Today we’ll look at a variety of cooking techniques that are used all over the world! These are the common ones, there are many more but mostly you wont hear people talking about them unless you are professional chef.

Words:
“Sauté” — “Boil” — “Stew” — “Simmer” — “Poach” — “Blanche” — “Grill” — “Fry” — “Panfry” — “Deep Fry” — “Stir Fry” — “Roast” — “Flambé” — “Sear” — “Bake” — “Steam” — “Braise” — “Pickle” — “Marinate” — “Caramelize” — “Deglaze” — “Tenderize”

Sauté — To sauté is to take a pan or wok and a spatula or some tool to move the food with, you heat the pan to a high temperature and then add a little oil or fat and the food you wish to cook. Sauté is actually French meaning “to jump”, this is because often when you watch someone sauté food they will move the pan around a lot and make the food jump into the air and flip over to ensure it does not burn. You don’t need to move the pan, you can also just use a spatula or some such tool to move the food and flip it.

Used for:
A wide variety of foods. Usually the food will be smaller pieces which cook quickly.




Boil — To boil something is to take a pot and fill it with water, put the pot on the stove and turn the heat to high so the water starts to bubble. At this point you can put anything in the water and it will cook from the heat and the moisture.

Used for:
Most commonly used for soups, eggs, potatoes and a wide variety of vegetables.




Stew — To stew something is quite similar to boiling something except once you have the water hot and bubbling, you will add all your ingredients and turn the heat down a little. You don’t want it too hot when stewing because you want it to cook slowly and you want the flavours to mix well.


Used for:
Stews. These are like a soup except they tend to be much thicker and have larger pieces of meat or vegetables in them.



Simmer — To simmer is to leave in a pot of hot water for a long period of time at a very low temperature. Usually stews are left to simmer on the stove for a long time, as are dried beans or other ingredients that are very hard and must soak in hot water for a long time.

Used for:
Stews, beans, lentils and anything that requires long periods of hot water in order to be ready for eating.



Poach — Poach is similar to boiling and simmering except sort of in the middle of the two. The temperature is not too high or too low. Boiling is a strong bubbling sensation, simmering is almost no bubbles, poaching has mild bubbling to it.

Used for:
Fish, eggs, fruit and some meats. Usually delicate foods are poached as the bubbles aren’t so strong.


Blanche — To blanche something means to put the item in boiling water for a short period of time and then remove it and place it in cold water afterwards to stop the item from further cooking. This is used a lot for foods that if allowed to cook longer will go too soft.

Used for:
Mostly this is most commonly used for vegetables or fruit which needs to be cooked but is quick to become soft so just needs a little time in the water.

Grill — To Grill something is to apply direct heat to the food, usually this is done from below though sometimes also above. Often grilling is done over hot coals in the form of a barbecue or a fire pit.

Used for:
This is most commonly used for meats such as steaks, hamburgers or hot dogs but can also be used for vegetables.





Fry — Frying food is a common term that simply means to cook the food in oil or fat. There are many different kinds of frying which we look at below. Commonly frying is done using a Frying Pan

Used for:
Everything and Anything




Pan fry — To pan fry food is one type of frying, it uses very little oil compared to deep frying so it does not make the outside of the food quite so hard, as well it tends to be healthier due to the smaller amount of oil used. When pan frying you don’t usually put a lid on the pan so some of the moisture escapes from the food and the bottom of the food tends to be lightly browned.

Used for:
It can be used for almost any type of food.



Deep Fry — To deep fry food is another form of frying but in this style you use a great deal more oil, often enough oil to completely cover the food. The oil should be heated very high before the food is placed into it. It quickly fries the entire piece with a hard outer layer. The moisture of the food is also trapped inside the food so it’s a good idea to let deep fried food cool a little before you eat them or the hot moisture may burn you. Deep frying is commonly done in a fryer and is very unhealthy as a great deal of the oil ends up in the food you eat.

Used for:
Most commonly used for French Fries (British call them Chips), Chicken (KFC) and a wide variety of other foods.


