Hard Boiled Eggs - © olgasflavorfactory.com

Essential Cooking Techniques: Moist Heat Cooking

The overall technique of applying heat to food is broken down into two broad categories: Dry Heat and Moist Heat. And these categories are further subdivided into a number of specific methods. We’ll start today with a rundown of the various Moist Heat cooking methods…

Poached Salmon with Caper Relish - © healthcooking4u.comPoached Salmon: A delicate cooking method for a delicate food…

What it is…

Any method of applying heat to food via hot water or steam is referred to as a Moist Heat method.

Steaming

This method is just what its name says. Heat is transferred to food by immersing it in a chamber full of steam. We commonly Steam veggies to preserve their flavour and colour, which would be lost through Boiling. Asian cooks use Stackable Steamer trays to cook Dumplings and other Dim Sim treats, not to mention cooking their daily Rice.

Boiling

Potatoes lose little through Boiling, though they, too, can be steamed if you wish. Other Root Veggies such as Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips and Beets are also generally Boiled. They need intensive contact with high heat to soften to an edible texture. We also cook Pasta over a rolling Boil, giving it just a few minutes to consolidate the Egg proteins in the Dough but not long enough that the product gets over-cooked or mushy. Boiled Eggs (see image at top of page) are also a perennial favourite.

Simmering

This one involves lower temperatures – just enough heat to keep the pot bubbling steadily. Soups and Stocks get the low, slow simmering treatment to help extract and develop the flavours of their various aromatic ingredients.

Stewing

Stewing is, specifically, the low, slow cooking of foods in a small amount of water. The objective is the same as with Simmering. Ingredients or stews are usually cut into small. uniform pieces (approx. 1 in. / 2.5 cm cubes) so they will cook in about the same length of time. The Meat is rendered fall-apart tender and the Stewing liquid becomes a rich  gravy.

Poaching

This term is used specifically in reference to cooking an Egg without it’s shell by immersing it in simmering water. The trick is to keep the Egg in one roughly circular piece while doing so. You can Google dozens of methods that allegedly help you perfect your Egg Poaching technique. Poaching also refers to cooking other foods in a small amount of water. Poached Fish is a popular fancy presentation. (See photo above.) Poaching has the advantage, when dealing with delicate foods, that it won’t overcook them.

Coddling

Akin to Poaching, this cooking method involves immersing foods in water that is heated to just below the boiling point. This method, too, is generally reserved for delicate foods. Usually, one hears Coddling referred to in reference to Eggs.

Pressure Cooking

This is the aggressive application of moist heat to food in a sealed cooking vessel, under steam pressure. This cooking method, which uses a fair amount of water in the pot, can speed up cooking of Root Veggies and large, tough food items by forcing heat into the centre of the food. The steam also becomes super-heated (hotter than 212 F) under pressure, which also reduces cooking time. Care is required when using Pressure Cooking techniques as the escaping steam can cause severe burns.

Associated methods…

En Papillote

This is a French method of cooking a delicate food, often Fish, wrapped in a parchment paper package with Herbs and Spices and baking it at a medium temperature to steam in its own juices. En Papillote preparation traps as the foods own juices within the package producing a fragrant, flavourful result.

Luau (Pit Oven)

This Polynesian method of cooking a whole Pig is well known around the world. The method is generally known as Pit Cooking’ and is, or has been used in other cultures. A pit is dug in sand or other loose earth and lined with stones that have been heated in a roaring fire for at least an hour. Atop the stones layers of Banana Leaves and Damp Seaweed are added (for a classic Luau). Thee will protect the food from burning on the stones and provide moisture for heat transfer to the food. The Pig, gutted and clean, is stuffed with Native Herbs and Spices and (in modern times) rolled in Chicken wire to hold it together through cooking and serving. After the prepare Pig is laid in the hole more Banana Leaves and Seaweed are piled on top. Then (again, a modern innovation) a thick tarpaulin is laid over all, and sand excavated from the hole is piled back on top to seal the Pit Oven. The oven is left sealed to steam for at least 8 hours. When the Pig comes out, it is fall-apart tender, and all the goodness of the Herbs and Spices has been sealed in.

And that’s the lowdown on Moist Heat

Next time, we’ll talk about Dry Heat cooking methods – and why some of them seem as though they should be in the ‘Moist’ category…

~ Maggie J.