Welcome to this intro to cooking! First, let me introduce myself. My name is Carly, longtime creative in all areas of life, with a dedicated passion for food, cooking, and health. I always knew I wanted to share anecdotes about my travels, discovery of new cuisines, and trying to recreate their recipes.
On a recent trip to Chemainus, (Vancouver Island) to visit my grandma I was given all of my great-grandmother’s cook book’s and vintage recipes. I knew right then and there that this was what I wanted to share with my readers. A Julie and Julia experiment of sorts, traditional cooking in a modern-day environment. Everything you could ever want or need to know about cooking, baking, menu making, table setting, serving and so much more.
If you have ever asked yourself a similar question, this intro to cooking blog is for you…
Have you ever picked up a recipe and thought what the heck is shirring an egg? Well same here! I have always wanted to learn the basics and beyond about cooking techniques and old-school methods but never had the money or the time to take any classes. So as an alternative, I chose self-education. And I’m here to share my journey every step of the way.
To Start Your Intro to Cooking:
I’m going to delve into a seriously vintage publication from 1938. I am absolutely thrilled to start my blogging journey here, with today’s lesson: Useful Facts About Food. This post will attempt to explain cooking terms, different methods of cooking food, and methods of food preparation. Let this blog post be a guide to refer back to anytime you’re cooking a new recipe.
If you’re too busy to read it all now……Pin this post for later!
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“To become a good cook requires more than the blind following of a recipe. To become a good cook means to gain knowledge of foods and how they behave, and skill in handling the materials the recipe prescribes.”
Methods of Cooking Food
(lesson 1: intro to cooking)
BAKE – To cook by dry reflected heat.
BARBECUE – To roast food slowly either whole or cut in pieces, on a spit or rack over direct heat, with a special highly-seasoned sauce.
BOIL – To cook in liquid, at a temperature of 212º F. at sea level. The boiling point decreases by about 1ºF. for every 500 feet of elevation. At the correct boiling temperature, large bubbles rise rapidly and continually in an agitated state.
BROIL– To cook by direct heat.
CANDY – To cook in heavy syrup until plump and transparent, then drain and dry; to cook vegetables in sugar or syrup; to glaze.
CARAMELIZE – To heat dry sugar or foods containing sugar until a brown color develops.
CODDLE – To cook slowly just below the boiling point.
FIRELESS COOKING – To cook by the heat that has been retained in a fireless cooker or insulated oven. It is cooked by surrounding the thoroughly heated food with insulating material to keep the heat from being lost.
FRICASSEE – To braise small pieces of meat, and then cook slowly in stock or sauce.
FRY – (1) To cook in a small amount of fat, also called pan-frying. (2) To cook immersed in hot fat, also called deep-fat frying. (3) To cook in 1 to 2 inches of fat.
PAN-BROIL – To cook on a hot surface, greased only enough to prevent sticking, pouring off fat as it accumulates.
PAN-FRY – To cook in a small amount of fat. See FRY.
PARBOIL – To boil uncooked food until partially cooked.
PARCH – To brown by means of dry heat. Applies to grains.
PASTEURIZE – To preserve food by heating to 140ºF. to 180ºF. for 20 to 30 minutes or sufficiently to destroy microorganisms and arrest fermentation. Applied to milk and fruit juices.
POACH – To cook food by slipping it into a hot liquid to cover.
PRESSURE COOK – To cook in steam at a pressure of 5 to 30 pounds and at temperatures of 228ºF. to 274ºF.
ROAST – To cook by dry heat, usually in an oven or tightly covered kettle.
SAUTÉ – To cook in a small amount of fat. See Fry.
SCALD – To heat a liquid to a temperature just below the boiling point. Scald milk over boiling water until foamy.
SCALLOP – To bake food, usually in small pieces, in a casserole with sauce, broken crackers, bread, or cake; topped with crumbs.
SCRAMBLE – To cook while mixing.
SHIRR – To bake eggs in cream, vegetables, or purée.
SIMMER – To cook in water at a temperature of 180ºF. to 210ºF., or below the boiling point of water.
STEW – To cook slowly in a small amount of liquid.
Methods of Food Preparation
(lesson 1: intro to cooking)
BASTE – To moisten meat with spoonfuls of pan drippings or other liquids while cooking.
BEAT – A brisk regular motion that lifts the mixture over and over to make it smooth and introduce air.
BLEND – To mix two or more ingredients thoroughly so that each loses its identity.
BREAD – To dip in bread crumbs until completely covered.
COAT – (1) To dip food into flour, bread, or cracker crumbs. (2) To dip food into slightly beaten egg, then into crumbs.
CREAM – To mix one or more foods together until soft and fluffy. Usually applied to shortening and sugar.
DEVIL – To mix with hot seasoning as pepper, mustard, etc.
DREDGE – To coat with flour or other finely divided food.
FOLD – To blend two foods by cutting the spoon or egg whip vertically down through the foods, turning it under and bringing it up vertically; repeating until mixing is complete.
GLACÉ – To coat with a thin sugar syrup that has been cooked to the crack stage.
GLAZE for pies, certain bread and meats may be thickened slightly; or it may be uncooked.
GRATE – To reduce to small particles by rubbing on anything rough and indented.
GRIND – To reduce food to small particles by cutting, crushing, or by forcing through a food chopper.
JULIENNE – To cut vegetables into thin matchlike strips.
KNEAD – To manipulate with a pressing motion plus folding and stretching. Usually applied to bread dough.
LARD – To insert matchlike strips of fat, called lardoons, into gashes inside of the meat, or into lean meat by means of a larding needle or skewer; or to place on top of the meat.
MARINATE – To saturate with vinegar or French dressing. (obviously, there are many more marinade sauces available now)
MELT – To liquefy by heat.
MINCE – To cut or chop very fine.
PARE – To cut away outside covering. Applied to fruits and vegetables.
SKEWER – The use of metal or wooden pin to keep meat or poultry in shape while cooking.
STIR – To mix ingredients with a circular motion for the purpose of combining, or blending.
Whip – To incorporate air and produce expansion by beating rapidly such as cream, eggs, and gelatin.
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Summary
So that’s it for today’s intro to cooking. I’m sure that there are quite a few self-explanatory terms on these lists, but I really wanted to start with the basics so that my page can be a forever resource for anyone who wants to learn how to cook at a beginner’s level, or anyone looking for some new inspiration, new (classic) cooking techniques, and delicious everyday recipes. It’s back to the basics of cooking and everything that it entails.
Please enter your email below to subscribe and I will send you my free printable e-book; A Beginner’s Cooking Guide, packed with useful tips and knowledge summarized from my entire cooking series, that you can have on hand to refer to anytime you’re trying out a new recipe. It will also include my FREE printable meal and shopping list, planner.
Up Next, lesson #2: Cooking Time by Temperature
Thank you so much for stopping by this intro to cooking!
