12 Basic Methods Of Cooking Secrets You Never Knew

Cooking or cookery is the art, technology, science, and craft of preparing food for consumption. The practice or skill of preparing food by combining, mixing, and heating ingredients. So as a food enthusiast, knowing those basic methods of cooking is a gold mine.

Here are the most basic cooking techniques to help you as an amateur homecooked chef:

1. Sautéing

From the French sauté , “jumped, bounced” in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat.

2. Baking

In baking method of cooking, the food is cooked using convection heating. The food is put into an enclosed area where heat is then applied and the movement of heat within the confined space, acts on the food that make it get cooked.

3. Steaming

To steam food, water is added to a pot and then a stand is placed inside the pot. The water level should be under the stand and not above it. There is no contact between the food and the water that is added to the pot. Food is then placed on the stand and heat is applied. The hot steam rising from the boiling water acts on the food and the food gets cooked. It is the hot steam that cooks the food, as there is no contact between the food and the water inside the pot. This method of cooking for vegetables is very good as the food does not lose its flavour and much of the nutrients are not lost during the cooking.

4. Grilling

2 types of grilling:
1. when food is cooked over hot charcoal on an open fire
2. using grills that are inbuilt in stoves. In this method, the griller, which has a tray, is heated up and

5. Roasting

With roasting, direct heat is applied to the food. The heat seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks the food. Roasting is mainly used when cooking fleshy food like fish, meat or chicken.

6. Boiling

This is the most common method of cooking and is also the simplest. With this method of cooking, enough water is added to food and it is then cooked over the fire.

7. Stewing

In the process of cooking using the stewing method, food is cooked using a lot of liquid. Different kinds of vegetables are chopped, diced or cubed and added to the pot. Sometimes pieces of selected meat, fish or chicken is also chopped and added to the stew.

8. Frying

When food is fried using oil or solid fat it is important that you observe some rules in handling oil or fat. Simple rules to follow when frying:

1. Make sure there is enough oil or fat put in the frying pan or a deep frying pan.
2. The food to be cooked must not have water dripping from it. This is because when water comes into contact with hot oil or fat, you will have the oil sizzling and spitting out of the pan, which could burn your skin if you are not careful.
3. Put the food into the hot oil carefully. Try not to make a big splash as the oil could burn your skin.
4. The oil of fat should be heated to the right temperature before putting food into the pan to be fried. If the food is put in when the oil or fat is not heated to the right temperature, the food will soak up the oil and you will have food that is all oily or greasy.

9. Shallow Frying

In shallow frying, food is cooked in a frying pan with a little amount of oil or fat. The oil or fat is heated to the correct amount and the food is put into the heated oil.

10. Deep Frying

This is when a lot of oil or fat is used in cooking the food. The oil or fat is usually put into a deep pan and is heated to boiling point. Food is then put into the hot boiling oil and is cooked in that way. Such food as fish fingers, potato chips, meat balls, and dough nuts to name a few, are cooked using the deep frying method.

11. Barbequing

The method of cooking food by barbequing is usually associated with fund raising activities, parties or picnics. It is most suitable to cooking meat cutlets, fish or chicken pieces. The food is usually marinated with spices and tenderizers (for meat cuts) for some time before it is cooked. With this method of cooking, a sheet of metal with stands is heated up and oil is used to cook the food

12. Basting

This method of cooking is usually associated with roasting. The juice or liquid that comes out of the meat being cooked is spooned over the roast frequently while it is being roasted. The outer part of the meat is moistened frequently during the cooking process with the juice that is being spooned over. Usually, the extra juice from the cooked meat is added to a mixture to make the meat sauce.