• COOKING IN FAT: PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS OF FRYING
• COOKING MEAT IN THE OVEN: PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES AND BENEFITS
• COOKING FISH: PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES AND BENEFITS
• COOKING IN WATHER: FOR EACH FOOD, ITS IDEAL COOKING
• SALT COOKING: HOW DOES THIS TECHNIQUE WORK ?
• SOUS VIDE COOKING, a technique that allows you to savor food in a new way

COOKING IN FAT: PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS OF FRYING

Are you familiar with cooking in fats? Here’s what you need to know to preserve the characteristics of the food and reduce the calorie intake of this cooking method.

It is a cooking method based on the use of a quantity of fats of vegetable origin or, in some cases, of animal origin. Basically, oil or butter is used to fry or brown the food.

• Cooking in fat: how it happens
• Stir-fried cooking: what does it consist of?
• Frying: procedure and principles
• Cooking in fat: tips for frying
• Cooking in fat and health

Cooking in fat: how it happens

The cooking in the fats is carried out by concentration, or part of the water present in the same food is evaporated and all the nutrients going to focus on the food.

This process makes food particularly tasty compared to other cooking methods. The transmission of heat, on the other hand, occurs by convection, that is, from the pan to the food.

As for  cooking in the oven , and steaming, it is essential to avoid too high temperatures. In this case, because they favor that scorched effect, as good as it is dangerous.

Fats should remain at temperatures between 120°C – 250°F and 220°C – 425°F. This guarantees the exaltation of flavors , thanks to the formation of the  crustthat makes the food appetizing.

If this temperature is exceeded, the so-called smoke point is reached , that is, an oxidation process is triggered in contact of the fats with the air and smoke is produced. 

At the same time they are formed of substances which go to decompose and release  the ‘ acrolein, an irritant . Food is also contaminated by the presence of free fatty acids , enemies of our health.

Two different types of cooking are distinguished for clarity: sautéed cooking and frying. Let’s go and understand something more.

Sautéed cooking or Jump cooking: what does it consist of ?

The cooking to jump occurs when the amount of fat covers only a part of the bottom of the pan, of the type non-stick. We’ve all seen chefs stir-fry food with a flick of the wrist. Hence the name of the cooking itself.

It is generally used to cook vegetables, meat, or fish. The important thing is that the foods are not very consistent and chopped, as they are cooked for a short time (no more than a few minutes). This type of cooking is in fact suggested as an opening to subsequent workings in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the amount of fat used brings a significant caloric increase , so it is not very recommended for those who are following a low-calorie diet.

Frying: procedure and principles

In the case of frying, the food is completely immersed and covered with fat, specifically the oil. However, first it is necessary that the oil has reached its ideal temperature, between 160°C – 320°F and 180°C – 356°F.

In this way the crustis formed which allows all the nutritional principles to be retained in the food, without causing them to disperse. Furthermore, it prevents the oil from penetrating inside, increasing the calories, and thus making the food difficult to digest.

For good frying, fats with a very high smoke point are recommended. You can use olive oil or  peanut oil , the best of the seed oils. Both are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which have good heat resistant characteristics.

Cooking in fat: tips for frying

There are some precautions to follow to prevent cooking in fat from becoming a danger to our health.

• If you can, prefer an electric fryer, as it allows you to adjust the temperature with the thermostat and you are not at risk. Alternatively, always use a high- sided non-stick pan, preferably equipped with a basket to drain the oil at the end. If, on the other hand, you want to do without frying fats altogether, then the purchase of a hot air fryer should be considered.
• Once used, the oil must be disposed of. Reusing it a second time would mean assimilating all those harmful substances released in the previous cooking.
• It is not necessary to combine different oils (old oil with new oil) or oils of various types (seed oil with olive oil).
• It is good to cook a few foods at a time: excessive quantities cause the temperature to drop and therefore the food becomes soaked in oil.
• It is not recommended to cook over high heat: if the temperature is too high, the food remains raw inside while it burns immediately outside.
• The salt and the various aromas of the kitchen should only be used at the end of cooking to avoid alteration of the fats. In addition, always let the fried food drain on a sheet of absorbent paper, so you will eliminate all the fats well.

Hot air fryers fry with air, in fact. They do not use oil, but a very hot jet of air. The result, however, is the same, that is, foods that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. But they don’t just fry. In fact, in most cases, they are equipped with an electric resistance that also allows other types of cooking, such as grilling and roasting.

The main advantages of air fryers are to cook food in a healthy way with little oil and low fat, reduce cooking odors and allow different ways of cooking. Alongside the advantages, as always, there are also some defects, such as significant consumption of electricity and difficult portability.

Cooking in fat and health

As anticipated, cooking in fats is certainly not indicated among the healthiest methods. By following our advice, you can reduce the effects, but it is still a cooking method that must be limited as much as possible.

Those suffering from hypertension should avoid it, while those who have no health problems or are following a low-calorie diet, can eat fried food in moderation up to 2-3 times a week.

