- Submitted by Dahlia
Cooking methods can be classified as either Dry heat cooking or Wet Heat cooking. Dry-heat cooking refers to the technique where the heat is transferred to the food item in the absence of liquid. This usually cooks the food at high temperature and results in browning of food. Wet-heat cooking, also called Moist Heat cooking requires moisture. The moisture can be in any form like water, stock or steam. The food is cooked at lower temperature.
DRY-HEAT COOKING
Dry-heat cooking can be further classified as direct heating and indirect heating. In direct dry heating method, the food is in direct contact with the cooking surface e.g. : sauteing, pan frying etc. In indirect dry heating method, heat is conducted to the food using air as the conduction medium.
Roasting
This is a cooking method where the meat or vegetables are placed over a fire, bed of coals or in the oven. The food is cooked comparatively slowly.
Grilling
Grilling can be done over a charcoal flame or gas. The food to be grilled is placed on a grill rack and kept within a distance of few inches from the heat source. The intense heat cooks the food quickly. Grilling is also referred to as healthy low fat cooking as it renders out the internal fat of the food being grilled.
Broiling
This method is very similar to grilling except that the heat source is on top of the food being broiled.
Baking
This refers to cooking the food item inside the oven. Here the food is surrounded by hot and dry air. This cooks the food slowly but evenly.
Frying
This method is also categorized under dry cooking as the food being fried cannot have any moisture. If there is any moisture, it results in violent splattering.
WET-HEAT COOKING
Boiling
Here the food is cooked in boiling liquid like water, gravy, sauce etc. The liquid is usually bubbling.
Poaching
Here the cooking liquid is at a much lower temperature and is used for delicate food items like eggs, fish etc.
Simmering
When the temperature of the liquid is higher than poaching but lower than boiling it is called simmering. In this the liquid has a small bubbles.
Steaming
Here the food is not submerged into the liquid. Instead, water is simmered in a pot on stove top. The food item is placed on a basket suspended above the liquid. There are also steamers available.
Braising
Braising is a cooking method in which the food item is submerged in the liquid and slow cooked. The liquid will be simmering in the low heat. This is usually done in the oven where the cooking pot is surrounded evenly by the oven heat.
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