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Basic Cooking Method

AS T O N PRI M E RA PA S T E U R
FO O D PRO D U CT I O N D E PAR T M E N T
 INTRODUCTION
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The basic cooking methods are used

separately or in combination to prepare all
cooked food items. It tells how heat is
initiated and controlled for each method of
preparation.
There are twenty one basic methods. Each
must be thoroughly understood and properly
execute for perfect cooking, cooking that will
ensure highest quality in terms of flavor,
color, appearance and nutritional value.
 WHAT IS COOKING?
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Cooking generally means conducting heat into food

to change and improve it in terms of palatability,
bacteriological content and taste.

WHY DO WE COOK FOOD?

We cook or otherwise prepare food for several
reasons:
 maximize nutritive values
 improve its color, texture and flavor
 to destroy harmful organism
 to improve its digestivity
 THE COOKING PROCESS
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The following three elements form part of

every coking process:
The food to be cooked
The basic cooking methods
The kitchen appliance/ equipment/
utensil
 THE FOOD TO COOKED
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3 Factors influence preparation

The piece size
The texture ( external and internal )
The quality

QUALITY:
This is the importance with meat (quality
grade) where it has a direct effect on the
basic cooking method to be used.
 BASIC COOKING METHODS
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There are 21 basic cooking methods

 STEWING  DEEP FAT FRYING  SMOKING

 BLANCHING BLANCHING IN OIL  STIR – FRY
 SIMMERING GRILLING  BARBECUING
 POACHING  ROASTING  BROILING
 BOILING  BAKING IN THE OVEN  GLAZING
 BRAISING  OVER CRUSTING  REDUCING
 PAN FRYING STEAMING  SAUTE
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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STEWING:
 Equipment used: Stewing pan or stewing
pot with lid.
 Temperature Range: 120°C -140°C
 Purpose: To soften food while fully
surrounded by liquid.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BLANCHING:
Equipment used: Stock pot, stewing pot.
Temperature range: 100°C.
Food most suitable: - Meat, bones,
vegetables.
Purpose: Lightly cooking raw ingredients for
varying amounts of time in boiling water.
The ingredients are then refreshed in cold
water and drained.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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SIMMERING:
 Equipment used: stock pot, stewing pot,
stewing pan, sauce pan.
 Temperature range: 92°C – 98°C.
 Food most suitable: Butchers meat, poultry,
and vegetables stock.
 Purpose: To soften tissues of food with the
least lost of cooking liquid.
 The ingredients are then refreshed in cold
water and drained.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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POACHING:
 Equipment used: Stewing pan, stewing pot
water bath (Bain-marie).
 Temperature range: 65°C – 85°C.
 Food most suitable: Fish, poultry, egg
custard, terrine, butter sauce.
 Purpose: To cook food of delicate structure
so as to retain shape, nutrient and flavor.
 The ingredients are then refreshed in cold
water and drained.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BOILING:
Equipment used: stock pot, stewing pot and
tilting boiler.
Temperature range: 100° C.
Food most suitable: Farinaceous, product,
potatoes, vegetables, rice.
Purpose: To soften food at boiling point
under vigorous motion of food and liquid.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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PAN FRYING
Equipment used: Frying pan
Temperature range: 160°C – 240°C.
Food most suitable: Bucher’s meat, game,
poultry, fish, potatoes, egg.
Purpose: To cook small portioned food by
exposing the surface to high heat so as to
achieve browning and sealing of the food
item.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BLANCHING IN OIL
Equipment used: Deep fat fryer.
Temperature range: 140°C – 160°C.
Food most suitable: vegetables, potatoes, fish
Purpose: For pre-cooking (softening) for
crust forming of frying butter coat.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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GRILLING
Equipment used: Contact grill
Temperature range: 150°C – 250°C
Food most suitable: French toast, potatoes,
fish, large or tender meat portions steak
Purpose: The product is cooked or brown
on one side and then it is turn on the second
side.
Product is coated with melted fat to prevent
it from sticking.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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SMOKING
 A tradition method of preserving fresh food, such as
meat and fish using prolonged exposure to smoke
from a wood fire.
 Smoking tends to dry the food, kills bacteria and
other micro-organism on it surface, deepens its color
and impregnates it with a smoky flavor.
 Food most suitable: Fish: salmon, eel
Meat: certain cut of pork (ham,
belly bacon) sausages.
 The duration of smoking varies from 20 minutes to
several days.
 The most commonly used wood are oak, beech and
chestnut.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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DEEP FAT FRYING