COOKING MEAT IN THE OVEN: PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES AND BENEFITS

From roast to lasagna, many of the classic dishes of Italian cuisine pass through ovenproof dishes, pans and steaming molds as soon as they are baked. Cooking in the oven, in fact, is undoubtedly one of the most used methods in the kitchen.

It may be the only technique used or it can be added to previous cooking, as occurs for example in the case of brazing. The oven is undoubtedly an extremely versatile tool in the kitchen as it allows numerous cooking variations, just think of the classic one, salt or foil.

It is ideal for many dishes, but it is the meat that particularly benefits from baking, let’s see why:

• 1. Main types of ovens

• Static ovens
• Forced convection ovens
• Convection steam ovens

• 2. Techniques for cooking meat in the oven

• The roast meat
• The braised meat in the oven
• Crust cooking
• Cooking in foil
• Cooking pot

• 3. How to cook the perfect roast according to your oven

• 3 tips for making tasty baked meat

• 4. Benefits of baking

1. Main types of ovens

For catering, and not, there are different types of ovens on the market that can be mainly grouped into three categories:

• Static
• With forced convection
• Steam powered

Each has its own specificities and characteristics as regards the methods of cooking food, but all three can be both electric and gas

Static ovens

This type includes those ovens whose temperature is regulated by a thermal diffusion coming from the action of the electric resistances or the gas burner (usually placed in the stalls).

The food does not come into direct contact with the exchangers but reaches different temperatures through the surrounding superheated air. Cooking proceeds slowly from the outside to the inside of the cut of meat and will tend to be uniform.

Forced convection ovens

The difference between the static oven and the ventilated one consists in one or more fans that activate a movement of the air inside the cooking chamber.

The speeds reached in the chamber are around 40 km / h except for the fast-cooking ovens which can reach 100 km / h. The dynamically forced air distributes the heat better inside the oven, penetrating more into the food.

In addition, the greater uniformity as well as lower cooking times and temperatures generate less weight loss in the food compared to the static oven, thus making it very efficient.

To optimize times there is also the possibility of managing different foods simultaneously. In fact, the circulation of air avoids the mixing of smells and therefore of flavors in the cooking chamber thus offering energy savings associated with a qualitatively superior result.

Convection steam ovens

This type includes extremely versatile ovens as you have all the advantages of forced convection, combined with the possibility of activating the steam function.

You can thus make roasts, but also dishes that require steam cooking, or take advantage of the regeneration and maintenance cycles. Also in this case it is possible to manage simultaneous cooking of several foods.

2. Techniques for cooking meat in the oven

One of the most important phases in the preparation of dishes is certainly that of cooking, not only as it eliminates all those pathogenic microorganisms that are harmful to the body, but also because it makes many dishes more digestible and gives them a unique taste.

The time dedicated to this step is very important, especially for meat: briefly blanching could mean not adequately sterilizing food, on the contrary overcooking it, almost to burn it, could lead to the formation of harmful substances for the body.

Speaking of meat, the most used techniques for cooking in the oven are mainly two: roast and braised.

However, according to the dish you want to prepare, nothing prevents you from resorting to other types of cooking, such as: crust, foil or cooking pot.

The roast meat

Roast cooking generally takes place in the oven at temperatures ranging from 150°C – 302°F to 180°C – 356°F. The heat gradually penetrates evenly into the muscle mass.

The first phase of cooking, called browning, can take place with a very hot oven, at 220°C – 428°F, so that the blanching, the famous Maillard reaction, allows the formation of the aromatic components.

Therefore, to obtain a good and tasty browning it is advisable, once the cut of meat is in the oven, that the temperature at The beginning is elevated.

Brushing the dish with cooking fat or other liquid helps keep the meat juicy and prevents it from drying out. In order for the roast to have nothing to envy to that of great chefs, the choice of meat is of primary importance.

The cut must be suitable for short cooking, therefore it is necessary to focus on fine cuts: beef entrecote, sirloin, or even particular pieces of the front of animals with very tender meat, such as the soul of the real, pork neck, thigh or shoulder lamb, etc. Cuts with bone are preferable to those without.

The baked meat is ready when the core temperature reaches the pre-established degrees according to your needs and the chosen piece.

The roast, if prepared in the traditional way, requires cooking to take place in a dry environment.

However, this method has two disadvantages:

• the first concerns the need to use high-quality cuts of meat to prevent the dish from becoming hard and difficult to chew.
• the second is that the pieces undergo a significant weight loss, in the order of 30-35% (from 1 kg of raw meat, 650-700 g of roast are obtained).

However, the technology of the new ovens placed on the market partly helps to solve these two problems as we will see shortly.

Braised meat in the oven

One of the advantages of cooking in the oven is undoubtedly the variety of aromas that are released in the room that enrich the taste of the dish.

The procedure for making braised meat involves at first browning the meat in a pan and then transferring it to a high-sided pan or a steel or earthenware pot, together with vegetables, spices, red wine, meat broth or plain water until half the cut of meat is covered.

The whole is then brought to a boil and cooked covered in a ventilated oven, with a time that will vary depending on the cut of meat and its size.

