CookingCooking is generally understood to be the transfer of heat into food items to render these more palatable, easier digestible and overall speaking, to improve their bacteriological and tasteful aspects.There are four important reasons why we cook food:

To improve the appearance, flavor and taste of food and also helps to develop, blend or alter flavorsTo bring about structural changes in food. Meat fibers are tenderized and the cellulose in vegetables and fruits is softened so that they are easier to chew and digestTo stimulate the appetite and the digestive juices. It gives food an attractive appearance, aroma and tasteTo improve the keeping quality of food. It destroys some of the harmful micro-organisms such as yeasts, and bacteria that are naturally presentHeat TransferIn order for food to be cooked, heat must be transferred from a heat source (such as a gas flame or an electric element) to and through the food. Heat is transferred in three ways:

Conduction - Heat conducted by fire, hot plate, griddle plate, pot/pan, or grill.Convection - Heat conducted by hot air, dry and wet steam, water, and oil, as in a steamer or convection oven.Radiation - Heat conducted by infrared heat or microwaves, as in a broiler, salamander, or microwave oven.Cooking MethodologyCooking methods are classified as moist heat and dry heat.

Moist heat methods are those in which the heat is conducted to the food product by water (including stock, sauces, etc) or by steam.Dry heat methods are those in which the heat is conducted without moisture that is by hot air, hot metal, radiation or hot fat.Moist-Heat MethodsThere are number of Moist-Heat Methods. The following section will describe some of them one by one.BoilingTo boil means to cook the product fully submerged in liquid that is bubbling rapidly and is greatly agitated. Boiling is generally reserved for certain vegetables and starches. The high temperature would toughen the proteins of meats, fish and eggs and the rapid bubbling breaks up delicate foods. PoachingTo poach means to cook in a liquid, usually a small amount that is hot but not actually bubbling. Temperature is about 71 C to 82C. Poaching is used to cook delicate foods in a minimum amount of liquid in order to conserve flavor and nutritive value such as fish and eggs out of the shell.StewingThis is the slow cooking of food (simmering) in the smallest quantity of water, stock or sauce in a pan with a tight fitting lid. The cooking temperature is in the range of 120 C - 140 C for better uniformity in cooking, the food is always cut up into small equal sizes and the liquid is always served together so as to provide moisture and taste.

Let us have a look at the Dry Heat cookery methods. Dry heat Cookery MethodsIn dry heat cooking methods, the food being cooked does not use water to cook the food. The food is left dry and heat is applied to cook the food. Such methods of cooking are: baking, steaming, grilling, and roasting. When heat is applied to the food, the food cooks in its own juice or the water added to the food during its preparation evaporates during the heating process and this cooks the food. Heat is applied directly to the food by way of convection thus making the food to get cooked. The action or movement of air around the food, cooks it. Let us now have a look at each of these cooking methods Baking

In baking method of cooking, the food is cooked using convection heating. The food is put into an enclosed area where heat is then applied and the movement of heat within the confined space, acts on the food that make it get cooked. SteamingTo steam food, water is added to a pot and then a stand is placed inside the pot. The water level should be under the stand and not above it. There is no contact between the food and the water that is added to the pot. Food is then placed on the stand and heat is applied. The hot steam rising from the boiling water acts on the food and the food gets cooked. It is the hot steam that cooks the food, as there is no contact between the food and the water inside the pot. This method of cooking for vegetables is very good as the food does not lose its flavour and much of the nutrients are not lost during the cooking. GrillingThere are two methods of grilling that are used these days. One type of grilling is the one that is commonly used by the people in the village. This is when food is cooked over hot charcoal on an open fire. The food is placed on top of the burning charcoal. Sometimes people improvise by using wire mesh and place it over the open fire to grill fish or vegetables. The other method is using grills that are inbuilt in stoves. In this method, the griller, which has a tray, is heated up and the food is placed on the grill tray to cook. The heat can be gas-generated or electric-generated depending on the type of stove used. The food is again left to cook on the grill with the doors of the grill open. People who can afford to buy a stove would use the grilling part to grill their food. What happens in this type of cooking is the heat seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks it. The flavour of the food is not lost and much of the nutrients are not lost either. Food is frequently turned over to prevent it from burning and to ensure that equal heating and cooking time is applied to both sides of the food. By doing this, the food is cooked evenly and thoroughly. Roasting

