Cooking Techniques as a section of Cooking. Food preparation methods and processes. Ingredients identify food materials; Global Cuisine owns regional traditions; Nutrition owns dietary effects.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
How much liquid does braising use around food?
The liquid usually rises partway up the food while the lid traps steam, so food cooks in both liquid and steam.
Frying potatoes at high temperatures creates a compound that health experts have warned about. What is it called?
Acrylamide forms when asparagine, an amino acid potatoes are rich in, meets reducing sugars at high heat, so paler chips hold far less of it.
Why are German-style pretzels dipped in a lye solution before baking?
Alkaline conditions speed up the reaction, so a little baking soda in a wash can deepen the color of baked goods.
Roasted coffee beans get their brown color and rich, roasted aroma from which chemical reaction?
Roasting pushes the reaction further the longer it runs, so a dark roast tastes more intensely than a light one.
Which reaction causes the brown color that stored milk powder can develop?
Milk's lactose can react with its proteins over time, so browning does not always require a hot pan.
Which food is a classic example of the Maillard reaction?
Searing dries the meat surface past the boiling point, letting the reaction build a savory brown crust.
Which sauce is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and vinegar?
Egg yolks contain lecithin, which coats oil droplets so they stay mixed with vinegar instead of pooling.
Which ingredient helps keep vinaigrette mixed longer?
Mustard contains natural emulsifiers that coat oil droplets and slow separation in dressings.
Why do cooks blanch vegetables before freezing?
Brief heat deactivates enzymes that would make frozen beans lose color, flavor, and texture.
Which kind of meat turns tender through braising?
Long, moist heat melts tough collagen into gelatin, which gives braised chuck a silky texture.