The parts of the beef most suitable for braising are the poor ones, which require a long cooking. So the cuts for the stew will be fine as long as they are whole, the cheeks of the beef or the shoulder cover.

Crust cooking

This technique owes its name to the use of the crust used to wrap the food to retain its aromas and flavors.

This is obtained by working a specific mixture or by using salt. It is generally used to cook meat, but also fish or potatoes.

To enhance the flavors even more, the chosen cuts can be simply seasoned with oil or butter and then spiced.

Cooking in foil

The foil is usually made with parchment paper, but the wider leaves of some vegetables can also be used.

The piece of meat is seasoned and closed inside the bundle which is then placed on a baking sheet and baked.

Cooking pot

This cooking technique has been around for many years, but has recently made a comeback. Allows you to cook meat, fish and vegetables in a healthy and effective way.

Basically, to cook in the jars, all the ingredients are put inside the jar, closed and left to cook in a ventilated oven from 60°C – 140°F to 150°C – 302°F with water.

3. How to cook the perfect roast according to your oven

For the meat to give its best in cooking, it is first necessary to leave it at room temperature for at least half an hour, so that even the innermost part begins to cool.

After the necessary time, you can proceed to prepare the cut according to the recipe you intend to make. Boneless, battened, barded and / or tied, our piece of meat is ready to be seasoned with oil, salt, pepper and herbs and then transferred to a pan.

Once baked, the roast should be glazed often with the cooking fat, taking care not to pour brownish particles on the meat, generated by the evaporation of the liquids that come out of the meat. Halfway through cooking, you can turn the roast to brown it evenly on all sides.

The safest way to make sure that the doneness is what you want is to use a probe thermometer. If we are talking about beef, for a “rare” cooking the core temperature must be 50-52°C – 122°F, for the “average” one of 54-55°C – 131°F and for the “well done” 60-75°C – 140-167°F.

Find out more about temperatures in our dedicated article. Once cooked, the roast can be transferred to a serving dish covered with aluminum foil and left to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before being served, possibly with an accompanying sauce.

The procedure described above is perfect especially for a static oven. How to proceed with a ventilated instrument? Convection is the most used type of ovens in catering for this type of recipe.

As for the static one, cooking takes place in a dry environment, however in this case the heat rays it greases the meat thanks to forced ventilation and is therefore more effective: times are reduced by 10-15% compared to those required for cooking in the static oven.

The movement of the air tends to dry the meat more on the surface, even if overall the weight loss is slightly less than in the static oven (in the order of 25-30%).

With ventilated ovens the temperatures used are generally about 10-15°C – 50-59°F lower. To obtain a browning as uniform as possible, it is also possible to experiment with a cooking technique that uses different temperature cycles.

In this case it will be sufficient to put the meat in the oven at about 220°C – 428°F  to brown the external surface, and then gradually lower the heat bringing it first to 200°C – 392°F, then to 180°C – 356°F, then finishing cooking at 140°C – 284°F. In principle, as the internal temperature of the cut of meat increases, that of the oven decreases.

If, on the other hand, you use a trivalent oven in your kitchen, which combines both steam and convection, you need to manage the “mixed cooking” program.

This allows at the same time the introduction into the cooking chamber of dry hot air (generally at 140-160°C – 284-320°F) and of superheated steam, thus creating an environment characterized by a uniform temperature and a high heat transmission capacity, thanks to its high humidity.

For less prized and large-sized meats, however, you must initially use the “steam” program (for about 25% of the cooking time), then switch to “mixed” mode by increasing the temperature to 150°C – 302°F (for about 50% of the cooking time), and finally ends with the “convection” program set at 170-190°C – 338-374°F to brown the roast.

The humidity present inside this type of oven greatly reduces the decrease in the average weight of the meat, which in this case is about 15-20%, and facilitates the transformation of collagen into gelatin, making the rich cuts more tender. of connective tissue.

Since each type of meat has its own peculiarities and characteristics, it is necessary to vary the cooking process from time to time: for example, a pork shoulder will require a greater amount of steam and lower temperatures than those required for the veal nut. This technique is applicable to almost all meats, except for roast chicken and roast beef which would inevitably acquire the same flavor as boiled meat.

3 tips for a tasty baked meat

1. If the chosen cut of meat is very lean, to make it more tender and tastier, it can be packed or larded.
2. Evenly covering the bottom of the pan helps to avoid that the liquids that come out of the meat, coming into contact with the fat, from burning during cooking, giving a bitter taste to the accompanying sauce.
3. One of the mistakes that is frequently made is to wet the roast with liquids such as wine or water. The water vapor that is created tends to soften the crust and increase the likelihood that the roast will stick. For this reason, it is preferable to sprinkle the meat with the cooking fat.

4. Benefits of baking

With this technique, based on the cooking temperature used, many of the nutrients present in food such as vitamins and minerals can be preserved. Furthermore, in addition to meat it is possible to cook different dishes ranging from salty to sweet.

