Advice about food and cooking for divorced men and women: cooking methods

Cooking techniques for the divorced cook 
Even if you are new to the kitchen and never made anything more complicated than beans on toast mastering a few simple techniques will transform the way you eat.

Boiling
Immersing food in liquid, usually water but can be stock or milk, either already at boiling point – for pasta and green vegetables - or brought to the boil with the food in the pan – for potatoes and other root vegetables. 

Sometimes food is boiled as a preliminary to another process. The best known example of this is probably the short boil or par boiling given to potatoes before roasting.

Poaching
Liquid for poaching should be just at the point of boiling but with no discernable movement at all on the surface. It is a good method of cooking for delicate foods such as eggs or fish which are immersed in the water. .

Steaming - better than boiling 
As a method for cooking food, steaming has become increasingly popular as a healthier alternative to boiling.  Steaming retains more of the nutrients and colour in vegetables than boiling.  Stovetop steamer sets consisting of what is really just a stockpot with one or two stacking inserts with holes in the bottom (and a lid) and are widely available.

Braising/casseroling/stewing
Braising or casseroling are terms which can be used interchangeably. Meat, fish, poultry and game and  vegetables are cooked in a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan either on top of the stove or, preferably in the oven. Many delicious, easy and inexpensive meals can be made in this way, using the minimum of expensive fuel to cook them.

Shallow frying
Just about anything you can think of can be chucked into a frying pan and turned into something tasty to eat.  The best things to in which to shallow fry are olive or groundnut oil or unsalted butter.  Butter is particularly good if you want to fry fillets or steaks of white fish, salmon and pancakes but it is a good idea to add a splash of oil to the pan as well. The oil will help stop the butter burning. 

Deep frying
Deep frying involves the complete immersion of food in boiling oil or other fat. Who could possibly resist a plate of home cooked proper chips liberally sprinkled with sea salt and fierce malt vinegar? Er, not me.  Electric deep fat fryers really are not necessary if but if you decide to invest in one then they can be bought from a number of online retailers.

Sauteeing is just a posh word for shallow frying and a sauté pan is just a deep frying pan with sloping or straight sides, and a lid.

Grilling/griddling
Domestic grills often lack the fierce heat necessary to seal food quickly and to prevent it from drying out.  If you do use one then make sure that it is pre heated for several minutes before you place food underneath. Once whatever you are cooking has had its initial blast of heat the temperature can be turned down.

Griddles – those square, rectangular or round ridged pans made from a variety of materials have, to a large extent, superseded the traditional cooker grill.  If used correctly and pre heated properly they are undoubtedly the next best thing to a traditional barbecue for cooking small cuts of meat such as steak or fillets of fish. The golden rule is oil the food and not the pan.

Roasting
What we term roasting should really be referred to as baking.  For successful roasting of meat you need a really hot oven and a decent piece of meat with a good covering of fat.

Cooking times need to be calculated bearing in mind that pork, chicken and turkey must be thoroughly done with no hint of pinkness so that any danger of food poisoning is avoided. Beef, lamb, game, duck (and goose) should be cooked according to taste.

Once your joint or bird is cooked it must be allowed to rest in a warm place to allow the juices to settle back into the meat and make it easier to carve.