Types of Cooking Methods

\There are three types of cooking methods: dry heat cooking, moist heat cooking, and combination cooking. Each method describes how chefs use heat to cook food and bring out unique flavors and textures. Understanding these different cooking methods can help you choose the best technique for your ingredients and create delicious meals. Additionally, knowing which cooking methods align with your menu allows you to choose the right kitchen equipment to achieve consistent, flavorful results in your cooking. Use this guide to learn more about the different types of cooking methods and the best food for each technique.

Click any of the cooking methods below to learn more:

1. Sous Vide
2. Poaching
3. Simmering
4. Steaming
5. Boiling
6. Baking
7. Grilling
8. Roasting
9. Sauteing
10. Frying
11. Broiling
12. Braising
13. Stewing
14. Glossary

1. Moist Heat Cooking

As the name indicates, moist heat cooking relies on the presence of liquid or steam to cook foods. Use this method to make healthy dishes without any added fat or oil. It's also a great way to tenderize the tough fibers in some beef cuts, like chuck or brisket. When cooking fibrous vegetables and legumes, moist heat softens the food until it reaches the perfect tenderness. Unlike dry heat methods, moist heat cooking will not produce a browned crust.

Sous Vide

Though this cooking method recently gained popularity for home chefs, commercial kitchens have used sous vide to cook delicious meals for decades. Sous vide, a French term meaning "under vacuum," involves placing vacuum-sealed food in a hot water bath to slow-cook it. This cooking method requires an immersion circulator, a hot water tank, and vacuum sealing equipment. In addition to reducing food waste and energy consumption, sous vide reduces prep time and contamination risk. The final product is moist, tender food perfectly marinated by the natural juices trapped in the bag.

Best Foods for Sous Vide

• Meats: In addition to perfectly cooking meat to whatever doneness customers prefer, meat cooked with sous vide will not be scorched or have overcooked edges. Even tough cuts will turn out juicy and tender.
• Poultry: Cook light and dark meat until it falls off the bone without worrying about undercooking or the chicken drying out.
• Fish: While sous vide does not allow you to cook whole fish, fish filets can be tender, flaky, or well-done using sous vide. Even salmon, which is notoriously difficult to cook, maintains its size, color, and tenderness with sous vide cooking.
• Eggs: Make scrambled, poached, or hard-boiled eggs easily without monitoring them while they cook. You can vary the texture and style by manipulating the water bath's temperature and cooking time.

Poaching

Poaching is a gentle cooking method that submerges food in hot liquid between 140 degrees and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The low heat works well for delicate items, preserving moisture and flavor without needing fat or oil.

Best Foods for Poaching

• Eggs: Poaching is a common method of cooking eggs that results in a soft, tender egg white and creamy yolk. It's more health-conscious than pan frying since you don't need oil.
• Poultry: You can use broth, wine, or aromatics for poaching liquid, which adds flavor to boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The finished product is tender chicken that can be cubed, sliced, or shredded and added to salads, pasta, or sandwiches.
• Fish: Poaching is a great way to preserve the delicate texture of light fish like tilapia, cod, and sole. A special broth called court bouillon adds flavor to the fish as it cooks.
• Fruit: Use a sweetened liquid to poach fruits like pears or apples for a unique dessert. This method deepens the flavor of the fruit and softens the texture until the fruit is tender. Use any leftover liquid to make a flavored syrup to serve with the fruit.

Simmering

Simmering is a gentle method of cooking food that utilizes higher temperatures than poaching, usually between 180 degrees and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range lies below the boiling point and produces tiny bubbles. To achieve a simmer, bring water to the boiling point and lower the temperature.

Best Foods for Simmering

• Rice: Simmering produces cooked rice with a light, fluffy texture. Using boiling water causes the rice to become sticky and dry.
• Meats: Choose tough cuts of meat that will release fat and collagen as they simmer, like chuck roast.
• Soups and Stocks: Because simmering releases fat and proteins from meat, it produces a rich flavorful broth used in soups or stews.
• Vegetables: Gentle simmering cooks tough root vegetables like potatoes and carrots to the perfect texture.
• Grains: You can simmer grains like quinoa, oats, or millet until they reach a soft edible texture. Hot cereal is made by simmering grains until most of the water evaporates, creating a smooth porridge.
• Legumes: Simmer dried beans and legumes for a soft, edible texture. Some beans, like lentils, cook quickly, while others take several hours of gentle simmering to become fully cooked.

Steaming

To steam food, boil water continuously to produce a steady steam cloud. The steam surrounds food and cooks it evenly while retaining moisture. For high-volume kitchens, the most efficient steaming method is a commercial steamer or combi oven. You can also use a pot and steamer basket, a microwave, or wrap food in foil and cook it in the oven.

Best Foods for Steaming

• Vegetables: You can steam most vegetables with excellent results. Steam sturdy veggies like beets, carrots, and potatoes longer than delicate foods like leafy greens.
• Fish and Shellfish: For more flavorful fish, broth or wine can be used instead of water. Fish stays tender, while shellfish like clams, mussels, lobster, or crabs are cooked inside their shells.
• Desserts: Some desserts are steamed rather than baked, producing a moist, silky texture. Creme brulee, flan, and panna cotta are all custards made using this cooking method.
• Tamales: Tamales are a popular food made by steaming masa, a dough made of ground corn, and fillings inside a corn husk packet. The steam makes the corn dough tender and moist.

Boiling

This cooking technique involves submerging food in water heated to the boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The boiling water produces large bubbles, which keep foods in motion while they cook. The expression slow boil means that the water has just started to bubble slowly but is not quite heated to the boiling temperature. A full boil occurs at the boiling point, appearing as fast-moving, rolling bubbles. Steam is also released from the water as it boils.

Best Foods for Boiling

• Pasta: Pasta is one of the most commonly boiled foods. The hot water cooks the pasta quickly, allowing chefs to remove it from the water before starches break down to prevent a mushy texture.
• Eggs: Boiling eggs in their shell produces hard- or soft-boiled eggs. The texture of the yolk can range from firm to creamy, depending on the cook time.
• Vegetables: Tough root vegetables like potatoes and carrots will cook more quickly in boiling water. Test their tenderness with a fork so they don't overcook.