It may take more time than other methods, but you just need to organize yourself to better manage the different preparations, and, in the case of a ventilated oven, it is possible to cook several dishes at the same time.

Another strong point is the possibility of limiting the use of fats, thus reducing caloric intake.

However, from this point of view there are two other factors to take into consideration: the quantity of meat consumed, and the cut used. In addition, cooking meat in the oven is undoubtedly safer than grilling, as long as you carefully check the state of browning, avoiding superficial burns that are not really healthy.

By controlling the temperatures, however, it is possible to easily reach the right compromise between safety, taste and safeguarding of nutritional values.

COOKING FISH: PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES AND BENEFIT

In order not to affect its flavor and nutritional values, we must divide the fish according to its shape and size, which, in practice, will affect its cooking techniques and gastronomic practices. The final result of a preparation will depend substantially on the use of the “right” fish.

There are tapered fish with firm and “fleshy” flesh such as sea bream, sea bass or cod, from which two fillets are generally obtained, suitable for quick cooking in a pan or stewed; and flat fish, such as sole or turbot, with a more subtle and delicate flavor, from which four fillets are obtained, suitable for cooking in the oven, stewed or in a pan. Then there are large fish, such as tuna and swordfish, rather versatile, generally sold in pieces, more suitable for grilling or braising.

In principle, the flesh of the fish is very delicate and requires the adoption of rigorous temperatures and cooking times. A fish should never be cooked above 78 ° at the heart.

The numerous fish varieties and the different cooking methods, combined with vegetables, aromatic herbs, sauces and spices, allow the preparation of dishes with an ever-changing flavor.

The 5 things to know about how to cook fish:

With regard to this we will give you indications, tips and suggestions on how to cook fish in the oven, in a pan, on the grill and in salt.

1. How to cook fish in the oven

This is a great way to cook whole, large and medium fish for tall fillets and steaks. The fish can be cooked in the open oven, one of the most used methods; baked in foil wrapped in parchment paper, au gratin and stewed.

2. How to cook fish in a pan

Cooking in a pan, similar to that on the plate, is suitable for slices or small fillets of fish and is one of the simplest and fastest cooking methods; it is made over high heat for a very short time and the fish can be previously floured or breaded.

 3. How to cook fish on the grill

The high heat of the grill or barbecue cooks the fish quickly, keeping the pulp moist and fragrant.

The fish recommended for this type of cooking are naturally high-fat fish such as mackerel, sardines, tuna, swordfish, ideal because their natural oil keeps the fish soft during cooking.

4. How to cook fish in salt

The fish cooks in the oven after being placed in a pan with a layer of salt on the bottom and then completely covered with salt. Fish cooked in this way will have crunchy skin and soft flesh. The salt crust maintains the humidity of the fish by concentrating its flavor.

5. How to cook sous vide fish

Sous – vide cooking of fish is probably the process that best enhances the characteristics of the product. A food so delicate in structure and consistency is in fact ideal for sous vide cooking. 

In the sous vide cooking of fish we find very simple preparations but with a huge impact. With a correct technical application, both in professional and home catering, you can obtain a product of remarkable quality, with excellent aromatic sensations and better storage times.

1. How to cook fish: baking

This type of cooking lends itself to various preparations: it is perfect both for whole fish and for that in slices or fillets.
There are various ways of cooking fish in the oven, choose the type of cooking according to its characteristics and its presentation (whole, fillets, slices).

How to cook fish in the oven

This is a great way to cook whole, large and medium fish for tall fillets and steaks. The fish can be cooked in the open oven, one of the most used methods; baked in foil wrapped in parchment paper, au gratin and stewed.

How to cook fish in the oven uncovered

This cooking, ideal for medium-sized fish, consists in cooking the fish in a pan simply greased with oil or possibly with the addition of a bed of thin slices of potato or lemon; the inside of the fish should be salted and flavored with aromatic herbs to taste.
Initially the heat must be strong, and then continue cooking at a lower temperature, so that a crispy crust forms on the outside and the fish remains tender and soft on the inside.

How to cook baked fish au gratin

The fish gratin is usually made following the directions of the flan.
The classic procedure in fact involves a double cooking, first in a pot and then in the oven, to obtain a crisp and golden crust. This will bring to the table a simple dish that satisfies the needs of fast but tasty cooking.

In fact, this method allows the fish to be cooked only with the heat coming from above and is a type of rapid cooking suitable for small and medium-sized fillets.
Just cover them with breadcrumbs, grated cheese or a few tablespoons of bechamel, to obtain the famous crispy crust on the surface.

How to cook baked fish in foil

For a second dish of healthy and tasty fish, very quick to prepare, you can try the foil.
This cooking method gives excellent results because it keeps the aroma of the fish intact, avoiding the dispersion of aromas and flavors. Both fillets and steaks can be cooked with the foil, but also small fish. With the addition of herbs, spices and citrus fruits, it will be ready in just 20 minutes and without the use of pots or trays.

How to cook stewed baked fish

This type of cooking is very versatile, suitable both for whole fish and for sliced ​​fish: it is cooked covered in an ovenproof dish in which vegetables are usually added and during cooking it is wet with broth or white wine.

