Cooking

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This article is about the preparation of food. For a general outline, see food preparation. For varied
styles of international food, see cuisine.

Cooking in a restaurant in Morocco

Cooking or cookery is the art, technology, science and craft of preparing food for consumption.
Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, from grilling food over an open fire
to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting unique environmental,
economic, and cultural traditions and trends. The ways or types of cooking also depend on the skill
and type of training an individual cook has. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings
and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Cooking can also
occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, such as in ceviche, a
traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime juice.
Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans. It may have started around 2 million
years ago, though archaeological evidence for it reaches no more than 1 million years ago.
The expansion of agriculture, commerce, trade, and transportation between civilizations in different
regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as the
invention of pottery for holding and boiling water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern
cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation to further enhance the flavor of the
dish served.[1]

Contents

• 1History
• 2Ingredients
o 2.1Carbohydrates
 o 2.2Fats
o 2.3Proteins
o 2.4Water
o 2.5Vitamins and minerals
• 3Methods
• 4Health and safety
o 4.1Food safety
o 4.2Effects on nutritional content of food
o 4.3Carcinogens
o 4.4Other health issues
• 5Scientific aspects
• 6Home-cooking and commercial cooking
• 7See also
• 8References
• 9External links

History[edit]

Homo erectus may have begun cooking food as early as 500,000 years ago.

Phylogenetic analysis suggests that human ancestors may have invented cooking as far back as 1.8
million to 2.3 million years ago.[2] Re-analysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from
the Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa, has provided evidence supporting control of fire by early
humans there by 1 million years ago.[3] There is evidence that Homo erectus was cooking their food
as early as 500,000 years ago.[4] Evidence for the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus beginning
some 400,000 years ago has wide scholarly support.[5][6] Archaeological evidence from 300,000 years
ago,[7] in the form of ancient hearths, earth ovens, burnt animal bones, and flint, are found across
Europe and the Middle East. Anthropologists think that widespread cooking fires began about
250,000 years ago, when hearths started appearing.[8]
Recently, the earliest hearths have been reported to be at least 790,000 years old.[9]
Historical oven baking, in a painting by Jean-François Millet, 1854

Communication between the Old World and the New World in the Columbian Exchange influenced
the history of cooking. The movement of foods across the Atlantic, from the New World, such
as potatoes, tomatoes, maize, yams, beans, bell pepper, chili
pepper, vanilla, pumpkin, cassava, avocado, peanut, pecan, cashew, pineapple, blueberry, sunflowe
r, chocolate, gourds, and squash, had a profound effect on Old World cooking. The movement of
foods across the Atlantic, from the Old World, such
as cattle, sheep, pigs, wheat, oats, barley, rice, apples, pears, peas, chickpeas, green
beans, mustard, and carrots, similarly changed New World cooking.[10]
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, food was a classic marker of identity in Europe. In the
nineteenth-century "Age of Nationalism" cuisine became a defining symbol of national identity.
The Industrial Revolution brought mass-production, mass-marketing and standardization of food.
Factories processed, preserved, canned, and packaged a wide variety of foods, and processed
cereals quickly became a defining feature of the American breakfast.[11] In the 1920s, freezing
methods, cafeterias and fast food restaurants emerged.
Along with changes in food, starting early in the 20th century, governments have issued nutrition
guidelines, leading to the food pyramid[12] (introduced in Sweden in 1974). The 1916 "Food For
Young Children" became the first USDA guide to give specific dietary guidelines. Updated in the
1920s, these guides gave shopping suggestions for different-sized families along with a Depression
Era revision which included four cost levels. In 1943, the USDA created the "Basic Seven" chart to
make sure that people got the recommended nutrients. It included the first-ever Recommended Daily
Allowances from the National Academy of Sciences. In 1956, the "Essentials of an Adequate Diet"
brought recommendations which cut the number of groups that American school children would
learn about down to four. In 1979, a guide called "Food" addressed the link between too much of
certain foods and chronic diseases, but added "fats, oils, and sweets" to the four basic food groups.

