Cooking methods in different countries vary according to culture but some cooking methods are merely worded differently. This section outlined some basic cooking methods commonly practised worldwide.
Water being an easy resource in most places, are being generously utilised in cooking. Following are description of some methods of cooking using water, also applicable to other liquids:
Boil
Cook liquid to boiling point (water is 100oC, oil is 70 oC) under great heat. The liquid should be bubbling vigorously.
Simmer
Cook liquid to about boiling point under moderate heat. Liquid should bubbles gentler than boiling (in between boil and poach).
Poach
Cook liquid until it bubbles slightly or barely bubbling at all.
Steam
Boil liquid (usually water) to produce hot vapour where the vapour shall cook the food instead of the liquid itself.
Blanch
Cook food briefly in boiling liquid (normally water).
Some other water cooking methods such as braise and stew use combination of above methods versus certain period of time, normally to slowly release zest of food or tenderise the food. Eg. Stew Lamb is boiled (with other ingredients) then brought to simmer for 20 minutes.
Cooking oil and butter (fats) are also commonly used in cooking recipe. Following are description of cooking methods using fats:
Deep fry
Cook by submerging food completely into great amount of heated fats. Degree of heat depends on instruction in cooking recipes eg. Moderate heat, great heat.
Stir fry
Cook food in small amount of fats while stirring the food with spatula or other tools normally under moderate or low heat to prevent fats from being burned.
Other common cooking methods:
Grill
Cook food on a grill with heat underneath. Similar to barbequing but using grill. Grill, other than transferring heat to the food to be cooked, has another function to create beautiful lines on the food.
Sauté
A technique of cooking food (normally using pan) and occasionally tossing the food to the air by moving the pan. Ingredients are evenly mixed and evenly cooked using this method. I personally think this is a stylish cooking method! Spatula is still necessary though, in some cases.
To learn more cooking methods and better understand cooking methods, read instructions and tips provided in cooking recipe. Don’t be afraid to try out. Familiarisation will teach you over times.