Cooking Methods

Cooking Methods

1. Dry-Heat

   • Direct on Indirect heat
   • Some foods lose moisture and become dry
     • Methods to increase moisture: Banding, Landing, and marinating
       • Banding: Wrapping an item with strips of fat. This is usually done with lean meats.
       • Landing: Inserting long strips of fat into a naturally lean piece of meat with a special needle
       • Marinating: Soaking an item in wet and dry ingredients to provide flavor and moisture
   • Methods with fat
     • Sauteing: This method cooks food quickly using a small amount of fat over moderately high heat. The pan should be heated before beginning to saute and there should only be enough fat added to coat the bottom of the pan.
     • Deep-fry: Deep frying requires that food be battered and completely submerged in hot oil until it is done. The outside of the food should be crispy, but the inside should remain moist and tender.
     • Stir-fry: Closely related to saute, this quick method uses high heat with a small amount of fat (oil). This Asian style of cooking requires the food be stirred quickly and the food should be cut into small pieces before being cooked.
     • Pan-fry: Like other methods pan-frying uses a small amount of fat (in this case oil), but uses a less intense heat than sauteing or stir-frying. Typically the food being fried is coated with a batter or breading before cooking.
   • Methods without fat
     • Broiling: Broiling uses high heat from a source located above the food to cook it rapidly. This method is best for tender cuts of meat, young poultry, fish, and some vegetables.
     • Grilling: A simple dry heat method where food is cooked on a grill grate or rack above the heat source. Best utilized on meats and some vegetables.
     • Roasting and Baking: Cook food with hot, dry heat in the oven. Fish, tender meats, poultry, and some fruits and vegetables are suitable for baking and roasting.

2. Moist-Heat

   • Simmering: Simmering requires that food be completely submerged in a liquid (water, broth, etc.) that is a constant, moderate temperature. Simmering and boiling are often confused, but simmering differs in that the bubbles rise gently and just begin to break the surface.
   • Boiling: When a liquid reaches boiling temperature in the form of LARGE bubbles. Boiling is only good for a few foods such as pasta and corn. Nutrient loss is higher with boiling than any other method
   • Poaching: When poaching, cook food between 160*F and 180*F. The liquid should show some motion, but no air bubbles should break the surface.
   • Blanching: Blanching is a variation of boiling. Simply put, blanching on partially cooks food referred to as par-cooking.
   • Steaming: Steaming cooks food by surrounding it with steam in a confined area like a steam basket or cabinet. Steam cooks the food through direct contact.