COOKING – Is it an Art, a Science, or a Pain

COOKING – Is it an Art, a Science, or a Pain

For me, cooking has always been fun. I started cooking in my younger day back in Nebraska. Luckily, my mother was patient enough to teach me. For my wife, she’s glad I have fun doing it. What is your vote? Do you cook for pleasure, or necessity?

If you have the right equipment, a comfortable kitchen, and are willing to try different things, cooking can be fun. Having someone to clean up after you helps, too. Most ovens are self-cleaning now, so being a little sloppy pulling your cooked item out of the oven isn’t quite so critical. You just wipe up what you can, and self-clean sometime in the future.

Cooking schools and Culinary Academies can give you whatever level of education you want. You can take only a Dim Sum class or get a degree in Culinary Arts. There are online courses and courses by mail. The choice is yours. There is a Catering and Gourmet Cooking class which is online and through Penn Foster Career School.

There are many methods of cooking. Dry-heat cooking methods without fat are broiling, roasting or baking, grilling, barbecuing, griddling, and pan-broiling. Dry-heat cooking methods with fat are saut?ing, pan-frying, and deep-frying. Moist heat cooking methods are steaming, boiling, simmering, poaching, and blanching. Broiling is a method using high heat. My favorite is outdoor cooking. There is also crock-pot cooking, which is an easy way to prepare a full meal.

As I said before, having the right culinary equipment makes the task of cooking a lot easier. I use the nonstick pans versus the stainless steel variety. They are easier to clean up. Other materials used for cookware is copper, aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, glass, ceramics, plastic, and enamelware. Pans lined with enamel should not be used for cooking. The enamel may chip or crack. Having a variety of sizes for cookware makes the cooking process much easier. A good set of kitchen knives is a must, also. They should be kept sharp for both safety reasons and easier to use. Use the correct knife for the specific job being done. A paring knife wouldn’t work to well trying to cut through bone.

Being educated in food safety should also be a consideration. You don’t want your family to get Vibrio parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis from eating raw oysters. (Spelling or pronunciation is not a priority for cooking.) You don’t need to get a ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certification, but a basic understanding of food safety should be learned. Some foods are more likely to become unsafe than others. Some potentially hazardous food would be milk, eggs, shellfish, fish, baked potatoes, sliced melon, meats, and poultry.

About the Author/Author Bio
Bob Boeck is a Premier Member of the United States Personal Chef Association. He has passed the ServSafe Exam and is ServSafe Certified. Visit http://cooking-info.net for more articles on cooking and some recipes.
By Expert Author: Bob Boeck
Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/