Equipment used: Deep fat fryer
Temperature range: 180° C – 200°C
Food most suitable: Fish, seafood, potatoes,
vegetables, fruit
Purpose: To fully cooked food after
preliminary blanching in oil and to brown
surface for better taste and texture (crisp).
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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ROASTING
Equipment used: Roasting pan, normal oven
Temperature range: 150°C – 250°C
Food most suitable: Butcher’s meat,
potatoes, and poultry
Purpose: To soften food item in an oven by
browning and sealing the surface.
Meat –ready trimmed meat cuts are dressed
with strings, seasoned, placed into hot oil-
layered of the meat.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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DEEP FAT FRYING

Equipment used: Deep fat fryer
Temperature range: 180° C – 200°C
Food most suitable: Fish, seafood, potatoes,
vegetables, fruit
Purpose: To fully cooked food after
preliminary blanching in oil and to brown
surface for better taste and texture (crisp).
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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ROASTING
Equipment used: Roasting pan, normal oven
Temperature range: 150°C – 250°C
Food most suitable: Butcher’s meat,
potatoes, and poultry
Purpose: To soften food item in an oven by
browning and sealing the surface.
Meat –ready trimmed meat cuts are dressed
with strings, seasoned, placed into hot oil-
layered of the meat.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BAKING IN THE OVEN

Equipment used: Bakery mould, bakery
tray, convention oven, conventional oven.
Temperature range: 150°C – 250°C
Food most suitable: All bakery goods,
potatoes, fish, meat/poultry in paste crust.
Purpose: To cooked food without liquid as
mention above under the application of all 3
types of heat (conduction, convection and
radiation) so as to achieve rising of certain
dough’s, browning and forming of a crust
on the surface.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BRAISING
Equipment used: Braising pan with lid or
stewing pot
Temperature range: 100° C – 200° C
Food most suitable: Beef, game, vegetable,
and poultry
Purpose: To soften large cut of relatively firm
structure with sauce or stock in the covered
pan in the oven.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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STEAMING
Equipment used: Saucepan or casserole,
perforated basket, cover.
Temperature range: 120° C – 140° C
Food most suitable: fish, vegetable, poultry
Purpose: The main advantage of steaming is
that food cooked in steam retains more of the
vitamins and minerals and which would
other wise be lost in cooking water.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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OVER CRUSTING
 Equipment used: Fire proof serving dishes,
salamander or oven
 Temperature range: 250° C – 300° C
 Food most suitable: Farinaceous dishes, potatoes
dishes, vegetable dishes, soup
 Purpose: To brown surfaces of ready coked dishes
to improve its flavor. To get a pleasant brown
surface, fatty substance such as butter, cheese or
creams have to be placed on the surface.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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STIR – FRY
 Equipment used: Wok, ladle
 Temperature range: 150°C – 250°C
 Food most suitable: Uniform cuts of meat or
vegetable.
 Purpose: This is the most common method of
Chinese cooking. Cooking oil is introduced to the
work, swirl it about and heat over a high flame.
 Food items are then added, the rapid coating with
hot oil seals in all the juices and flavor and also
makes for quicker cooking.
 Liquid such as stock or sauce may be added. The
process rarely more than 5 minutes.
 21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BARBECUING
Equipment used: Barbecue pit rack
Temperature range: 150° C – 220° C
Food most suitable: Cut of fish, meat /
sausages, poultry
Purpose: Food item is basted with oil or
sauce. The smoke that is created by this
process added flavor to the product.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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SAUTE
Equipment used: Frying pan, sauté pan or
sauce pan.
Temperature range: 150° C – 180° C
Food most suitable: Small cut of meat, fish,
and vegetable
Purpose: To cook food in fat until brown in
a pan uncovered. A sauce or gravy may be
made by deglazing the cooking pan.
The process sometimes consists of frying
food while vigorously shaking the pan,
which prevents it from sticking and ensures
it is cooked on all sides
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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BROILING
 Equipment used: Broiling
 Temperature range: 150° C – 250° C
 Food most suitable: Portioned cuts of
• Fish / seafood
• Meat / sausages
• Lamb
• Pork
 Purpose: To cook food items to various degrees
on a rack that is located above, below or between
heat sources.
 With most broiling equipment, the rack can be
moved closer or farther from the heat sources.
 This of course determines the time needed to
broil the product.
21 Basic Cooking Methods
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GLAZING
 Equipment used: Braising pan with lid or stewing
pot, Oven.
 Temperature range: 150°C – 200°C
 Food most suitable
• Veal
• Poultry
• Some vegetable
 Purpose: Glazing is similar to braising but is used
for white meat and poultry as well as some
vegetable.
 To glaze begin by searing with mirepoix, covered in
the oven at 170° C. The glaze will coat meat to
prevent loss of juices.
 Glaze effect is obtained by adding sugar and butter.
 THE KITCHEN APPLIANCES/
EQUIPMENT/ UTENSIL
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COOKING APPLIANCES TYPE OF HEAT

