As a cook it is easy to take certain things for granted like cooking terms. But when you are first starting your cooking journey it can take time to learn all of the terminology and what all of these terms mean. In this article we will look at just a few of the basic cooking terms that should keep you going.
Cooking terms table of contents
Saute
This term you will probably see the most often when looking at recipes.
Frying the food in a small amount of hot cooking oil. This is classed as cooking on a dry heat.
I usually will use around 1-2 tablespoons of oil adding more if needed. I find sauteing onions tend to stay quite oily whereas mushrooms will soak up a lot of the oil at the beginning meaning it may need a little more oil to help it along.
The food should soften and be slightly crisp but not burnt.
Be careful with your heat when sauteing it can be easy for the oil to get too hot. It can take practice to find the perfect heat setting, once you know your stove well it will be easy.
Fry
To fry means to immerse the food into hot oil. This can be one to two inch deep oil and is called shallow frying or around seven inches of oil this is called deep frying.
A thermometer will come in really handy especially for deep frying. having the oil at the right temperature is key. If the oil is not hot enough the food will become over saturated with the oil, if too hot it will burn and over cook the outside leaving the middle raw.
Sweat/Soften
These two cooking terms go hand in hand. To sweat or soften the food you do this over a medium low heat with either oil or butter, stirring it often. What is being cooked should have a shiny look to it and possibly translucent. Some vegetables like broccoli should become brighter green as they cook.
The key to softening is to do it gradually take your time, we do not want to food the char or colour in any way.
Blanche
This is when you want to partly cook something quickly then stopping the cooking process immediately.
So bring a pot of water to a boil add in whatever you need blanched cook for around one minute then draing and placing the food into a bowl of iced water to stop it from cooking any further.
I use this technique when I want to freeze vegetables such as green beans, carrots or peas. I will blanche the vegetables then place them on a baking sheet putting them into the freezer to freeze. Then I remove them and place them into storage bags until needed.
Simmer
This is another one of those cooking terms you will see a lot in recipes.
It means to bring whatever dish you are making up to a boil then reducing the heat so that the bubbles that were once rapid when boiling become slower, gentler looking.
The stove will generally be on a low heat but more than likely not the lowest temperature. You still want to see a slight bubbling and the lowest temps tend to be too low for this. Try the setting between low and medium.
Rolling boil
This kind of boil is an intense boil. Usually, you will see the term a rolling boil when making jams.
A rolling boil will have larger bubbles that look like they roll hence a rolling boil.
Be careful that you keep an eye on what you are making that is doesn’t burn. Even with an intense cooking temperature and appearance we want to keep some degree of control.
Also handle with care the liquid will be very very hot.
Sear
This is another one of the hot heat cooking terms. Over a hot greased surface you will cook the exterior for a short time normally a couple of minutes per side.
Searing happens a lot with meat for a roast it is known to seal in the juices while it does its main cook. Also it can add flavour.
One of my husbands favourite techniques when cooking a beef steak is to do what they call a reverse sear. So you would do the main cook or smoking, if your lucky to have a smoker, first and the sear it at the end. It is definitely worth trying. The flavour is amazing.
Roasting vs Baking cooking terms
Does your oven have these two different setting and wonder what the difference is?
Well the short and answer is not much. The actual answer comes down to temperature and what you are making.
So roasting is done with temperatures above 400F, 200C. Usually used for meats and vegetables
Baking is usually done at 375F, 190C and below. Used to keep moisture in the food like cakes or casseroles. Check out my baked creamy leeks recipe its a favourite.
I hope this article has helped you in you cooking journey and learning some of the basic cooking terms and what is meant in all of these recipes
I wish you good cooking.
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