|
|
http://zermoth.net/mabi/library/view/en/320-10020-C
Boiling : The Basics of Heat Cooking
1. Different Cooking Styles and Boiling
For ages, people have explored various cooking methods to discover a wide array of flavors and tastes in food.
These various cooking methods can be largely divided into two categories: heat treatment and non-heat treatment. As regards the cooking method employing heat, water is considered foundational for heating or cooking foods.
2. The History of Boiling and Its Significance
Boiling is the process in which you heat a pot filled with water and food ingredients.
Although Boiling is one of the oldest and basic methods of cooking using fire, its history is actually shorter than that of Baking or Steaming. Since Boiling uses water as its basic element, its development is largely correlated to the enhancement of bowls and dishes.
It is significant to note that foods that are cooked using the Boiling method absorb flavor and water very quickly.
Though fast absorption is typical of all cooking methods that use heat, Boiling not only expands small ingredients by using water, but it also softens the texture of hard and rough ingredients. Boiled foods also allow for smooth and easy digestion.
3. Benefits of Boiling
Now, let's explore the benefits of Boiling.
Compared to other cooking methods, Boiling has the following benefits:
-It allows the food to be cooked evenly.
Boiling requires that the food item is completely immersed and heated by water. Unlike Baking, Boiling cooks the food evenly without any other particular handling necessary.
-It blends various ingredients into one.
It is a very effective way to blend various ingredients into one. By adding the right amount of ingredients and water, all the flavors will spread throughout the food.
-It is easy to manage the temperature.
It is fairly easy to check and control the temperature in which the food is being cooked compared to other methods.
-It allows for cooking in bulk.
As long as you have a pot that's big enough to contain the water and ingredients, Boiling provides you a much simpler method to cook in large quantities, which is one of the biggest benefits of Boiling.
-It removes any remaining bacteria left on the ingredients.
Even in the cleanest of environments, there will always be bacteria lurking around that can cause illness.
Boiling gets rid of any bacteria that might be present in handling the food.
In addition to all these benefits, by adding spices into the water, Boiling allows for flavors to easily soak into ingredients and enhance flavor.
4.Downside of Boiling
However, the cooking method of Boiling has its disadvantages as well.
-The problems of cooking temperature limit and time.
Since Simmering uses water as the primary conductor of heat, cooking time can take longer than other methods due to the capacity of the cooking temperature being limited by the temperature of the water.
-Loss of nutrition
If food items are cooked in water for a long period of time, some of the nutrition in the ingredients are dissolved in water and some are destroyed by the long duration of applied heat, which means the food will lose significant nutritious value.
5. The Right Way to Utilize the Simmering Method
Therefore, there are two things that you should be aware of when cooking using the Simmering method.
-Temperature
This pertains to how you will maintain and control the temperature while Simmering. As you know, you can't raise the temperature beyond the maximum limit, but you must determine whether you should put the ingredients in when you first begin heating the water or when the water is already boiling, and factor in the temperature of the water at the time to your total cooking time.
-Time
This implies how long you will cook.
If you cook the food too long, you will lose both nutrition and taste, and the food itself will lack texture and color. However, if you don't cook it long enough, the food might not cook completely because of the water temperature limit.
Therefore, learning how to control these two elements, temperature and time, and adjusting it based on the food item and the dish you want to make, is the first step in learning how to effectively use the Simmering method.
6. Conclusion
The Boiling method has been one of the well-tested cooking methods since the dawn of time, and yet it stands as a viable option for the present. Effectively mastering this cooking style will produce some of the best stews, soups, and combination dishes to your delight.
|
|