Ingredients[edit]
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Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as
well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from
animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also
use water and minerals such as salt. Cooks can also use wine or spirits.
Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules
called proteins, carbohydrates and fats. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a
manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules.
Carbohydrates[edit]
Main article: Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates include the common sugar, sucrose (table sugar), a disaccharide, and such simple
sugars as glucose (made by enzymatic splitting of sucrose) and fructose (from fruit),
and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot and potato.
The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex. Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to
break down into simpler sugars when cooked, while simple sugars can form syrups. If sugars are
heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, then caramelizationstarts, with the sugar
undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown products
producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the Maillard reaction, a basic
flavor-enhancing technique.
An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being
cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to
make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn
starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler
mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This
thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.
Fats[edit]
Main article: Fat

Doughnuts frying in oil

Types of fat include vegetable oils, animal products such as butter and lard, as well as fats from
grains, including corn and flax oils. Fats are used in a number of ways in cooking and baking. To
prepare stir fries, grilled cheese or pancakes, the pan or griddle is often coated with fat or oil. Fats
are also used as an ingredient in baked goods such as cookies, cakes and pies. Fats can reach
temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to other
ingredients, such as in frying, deep frying or sautéing. Fats are used to add flavor to food (e.g.,
butter or bacon fat), prevent food from sticking to pans and create a desirable texture.
Proteins[edit]
Main article: Protein (nutrient)
Edible animal material, including muscle, offal, milk, eggs and egg whites, contains substantial
amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds) also includes
proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. Mushrooms have high protein content. Any of these
may be sources of essential amino acids. When proteins are heated they become denatured
(unfolded) and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become
softer or more friable – meat becomes cooked and is more friable and less flexible. In some cases,
proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The
formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component in
baking cakes, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue.

Water is often used to cook foods such as noodles.

Water[edit]
Main article: Water
Cooking often involves water, frequently present in other liquids, which is both added in order to
immerse the substances being cooked (typically water, stock or wine), and released from the foods
themselves. A favorite method of adding flavor to dishes is to save the liquid for use in other recipes.
Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how
the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising, and blanching.
Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation, which concentrates the
remaining flavor and ingredients – this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making.
Vitamins and minerals[edit]

Vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals

Main articles: Vitamin and Mineral (nutrient)

Vitamins and minerals are required for normal metabolism but which the body cannot manufacture
itself and which must therefore come from external sources. Vitamins come from several sources
including fresh fruit and vegetables (Vitamin C), carrots, liver (Vitamin A), cereal bran, bread, liver (B
vitamins), fish liver oil (Vitamin D) and fresh green vegetables (Vitamin K). Many minerals are also
essential in small quantities including iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium chloride and sulfur; and in
very small quantities copper, zinc and selenium. The micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins[13] in fruit
and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation
during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking.[14][not in citation given] The
bioavailability of some vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B6, niacin, folate, and carotenoids are
increased with cooking by being freed from the food microstructure.[15] Blanching or steaming
vegetables is a way of minimizing vitamin and mineral loss in cooking.
Methods[edit]
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See also: List of cooking techniques
There are very many methods of cooking, most of which have been known since antiquity. These
include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, boiling, steaming and braising. A more
recent innovation is microwaving. Various methods use differing levels of heat and moisture and
vary in cooking time. The method chosen greatly affects the end result because some foods are
more appropriate to some methods than others. Some major hot cooking techniques include:

A cook sautees onions and green peppers in a skillet.

