Cooking Methods

Heat is applied to food to make it:

Easier to digest

Safer to eat

Taste better

The main ways of cooking are:

With Moisture Moist heat

Without Moisture Dry heat

With Moisture

Boiling

Steaming

Stewing

Pot-roasting

Braising

Poaching

Pressure-cooking

Microwave cooking

Without Moisture

Baking

Roasting

Rotisserie cooking

Grilling & Barbecuing

FryingSautéingShallow-fryingdeep

Boiling

Food is placed in a saucepan. Food grown below

ground put into a pot of cold water & bought to the boil.

Food grown above grown put into boiling water

Steaming

Food is placed in a steamer with a perforated base

Steaming

Food is placed in a greased bowl & covered & then placed in boiling water

Steaming

Food is placed on a greased plate over a saucepan half-full of boiling water.

Boiling

www.tvnzondemand.co.nz

Kiwi Kitchen Episode 4, 26 Jan 2008

Braising

A combination of stewing & pot-roasting.

Pot-Roasting

Food is browned in a small amount of hot fat & cooked slowly in a small amount of liquid

Stewing

A slow gentle way of cooking small portions of food in liquid. A stew if cooked in

a saucepan on the stovetop (elements)

A casserole if cooked in the oven

Poaching

Tender food is cooked for a short time in simmering water

Pressure-Cooking

Uses an airtight pressure cooking.

Saves time (& money) as food cooks quickly because it is under pressure.

Microwave

A microwave oven changes electrical energy (electricity) to microwave (radio waves) energy.

Baking

Food is cooked in an oven by radiated heat.

Roasting

Food is cooked in an oven in a little hot fat in an uncovered dish (as for baking)

Rotisserie Cooking

Food is put on a rotisserie (spit) and revolved.

Grilling & Barbecuing

A quick method of cooking for small tender pieces of food. Grill – heat comes

form above BBQ – heat comes

from below

Frying

Food is cooked in hot fat or oil

Shallow-Frying

Food is cooked in oil / fat that comes partly up the side of the food.

Deep-Frying

Food is totally immersed in hot fat.

Hot fat is dangerous!

Reminders

Choose fresh fat or oil with a high smoke point

Heat to the required temperature, but avoid overheating

Fry a small quantity at once to avoid reducing the temperature

Reminders When golden brown, remove from the

fat and drain on crumpled absorbent paper to absorb excess fat.

Reheat the fat before adding a second load.

After use, allow the fat to cool. Strain it into a clean container and store it covered in the refrigerator. Clarify as needed.

What is the Bread test?

The time taken for a 3cm cube of one-day-old bread to become golden brown.

Recommended Temperature for Frying

Food Temperature Bread Test

Uncooked foods e.g. fish, fritters

177° - 190°C

(350° - 375°F)60 seconds

Precooked foods e.g. croquettes

190° - 196°C

(375° - 385°F)40 seconds

Wet foods e.g. potato chips

196° - 201°C

(385° - 395°F)20 seconds

Cooking Techniques

How to do it

Bake Blind

Bake a pastry case without filling

Chop

Food is make smaller by various equipment Knife Kitchen scissors Food processor Blender

Creaming

Soften butter & sugar is beaten until white light & fluffy

Dice

Food is cut into small cubes

Fold

Aerated food (e.g. egg whites) are combined with other ingredients.

A metal spoon of rubber scraper are used NOT a wooden spoon

Knead

Dough is worked until it is smooth & elastic

Rub-in

To combine butter & flour until it looks like breadcrumbs / sand

Separate an Egg

The egg whites & yolks are separated.

No yolk can get into the egg white.

How to separatean egg

Flute

Thumbs / fingers or the back of a knife are used to decorate the edge of a pie.