14 Cooking Methods for Beginners | Vil and Zoe's Galley

Summary

This video provides an insightful guide to common cooking methods, explaining how understanding key cooking terminologies can help prevent culinary mistakes. From frying and sautéing to more intricate techniques like braising, simmering, and poaching, each method is broken down simply, making it easier for viewers to follow recipes and improve their cooking skills. The video also highlights the importance of selecting the right technique for desired outcomes, whether you're preparing meats, vegetables, or delicate foods like eggs and fish. This guide ensures anyone can confidently tackle recipes and achieve flavorful, well-cooked dishes.

Takeaways

• 😀 Understanding common cooking methods helps avoid mistakes in the kitchen.
• 🍳 Frying involves cooking food in hot oil or fat in a shallow pan over high heat.
• 🍤 Sauteing is similar to frying but involves tossing ingredients in the pan over high heat.
• 🍟 Deep frying submerges food completely in hot oil for even cooking.
• 🥩 Braising combines dry heat followed by moist heat, cooking food in liquid at lower temperatures.
• 🍲 Simmering is cooking food in liquid just below the boiling point, with gentle bubbling.
• 🍖 Stewing is a slow cooking method in a closed pan where food is submerged in liquid.
• 🥦 Steaming uses steam from boiling water to cook food, keeping it moist and tender.
• 🍳 Boiling involves cooking food in water at 100°C, typically for foods like eggs or potatoes.
• 🍓 Poaching is a gentle cooking method where food is submerged in liquid at low temperatures, often used for delicate foods.
• 🥬 Blanching briefly boils food then cools it quickly in ice water to preserve color and nutrients.
• 🍗 Roasting uses dry heat in an oven, ideal for meats and vegetables, cooking evenly on all sides.
• 🍰 Baking involves cooking with dry heat, usually for foods like bread, cakes, and cookies.
• 🍖 Grilling uses direct heat from below to cook food, typically meats and vegetables.
• 🔥 Broiling is similar to grilling but uses heat from above, making it a healthier option as fat drips away.

Q & A

What is the main issue people face when reading recipes from cookbooks or websites?

The main issue is not understanding some of the terms or methods used in the recipe, leading people to ignore unfamiliar words and possibly causing mistakes in the cooking process.

What happens when someone ignores unfamiliar cooking terms in a recipe?

Ignoring unfamiliar cooking terms often leads to undesirable results, such as the food being too salty, bland, hard, soft, undercooked, or overcooked.

What are the basic cooking methods that every recipe typically includes?

The basic cooking methods include frying, sautéing, deep frying, braising, simmering, stewing, steaming, boiling, poaching, blanching, roasting, baking, grilling, and broiling.

How does frying differ from sautéing?

Frying involves cooking food in oil or fat over high heat, typically in a shallow pan, while sautéing also uses oil or fat over high heat but involves tossing or stirring the ingredients in the pan.

What is the process of deep frying?

Deep frying involves fully submerging food in hot oil or fat, resulting in a crispy exterior and cooked interior. Common foods prepared by deep frying include French fries and fried chicken.

What does braising involve in terms of cooking method?

Braising uses both dry and wet heat. First, food is cooked at a high temperature (like grilling or roasting), followed by cooking in a covered pot with liquid at a lower temperature.

What is the difference between simmering and boiling?

Simmering refers to cooking food just below the boiling point, where gentle bubbles rise to the surface. Boiling, on the other hand, involves cooking food in water at 100°C, with more vigorous bubbles.

What is the main characteristic of poaching?

Poaching involves cooking food at a low temperature by submerging it in water or broth without boiling. The water remains just below a simmer, making it ideal for delicate foods like eggs or fish.

How does blanching help preserve food?

Blanching involves briefly immersing food in boiling water, followed by cooling it rapidly in ice water. This method helps preserve the food's color, flavor, and nutritional value.

What is the main difference between roasting and baking?

Roasting uses dry heat, typically in an oven, to cook larger pieces of meat or vegetables. Baking, on the other hand, usually involves foods like bread, cakes, or pies, which lack an initial solid structure before cooking.

What makes grilling and broiling similar and different?

Both grilling and broiling use dry heat to cook food. However, grilling applies heat from below (using a grill pan or wire), while broiling uses heat from above, often resulting in fat dripping away from the food, making it a healthier option.

Why is broiling considered a healthier cooking method?

Broiling is considered healthier because the heat source is above the food, allowing the fat to drip away as the food cooks, which reduces the overall fat content in the dish.