Cooking is the process of using heat to prepare foods



for consumption. Many common cooking methods

involve the use of oil. Frying is cooking in hot oil,

saut?ing is cooking in a small amount of oil, stir-frying is

a Chinese technique of frying quickly in small amounts

of oil in a wok, deep frying is completely submerging

the food in large amounts of fat, etc.

As people have become more health conscious,

preparing foods in oil has become less desirable. With

the advent of nonstick cookware, saut?ing can be done

at lower heats using vegetable broth and fruit juices

instead of oil. Stewing refers to cooking slowly in a

small amount of liquid in a closed container. Slow

stewing tenderizes tough cuts of meat and allows

flavors to mingle.

Another slow-cooking method is braising, in which meat

is first browned, then cooked slowly in a small amount

of liquid in a covered pan. Poaching is cooking food in

liquid below the boiling point, while steaming is cooking

food that has been placed above boiling water.

Roasting means baking in hot dry air, generally in an

oven. Baking refers to cooking in an oven and differs

from roasting mainly in its reference to the type of food

cooked-for example, one bakes a cake, but roasts a

chicken. Another form called broiling means to cook by

direct exposure to heat, while barbecue refers to

cooking marinated food by grilling.

Dining with others is one of the most common and

frequent social activities. It can involve a family dinner,

a meal with friends, or form part of a ceremony or

celebration, such as a wedding or holiday. More and

more people study cooking in schools, watch how-to

programs on television, and read specialty magazines

and cookbooks. In fact, cookbooks as a group outsell

any other kind of book except for religious works.

Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. It

encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and

combinations of ingredients to improve the flavor and

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, or

nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence

of cooked foodstuffs (both animal and vegetable) in

human settlements dating from the earliest known use

of fire.

While cooking if heating is used, this can disinfect and

soften the food depending on temperature, cooking

time, and technique used. 4 to 60'C (41 to 140'F) is the

"danger zone" in which many food spoilage bacteria

thrive, and which must be avoided for safe handling of

meat, poultry and dairy products. Refrigeration and

freezing do not kill bacteria, but slow their growth.

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