Roasting
Roasting – Barbecuing – Grilling/Broiling – Rotisserie – Searing
Baking
Baking – Baking Blind – Flashbaking
Boiling
Boiling – Blanching – Braising – Coddling – Double
steaming – Infusion – Poaching – Pressure
cooking – Simmering – Smothering – Steaming – Steeping – Stewing – Stone
boiling – Vacuum flask cooking
Frying
Fry – Deep frying – Hot salt frying – Hot sand frying – Pan frying – Pressure
frying – Sautéing – Stir frying
Steaming
Steaming works by boiling water continuously, causing it to vaporise into steam; the steam
then carries heat to the nearby food, thus cooking the food. By many it is considered a
healthy form of cooking, holding nutrients within the vegetable or meat being cooked.
En papillote – The food is put into a pouch and then baked, allowing its own moisture to
steam the food.
Smoking
Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from
burning or smoldering material, most often wood.

Health and safety[edit]

Food safety[edit]
Main article: Food safety
Cooking can prevent many foodborne illnesses that would otherwise
occur if the food is eaten raw. When heat is used in the preparation of
food, it can kill or inactivate harmful organisms, such as bacteria and
viruses, as well as various parasites such
as tapeworms and Toxoplasma gondii. Food poisoning and other
illness from uncooked or poorly prepared food may be caused by
bacteria such as pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, Salmonella
typhimurium and Campylobacter, viruses such as noroviruses,
and protozoa such as Entamoeba histolytica. Bacteria, viruses and
parasites may be introduced through salad, meat that is uncooked or
done rare, and unboiled water.[16]
The sterilizing effect of cooking depends on temperature, cooking time,
and technique used. Some food spoilage bacteria such as Clostridium
botulinum or Bacillus cereus can form spores that survive boiling, which
then germinate and regrow after the food has cooled. This makes it
unsafe to reheat cooked food more than once.[17]
Cooking increases the digestibility of many foods which are inedible or
poisonous when raw. For example, raw cereal grains are hard to digest,
while kidney beans are toxic when raw or improperly cooked due to the
presence of phytohaemagglutinin, which is inactivated by cooking for at
least ten minutes at 100 °C (212 °F).[18]
Food safety depends on the safe preparation, handling, and storage of
food. Food spoilage bacteria proliferate in the "Danger zone"
temperature range from 40 to 140 °F (4 to 60 °C), food therefore should
not be stored in this temperature range. Washing of hands and
surfaces, especially when handling different meats, and keeping raw
food separate from cooked food to avoid cross-contamination[19], are
good practices in food preparation.[20] Foods prepared on plastic cutting
boards may be less likely to harbor bacteria than wooden
ones.[21][22] Washing and disinfecting cutting boards, especially after use
with raw meat, poultry, or seafood, reduces the risk of contamination.[22]
Effects on nutritional content of food[edit]
See also: Raw foodism

A raw tomato
sauce with olives, celery, spinach and walnuts on zucchini noodles.

Proponents of raw foodism argue that cooking food increases the risk
of some of the detrimental effects on food or health. They point out that
during cooking of vegetables and fruit containing vitamin C, the vitamin
elutes into the cooking water and becomes degraded through oxidation.
Peeling vegetables can also substantially reduce the vitamin C content,
especially in the case of potatoes where most vitamin C is in the
skin.[23] However, research has shown that in the specific case
of carotenoids a greater proportion is absorbed from cooked vegetables
than from raw vegetables.[14]
German research in 2003 showed significant benefits in reducing
breast cancer risk when large amounts of raw vegetable matter are
included in the diet. The authors attribute some of this effect to heat-
labile phytonutrients.[24]Sulforaphane, a glucosinolate breakdown
product, which may be found in vegetables such as broccoli, has been
shown to be protective against prostate cancer, however, much of it is
destroyed when the vegetable is boiled.[25][26]
The USDA has studied retention data for 16 vitamins, 8 minerals, and
alcohol for approximately 290 foods for various cooking methods.[27]
Carcinogens[edit]

Chicken, pork and bacon-wrapped corn cooking in a barbecue smoker.

Barbecuing and smoking generate carcinogens.

