A List of Cooking Methods – If You’ve Ever Wondered

If you’ve ever wondered about the different ways you can cook food, here’s a nice reference list for you:

  • Baking is cooking is using dry heat in the oven. Commonly baked foods are cookies, muffins, cakes and pies.
  • Frying is cooking food in fat or oil at high heat. Frying usually occurs in a pan, but may deep frying (which means the food is fully submerged in oil), it be done in a pot or deep fryer. We all know the fried chicken, french fries and often donuts are examples of fried foods.
  • Sauté is cooking food in small amounts of fat or oil in a pan at a fairly high heat. It differs from frying in that it uses a smaller amount of oil and frequent stirring is required for saute. Vegetables, pieces of chicken and beef are suitable for saute.
  • Braising is the method of frying food lightly and then stewing in a closed container. Different large cuts of beef are often braised.
  • Stewing is a method of cooking food slowly in liquid. Vegetables and meat are often stewed.
  • Roasting, like baking, uses dry heat. However, roasting includes the addition of fat or oil to aid in the cooking process.  Think roast chicken, roast beef and even roast vegetables.
  • Poaching is the method of cooking in a simmering liquid. It differs from stewing in that it produces a thin broth instead of a concentrated one. Fish, chicken breast and eggs are commonly poached.
  • Grilling is the use of direct heat below what you’re cooking and it’s usually done over a barbecue. A variety of meats and vegetables can be barbecued
  • Broiling is the use of direct heat above what you’re cooking and it’s usually done in the oven. Meat, tender vegetables and fully-baked breads can be broiled.

With that in mind, what’s for dinner tonight? We’re grilling and of course that means I’m sending hubby out in the rain to do it!

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