Water based cooking methods Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is boiling ?
Boiling involves cooking food by heating it in a pin of boiling liquid, usually water
What is the water-based cooking methods ?
Boiling
Steaming
Blanching
Simmering
Poaching
What are the types of food that are boiled ?
Tougher cuts of meat, potatoes, rice, pasta and veg
Why can’t boiling be used in delicate foods ?
Because it’s a quite harsh method of cooking and the bubbles would break up the food
What happens if you over-boil food ?
It can make foods like pasta too soft
What are the advantages of boiling ?
- It is a healthy way to cook as no-fat is added.
- Boiling food in a small amount of water with a lid covering the pan uses less energy than other methods e.g. roasting or simmering
What are the disadvantages of boiling ?
- Boiled food if often not as tasty/attractive as food cooked by methods like roasting
- If veg is boiled for too long, clout, flavour and water-soluable vitamins are lost in the water
What does steaming mean ?
Steaming means cooking food with steam from boiling water or stock
What foods can you steam ?
Fish, rice and vegetables
What is the advantages of steaming ?
- No fat is added and because there is no direct contact with water, the veg keep more of their taste, texture, colour and nutrients (healthiest way to cook)
- Steaming is a gentle way to cook - so it’s a good method for delicate foods such as fish, but not for tough meats
What are the disadvantages of steaming ?
Food may not have as much flavour compared to fired or roasted food
When boiling what is heat transferred by ?
conduction (from the lab to the liquid)
Convection (through the liquid)
When steaming what is heat transferred by ?
Conduction (from the pan to the water)
Convection
(through the steam)
What is blanching ?
Blanching involves part-cooking food in boiling water for a very short time before putting it in cold (or iced) water
How does blanching work ?
The cold water stops the cooking process - thus helps to preserve colour, texture and vitamins
What can blanching be used to do ?
Remove harsh flavours in food
What is an example of using blanching to remove harsh flavours from foods ?
raw onions are blanched to give them a milder taste
What happens when you blanch foods like tomatoes and almonds ?
makes their skin shrivel up, making skins much easier to remove
What else does blanching to that doesn’t include flavour and shrivels up skin ?
Also used to prepare fruity and veg for freezing
What is simmering ?
Simmering is like boiling, but more gentle as the temperature is slightly lower than boiling point (but still higher than when poaching)
What food commonly use simmering as a cooking method ?
Soups and curries
What is the advantage of simmering over boiling ?
It preserves more nutrients than boiling
What is poaching ?
It involves cooking food in a pan of liquid below boiling point, usually around 80^oC
What types of food are poached ?
Eggs, fruit and fish
