COOKING
METHODS
What do we mean by cooking?
 Cooking
is the techniques we use in
the kitchen to get the results we
want. For example, you could boil
or poach a steak but that would
not get the result you want, which is
probably a brown tasty crust with a
pink interior.
Why cooking is done?
Cooking kills bacteria: Some
cannot be served raw, like poultry.
foods
Cooking makes food easier to digest.
Cooking changes the taste, aroma and
appearance of food.
Cooking methods are classified as either:
Dry heat methods
- which means no moisture is added.
Using air or fat.
Moist heat methods
- which involve either water or
steam…
Combination methods
- which involve dry heat and then a
moist heat.
DRY HEAT METHODS
 mean
cooking without any water or
steam, although some kind of cooking oil
is often used. Dry heat methods are for
foods which are naturally tender.
Broiling
- Similar to grilling, the heat source comes
directly from the top. You should be able to adjust
your oven setting to broiling, but be careful, as this
cooking methods works quickly and your meal could
easily become burned.

Grilling
- This is a fast, dry and very hot way of cooking,
where the food is placed under an intense radiant
heat. You can use various sources of heat for grilling:
wood burning, coals, gas flame, or electric heating.
Before grilling, food can be marinade or seasoned. A
similar method to grilling is broiling, where the heat
source originates from the top instead of the bottom.

Roasting
- is basically a high heat form of baking, where
your food gets drier and browner on the outside by
initial exposure to a temperature of over 500F. This
prevents most of the moisture being cooked out of the
food. The temperature is then lowered to between 425
and 450F to cook through the meat or vegetables.

Baking
- this involves applying a dry convection heat to
your food in an enclosed environment. The dry heat
involved in the baking process makes the outside of the
food go brown, and keeps the moisture locked in.
Baking is regularly used for cooking pastries, bread and
desserts.

Frying
- this means cooking your food in fat –
there are several variations of frying:





Deep-frying, where the food is completely
immersed in hot oil
Stir-frying, where you fry the food very quickly
on a high heat in a oiled pan
Pan-frying, where food is cooked in a frying
pan with oil; and
Sauteing, where the food is browned on one
side and then the other with a small quantity
of fat or oil.
MOIST HEAT METHODS
- mean cooking food in water or
steam.
 Poaching
- this involves a small amount of hot liquid,
ideally at a temperature between 160 and 180F.
The cooking liquid is normally water, but you can
also use broth, stock, milk or juice. Common foods
cooked by poaching include fish, eggs and fruit.
 Simmering
- this involves cooking liquid on top of a
stove in a pot or pan. It should be carried out on a
low heat, and you will see bubbles appearing on
the surface of the liquid as your dish cooks.
 Boiling
- cooking food in boiling water or
other water-based liquids such as stock or
milk.
 Steaming
-this means cooking your food in
water vapour over boiling water. For this, it’s
handy to have a steamer, which consists of
a vessel with a perforated bottom placed
on top of another containing water.
COMBINATION METHODS
Combination methods mean cooking
food using first a dry heat and then adding
liquid or steam.
Combination methods are
tenderize tough cuts of meat.
used
to
Braising
-which means to brown the food first and then
cook it covered, with moisture added. Braised dishes
are always cooked covered because this keeps the
moisture in. Braising tenderizes tough cuts of meat or
poultry.

Stewing
-which means to cut food into bite size pieces,
brown it and then cook it covered, with moisture
added. Stewed dishes are always cooked covered
because this keeps the moisture in. Stewing tenderizes
tough cuts of meat or poultry.
