Cooking Techniques – Knowing How to Cook Your Food

When a recipe calls for poaching, steaming, simmering, etc. do you know what that means?  Knowing those terms can be very important to your recipe, so here’s a look at what some popular cooking techniques mean…

• Simmering – This is when liquids are heated over low heat until bubbles form slowly and burst below the surface.  Think small bubbles
• Boiling – Your liquid will be heated until bubbles form and rise in a steady pattern.  Think large bubbles.
• Poaching – You will have your water simmering and then you will submerge your food in the water.  Think poached egg.  You heat the water to simmering and then you crack the egg over the water and it cooks in the water.
• Steaming – This is when you cook using the steam from boiling water.  You put your food in a metal steaming basket and place it over a pot of boiling water.  Most of these steamers will come with the pot, so that you have a perfect fit. You put the lid on and let the steam from the boiling water do what it needs to do.
• Stir-frying – You are cooking food fast in a little bit of oil over high heat.  You need to be constantly moving your food around when stir-frying.
• Deep-fat frying – This is when you cook your food in enough cooking oil or melted shortening.  The oil will cover the food and it will be at 365′ to 375′ temperature.  At this temperature, your food will cook without absorbing the grease, and it won’t smoke.
• Baking – This is when you use the oven and you can bake the food covered or uncovered.  You usually bake food on the center rack in the oven.
• Broiling – This when you put your food on the top rack in the oven and cook it fast and hot.  Used for cooking meats, toasting bread and melting cheeses.

I hope these explanations will help you makje your dinner the right way and will keep you from being scared of recipes that mention any of these  techniques…