Dry heat cooking has several types of cooking methods within this category.

• Broiling
• Grilling
• Roasting
• Baking
• Sautéing
• Pan frying
• Deep-frying

To begin, let’s start with Broiling!

This method may be self-explanatory but in case you are new to this type of cooking, it is using radiant heat from an overhead source to cook your foods. I use this method for cooking large amounts of toast, reheating pizza, caramelizing sugar on custard and browning meringue on lemon meringue pies. I also use this cooking method to add finishing touches of caramelizing to many dishes just before removing them from the oven.

When broiling to cook or finish your dishes, be very vigilant in watching how quickly it cooks.  Foods can go from done to garbage in a matter of seconds depending on how hot your broiler is.

You would think that I speak from others experiences and not my own when it comes to burning foods.  But I am chagrin to tell you, I speak from many years of experience with burning my foods.  Often it isn’t from lack of knowledge but rather lack of focus on just one task.  With distractions such children, phone, dog or a really handsome man coming home from work,  this is when time gets away and things start to burn.  My suggestion is this; whenever you have something under the broiler to finish it off, set the timer.  Even if it is only for a minute, set the timer.  Set the timer, Set the timer, Set the timer.  And remember to set the timer!

Happy Broiling

Many times I have been asked about “how to cook” and when to use a certain type of cooking methods.  Because of this, I have decided to do a series of posts dedicated to this topic.  I think the Principles of Cooking are important to understand for the mere fact of knowing there are several different methods to cooking depending on the type of food being cooked.  I am sure many cooks out there use several of the methods I will cover here but possibly without knowing why they use them or how to use them correctly.  Hopefully, I can shed a little more light and knowledge on these topics.

Basic cooking methods consist of:

• Dry Heat Cooking
• Moist Heat Cooking
• Combination Cooking

Each of these methods have several cooking methods within them.  For instance,  Dry heat cooking covers: Grilling, Roasting, Baking, Sauteing, Pan-frying and Deep-frying.  Moist heat cooking covers: Poaching, Simmering, Boiling and Steaming.  Combination cooking covers: Braising and Stewing.

The common thread through each of these is heat.  When food is exposed to heat several things begin to take place.  Those things include changes in the foods shape, texture, color and flavor.  By understanding these changes and learning how to control them, even on a basic level, you can prepare food with more confidence and success.

Here is a simple way to begin understanding the changes that occur with food when you cook it.  Proteins coagulate, starches gelatinize, sugars caramelize, water evaporates and fats melt.

Let’s look at how proteins coagulate for a minute.  As proteins are exposed to heat, they begin to lose their moisture, shrink and become firm.  The most common examples of this are egg whites.  When egg whites change from a clear liquid to a white solid it is called coagulation.  This process also happens when wheat protein (gluten) is baked.  The heated protein coagulates and sets the structure of the product, producing the stability of cakes, cookies, etc.  Coagulation is complete, for most foods, at about 160 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

Starches gelatinize.  Starches usually begin to gelatinize when a liquid and heat is introduced to the food.  As the starch granules are heated, they begin to absorb the liquid and swell, soften and clarify.  The liquid then starts to thicken because the starch itself has taken up most of it and occupies more space.  The most common examples of this are rice, potatoes and wheat.  This process happens in cakes as well.  When dry cake ingredients are introduced to liquid ingredients and heated, the starches begin to gelatinize and absorb the liquids during baking.  This causes some of the firming and drying of the cake.  Gelatinization gradually occurs between 150 – 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sugars caramelizing.  When sugars cook they begin to change colors and flavor.  This process occurs in sauces, candies and dessert as well as breads, meats and vegetables. When a chef is looking to enhance a food’s flavor, they want to make sure the sugars are caramelized to perfection. This is where knowing your cooking methods come in very handy.  Sugar won’t caramelize below 338 degrees F.  Because such high temperatures are needed for browning (caramelizing), most foods will only brown on the outside and with dry heat.  Foods cooked with moist heat methods will not caramelize through the cooking process; which is why browning meat before cooking (or briefly broiling after cooking) is necessary to achieve the proper flavor and color.  Dry heat methods of cooking will reach temperatures high enough for proper browning.

Water evaporates.  All foods contain water.  During the process of cooking evaporation always occurs, thus drying out the food.  This isn’t a bad thing when you control how much water evaporates.  Common foods that dry out from too much evaporation is chicken, rice, fish and cakes.  Leaving food exposed to heat for  long periods of time will cause too much water to evaporate.  This leaves the food drier than intended.

Fats melt.  Fats are smooth, greasy substances that do not evaporate when heat is applied.  Fats aid in keeping meats, baked goods and vegetables moist. Because it does not evaporate, fats can be heated to very high heat and used to cook and brown foods.  Using too much fat can cause foods to be greasy or to moist. As a result, they must be used in moderation and according to directions. When used properly fats can enhance your foods in various ways.

Now that we have scratched the surface on the principles of cooking, I hope you will follow me through my upcoming series on the methods of Dry heat, Moist heat and Combination heat cooking.  In those posts, I will explain in more detail each cooking method to help you see the relationship between the foods you want to cook and how to cook them properly.  If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them here.

For the last post in the series from The Pros and Cons of Pots and Pans, this pot is fast becoming a serious contender in my kitchen!

These ovens come in two different materials (for kitchen use, not camping); Cast iron covered in porcelain enamel and stainless steal .  The sizes range from 3 qt  to 15 qt. and colors are almost endless.

If you are one to stew, braise, fry or love using your dutch oven while camping, this is a must have.  I just bought one and in the past week I have used it 3 times already! You can use these ovens to bake, brown, boil or make an entire meal in one pot.

I love my dutch oven and I didn’t spend a fortune to get it.  If you do a price comparison between Lodge and Le Creuset,  Lodge is 1/4 the price of Le Creuset.  Lodge was my pick and I am not disappointed.  Plus…Lodge gets great reviews from Fine Cooking Magazine and others.  Do your own research, but remember, lower price in this case does means lower quality - it doesn’t mean bad quality!  Look into adding a dutch oven to your kitchen.

With this concluding my series on pots and pans, I hope I have been able to shed some light on this foundational choice for your kitchen.  I hope it helps you to find the right ones for you, your budget and your style of cooking.  Pans are and should be an investment over time.  I have had my All-Clad pans for years…some for 10 years or more, and continue to collect more.  They all look relatively new minus the mirror finish of a new pan now looking like dull sheet metal.  I have burned things so badly I thought it would never come out and it does, every time.  (My right arm does look a little buffer after scrubbing but I always count it toward my exercise for the day… Bonus!)  Overall, I couldn’t be more pleased with the choices I have made for me and my kitchen when purchasing pots and pans.

Happy shopping (remember Christmas in only 2 months away )