Undoubtedly, cooking has brought undeniable advantages, not least the possibility of prolonging the "life" of the product and therefore its conservation by eliminating microbes and bacteria.
Some elements are more digestible cooked than raw but at the same time an al dente pasta is much more digestible than an overcooked one. This is how in an instant we understood that there are many variations; the different cooking processes act very differently on the elements subjected to them. Let's see what are the cooking methods from the past up to the present day and the most popular cooking methods of the moment:
- Frying : involves immersing the food in a fatty substance at a temperature between 140° and 180°;
- Braising : after an initial browning, it involves a long cooking in a closed environment with a little added liquid;
- Stewing: cooks stewed foods for a prolonged time over a moderate heat until the food is tender;
- Grilled or grilled: roasting occurs due to direct exposure to dry, high heat in which the only fatty or liquid matter is that of the food itself;
- On the spit: mixed technique between grilling and direct flame cooking and is perhaps the oldest method; consists of piercing and then skewering the food, cooking it over direct or semi-direct heat at a medium-high temperature;
- Baked: in an enclosed environment with a constant and controlled temperature, with or without other added elements (fats, liquids, various ingredients). Wood-fired oven, gas or electric oven, ventilated or with added steam: many variations for different results;
- In the microwave: the action of direct electromagnetic waves conditions the water present in the food which, consequently, cooks it;
- In a bain-marie: the immersion and indirect cooking of the food which, through a protection, is not in direct contact with the simmering water; it is possible to cook in this way both in the oven and on a heating surface;
- Boiling : cooking food by immersing it in water at a maximum temperature of 100°;
- Steamed : a cooking process that I would define as "delicate boiling" as the food is subjected to the action of small drops of water at a maximum temperature of 100°;
- Pressure : in a closed pan it allows you to raise the cooking temperature up to 120° allowing shorter cooking times even with typically tough foods;
- At low temperature : the evolution of the bain-marie but at an average temperature of around 65° for a variable time depending on the size of the food;
- Heat-tight bags: the fairy paper. The food is inserted with or without condiments and aromas and cooked in the oven but also in a pan or on the grill. The food is subjected to heat that is not properly directed and the small and closed environment equates cooking to a sort of oven/steam.
As is evident, cooking methods and each has pros and cons.
The most popular ones (and I wouldn't call them "new methods") are currently steam, microwave and low temperature. We can also combine these 3 techniques with other more traditional ones and I will give you some examples.
- Mixed steam: cooking at a low temperature in the oven with the addition of a percentage of steam, for example bread cooked at 180° with steam or biscuits at 120° with steam.
Steam, especially if delicate (i.e. between 60 and 85°), highly respects the characteristics of the vitamins and proteins of foods; it does not allow a significant reduction in weight as could happen in the case of roasting a roast beef and does not soak the food in liquid as in boiling. For example, a steamed courgette is drier than a boiled one.
- Mixed microwave-steam: the creation of steam in the oven chamber, by adding water to the cooking container, is combined with the action of electromagnetic waves. Delicate cooking therefore takes place at medium-low temperatures.
Low temperature cooking (CBT) is often combined with preliminary or finishing operations which involve browning or blanching the food in order to carry out the Maillard reaction with a more aesthetic than functional purpose, even if this adds a strong flavor to the delicacy of CBT.
It is important to remember that with CBT there is no dispersion of juices, moods and nutritional principles. Meats, for example, remain more tender and juicy.
Here is how, through due knowledge of the characteristics of each individual food and the necessary training and experience, you will be able to apply the various cooking techniques even by combining them together. Our dutiful focus must always be on respect for raw materials, the environment and our health.