2. How to cook fish: cooking in a pan

Cooking fish in a pan is a quick and easy way to prepare fish steaks or fillets of limited thickness. During cooking, two aspects must be kept in mind: the first is that the fish must always be browned first on the part to be presented to the diner; the second concerns the cooking temperature which must be higher in the first phase and then finish on a softer heat.

For homogeneous cooking, the fish must cook on both sides and not immersed in fat as is the case for frying.

There are different types of pan cooking, which use different methods to promote the formation of the crust.

How to cook breaded fish in a pan

A variant for cooking fish in a pan is to bread it with breadcrumbs and then brown it in oil.

This quick and tasty cooking method lends itself well to being accompanied by seasonal vegetables, rustic bread croutons and adding, for example, sauces or spices.

How to cook fish in a pan with a miller

It is a method of preparing white meat fish (sole, sea bass, trout, hake, etc.) which consists of smearing and subsequent browning in butter. The fish is then seasoned with lemon juice and a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley.

3. How to cook fish: cooking on the grill

In this section we will see how to cook fish on the grill, a system widely used today in order to avoid excessive consumption of fat during cooking; in fact, this method does not require the addition of oil or butter and can be used to cook different types of fish (the most suitable for cooking on the grill are compact fish, whole or in slices and crustaceans).

The cooking of the fish on the grill can take place in the oven, under the grill, or on the barbecue, and in both cases the high temperature of the heat source cooks the fish quickly, creating a crispy crust on the outside and leaving the flesh soft and humid.

The slices or slices must not be too thick, and the fillets not too thin, but if you opt for whole fish it is better to choose them of small or medium size; if they are larger in size, it is advisable to make diagonal incisions so that the heat spreads evenly. However, whether it is whole fish, fillets or fish skewers, you can marinate them for a few hours before cooking them.

4. How to cook fish: cooking with salt

This method consists in cooking the fish immersed in a layer of coarse salt, so that during cooking a hard crust is formed, capable of isolating the fish and preserving its flavors and humidity; it is also a dietary and healthy cooking, as it does not require the addition of fat.

The cooking of fish in salt is recommended for fish with tender and not too firm meat, such as sea bream or sea bass, and it is very important in order to have excellent results, not to scale the fish before cooking it, in order to keep separate the meat from the salt.

There are various recipes on how to cook fish in salt, which differ in the way of compacting the salt and favoring the coating process of the dish.

5. How to cook sous vide fish

It is very important to follow some steps such as the preparation of the ingredients:

• The first recommendation to follow concerns the freshness of the product , in fact only fresh fish products (freshness understood as a series of precautions, ranging from capture to maintaining the temperatures of the cold chain during transport and delivery) can be cooked in Vacuum-packed, and it is certainly advisable to work and vacuum-cook the product within 6 hours of receipt.
• It is recommended to work in the utmost hygiene of environments and equipment, dedicating part of these only to the processing of these types of products (eg cutting boards, knives, etc.).
• The fish to be cooked must be carefully cleaned , eliminating both possible impurities that would alter the result (for example the imperfect cleaning of the mussels) but also paying attention to internal cleaning trying to eliminate all the parts that are normally thrown away (entrails, gills ).

Just insert in the bags containing the seafood a quantity of water equal to 30% by weight, and insert the specific balanced salts for the fish before cooking.

As for cooking temperatures, each type of fish has a different cooking point that depends on many factors, therefore a single temperature range cannot be established, but must be differentiated according to the various types.

When we go to cook we must always take into account some basic elements:

1. Quality of meat and muscle fibers.
2. Type of fish we are going to cook (White meat, or blue fish, cephalopod or crustacean).
3. Presence of shells or carapace.

Tips for cooking fish

It is essential to know the importance of fish in our diet, the substances contained in this food are, in fact, essential for the well-being of our body.

Like meat, fish mainly contains high biological value proteins, in quantities ranging between 15 and 20%. 

From a nutritional point of view, fish is important for its fat content, in particular of polyunsaturated fats of the omega-3 series, which cannot be easily synthesized by our body and must therefore be consumed with the diet. These fatty acids are essential for the development and functioning of the brain and retina and are valuable allies in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer

Fish provides proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, similar to those of meat, eggs and dairy products, however it has some peculiarities compared to meat: it consists, in fact, of a smaller quantity of connective tissue and shorter muscle fibers that make it more digestible, as well as allowing shorter cooking times.

Its lipid content varies, depending on the different species, from 0.5% to 27% due to some factors such as species, sex, age, season, reproduction period and habitat. 

One of the most used classifications for fish is precisely in function of the quantity of fat: among the lean fish we include sole, trout, hake, turbot, cod, sea bream, snapper; among the semi -fats sea bass, sardine, herring, mullet; among the fatty eels, mackerel, tuna, salmon.

The species of fish known as “blue fish” (anchovy, sardine, mackerel, tuna, swordfish), regardless of the percentage of fat, boast an important content of omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fats, particularly beneficial for the heart and arteries.

