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The Secrets to Cooking Your Food . . .
After you
have selected your ingredients and designed your meal,
its now time to cook it.
D. COOKING STYLES
– Mastering many Cooking Styles is another way to
increase the diversity of your meals. Brush up on
your cooking skills by not only practicing the various
Styles of Cooking, but also by paying close attention to
the details of the cooking process, what each Cooking
Style does to your food and the resulting
appearance, taste & texture. Xperiment with
variations to the standard method (different
temperature, time, sequence, combinations, etc.) and
observe the results. Learn new Styles as you come
across them, and also try your hand at inventing new ways
to cook. To start you off, here are a few examples to get you going . . .
a)
Frying
– This is a quick way of cooking just about any food. There is Deep Frying, where you use a pot about half
filled with oil, heat it till hot and put your food into
the oil to fry for several minutes.
 As you are heating
to high temperatures, use cooking oils with a higher
smoking point such as corn , sunflower or peanut oil. Usually, food is first coated with some batter, then
Deep Fried. This Style is good for things like chicken, fish,
prawns, vegetables, french fries; and even would you
believe, ice-cream?
Pan or Stir Frying is when you use a frying pan or a wok
with a little oil to fry your food, turning or stirring
it frequently with your spatula. Steaks, pork chops,
vegetables, and eggs are some commonly Pan Fried foods.
When you do not require very high temperatures, such as
when stir frying mushrooms, you can use butter or olive
oil to add a different flavor. Frying will brown the
exterior of meats, bring out the smell of the
ingredients, and impart a crisp texture to foods.
Consider this Cooking Style for a quick and tasty meal.
 b)
Grilling
– You can Grill many foods; Salmon, chicken, shrimp,
steaks, even vegetables. In this method of
cooking, you place the food on a metal grill or rack and
apply direct heat to it. Electric grills come in
two main types, the first is an open grill where the
heating element is below the grill, the other is an
enclosed one with the heating element on the top.
You have to turn the food while grilling to ensure that
both sides are evenly cooked. Grilling is good for
healthy cooking since you can do with lesser or no oil;
just reduce or withhold salt from the ingredients as
well. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of
the item you are grilling; you can use a meat
thermometer to check the doneness of your food.
 c)
Microwave
– In this modern age, we can Microwave our food. It is
quick, usually taking about a quarter to a third of the
time it normally takes with regular cooking. Microwave
energy penetrates and is absorbed by food; the molecules
in the food, especially fat, sugar & water, are excited
and vibrate to cause friction and thus produce heat to
cook. Food that is Microwaved will turn out like
steamed or boiled dishes. You can use special equipment
and techniques to increase the variety. For example a
Microwave Browning Dish has a special base to absorb the
microwave energy. Just flip the dish over to see the
special coating on the bottom that will identify it as
a Browning Dish. To sear lamb chops or steaks in the
Microwave, first preheat the Browning Dish per the
manufacturer’s instructions, then put in your meats and
cook further. You will need to turn your food if you
wish to sear the other side as well. A little oil will
prevent sticking, and will leave the meat with a pan
fried appearance.
There are many other methods of cooking your food; some
more conventional like Baking, Barbecuing, Braising,
Roasting, Stewing and Steaming. Some are more
exotic like cooking meat on a slab of hot stone.
So do try out the various cooking styles on your
favorite foods and discover which are to your liking.
Also Xperiment with combinations; for example you
can first steam a lobster,
then cut it open and put some cheese in before grilling
for a short while to melt and brown the cheese sauce.
Think of new ways to cook, after all its just applying
heat to food. You can also broaden your knowledge and
skills by observing how people of various lands cook
their meals in special ways when you travel.
Inspired to cook something in your favorite way now?
Great, go to it then! Have a wonderful time
practicing and eating. Remember to pay attention
to the details and the results; also try to pick up some
new or different Cooking Styles as you go along.
Be back next time for the final secret on
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