With roasting, direct heat is applied to the food. The heat seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks the food. Roasting is mainly used when cooking fleshy food like fish, meat or chicken. When heat is applied to the outer covering of the food, it seals it up thereby trapping all the juices inside the food. The action of direct heating, heats up the juices inside the food, which then cooks the food. Again there is very little nutrient lost and the flavour is not spoilt. Food is frequently rotated over the spit so that there is even heating applied to all parts of the food. This is so that heat is applied evenly to the food to make it get cooked properly.Moist Heat Cookery MethodsIn moist heat cookery methods, liquid is used as a medium to cook the food. Such medium could be water, coconut cream or oil. These liquids are added to the food before heat is applied to it or sometimes heat is applied to the liquid before the food is added into the cooking utensils to be cooked. The moist heat cookery methods include: boiling, stewing, shallow frying, deep frying, barbequing and basting. All these moist heat cooking methods use liquid to cook the food in. BoilingThis is the most common method of cooking and is also the simplest. With this method of cooking, enough water is added to food and it is then cooked over the fire. The action of the heated water makes the food to get cooked. The liquid is usually thrown away after the food is cooked. In the case of cooking rice, all the water is absorbed by the rice grains to make it get cooked. During the heating process, the nutrients can get lost or destroyed and the flavour can be reduced with this method of cooking. If you over cooked cabbage, all the nutrients can get lost. StewingIn the process of cooking using the stewing method, food is cooked using a lot of liquid. Different kinds of vegetables are chopped, diced or cubed and added to the pot. Sometimes pieces of selected meat, fish or chicken is also chopped and added to the stew. The liquid is slightly thickened and stewed food is served in that manner. This method is also used when preparing fruits that are going to be served as desserts. With this cooking method, every food is cooked together at the same time in one pot. The flavour, colours, shapes and textures of the different vegetables that are used, makes stewing a handy method of cooking. The only disadvantage is that some of the vegetables might be overcooked and thus the nutrient content becomes much less. It is therefore important that the vegetables that take the longest to cook to be put into the pot first and the ones that need least cooking to be put in last. In this way much of the nutrient contents of the food does not get lost. FryingWhen food is fried using oil or solid fat it is important that you observe some rules in handling oil or fat.Simple rules to follow when frying:1.Make sure there is enough oil or fat put in the frying pan or a deep frying pan. 2.The food to be cooked must not have water dripping from it. This is because when water comes into contact with hot oil or fat, you will have the oil sizzling and spitting out of the pan, which could burn your skin if you are not careful. 3.Put the food into the hot oil carefully. Try not to make a big splash as the oil could burn your skin. 4.The oil of fat should be heated to the right temperature before putting food into the pan to be fried. If the food is put in when the oil or fat is not heated to the right temperature, the food will soak up the oil and you will have food that is all oily or greasy. If the oil or fat is over heated, you will end up with food that is burnt. Sometimes the food especially doughnuts will turn brown on the outside but the dough inside is uncooked. To cook food using the frying method, there are two ways of doing it. There is the shallow frying and the deep frying methods. Shallow FryingIn shallow frying, food is cooked in a frying pan with a little amount of oil or fat. The oil or fat is heated to the correct amount and the food is put into the heated oil. The food is turned over a few minutes or is stirred around a couple of times before it is cooked and dished out. If patties, potato chips or coated foods are fried, it is best to put a piece of brown paper or paper napkin inside the tray to soak up any oil from the food before serving it. Deep FryingThis is when a lot of oil or fat is used in cooking the food. The oil or fat is usually put into a deep pan and is heated to boiling point. Food is then put into the hot boiling oil and is cooked in that way. Such food as fish fingers, potato chips, meat balls, and dough nuts to name a few, are cooked using the deep frying method. Barbequing

The method of cooking food by barbequing is usually associated with fund raising activities, parties or picnics. It is most suitable to cooking meat cutlets, fish or chicken pieces. The food is usually marinated with spices and tenderizers (for meat cuts) for sometime before it is cooked. With this method of cooking, a sheet of metal with stands is heated up and oil is used to cook the food. A sufficient amount of oil is heated up and food is added. The food is then turned over a couple of times before it is dished out. BastingThis method of cooking is usually associated with roasting. The juice or liquid that comes out of the meat being cooked is spooned over the roast frequently while it is being roasted. The outer part of the meat is moistened frequently during the cooking process with the juice that is being spooned over. Usually, the extra juice from the cooked meat is added to a mixture to make the meat sauce.

Wooden SpoonUsed for mixing and when cooking and stirring hot foods

Slotted SpoonUsed to stir foods that are in liquids and to separate the solid foods from the liquids when serving

Wire Wiskto whip eggs or cream or add air to a batter. Not used with thick mixtures

Rubber Scraper or Rubber SpatulaUsed for mixing, folding soft ingredients and to remove ingredients from a bowl or plate

Turner or spatulaused to flip flapjacks or burgers or serve bars and cake

PeelerTool to remove the outer layer of fruits and veg

Chef's KnifeAll purpose large knife used to slice, mince, chop, cube and dice.

Paring kifeAll purpose small knife used as an extension of the hand for small cuts, garnishes, paring or coring

Butcher's Knifespecialty knife used when cutting meats because of its thicker broad blade

Serrated Knifeknife that has a carved or hollowed out blade edge for use in cutting foods that are firm on the outside yet soft inside

Pastry BlenderHand held utensil used to "cut" firm shortening or butter into small pieces while mixing with flour mixtures which is the first step in making most pastry

Rotary Mixer or beatertool used to speedily mix or whip ingredients. ... the fore-runner of the electric mixer

Rolling Pintool used to flatten dough for rolls, pizza, cookies or crusts

Pizza Cuttercutting tool useful for cutting noodles, doughs, cooked pizza, etc

2 or 3 tined fork or Barbeque ForkLarge fork with a heavy handle used for skewering meats or large pieces of food while they are hot

Metal Spatulasmall utensil like a knife but used often to spread frosting, level dry ingredients when measuring or slice butter

can openerdevice used to cut open metal cans using 2 blades and a rotating handle device

Strainer or Sievewire mesh container that is used to strain liquids away from solid ingredients or to separate and aerate dry ingredients like flour and powdered sugar

ColanderA bowl with holes to allow liquids to pass through. Used for separating solid materials from liquids and washing veg and fruits

Cookie Scoopsize of scoop used for making drop cookies, mini muffins or cupcakes.

