To cook food we have many different techniques available: we have collected them together to better orient the kitchen for cooking food
Do you have any idea how many ways there are to cook food ? Today it is possible to extricate yourself from various cooking techniques , choosing the most appropriate ones to obtain tasty dishes that will lick your lips!
Not all cooking methods are the same and each of them allows you to focus on specific aspects to make the food not only edible, but much tastier.
In addition, some of these techniques are particularly healthy and help keep the properties of food intact .
Why cooking food properly is important
Why has it become almost essential to cook food today? In reality, through cooking it is possible to enhance the tastes and flavors , but above all it is possible to eliminate bacteria and other substances dangerous to human health.
Think for example of doctors’ recommendations on cooking meat or eggs , especially for pregnant women, children and the elderly. Furthermore , cooking food makes it more digestible .
Having said that, however, it must be pointed out that poor cooking can lead to unpleasant effects. For example, we are talking about when the food is left to boil beyond the cooking time or when it is roasted beyond measure, covering itself with scorched parts .
In these cases, not only are many of the vitamins lost , but there is a risk of assimilating carcinogenic substances .
Now let’s see in detail the various cooking techniques.
Cooking food: Vacuum cooking
Sous – vide cooking was introduced in our homes with the advent of sous-vide machines . It consists in placing the food inside special bags, letting all the air escape.
The food naturally draws out its liquids , but instead of dispersing, these remain in the bag , so cooking takes place in a sort of broth that emphasizes the flavor even more.
It is a very slow cooking , which can take up to several hours, so you need to organize yourself in time. Furthermore, we must pay close attention to food safety , because the temperature never reaches the boiling point necessary to eradicate any bacteria and microorganisms.
The vasocottura
Vasocooking is a technique that has come back into vogue after years of silence. It consists of cooking inside jars that are put to cook in a bain-marie , in the oven , in the microwave or even in the dishwasher . Anything can be cooked, except mushrooms and potatoes. Some chefs even prepare delicious creams and desserts!
With this method you can cook very quickly , without wasting flavors and nutrients. Once cooked, the food can be conveniently stored in the fridge and reheated when needed.
The only precaution: always use glass jars of good quality, with seals and caps intact. You could make some messes!
Steaming
A very healthy technique, steam cooking helps to preserve the organoleptic properties of food , as well as all the vitamins and mineral salts . To cook you will need special tools : steel or bamboo baskets or electric steamers.
This methodology is indicated for all those who follow a low- calorie diet and do not want to overdo it with fats. In fact, it is possible to season the food only with spices , exploiting the properties of steam to enhance the flavor in a natural way.
Cooking food: Salt cooking
Cooking with salt is a very ancient technique, which is based on the transmission of heat directly to the food , without exchanges and transformations of matter. If you want to try your hand, simply spread some salt on a shelf, place the food and then cover it entirely. Then you put everything in the oven .
It is advisable to slightly moisten the salt and use the type of coarse salt . It is generally used to cook thick-skinned fish , such as sea bass, but you can also try it with meat. In spite of popular belief, food is not very salty. The salt here becomes only a means of conducting heat and serves to retain liquids , making everything tastier.
Bake the food in the oven
Who has never enjoyed a nice plate of lasagna or a nice roast meat? The oven is a very useful means for cooking and lends itself to numerous techniques, such as baking in foil, gratinating, cooking in crust, cooking in a bain marie and pot cooking .
It is certainly a much slower type of cooking and you must also know how the oven works. For example, if you set the static oven function , you can obtain good results with all leavened foods. On the contrary, for lasagna, roasts and fish it is better to opt for the convection oven .
Cooking food: Cooking in water
Cooking in water is perhaps one of the most used methods in Italy, precisely because of the large consumption of pasta. This typology includes steaming , boiling , bain-marie cooking and poaching.
Many nutrients, vitamins and mineral salts are dispersed in the water, which is why not all foods are suitable. However, knowing the characteristics of food well , you can choose those types of cooking that allow you to preserve nutrients, such as steam cooking itself , praised especially for vegetables.
Cooking in fat
Cooking in fats is so called because foods are cooked in oil or butter . We talk about frying when they are completely immersed in fats, while with sautéed cooking the fats cover only a small part of the bottom of the pan.
It is a very good type of cooking, which creates a tasty crust , but which also brings a significant amount of calories. The trick to not letting your food burn is to stay below the smoke point . If you are on a diet, it is best to stay away from it.
Cook in the microwave
Even the microwave oven can become a valuable appliance for quickly cooking your food. However, it is good to refer only to reliable containers made with specific materials , designed specifically for the microwave. For example, metal is absolutely forbidden.
The microwave also saves electricity and time. In just a few minutes it heats food that would take much longer if cooked in the traditional oven.
Read: Cooking without salt
Cooking food with the wok
The wok is a large circular pan suitable for cooking many types of food, just as the oriental tradition suggests . With this pot you can use different cooking techniques, from frying to smoking and even steaming.
To obtain the best, it is advisable to use special grids and lids that allow you to enhance flavors and aromas, while maximizing the nutritional properties of food .
