Cooking Techniques

Pickling is the preservation of food in acid. It is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, herbs, meat, and even hard-boiled eggs.

Poaching is a method of cooking that employs a liquid, usually a small amount, that is hot but not actually bubbling. The French term is frisonne – shivering.

Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in which the boiling temperature of water is increased using a special vessel, causing the food to cook faster. Cooking times can be reduced by a factor of three or four.

Roasting is high-heat baking with very little moisture. Roasted foods get drier and browned on the outside by initially exposing it to a high temperature.

Salting is a technique to preserve food. The salting method of food preservation was popular before modern refridgeration.

Sautéing is browning food first on one side and then on the other in a small quantity of fat or oil.

Scalding is a technique used in many recipes containing milk.

Simmering or stewing, is a modification of boiling. By this method, food is cooked in liquid at a temperature below the boiling point, or anywhere from 185 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (85-95 Celsius).

Smoking is a slow form of cooking that can pack in more flavour than probably any other form. It involves soaking the ingredient, whether it be fish, meat or vegetables, in the smoke of an aromatic wood.

Steaming is the cooking of food by the application of steam. In this cooking process, the food is put into a steamer, which is a cooking utensil that consists of a vessel with a perforated bottom placed over one containing water.

Stir-frying involves frying food quickly over very high heat in an oiled pan. While stir-frying, you generally stir continually. A special slope-sided pan called a wok is designed for stir frying.

The act of tempering is done by gradually increasing the temperature of one recipe component by the addition of another.