Heat and Temperature

The place where the food is cooked has always been, and will always be, the most important installation in the kitchen, regardless of whether it is a hearth, an oven, a grill, a stove, or a state-of-the-art sous vide cooker. Using heat to turn raw ingredients into food that is ready to eat is the basis for the culinary arts and a healthy, sufficiently nutritious diet. Heating ingredients while controlling the temperature is the one kitchen operation that has the most potential to change texture. Think of cooking eggs, steaming vegetables, or grilling a steak. The opposite process, taking away heat by cooling or freezing, also has a marked effect on mouthfeel—for example, allowing a jelly to set or turning a liquid mixture into ice cream.