Pastry Brushtool used for basting baked goods with melted butter or brushing on glazes

Measuring spoonsutensils for measuring small amounts of both dry and liquid ingredients accurately

Dry Measuring Cupsutensils for measuring various amounts of dry or sticky ingredients accurately. They must be filled to the top and leveled off.

Kitchen Shearstool used to cut foods and materials used in the kitchen

Liquid or Glass Measuring Cuputensil to accurately measure liquid volume of ingredients. Often in both metric and American units

Custard Cupsmall glass bowl handy in the kitchen for breaking an egg, holding small amounts of ingredients or for small mixing jobs

Siftersmall device used to move dry ingredients across a screen area to remove any lumps and mix and aerate them

GraterA cutting tool used to shred or grate foods like potatoes, cabbage, cheese or if the surface is fine, to zest lemons or ginger

Blenderelectric piece of cooking equipment used for fine chopping, grinding and liquifying ingredints

Potato mashermanual tool used to smash cooked fruits or vegetables into a puree, as for mashed potatoes, pumpkin, apples, etc.

tongsutensil used to lift and hold foods while they are being cooked or served

Meat TenderizerHammer-like device used to pound thick portions of meat till they are thinner and more tender

Pastry Wheelutensil used to both cut and or seal edges of pastry foods

Cheese Slicersimple device to create evenly sliced pieces

Melon Ballerspoon-like utensil to make circular shapes from melons of all kinds as well as scooping and forming balls of various foods

Egg Slicerhandy slicing device for hard cooked eggs, mushrooms, strawberries, etc. to ensure even slicing

Cookie Cuttermetal or plastic tool created to cut all sorts of shapes of doughs for interesting presentations

Mixerelectric device that can vary the speed at which ingredients are mixed. Some models have specialized attachments for other tasks such as making pasta, grinding meat and freezing ice creams.

Mixing Bowlsthese basic kitchen utensils have varying sizes and can be in metal, plastic or glass/ceramic

Cookie SheetsThin, flat metal pan with no or only shallow sides used to bake a variety of foods.

Cake Panpan with taller sides which can be round, square, rectangular or have special shapes primarily used for preparing cakes and other desserts

Pie Platemetal or glass or ceramic pan shaped slightly larger at the top than the bottom for easier removal of a fruit filled pastry

Spring-Form Pantwo-piece round baking pan that is useful for cheese cakes and thick cakes because the bottom and sides separate from one another

Woktraditional oriental cooking pot with sloping sides and wide top for easy stirring while frying, steaming etc. Can be electric or stove-top models.

Double Boilerpan used to gently cook foods in an upper pan while it sits above another pan of hot to boiling water.

Electric Skilletuseful appliance when space is not available for a stove top, or to give another cooking area in a kitchen. Can come with non-stick coating inside for easy clean up. Use for frying, steaming, warming and baking.

Saute Pansmaller skillet used for cooking onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, etc in butter or oil or for making omlets

Loaf Panbaking pan traditionally used for breadbaking, but also useful for meatloaf, loaf cakes and banana bread. Can be meatal, glass or ceramic

Sauce Panbasic cooking pan with one handle and can come in many sizes and materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron, glass and glass ceramic

Potlarger sized cooking container for stove top and oven. Usually has two smaller handles and a heavy lid. Great for "pot roast"

Tea KettleVessel used to hold hot water for making and pouring tea. Can be of metals, ceramic or glass

Muffin or Cup-cake Panpan that is divided into many smaller sized compartments to hold foods so that they bake evenly and quickly; Often lined with paper liners.

Jelly Roll Panlarger, flat baking pan with shallow sides used for making sheet cakes, bars and jelly roll cakes

Cooking Thermometeruseful device for determining cooking done-ness, especially in meats. Can be metal and inserted and read while cooking or an instant-read type. Categories include Candy, Meat, Oven and refrigerator for food storage.

Knife Sharpenerdevice to ensure that all blades are sharp for easy cutting and few accidents due to dull knives.

Cutting BoardProtective tool for cutting. This way counter tops are not marred. It can be sanitized and stored in a dry place.

Pot Holder or oven mittKeeps the cook's hands safe from hot pots and pans.

Casserole DishGlass or ceramic baking container, often with a matching lidCooling Rackmetal or wood device to raise hot foods from the counter top so that they will cool or dry more quickly due to the air circulation

Pizza PanSpecialty pan used for baking larger round dough creations.

Skewer or Kebab StickLong cooking rods used for impaling meats, veg and fruits