In a human epidemiological analysis by Richard Doll and Richard

Peto in 1981, diet was estimated to cause a large percentage of
cancers.[28] Studies suggest that around 32% of cancer deaths may be
avoidable by changes to the diet.[29] Some of these cancers may be
caused by carcinogens in food generated during the cooking process,
although it is often difficult to identify the specific components in diet
that serve to increase cancer risk. Many foods, such as beef steak and
broccoli, contain low concentrations of
both carcinogens and anticarcinogens.[30]
Several studies published since 1990 indicate that cooking meat at high
temperature creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are thought to
increase cancer risk in humans. Researchers at the National Cancer
Institute found that human subjects who ate beef rare or medium-rare
had less than one third the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate
beef medium-well or well-done.[31] While avoiding meat or eating meat
raw may be the only ways to avoid HCAs in meat fully, the National
Cancer Institute states that cooking meat below 212 °F (100 °C)
creates "negligible amounts" of HCAs. Also, microwaving meat before
cooking may reduce HCAs by 90% by reducing the time needed for the
meat to be cooked at high heat.[31] Nitrosamines are found in some
food, and may be produced by some cooking processes from proteins
or from nitrites used as food preservatives; cured meat such as bacon
has been found to be carcinogenic, with links to colon
cancer. Ascorbate, which is added to cured meat, however, reduces
nitrosamine formation.[30][32]
Research has shown that grilling, barbecuing and smoking meat and
fish increases levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH). In Europe, grilled meat and smoked fish generally
only contribute a small proportion of dietary PAH intake since they are a
minor component of diet – most intake comes from cereals, oils and
fats.[33] However, in the US, grilled/barbecued meat is the second
highest contributor of the mean daily intake of a known PAH
carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene at 21% after ‘bread, cereal and grain’ at
29%.[33]
Baking, grilling or broiling food, especially starchy foods, until a toasted
crust is formed generates significant concentrations of acrylamide, a
known carcinogen from animal studies; its potential to cause cancer in
humans at normal exposures is uncertain.[34] Public health authorities
recommend reducing the risk by avoiding overly browning starchy foods
or meats when frying, baking, toasting or roasting them.[34]
Other health issues[edit]
Cooking dairy products may reduce a protective effect against colon
cancer. Researchers at the University of Toronto suggest that ingesting
uncooked or unpasteurized dairy products (see also Raw milk) may
reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.[35] Mice and rats fed uncooked
sucrose, casein, and beef tallow had one-third to one-fifth the incidence
of microadenomas as the mice and rats fed the same ingredients
cooked.[36][37] This claim, however, is contentious. According to the Food
and Drug Administration of the United States, health benefits claimed
by raw milk advocates do not exist. "The small quantities of antibodies
in milk are not absorbed in the human intestinal tract," says Barbara
Ingham, PhD, associate professor and extension food scientist at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. "There is no scientific evidence that
raw milk contains an anti-arthritis factor or that it enhances resistance
to other diseases."[38]
Heating sugars with proteins or fats can produce advanced glycation
end products ("glycotoxins").[39]
Deep fried food in restaurants may contain high level of trans fat, which
is known to increase levels of low-density lipoprotein that in turn may
increase risk of heart diseases and other conditions. However, many
fast food chains have now switched to trans-fat-free alternatives for
deep-frying.[40]

Scientific aspects[edit]
Main article: molecular gastronomy
The application of scientific knowledge to cooking and gastronomy has
become known as molecular gastronomy. This is a subdiscipline
of food science. Important contributions have been made by scientists,
chefs and authors such as Herve This (chemist), Nicholas
Kurti(physicist), Peter Barham (physicist), Harold
McGee (author), Shirley Corriher (biochemist, author), Heston
Blumenthal (chef), Ferran Adria (chef), Robert Wolke (chemist, author)
and Pierre Gagnaire (chef).[41]
Chemical processes central to cooking include the Maillard reaction – a
form of non-enzymatic browning involving an amino acid, a reducing
sugar and heat.[42]

Home-cooking and commercial cooking[edit]