The pan is then covered tightly with the lid and cooked over a very low fire.

10 Essential Cooking Techniques for Every Home Cook

• Baking
  Bread, cakes, pastries, puddings, potatoes and vegetables are cooked by baking. The food is surrounded by hot air in a closed oven. The action of the dry heat is modified by steam arising from the food being cooked.
• Frying
  Here, the food is brought in contact with hot fat. Even though fried foods are a bit difficult to digest, if the frying is carefully carried out, the fried food is suitable for normal people. Frying provides variety, keeping quality is better, and the food is appetising.
• Boiling
  Food is cooked by surrounding it by boiling or simmering liquid (stock or water). Only a sufficient amount of liquid should be used just to cover the items to be cooked. Vegetables grown above the ground are cooked in boiled salted water and vegetables grown below the ground are cooked in cold salted water. Dry vegetables are cooked in cold water. Salt is added only after the vegetables become soft. Fish is put into hot liquid and allowed to simmer.

Essential Cooking Methods: Baking, Grilling, Boiling, and More

• Poaching
  Poaching is cooking slowly in a minimum amount of liquid, which is not allowed to boil but kept below the boiling point. Fish, eggs and fruits are poached. When poaching eggs, a little vinegar is added to the liquid for quick coagulation and to prevent disintegration.
• Microwave Cooking
  Microwave is electromagnetic radiation similar to that found in radio, radar or TV. Microwaves penetrate the food and are absorbed. The heating is very fast. Foods placed in the microwave oven are heated by microwaves from all directions. This helps in easy cooking.

Essential Cooking Skills: How to Master Basic Techniques

• Pressure Cooking
  Steam cooking is of three types—Steam cooking, waterless cooking and pressure cooking. In steaming, food is cooked by steam from added water. In waterless cooking, the steam originates from food itself. Pressure cooking is a method to reduce the cooking time by increasing the pressure so that the boiling point is quickly reached. The food is cooked as a result of steam condensation on food, e.g., rice, dal, puttu.