Cooking
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Cooking is the act of applying heat to food in order to prepare it for ingestion. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Factors affecting the final outcome include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual doing the actual cooking.
The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the myriad nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious considerations that impact upon it.
Cooking requires applying heat to a food, which usually, though not always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence of roasted foodstuffs, both animal and vegetable, in human (Homo erectus) campsites dating from the earliest known use of fire, some 800,000 years ago. Other methods of cooking that involve the boiling of liquid in a receptacle have been practiced at least since the 10th millennium BC, with the introduction of pottery.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Effects of cooking
[edit] Proteins
Edible animal material, including muscle, offal, milk and egg white, contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. These may also be a source of essential amino acids. When proteins are heated they become de-natured and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more friable - meat becomes cooked. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component of much cake cookery, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue.
[edit] Liquids
Cooking often involves liquids, both added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (typically water, stock or wine), and released from the foods themselves. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used may be based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising and blanching. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation, which concentrates the remaining flavors and ingredients - this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making.
[edit] Fat
Fats and oils come from both animal and plant sources. In cooking, fats provide tastes and textures. When used as the principal cooking medium (rather than water), they also allow the cook access to a wide range of cooking temperatures. Common oil-cooking techniques include sauteing, stir-frying, and deep-frying. Commonly used fats and oils include butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, lard, beef fat (both dripping and tallow), rapeseed oil or Canola, and peanut oil. The inclusion of fats tends to add flavour to cooked food, even though the taste of the oil on its own is often unpleasant. This fact has encouraged the popularity of high fat foods, many of which are classified as junk food such as hamburgers or convenience fried cereal snacks.
[edit] Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates used in cooking include simple sugars such as glucose (from table sugar) and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot, potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex.
Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into more simple sugars when cooked, while simple sugars can form syrups. If sugars are heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, then caramelisation starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown products producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.
An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.
[edit] Food safety
If heat is used in the preparation of food, this can kill or inactivate potentially harmful organisms including bacteria and viruses. The effect will depend on temperature, cooking time, and technique used. The temperature range from 5°C to 57°C (41°F to 135°F) is the "food danger zone." Between these temperatures bacteria can grow rapidly. Under the correct conditions bacteria can double in number every twenty minutes. The food may not appear any different or spoiled but can be harmful to anyone who eats it. Meat, poultry, dairy products, and other prepared food must be kept outside of the "food danger zone" to remain safe to eat. Refrigeration and freezing do not kill bacteria, but only slow their growth. When cooling hot food, it shouldn't be left on the side or in a blast chiller (an appliance used to quickly cool food) for more then 90 minutes.
Cutting boards are a potential breeding ground for bacteria, and can be quite hazardous unless safety precautions are taken. Plastic cutting boards are less porous than wood and have conventionally been assumed to be far less likely to harbor bacteria. [1]. This has been debated, and some research have shown wooden boards are far better.[2]Washing and sanitizing cutting boards is highly recommended, especially after use with raw meat, poultry, or seafood. Hot water and soap followed by a rinse with an antibacterial cleaner (dilute bleach is common in a mixture of 1 Tbsp/gal water, as at that dilution it is considered food safe, though some professionals choose not to use this method because they believe it could taint some foods), or a trip through a dishwasher with a "sanitize" cycle, are effective methods for reducing the risk of illness due to contaminated cooking implements.[3]
[edit] Cooking techniques
Some major hot cooking techniques:
[edit] Other preparation techniques
Some cool techniques
- Brining
- Drying
- Grinding (e.g. sesame seeds to produce tahini), chopping, slicing finely, grating, etc..
- Julienning
- Marinating
- Mincing
- One-Pot Method (Items added to same pot, without removing any ingredients until completed)
- Pickling
- Salting
- Seasoning
- Sprouting
- Sugaring
[edit] Science of cooking
The application of scientific knowledge to cooking and gastronomy has become known as molecular gastronomy. This is a subdiscipline of food science. Important contributions have been made by scientists, chefs and authors such as Herve This (chemist), Nicholas Kurti (physicist), Peter Barham (physicist), Harold McGee (author), Shirley Corriher (biochemist, author), Heston Blumenthal (chef), Ferran Adria (chef), Robert Wolke (chemist, author) and Pierre Gagnaire (chef)
[edit] See also
Specific techniques and ingredients are often regional. See Cuisine for information about the many regional and ethnic food traditions. Please see food writing for some authors of books on cookery, food, and the history of food.
- Cooking weights and measures (includes conversions and equivalencies common in cooking)
- International food terms - useful when reading about food and recipes from different countries
- Food and cooking hygiene
- Dishwashing
- Food preservation
- Food writing
- List of cookbooks The standard book for basic cooking, "learn how to cook", etc.
- List of food preparation utensils including saucepans, frying pans, woks and many others.
- Cuisine
- Recipe, List of recipes
- Nutrition
- List of cocktails
- Staple (cooking)
- Culinary profession
- Maillard reaction
- Culinary triangle
- Once-a-month cooking
- Pressure Cooker
- Culinary art
- Solar cooking
[edit] References
- ^ Cutting Boards (Plastic Versus Wood). Food Safety, Preparation and Storage Tips. Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, the University of Arizona (1998). Retrieved on June 21, 2006.
- ^ Cutting Boards - wood or plastic?. ReluctantGourmet.com. Retrieved on June 21, 2006.
- ^ Cutting Boards - wood or plastic?. ReluctantGourmet.com. Retrieved on June 21, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Culinary history timeline
- NEAC - Network of European Alimentary Culture
- Cookery Guide
- Five Mushrooms, the Food Wiki
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