Cooking is the process of preparing
food by applying
heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food. The process encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of
ingredients to alter the
flavor, appearance, texture, or
digestibility of food. Factors affecting the final outcome include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions,
tools, and the skill of the individual doing the actual cooking.
The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural, social and religious diversity throughout the nations, races, creeds and tribes across the globe. Applying heat to a food usually, though not always,
chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, consistency, appearance, and nutritional properties. Methods of cooking that involve the boiling of
liquid in a receptacle have been practised at least since the 10th millennium BC, with the introduction of
pottery.[
citation needed]
Proteins
Edible animal material, including
muscle,
offal,
milk and
egg white, contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all
vegetable matter (in particular
legumes and
seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. These may also be a source of
essential amino acids. When
proteins are heated they become de-natured and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more
friable - meat becomes cooked. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of
albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component of much
cake cookery, and also underpins many desserts based on
meringue.
Liquids
Cooking often involves
water which is frequently present as other
liquids, both added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (typically
water,
stock or
wine), and released from the foods themselves. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used may be based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in
steaming,
simmering,
boiling,
braising and
blanching. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased
evaporation, which
concentrates the remaining
flavor and ingredients - this is a critical component of both
stewing and sauce making.
Fat
Fats and
oils come from both animal and plant sources. In cooking, fats provide tastes and textures. When used as the principal cooking medium (rather than water), they also allow the cook access to a wide range of cooking temperatures. Common oil-cooking techniques include
sauteing,
stir-frying, and
deep-frying. Commonly used fats and oils include
butter;
olive oil; vegetable oils such as
sunflower oil,
corn oil, and
safflower oil; animal fats such as
lard,
schmaltz, and beef fat (both
dripping and
tallow); and seed oils such as
rapeseed oil (
Canola or
mustard oil),
sesame oil,
soybean oil, and
peanut oil. The inclusion of fats tends to add flavour to cooked food, even though the taste of the oil on its own is often unpleasant. This fact has encouraged the popularity of high fat foods, many of which are classified as
junk food.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include simple
sugars such as
glucose (from table sugar) and
fructose (from fruit), and
starches from sources such as cereal flour,
rice,
arrowroot,
potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex.
Long-chain sugars such as
starch tend to break down into
simpler sugars when cooked, while simple sugars can form
syrups. If sugars are heated so that all water of
crystallisation is driven off, then
caramelization starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of
carbon, and other breakdown products producing
caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the
Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.An
emulsion of starch with
fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In
European cooking, a mixture of
butter and
flour called a
roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In
Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of
rice or
corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous
saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of
sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamins are materials required for normal human
metabolism but which the body cannot manufacture itself and which must therefore come from food. Vitamins come from a number of sources including fresh fruit and vegetables (
Vitamin C),
carrots,
liver (
Vitamin A), cereal bran, bread, liver e ( B vitamins), fish liver oil (
Vitamin D) and fresh green vegetables (
Vitamin K). Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including
iron,
calcium,
magnesium and
sulphur; and in very small quantities
copper,
zinc and
selenium. Micronutrients from fruit and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. However, research led by Dr Sue Southon of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich has found that cooking vegetables facilitates the absorption of micronutrients. Cooked food may therefore provide more health benefits than raw food.Vitamins from fresh vegetables and fruit may be destroyed or eluted by cooking and the greatest benefit is derived from uncooked material. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted coking. Minerals may also be eluted by extended boiling.
source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking
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