However, it is necessary to pay close attention to the cooking methods and times of the fish, since unsaturated fats deteriorate easily at high temperatures and proteins begin to denature losing their three-dimensional structure: the nutritional guidelines therefore recommend consuming fish (in particular blue fish mode) by cooking it on the grill, in a pan or in the oven.  These methods of cooking fish, especially blue fish, are associated, in fact, with numerous benefits, such as the reduction of the most common heart rhythm disturbance. 

“Frequently varying the choices at the table” is the principle on which to base a healthy and correct diet. In fact, there are no natural or processed foods capable, by themselves, of satisfying the energy and nutritional needs of our organism, but all foods combined with each other correctly are necessary to achieve this goal. 

Some useful tips for a healthy diet are: 

– limit seasoning fats, prefer fish and moderate the consumption of meat and sausages
– choose the most suitable fish cooking technique for each food to fully preserve all the characteristics of the food, both from the point of view of nutritional principles and of flavor;
– among the possible condiments that can be used for cooking fish, give preference to extra virgin olive oil which, unlike other condiment fats, does not undergo any chemical transformation process;
– use as a side dish multicolored salads, composed of fruit and vegetables, rich in vitamins, fibers, minerals.

GUIDE TO COOKING IN WATER: FOR EACH FOOD, ITS IDEAL COOKING

The various types of cooking in water and the techniques for each type of food Cooking in water: do you know all the techniques to exploit the benefits of this ancient culinary practice? Did you know that every food needs special cooking and treatment? Here is our practical guide.

• Cooking in water: the choice of food
• Meat for broth or boiled
• Vegetables and vegetables
• Cereals, legumes and potatoes
• Cooking in water: techniques and principles
• Steam cooking
• Cooking in a Bain Marie
• Boiling
• Drowning
• Cooking in water: the tricks for boiling

The cooking in water is a technique that embraces various types, depending on the food to be cooked. In fact, this macro-category includes steam cooking, cooking ina Bain Marie, boiling and poaching.

They are all defined as sweet cooking methods, as the temperature of 100°C – 212°F, the boiling point, is never exceeded. To untangle the various cooking possibilities, here are some tips.

Cooking in water: the choice of food

Each food requires a specific cooking technique, having well-defined characteristics and properties.

Meat for broth or boiled

The meat should not ever be baked at temperatures above 70°C – 158°F , otherwise you risk losing protein and excess drying the meat.

If you are preparing a meat broth, pour cold water in large quantities into the pan, to facilitate the release of the flavor and make the broth pleasant. Obviously, the meat will then be less tasty. If, on the other hand, you are preparing a boiled meat, then the water must be of medium quantity and hot. The result will be slow and tasty cooking

Vegetables and vegetables

Vegetables andvegetables should only be cooked byboiling. In this way the dispersion of vitamins is avoided, and the vegetable is kept rich and tasty.

Prepare a little boiling water and cover the pan with a lid.

Do not let too much food to boil to prevent oxidation favors the loss of vitamin C. It is also suggested not to cut greens and vegetables, so that the loss of nutrients is further reduced.

Cereals, legumes and potatoes

Cereals , legumes andpotatoes also require theboiling temperature, as the starch can swell, and the food becomes more digestible.

For legumes avoidsalting the water otherwise they harden. It is always advisable to leave them to soak for several hours before cooking.

Cooking in water: techniques and principles

Let’s now discover the individual cooking techniques in water to understand how to make the most of them in the kitchen.

Steaming

The steaming is widely used in Asian cuisine. It allows to maintain the nutritional properties of food unaltered, safeguarding flavor and texture. It is also a fat-free cooking, therefore ideal for those following a weight loss diet.

The food is placed in special tools for steam cooking: generally, it is a basket that is put to cook in contact with a container full of water. For the success of cooking, it is essential that the water does not wet the food. You can cook fish, meat, vegetables, cereals, and potatoes.

A cooking potcan also be performed, in this case the food is placed in a glass jar with the sauce and a few fingers of water and then cooked in the oven. The result will be greater tenderness of the meat and fish, which will retain aromas and fragrances in the jar.

Recently, a small household appliance that allows you to easily steam even several foods at the same time has become very popular, the steamer:

Cooking in a Bain Marie

The bain-marie cooking can be practiced either on the stove for cooking in the oven. It takes a long time since the water never rises above 100 degrees (unless it’s in the oven).

The food is placed in small containers which are in turn placed inside a pan filled with water. Generally, the temperature fluctuates between 80 and 95 degrees. In this way, for example, all those sauces that require the presence of eggs are prepared.

Boiling

The boiling may take place by immersing the food in cold water (boil) or hot water. In both situations the temperature is brought to 100 degrees, boiling point. Also, in this case it is good to choose the cooking technique carefully, based on the food.

The legumes are baked in cold water, giving way to assimilate all the water and hydrate. On the contrary, vegetables and vegetables need hot water to avoid releasing all the nutrients during cooking.