 Frying pan -

 Griddle - Contact heat

 Broiler or grill -
 Salamander -
 Microwave - Radiation
 Kettle, stockpot -
 Double – boiler - Convention heat
 Fryer -
 Convention oven -
 Normal oven (conventional) - Combination heat
 HEATING METHODS
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DIRECT CONTACT
 Heat conducted by fire, hot plate, griddle plate,
pot/pan or grill.

RADIATION
 Heat conducted by microwave or infra red heat.

CONVENTION
 Heat conducted by hot air, dry and wet steam water
and oil as in a steamer, convention oven or bain –
marie.
 Cooking With

DRY - HEAT
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
MOIST - HEAT
MOIST-HEAT AND DRY-HEAT
COOKING METHODS
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Cooking methods can be broadly

categorized as moist-heat and dry heat.

Moist-heat
Moist-heat methods require water or
another liquid.

Dry-heat
Dry-heat methods require hot air or hot
fat.
MOIST-HEAT METHODS
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Boiling
Poaching
Simmering
Steaming
Stewing
DRY-HEAT METHODS
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Baking
Roasting
Broiling
Barbecuing
Grilling
Frying
 GLOSSARY
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DEMI -GLACE : Reduced brown sauce

GAME : Edible wild animals, such as
deer, bear, hare, squirrel and buffalo.
GAME FOLW : Edible wild birds, such as
pheasant, partridge pigeon,
grouse and woodcock.
GLAZE : To coat cakes with a sweet
glaze; to freeze a liquid until it
turns to ice; to steam vegetables
until the cooked juices glazed
the vegetables; to glaze
roasted meat with reduced meat
stock.
 GLOSSARY
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 LARD : The fat of hogs that has been

melted, clarified, and
hardened; used for frying or as a
shorting.
 MARINATE : To soak foods in liquid to
flavour and tenderise them;
usually used of meat; the liquid
contains an acid, seasoning,
aromatics and oil.
 PASTA : Products made from hard
wheat flour dough.
 REDUCTION : A process used to increase the
flavour and richness of liquids
and sauces. The liquids thicken
during very slow simmering by
the evaporation process.
 GLOSSARY
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 SALAMANDER : A small broiler with the heat

source at the top and
a shelf Below.
 TERRINE : An earthenware casserole. The
term is also used for foods, Usually
pate mixtures, prepared and
baked in such a dish, as terrine of
chicken.
 THICKEN : To give body to a sauce or other
liquid by the addition of
flour, starch or roux
 A LA CARTE : A list of menu selections with
each item priced separately.
 GLOSSARY
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 AL DENTE : Literally, ‘to the tooth’, pasta or

grain cooked to a slightly
underdone stage; there should be
texture to chew.
 AU GRATIN : A Frensh Term, food covered
with grated breadcrumbs
salamander or in the oven.
 BAIN-MARIE : A water bath, a double boiler
insert, or a steam table with
openings to hold food at
controlled temperature for
serving.
 BARD : To warp poultry, meat, game, or
fish with thin slices of un- salted fat
or salt pork to prevent drying
during roasting.
 GLOSSARY
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 BASTE : To moisten food while cooking in

order to add flavour and to prevent
drying. Meat drippings, melted
fats, and sauces are used for basting.
 BATTER : A mixture of flour, liquid, and other
ingredients that is thin
enough to pour; used for pancakes,
and as a coating for food.
 BOUQUET GARNI : Fresh parsley, thyme, and bay
leaf tied together and used to flavour stews,
soups, braised meats and
vegetables.
 CARAMEL: Sugar cooked to 170°C to caramelize
means to coat a food with
caramel or to cook it with sugar
 A POIN TO NOTE
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 Regardless of the type of cooking methods used to prepare

 a food product, care should be taken to maintain the quality
 of the product.
 It is useless for the hotel to make special efforts to purchase,
 receive, store, and issue food products if attention is not
given to food quality at the time of preparation.
 We have not provided details about basic food preparation
 procedures in this text.
 As an integral part of the supervisory task, it is important to

 ensure that standard recipes are consistently followed.

 When this is done, we can be confident that the same
procedures will be used even if food items are prepared by
employees without extensive culinary background