Cooking technique

Cooking techniques are ways to prepare food, normally using heat. There are three fundamental ways that heat is transferred and many more ways that are variations on the first three. The first three ways are:

Fundamental cooking methods:

• Radiation - heat moves directly from a radiating source to the food, like using a torch to caramelize sugar
• Conduction - a hot object like a frying pan is in direct contact with the food
• Convection - a fluid transfers heat to the food. Fluids include air, oil, and water.

Secondary cooking method examples:

• Radiation based
  • Broiling - Radiation from a hot oven element
  • Grilling - Radiation from charcoal or gas burners, when food is directly over them
  • Roasting - A term that may refer to cooking something directly over a flame or using convection like baking.
  • Rotisserie - Using a spit to hold the food near a heating element
  • Toasting
  • Microwaving - Food absorbs microwaves emitted by the microwave oven
• Conduction based
  • Searing- Cooking in a pan at high heat to caramelize
  • Dry roasting - Cooking something in a pan without any added water or oil
  • Hot salt frying
• Convection based
  • Air based
    • Roasting - Mostly convection using air with a small amount of conduction
    • Baking
    • Smoking
  • Water based
    • Boiling
    • Blanching
    • Parboiling
    • [Decoction]]
    • Coddling
    • Creaming
    • Poaching
    • Infusion
    • Stewing
    • Steeping
    • Simmering
    • Slow cooking
    • Smothering
    • Sous-vide
    • Double boiling
    • Double steaming
    • Steaming
  • Oil based
    • Deep frying - Convection using oil
    • Sautéing - Convection using a small amount of oil with a little bit of conduction from the pan
    • [Blackening]]
    • Browning
    • Pan frying
    • Shallow frying
    • Stir frying
    • Gentle frying
    • Sweating

There are also other methods for cooking that do NOT require heat. Some examples of these are:

• Curing
• Fermenting
• Pickling
• Souring