Drowning

The drowning takes place by immersing the food in a pot with a little salted and flavored water. It is mainly used for meat, fish, and eggs, making sure that the food remains moist.

The temperature is never allowed to rise above 80 degrees, to prevent the food from hardening.

The cooking water falls undoubtedly among the most technical healthy because they are not to form carcinogens and harmful compounds. However, there are some precautions that must be respected.

• Amount of water: if you want to avoid losing nutrients and flavor, there must be little water. Otherwise, the risk is that it will then be thrown away and therefore lost.
• If you leave the food in the water for toolong to cook, it impoverishes it further, so the ideal would be to remove it from the heat as soon as it is cooked.
• The lid helps to reduce the dispersion of aromas and substances, so it is best to use it especially when cooking starts from cold water.
• Another trick to avoid the loss of aromas is to salt the water immediately, without waiting for the end of cooking.

SALT COOKING: HOW DOES THIS TECHNIQUE WORK ?

The cooking salt is one of the simplest techniques of cooking and reading, leaving intact the characteristics of meat and fish and give great satisfaction in the kitchen

• Cooking with salt: characteristics
• Because cooking in salt is different from the others
• Cooking with salt: times
• Cooking with salt in a pan
• Cooking fish in salt
• Cooking in salt for the meat

One of the oldest and most popular cooking techniques, in the past as in the present, is that of cooking with salt.It is part of a whole series of cooking that is carried out “under” something, such as under ash or sand (yes, there is cooking in the sand) and has the purpose of essentially transferring only the heat to the product, avoiding the exchange of materials.

Many know and appreciate it, while others prefer not to use it, perhaps without ever having tried it, because they think that the product is salty and inedible. Of course, this is not the case, otherwise nobody would do it.

Let’s find out all the characteristics of cooking in salt and how it works, what its properties are and what can be cooked in this way.

Salt cooking: characteristics

The operating principle of cooking with salt is no different from that of other types of cooking, precisely it is not far from one of the “modern” cooking techniques such as vacuum cooking.

In fact, the food is put very simply on a bed of salt and in turn is covered with salt, although some prefer to add flour or egg white to stabilize it.

We recommend using only salt, preferably large (the fine one tends to creep in and is more difficult to remove) and in the case a little water, not watering it but distributing it with wet hands to humidify it a little.

Among other things, there are salts that are already wetter than others, and if a salt is already wet, even water can be avoided.

Once the bed of coarse salt has been prepared, the food is put on. What is generally cooked in salt is fish, but it is not the only food that can use this type of cooking; the important thing is that, precisely to prevent the salt and salty taste from transferring inside the food, what is cookedhas a thick external ‘protection’.

This means that the most suitable fish for cooking with salt is the one with thick skin: a whole sea bream with the skin, I can cook it, some sea bream fillets (which do not have it) no; I can cook a sea bass, squid (which have a very thin cuticle) no; I can cook a chicken (which has skin), a chicken breast cannot. And so on…

Without depriving the food of its natural protection, it is put in the oven with salt and covered with salt, possibly pressing it a little with your hands, and you wait.

Because cooking in salt is different from the others

What happens in the oven? The heat from the oven, which must already be at 180°C – 356°F  -200°C – 392°F , will reach the food, and since the water, naturally present, evaporates at 100°C – 212°F , it will come out of the food and meet the salt. Salt which, when in contact with water, dissolves, thus forming a brine, a mixture of water and salt. The thinning of the salt grains, however, causes exposure to heat to be so high that the water evaporates again: the salt has thus formed a “shirt” around the food which is immediately dried afterwards. The food is therefore no longer able to “communicate” with the outside, with nothing but the temperature.

This means that the liquids and nutrients that come out of the food cannot evaporate or in any caseleave the food trapped in the salt, so that these liquids do not disperse in the pot or pan and remain around the food; in short, the food will cook in the liquid that he himself released,exactly as it happened in cooking under vacuum, with the only limit (it must be said) that not everything can be cooked in salt, while under vacuum you can put practically everything.

Once cooked, the food will be “caged”: the salt crust, therefore, must be broken with a knife or hammer.

Cooking with salt is therefore indicated in dietary regimes, because practically nothing is added (not even oil) thus having one of the leanest products ever. Not recommended only, for obvious reasons, for those who must follow low salt diets due to personal health problems

Salt cooking: times

One of the dilemmas that most interests those who approach cooking in salt for the first time is precisely this: but how long does the food have to cook?

Yes, because being completely covered with salt, there is very little to do, and you cannot control the cooking; we must necessarily go on trust. Thus, we consider 25 minutes for 1 kg of food, in a preheated oven at 180°C – 356°F; if the food is 2 kg it is left for 50 minutes to give it time to cook, if it is 1/2 kg it is left for a quarter of an hour. Simple, isn’t it?

The compactness of the food counts; if we put two 500 grams sea bream in a pan, they must be considered individually, not in total: a quarter of an hour, therefore, not half an hour, because time is not cumulative.

Salt cooking in a pan 

As for cooking with salt in a pan, there is very little to say: it is a variant of cooking with salt in the oven and essentially follows the same rules, except that it is more suitable for small foods and saves energy. than the oven.

