Basic cooking techniques: which ones to learn for excellent training
Are you at the beginning of your career and would like to properly learn the main basic cooking techniques? As with any self-respecting training, even amidst flames and pans, it is necessary to know the ABCs of cooking processes and food preparation.
There are many basic cooking techniques that allow you to create balanced dishes with an excellent taste, we have selected a few.
Here, then, are 10 unmissable techniques for preparing your next dishes.
10 basic cooking techniques you absolutely must know
If it is true that the beginning of every good journey starts on the right foot, then it is also true that, if you want to learn how to cook professionally and become a true chef, training that includes the most important basic cooking techniques is necessary. Let's see them together:
1. Marinating. Widely used in the preparation of fish, meat, and vegetables, this technique serves both to soften and flavor food before cooking it, and as a substitute for the cooking process itself. Food is therefore immersed in a mixture made of spices, oil, vinegar, or lemon juice (but also wine or beer) and left to rest for a specific period of time.
2. En papillote cooking. With this technique, it is possible to cook most foods, provided they are sealed inside a "packet" that preserves their aromas and flavors. The packet can be made, for example, of aluminum, parchment paper, or vegetable leaves.
3. Mantecatura (Creaming). From the Spanish term "manteca" which means butter, this procedure is used above all with risotto, which, once removed from the heat, is "mantecato," or creamed, precisely with butter or cheese.
4. Roasting. A good roast usually exploits the creation of hot air through the use of dry heat that reaches the food directly. It is an uneven heat that reaches at least 150 degrees Celsius and acts on meat, fish, potatoes, or other ingredients, to give preparations a truly unmistakable taste.
5. Flambéing. Literally, it means "to put to the flames," and in this case, to do it, you need a high-alcohol liquor or spirit to be chosen based on the taste you want to achieve. Being, therefore, a rather spectacular technique, it is often performed directly in front of guests.
6. Smoking. In this case too, the word suggests the process: it involves smoking food with the smoke derived from burning wood. Originally, it was used to keep food longer; today, it also serves to give it a different aroma.
7. Sous-vide cooking. Here, food is sealed in a hermetically closed bag (air-free inside) and immersed in water with a temperature between 65° and 95°, or in a steam oven. The advantages related to this technique are numerous: food, in fact, does not dry out and maintains its flavor; it lasts longer; it is cooked uniformly, and the procedure lends itself to being easier and faster than many others.
8. Braising. Once upon a time, the verb "to braise" was used to indicate the cooking of food over embers, without direct contact with the flame. This technique is now mainly applied to red meats and involves two phases: in the first, the ingredient is browned, and in the second, it is immersed in a liquid based on wine, vinegar, or milk.
9. Gratinating. To make a dish crispy, this is the right technique! You sprinkle the food with breadcrumbs, oil, parsley, or other spices and bake everything for a few minutes.
10. Stewing. A technique like this implies both sautéing and boiling the food. Usually, in fact, you first sauté the ingredient (meat or vegetable) and then add the liquid part (broth or water) for slow cooking over very low heat.
How to learn basic techniques to use in the kitchen with Congusto courses
We have mentioned some of the basic cooking techniques, but to fully understand these cooking methods and become a chef with impeccable training requires a lot of study and a lot of practice. Why not enroll in one of the Congusto Institute courses?
If you are a beginner, on our site you will find several amateur cooking courses, such as the Basic Cooking Course, dedicated to those who wish to acquire fundamental knowledge in the selection and management of food and in their preservation, presentation, and preparation.
Alternatively, if your goal is to increase your skills to become a true chef, among the various professional cooking courses, you can choose the Course to become a cook which allows you to build the foundations of a solid gastronomic culture, together with the presence of renowned and award-winning chefs.
Discover the training paths available, choose the one that is right for you, and learn the main basic cooking techniques to use in the kitchen with us!
