Cooking has been done for centuries. In the past, ancient people exclusively consumed raw food. However, once by mistake, a piece of meat slipped into the fire and was roasted. The guy enjoyed the slice after eating it. As a result, the cooking process started and developed. Food is easier to digest after it has been cooked, and cooking enhances the look, flavor, color, texture, and taste of food. It also gives meals more variety, extends the shelf life of food, and—most importantly—makes it safe.
Cooking Methods
Certain foods contain a lot of moisture, such as leafy greens like spinach & fenugreek. These foods are prepared to utilize a method that takes advantage of this wetness. However, rice, wheat, and pulses have relatively low moisture content, so these foods must be cooked with additional water (moisture). Some cooking techniques use no water at all; in fact, they aid in keeping the food crisp after cooking.
Boiling, simmering/stewing, steaming in a pressure cooker, poaching, and microwave cooking are all examples of cooking using wet heat.
Dry heat cooking, which includes grilling, roasting, and baking,
Deep-frying, shallow-frying, pan-frying, and stir-frying are all food frying in oil or ghee.
Energy-Efficient Cooking Methods
- Simmering/Stewing:
A stewing technique involves cooking a tiny bit of food while keeping a small volume of water below boiling for an extended period. After the water begins to boil, the temperature is reduced to a simmer, and the food is left to cook gently. When it is finished cooking, it is served with liquid. The benefit of using this cooking method is that the food retains its juices and tastes nice.
- Steaming:
It is the procedure in which food is prepared using the heat produced by water vapors. Additionally, it reduces the time required for cooking while preserving the food’s nutritional content, color, taste, and palatability. Additionally, steamed food is light and simple to digest. These foods are extremely beneficial to the weak and ill, as well as to the elderly and small children.
- Boiling:
It is the process used to prepare food with adequate water. For example, consider potatoes, hard vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, eggs, grains, and pulses. While rice and other pulses need much water to cook, vegetables like green beans and peas only require a little water to boil.
- Poaching:
It also falls under the category of wet heat cooking, which includes cooking while immersed in liquids like stock, water, wine, and more. The relatively low temperature makes food like fish and eggs especially suited, so it differs from other procedures like boiling and simmering.
- Baking:
The process of cooking food by placing it within a heated, closed container known as an oven. When food is put inside the oven, the hot air from the fire or electricity fired at its base heats the air within, preparing it for cooking. This kind of cooking technique gives variation to the food on the platter.
How does food cook?
Molecules travel quickly, heating the meal. Their body temperature increases as a result of rapid movement. There are three methods for cooking food.
- Conduction
When food is directly in touch with a heat source, conduction occurs. Conduction is the process of cooking in a pan. Heat is transmitted from the burner to the pan before reaching the food. Food heats up from the outside first, then from the inside out. Moisture and fats transmit heat from the core.
- Convection
Convection is the mechanism by which heat is transferred from an external source, such as air, or water, to food. Convection cooking is when food is cooked in an oven. The best example of convection cooking is on a gas grill. A fan circulates the heat within a convection oven. Food cooks more quickly with moving heat than with motionless heat. Food cooks 25% to 30% more quickly using the convection technique.
- Radiation
The method of cooking food using heat waves to change energy is known as radiation. Put food, for instance, on a hanger and place it next to the fire; this will cook the food using radiation. Charcoal grills use the radiation method of cooking.
Conclusion
We may conclude that several alternative food preparation methods exist. For instance, an air fryer uses the same manner of cooking as a traditional fryer but uses less oil, making it healthier for the body without sacrificing flavor. Less fat consumption translates to healthier body fat levels. These devices are being produced more often since they are more widely accepted in today’s age of health-conscious individuals.
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