Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire, to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting local conditions. Cooking is an aspect of all human societies and a cultural universal.
Types of cooking also depend on the skill levels and training of the cooks. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. (Full article...)
Meat preservation in general (of meat from livestock, game, and poultry) comprises the set of all treatment processes for preserving the properties, taste, texture, and color of raw, partially cooked, or cooked meats while keeping them edible and safe to consume. Curing has been the dominant method of meat preservation for thousands of years, although modern developments like refrigeration and synthetic preservatives have begun to complement and supplant it. (Full article...)
In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is more often used now, and beech to a lesser extent. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit tree woods, such as apple, cherry, and plum, are commonly used for smoking. Other biomass besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice, sugar, and tea, heated at the base of a wok. (Full article...)
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Dry roasting is a process by which heat is applied to dry foodstuffs without the use of oil or water as a carrier. Unlike other dry heat methods, dry roasting is used with foods such as nuts and seeds, in addition to some eaten insects such as house crickets. Dry-roasted foods are stirred as they are roasted to ensure even heating.
Dry roasting can be done in a frying pan or wok (a common way to prepare spices in some cuisines), or in a specialized roaster (as is used for coffee beans or peanuts). Dry roasting changes the chemistry of proteins in the food, changing their flavor, and enhances the scent and taste of some spices. Roasted spices are commonly prepared by adding various herbs, spices and sugars in the frying pan and roasting until brown. (Full article...)
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Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour and nutrients is known as steeping. Herbal teas may be prepared by decoction, infusion, or maceration. Some solids are soaked to remove an ingredient, such as salt, where the solute is not the desired product. (Full article...)
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A charbroiler (also referred to as a chargrill, char-broiler or simply broiler) is a commonly used cooking device consisting of a series of grates or ribs that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. The heat source is almost always beneath the cooking surface – for gas-fired applications this is referred to as an under-fired broiler. Most commonly the charbroiler is a series of long evenly spaced metal ribs over a large combustion chamber filled with an array of burners that may have a deflector, briquettes or radiant between the burner and the cooking surface.
The term charbroiler is usually associated with commercial kitchen applications, though the construction and cooking process is similar to light-duty residential products referred to as grills. The terms charbroiling, broiling, grilling and char-grilling are often used interchangeably, though depending on the application and equipment involved there may be differences in how the food product is actually cooked. The Culinary Reference Guide identifies grilling as "the process used when an item is cooked on a grated surface to sear in the flavors and impart a degree of charring which gives the product a light charcoal smoke flavor." (Full article...)
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Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C (300 °F) from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat (as in an oven), and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roasted", e.g., roasted chicken or roasted squash. (Full article...)
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A bain-marie (English: /ˌbænməˈriː/, French:[bɛ̃maʁi]), also known as a water bath or double boiler, a type of heated bath, is a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. A bain-marie is also used to melt ingredients for cooking. (Full article...)
The term "fermentation" sometimes refers specifically to the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol, producing alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer, and cider. However, similar processes take place in the leavening of bread (CO2 produced by yeast activity), and in the preservation of sour foods with the production of lactic acid, such as in sauerkraut and yogurt. (Full article...)
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Searing or pan searing is a technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, and the like, in which the surface of the food (usually meat such as beef, poultry, pork, or seafood) is cooked at high temperature until a browned crust forms. Similar techniques, such as browning and blackening, are typically used to sear all sides of a particular piece of meat, fish, poultry, etc. before finishing it in the oven. To obtain the desired brown or black crust, the meat surface must exceed 150 °C (300 °F), so searing requires the meat surface be free of water, which boils at around 100 °C (212 °F).
Although often said to "lock in the moisture" or "seal in the juices", in fact, searing results in a greater loss of moisture than cooking to the same internal temperature without searing. Nonetheless, it remains an essential technique in cooking meat for several reasons: (Full article...)
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Aging or ageing, in the context of food or beverages, is the leaving of a product over an extended period of time (often months or years) to aid in improving the flavor of the product. Aging can be done under a number of conditions, and for a number of reasons including stronger umami flavors and tenderness. (Full article...)
The development of the cavity magnetron in the United Kingdom made possible the production of electromagnetic waves of a small enough wavelength (microwaves) to efficiently heat up water molecules. American electrical engineerPercy Spencer is generally credited with inventing the modern microwave oven after World War II from radar technology developed during the war. Named the "RadaRange", it was first sold in 1947. (Full article...)
Reduction is performed by simmering or boiling a liquid, such as a stock, fruit or vegetable juice, wine, vinegar or sauce, until the desired concentration is reached by evaporation. This is done without a lid, enabling the vapor to escape from the mixture. Different components of the liquid will evaporate at slightly different temperatures, and the goal of reduction is to drive away those with lowest points of evaporation. (Full article...)
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Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal medicine systems. Decoction involves first drying the plant material; then mashing, slicing, or cutting the material to allow for maximum dissolution; and finally boiling in water to extract oils, volatile organic compounds and other various chemical substances. Occasionally, aqueous ethanol or glycerol may be used instead of water. Decoction can be used to make tisanes, tinctures and similar solutions. Decoctions and infusions may produce liquids with differing chemical properties, as the temperature or preparation difference may result in more oil-soluble chemicals in decoctions versus infusions. The process can also be applied to meats and vegetables to prepare bouillon or stock, though the term is typically only used to describe boiled plant extracts, usually for medicinal or scientific purposes.
Decoction is also the name for the resulting liquid. Although this method of extraction differs from infusion and percolation, the resultant liquids can sometimes be similar in their effects, or general appearance and taste. (Full article...)
