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Cooking

It is the act of preparing food for consumption. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour and/or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools and the skill of the person cooking.

The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the myriad nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious considerations that impact upon it.

Cooking frequently, though not always, involves applying heat in order to chemically transform a food, thus changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence of cooked foodstuffs (both animal and vegetable) in human settlements dating from the earliest known use of fire.

If heating is used, this can disinfect (depending on temperature, cooking time, and technique used) and soften the food. 4 to 60°C (41 to 140°F) is the "food danger zone." Between these temperatures bacteria can grow rapidly. Under the correct conditions bacteria can double in quantity every twenty minutes. The food may not appear any different or spoiled but can be harmful to anyone who ingests it. Meat, poultry, dairy products, and other prepared food must be kept outside of the "food danger zone" to remain safe to eat. Refrigeration and freezing do not kill bacteria, but only slow their growth.

Cooking Techniques

Some major hot cooking techniques:
Baking
Baking Blind
Broiling
FlashBake
Boiling
Blanching
Braising
Coddling
Double steaming
Infusion
Poaching
Pressure cooking
Simmering
Steaming
Vacuum flask cooking
Steeping
Stewing
Frying
Deep frying
Hot salt frying
Hot sand frying
Pan frying
Pressure frying
Sautéing
Stir frying
Microwaving
Roasting
Barbecuing
Grilling
Rotisserie
Searing
Smoking

Other preparation techniques

Brining
Drying
Grinding (e.g. sesame seeds to produce tahini), chopping, slicing finely, grating, etc..
Marinating
Mincing
Pickling
Salting
Seasoning
Sprouting

See:
Preparation techniques and cooking items:
Techniques - Utensils
Weights and measures

Ingredients and types of food:
Spices and Herbs
Sauces - Soups - Desserts
Cheese - Pasta - Bread
Other ingredients

Regional cuisines:
Africa - Asia - Caribbean
South Asian - Latin America
Middle East - The West

See also:
Famous chefs
Kitchens - Meals
Wikibooks: Cookbook

Specific techniques and ingredients are often regional. See Cuisine for information about the many regional and ethnic food traditions. Please see food writing for some authors of books on cookery, food, and the history of food.

• Cooking weights and measures (includes conversions and equivalencies common in cooking)
• International food terms - useful when reading about food and recipes from different countries
• Food and cooking hygiene
• Food preservation
• Food writing
• List of cookbooks
• List of food preparation utensils including saucepans, frying pans, woks and many others.
• Recipe
• Nutrition

• Cuisine
• List of American Foods
• Cuisine of the United States

• Alton Brown
• Chef
• Celebrity chef
• List of Chefs
• Pastry Chef

See:
• Olive Oil
• Sydney Smith's salad dressing
• Anchovy
• Bisque
• Iron Chef
• Iron Chef America
• Southwestern cuisine
• Foie Gras
• Asparagus
• Shrimp

• Chili Pepper
• Habanero
• Sushi

• How to Cook Oysters
• Breaded Fried Oysters
• Stewed Oysters

• Coffee: Historic Beverage and Great Gift
• Recipe: Grilled Tuna Steak 1
• Grilling Tuna Steak for a Simple Gourmet Meal

• Culinary Schools
• Culinary Institute of America
• French Culinary Institute
• Julia Child Gourmet Cook
• Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cooking".