METHODS OF COOKING
i) Boiling: is the cooking of prepared foods in a liquid at a boiling point. This could be water, court bouillon, or stock.
ii) Frying: this is cooking in fat either shallow or deep
a) Shallow frying- is cooking in shallow fat in frying or sauté on a griddle plate.
b) Deep frying;- this is cooking in a future in deep clarified fat
iii) Stewing:- is gently simmering in the smallest quantity of water, stock, or sauce. The food is always cut up, and both the liquid and the food are served together.
iv) Braising:-this is a combination of roasting and stewing in a pan with a tight-fitting lid to prevent evaporation so that the food retains its own juices together with the ingredients added for flavoring e. g. bacon, ham, vegetable, herbs, etc
v) Roasting:- this can be in form of (a) spit roasting or (b) oven roasting
a) Spit-roasting:– is cooking by direct (radiated) heat with the aid of flat in form of basting (the split must constantly revolve). It is applied to first-quality joints of meat and game and poultry.
b) Oven roasting:-is cooking in an oven with the aid of fat and is applied in first-class meat and poultry and certain vegetables.
vi) Baking;-this is cooking by dry heat usually in an oven, in which the action of the dry heat is modified by the presence of steam which arises from the food while cooking e.g. of foods are bread, cakes, pastry and potatoes etc
vii) Simmering;-this is gently heat or slow cooking of food. It is good in preparation of stock or in stewing of meat or tough joint of meat. It takes longer time to cook food of this nature but it is economical.
viii) Poaching;- is cooking slowly in a minimum amount of liquid which should never be allowed to boil, but which should reach a degree of heat as near as possible to boiling point. It is usually applied to fish and fruit, but one exception is poached eggs.
