Applying Life Skills ©2010

Chapter 21: Basic Cooking Techniques

Chapter Summaries

Cooking is the transfer of heat from a heat source to food. Cooking involves conduction, convection, radiation or a combination of these methods. Naturally tender foods are best cooked by dry-heat methods. Convection ovens speed cooking times and help conserve nutrients. Moist-heat cooking methods generally require a longer cooking time than dry-heat methods. Cooking with fat includes deep-fat frying, panfrying, and stir-frying. Microwaving is an easy and effective method of cooking most foods.

Using your senses can help you to tell when a food has finished cooking. Recognizing signs of doneness is important throughout a recipe, not just when testing the final product. Some foods are dangerous when undercooked. When foods are overcooked they are not dangerous, but they do not taste very good. During the cooking process, foods can lose some of their nutrients. Some cooking methods are better than others at conserving nutrients.