In order to properly deal with the complex world of cooking techniques and suitable cooking equipment, it is not necessary to have a degree in physics or chemistry; however, in order to master the subject, it is good to get a little clear on what it means to cook, what are all the possible methods, and above all how the various cooking equipment should be used according to their shape, size, and according to the materials from which they are made.
One has to cross-reference a few different classifications so that one can decide how best to proceed to achieve the desired result. The various categorizations may seem a bit complicated to weave together, but in practice they are knowledge that every professional or amateur enthusiast possesses, it is just a matter of getting things in order.
One must start from the assumption that in whatever way one wishes to cook a food, cooking always takes place through the conduction of heat from an energy source to the food to be cooked, and that this transmission of heat can take place in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation.
What exactly the three terms mean we will see in the unfolding of the various installments of this column.
When we set out to cook we must, in addition, always pay attention to these aspects: the purpose, that is, what we wish to achieve; a boiled, stewed, roasted, fried product, etc..... and theequipment, that is, what equipment and materials are best suited to achieve the purpose.
Having chosen this combination we will also determine the method, temperature and time of cooking.
Since our intent is not to give lectures on cooking techniques, but more simply we believe that it can be useful and helpful to have a practical guide at hand, we will not go too deep into the theoretical part, but we will try to deal in practice with cooking techniques through a series of suggestions, directions and exemplifications, and we will do so starting with the equipment and materials that the market makes available to successfully arrive at the purposes and we will also publish information provided by the manufacturing companies themselves regarding ideas and novelties.
