Cooking Methods

Now that we understand the three basic methods of heat transfer—conduction, convection, and radiation—we can explore the basic techniques that cooks use to apply heat to food. These techniques are known as cooking methods.

• Dry-heat methods are those in which the heat is transferred without moisture—that is, by hot air, hot metal, radiation, or hot fat. We usually divide dry-heat methods into two categories: without fat and with fat.
• Moist-heat methods are those in which the heat is transferred to the food product by water or water-based liquids such as stock and sauces, or by steam.