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In cooking, to coddle food is to heat it in water kept just below the boiling point. In the past, recipes called for coddling fruit, but in recent times the term is usually only applied to coddled eggs. Coddling differs from poaching in that the coddled ingredient is not placed directly in hot water, but instead in a small dish placed in a hot water bath. The process is either done in a regular pan or pot filled with water, either on the stovetop or placed in the oven, or through the use of a special device such as an "egg coddler" (originally known as a pipkin). The oven technique is similar to the preparation of baked eggs, the difference being that the preparation of baked eggs does not have to employ a water bath.
The word coddle evolved from the name of a warm drink, "caudle", and ultimately deriving from the Latin word for warm drink, calidium. (Full article...)
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Browning is the process of partially cooking the surface of meat to develop its flavor through various browning reactions and give it a more attractive color.
Fricassee or fricassée/ˈfrɪkəsiː/ is a stew made with pieces of meat that have been browned in butter then served in a sauce flavored with the cooking stock. Fricassee is usually made with chicken, veal or rabbit, with variations limited only by what ingredients the cook has at hand. (Full article...)
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A convection oven (also known as a fan-assisted oven, turbo broiler or simply a fan oven or turbo) is an oven that has fans to circulate air around food to create an evenly heated environment. The increased air circulation causes a fan-assisted oven to cook food faster than a conventional non-fan oven, which relies only on natural convection to circulate the hot air. Fan-assisted convection ovens are commonly used for baking as well as non-food, industrial applications. Small countertop convection ovens for household use are often marketed as air fryers.
When cooking using a fan-assisted oven, the temperature is usually lower compared to that of a non-fan oven, often by 20 °C (40 °F), to avoid overcooking the outside of the food. (Full article...)
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Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobicfermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, if named, the name is prefaced with the word "pickled". Foods that are pickled include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meats, fish, dairy and eggs.
Pickling solutions are typically highly acidic, with a pH of 4.6 or lower, and high in salt, preventing enzymes from working and micro-organisms from multiplying. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months, or in some cases years. Antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, are often added. If the food contains sufficient moisture, a pickling brine may be produced simply by adding dry salt. For example, sauerkraut and Koreankimchi are produced by salting the vegetables to draw out excess water. Natural fermentation at room temperature, by lactic acid bacteria, produces the required acidity. Other pickles are made by placing vegetables in vinegar. Like the canning process, pickling (which includes fermentation) does not require that the food be completely sterile before it is sealed. The acidity or salinity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate, and determine the flavor of the end product. (Full article...)
Rotisserie, also known as spit-roasting, is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit – a long, solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or roasted in an oven. This method is generally used for cooking large joints of meat or entire animals, such as pigs or turkeys. The rotation cooks the meat evenly in its own juices and allows easy access for continuous basting. (Full article...)
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Creaming is used to refer to several different culinary processes. In baking, it is the blending of ingredients with a softened form of a solid fat. When a dish is described as being "creamed", it may mean that it has been poached in milk, cream or a similar liquid. "Creaming" can also refer to the separation of cream from milk. (Full article...)
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Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food is known as a food-borne disease outbreak. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards. In this way, food safety often overlaps with food defense to prevent harm to consumers. The tracks within this line of thought are safety between industry and the market and then between the market and the consumer. In considering industry-to-market practices, food safety considerations include the origins of food including the practices relating to food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and pesticide residues, as well as policies on biotechnology and food and guidelines for the management of governmental import and export inspection and certification systems for foods. In considering market-to-consumer practices, the usual thought is that food ought to be safe in the market and the concern is safe delivery and preparation of the food for the consumer. Food safety, nutrition and food security are closely related. Unhealthy food creates a cycle of disease and malnutrition that affects infants and adults as well.
Food can transmit pathogens, which can result in the illness or death of the person or other animals. The main types of pathogens are bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungus. The WHO Foodborne Disease Epidemiology Reference Group conducted the only study that solely and comprehensively focused on the global health burden of foodborne diseases. This study, which involved the work of over 60 experts for a decade, is the most comprehensive guide to the health burden of foodborne diseases. The first part of the study revealed that 31 foodborne hazards considered priority accounted for roughly 420,000 deaths in LMIC and posed a burden of about 33 million disability adjusted life years in 2010. Food can also serve as a growth and reproductive medium for pathogens. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries there are fewer standards and less enforcement of those standards. Even so, in the US, in 1999, 5,000 deaths per year were related to foodborne pathogens. Another main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water, which is usually a critical item in the spreading of diseases. In theory, food poisoning is 100% preventable. However this cannot be achieved due to the number of persons involved in the supply chain, as well as the fact that pathogens can be introduced into foods no matter how many precautions are taken. [contradictory] (Full article...)
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Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food with the use of high pressuresteam and water or a water-based liquid, inside a sealed vessel called a pressure cooker; the high pressure limits boiling and creates higher temperatures not possible at lower pressures which allow food to be cooked much faster than at normal pressure.
The pressure cooker was invented in the seventeenth century by the physicist Denis Papin. It works by expelling air from the vessel and trapping steam produced from the boiling liquid. This is used to raise the internal pressure up to one atmosphere above ambient and gives higher cooking temperatures between 100–121 °C (212–250 °F). Together with high thermal heat transfer from steam it permits cooking in between a half and a quarter the time of conventional boiling as well as saving considerable energy. (Full article...)
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Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other foods. Often associated with Cajun cuisine, this technique was invented and popularized by chefPaul Prudhomme. The food is dipped in melted butter and then sprinkled with a mixture of herbs and spices, usually some combination of thyme, oregano, chili pepper, peppercorns, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. It is then cooked in a very hot cast-iron skillet. The characteristic brown-black color of the crust results from a combination of browned milk solids from the butter and charred spices.