Also in this case, a bed of salt is made in the bottom of the pan, the food is placed and covered with salt and then with a lid so that the oven effect is possible, while the flame must be left verylow because the temperature inside the pan, and in turn inside the salt crust, will however rise quickly being in a confined space.

Salt cooking fish 

Among the foods, fish is by far the one that best lends itself to cooking in salt.

Generally, fish with whole bones are cooked, then sea ​​bream, sea bass, croaker, snapper and so on, because they reflect the characteristics we mentioned at the beginning of the article; However, nothing, if not the size (!) prevents the cooking of cartilaginous fish such as rays or Palombo, better the dogfish, which also have a skin that acts as a protection. If we can get them into the oven.

Cooking is worse for small fish, however, those from mixed frying.And the molluscs, gastropods, cephalopods, and bivalves, of course (which are not even fish, but some consider them as such …).

The only fundamental thing: the fish must be fresh.It does not have to undergo all the biochemical changes that occur hours after death, nor be thawed because it would practically become a pocket of water; if you go to the fish shop, I recommend, fresh.It is better if fished in the sea, not from farms, because the taste is completely different.

Salt cooking for meat 

However, meat can also be cooked in salt, and if we want even vegetables, even if the latter is too delicate an operation.

As for meat, apart from chicken (which lends itself very well) it is recommended to use it only for very large anatomical pieces, such as roast beef or similar; the meat, in fact, does not have a casing on its own (there is no skin, or in any case, even if it were pork, the skin is not everywhere) and only the size can prevent too much salt from being absorbed during cooking.

By following the times, we have indicated and with a large part of meat, which will be clearly salted in the outermost part, we can obtain a result not very different from the best known one we have in fish.

The easy guide to sous – vide cooking, a technique that allows you to savor food in a new way

The vacuum cooking is an innovative cooking technique that allows us to enjoy your food in a whole new way. Here’s everything you need to know.

• Sous-vide cooking: what happens to the food
• Sous-vide cooking of meat
• Sous-vide cooking and temperature
• Sous-vide cooking times
• Sous-vide cooking chart

The equipment for sous vide cooking

The vacuum cooking is a technical result of technology, favored by the use of vacuum packing machines for food , both in restaurants and in homes. All this, until a few years ago, did not exist.

Once the vacuum bag is closed, it is placed inside the water.This has two advantages:

•  first, the air is an excellent insulator and limits the passage of heat but here, unlike the oven, it is not there.
• Second, oxygen causes oxidation.This phenomenon darkens the vegetables when we cook them, makes the apples turn black, the artichokes yellowish, and the meat changes color.

With sous-vide cooking this does not happen, and the colors remain bright as if the foods were not cooked at all, even if they are.

Sous-vide cooking: what happens to the food

The temperature, in vacuum cooking is transmitted to the food: this also happens in normal cooking, where however, together with the temperature, something can also enter or exit.

We think of boiling and frying, where the food is impregnated with water or oil respectively. Above all, something can come out, namely liquids, which cause you to lose nutrients and take away the taste of food.

If we think of a broth, made of meat or vegetables, we realize how many substances come out of food during traditional cooking, remaining in the water.

In sous-vide cooking this does not happen. Of course, the temperature changes the food and some liquid comes out, but it remains confined inside the bag and then goes back inside. This means that the food cooks in its own broth.

Sous-vide cooking of meat

All these benefits also have a consequence on the consistency of the food: the meat remains very soft compared to what we could have roasted or cooked in a pan.

In fact, the meat becomes hard because the liquid is expelled: here, with the fact that the liquid comes and goes continuously from the meat, we will have practically no loss. The consistency practically remains that of fresh meat, which is very different from that of traditionally cooked meat.

Compared to the times, however, it can take hours to ensure optimal cooking.

Sous-vide cooking and temperature

There is another aspect to consider and this is perhaps a disadvantage. To cook sous vide the temperature must be low. The food must cook, not burn, and for this reason it is left at about 70 ° in the water that does not boil.

This could cause foodsafety problems: if, for example, I kill pathogenic bacteria in 5 minutes at 100 °, cooking at 70 ° takes longer, depending on the food.

Think of a hard-boiled egg : salmonella , if any, is in the yolk, but it takes time for the heat to pass from the bag to the shell and then to the egg white to get to the heart.

This means that, for example, it takes 30-35 minutes to make a vacuum-packed hard-boiled egg, a lot compared to the classic 8 minutes.

Sous-vide cooking times

The vacuum cooking is a fast technique, even if the foods you can keep. Put them in very cold water (using a blast chiller) and stop cooking. So, they can be kept in the fridge even for fifteen days, all without removing the vacuum bag.

Once cooking is finished, it is always advisable to pass the food in the pan for a few minutes, because the vacuum does not activate the Maillard reaction (the “crust” does not form).

If you have the opportunity to try sous vide cooking for vegetables as well, do it at least once. It is worth it!

SOUS VIDE COOKING CHART