Stir Fry — To stir fry food is to place it in a pan or wok with a little oil that is heated before hand. Usually the ingredients are cut into smaller pieces and you stir the ingredients while they cook to ensure they are cooked evenly throughout and the sauce or spices are evenly mixed.

Used for:
Has many uses but some common ones are for fried rice, fried noodles and just the very popular dish named after this method of cooking, a stir fry.

Roast — Roasting something involves using a dry heat to cook it, this is often done inside of an oven but could also be done using an open flame or other methods. It tends to be a much slower method of cooking compared to frying or grilling so it’s perfect for foods that require more time to cook all the way through.

Used for:
Commonly used to cook large pieces of meat, root vegetables like potatoes or bulb vegetables like turnips.





Flambé — Flambé is french for “Flamed” and generally is the use of alcohol added to a hot pan to create a fire in the food which burns out quickly, this leaves the food with a slight taste of the alcohol used as well as adds a bit of beauty to the dish. It’s commonly done right at the end of the preparation or sometimes right in front of you at the table in some restaurants.

Used for:
Often it is used on fruit dishes as the flavour left behind tends to taste quite nice with fruit but can be used on other dishes as well.


Sear — To sear something is to use high heat to quickly brown and harden the outside of food, usually meat. This can be done for many reasons but usually you are giving it a nice look on the outside, greatly changes the flavour and it gives a very different texture between the outside and the inside of the food. Many claim it also ensures the moisture of the food is kept inside, but studies have shown that it in fact dries the food out slightly.

Used for:
Most commonly used for meats like steak, fish or chicken. Often done before grilling the meat to give it a nice look and texture.

Bake — To bake something you use a dry heat, usually in an oven, for a long period of time.

Used for:
Most commonly used for bread, cookies, cakes, crackers, potatoes and many other types of foods.




Steam — To steam something is to place it on a tray over top of boiling water so that as the water turns to gas (steam) it moves up over the food and cooks it. Steaming is a very healthy manner of cooking as there is no oils or fats used but often does not leave the food with as much flavour as other cooking methods.

Used for:
Often used for dumplings, steamed bread and buns, fish and other types of food that require more gentle methods of cooking.


Braise — To braise food is a two step process, first you sear the food to brown it’s surface and to give it a certain flavour, you then take the food and place it in a covered pot of some sort and roast it in it’s own juices. If the food you are braising does not have much juice itself, like meat, you can add some water to the post as well.

Used for:
Most commonly used for meats but can also be used for vegetables or a combination of the two.



Pickle — To pickle something is to combine the food in a glass jar with a combination of vinegar, salt and other spices to preserve it. The most common thing pickled is the cucumber and in English a pickled cucumber is just called a pickle, however you can pickle all sorts of items. Once a food has been pickled, it will last much longer than regular before going bad or rotten.

Used for:
Mostly used for vegetables but can also be used for meats or eggs.



Marinate — To marinate something you place it in a liquid mixture, often including vinegar, lemon juice, spices and other flavours, before cooking it to give it a particular flavour. Marinating can be as quick as a few seconds or can last days depending on what it is you are marinating. The liquid you place the item into is called the marinade.

Used for:
Anything and everything.



Caramelize — To caramelize is to use heat and sugar to “brown” the sugar, sugar is usually colourless but when heated to a proper temperature it will turn a brown colour and greatly change in flavour.

Used for:
Most commonly used with Onions that will be added to other food but can be used for meats and many other foods as well.




Deglaze — To deglaze is a cooking technique that comes after roasting or frying meat, once the meat has been cooked, at the bottom of the pan or pot will be caramelized residue left over. If you add water, wine, or some sort of soup to the pot, it will allow the caramelized pieces to melt and become part of the flavour for the new dish.

Used for:
This is very popular for use with creating sauces or gravy.


Tenderize — To tenderize is to use a meat tenderizer to beat a piece of meat before cooking, this has two effects on the meat, first the meat will be much more soft and easy to eat as the beating of it helps to break up the meat a little. Secondly, many meat tenderizers will have points or bumps which help poke holes in the meat to allow a marinade to more easily enter and flavour the meat.

Used for:
Usually used for meat that is a little tougher such as steaks.