Some of the fundamental culinary techniques are described below.
Sautéing- This technique is quite easy for novices and
by learning this you will be able to prepare a meal very quickly. This
technique includes the sautéing of fish, meat, chickens and vegetables.
Sautéing means quickly cooking the food in the proper amount of
butters or oil in a light heat. To do this you will have to use a sauté
pan or a skillet which is big enough to hold what is being cooked comfortably.
For sautéing to be done quickly you will have to preheat this pan
first, or the internal moisture comes to the surface and the ingredients
doesn't brown.
Braising and Stewing- This culinary technique involves the cooking
of large cuts of vegetables, meats or poultry, partially covered in a
good quantity of flavoured liquid in a very low heat. For a brown braise
you can lightly brown the food before adding the liquid or not do this
for a white braise. Than the pot has to be tightly covered such that the
food is cooked slowly and stews till it is very tender. Stewing is also
almost the same as that of braising. The only difference is that in stewing, the food has to be cut in even pieces before cooking.
Poaching- In this technique, the food is cooked in a very low
heat over a gently simmering liquid. The liquid used can be either water
or a seasoned liquid, wine or sweet syrup, depending on what is being cooked.
This process is usually used for cooking foods that are fragile, which
toughen or dry out in a high heat like fish, meat or lean poultry.
Roasting- Most of the roasting nowadays are done in an oven (or
convection oven) for cooking the tender portions of fish, meat and poultry.
For roasting, the oven has to be pre-heated in a high temperature to avoid
making the meat loose its juices and to get its surface caramelized. After
doing this for 10-20 minutes you have to lower the temperature and than
continue roasting till it is completely done. Also the roasting pan used
should be of the correct size for the ingredient to be cooked.
Grilling- In this technique, direct heat from below is used for
cooking the tender cuts of vegetables, fish, chicken or meat. Before starting
to cook you have to make sure that the thing you are cooking is not too
thick. Always make sure the grill being used is clean and hot before cooking.
Before starting to cook the grill has to be pre-heated for 15-30 minutes.
Deglazing- The technique used for creating a base to make sauces
is called deglazing. After finishing sautéing and removing the excess
fat you can see small amounts of flavoured and brown food particles which
are stuck in the sauté pan. Small amounts of liquid like lemon juice,
wine or stock can be added for loosening these bits. This mixture can than
be used to create a sauce for your meal.
Cutting an Onion- For cutting an onion in the proper way you
have to use a chef's knife. Firstly, the stem end of the onion should be
cut and the outside skin peeled off. The onion has to be placed with the
root end faced up and sliced in half in long ways. Than you have to lay
each half of the onion flat on the cutting board and make a number of cuts
from top to bottom in long ways. Again you have to make multiple cuts by
turning it 90 degrees. Your finger should be curled under to avoid cutting.
Peeling Tomatoes- Here you have to first boil a pan of water
and another bowl filled with cold water should be set aside. Than you have
to remove the tomatoes stems and make a cross shaped incision which is
shallow in the tomatoes opposite ends. Lower these tomatoes gently into
the boiling water for 10 seconds. After that using a slotted spoon remove
the tomatoes and quickly drop these in the bowl containing cold water.
Than using a knife the skins have to be peeled off. The tomatoes can be
halved crosswise and the seeds removed by squeezing gently.
