Dry Heat and Moist Heat Cooking

Cooking methods in the culinary arts are divided into two categories:

   1. Dry heat cooking, such as roasting, broiling or sautéing.
   2. Moist heat cooking, like braising, steaming or poaching.

Because every cooking method uses either dry heat or moist heat (or sometimes both), classifying them this way ensures that every known method falls into one category or the other.

"Dry" Oil and Other Fats

It's worth noting that cooking methods involving fat, such as sautéing and deep-frying, are considered dry-heat methods. If this seems confusing, remember that oil and water don't mix, so while fat can take a liquid form, in many ways it's the opposite of water — hence "dry" heat.

Choosing the Right Cooking Technique

Using the appropriate cooking method for the type of food being prepared is a major part of the culinary arts. Tough cuts of meat like brisket or shank need to be cooked slowly, at low heats, for a long time, and with plenty of moisture. Prepared properly, these cuts can be incredibly tender and delicious.

On the other hand, dry-heat methods typically involve very high temperatures and short cooking times. A piece of brisket cooked in this way — on a grill, let's say — would be tough, chewy and largely inedible. Interestingly enough, a beef tenderloin steak cooked using a slow, moist-heat method such as braising would also turn out tough, chewy and inedible — albeit for different reasons.

Dry Heat Cooking

Dry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transfered to the food item without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high heat, with temperatures of 300°F or hotter.

Baking or roasting in an oven is a dry heat method because it uses hot air to conduct the heat. Pan-searing a steak is considered dry-heat cooking because the heat transfer takes place through the hot metal of the pan. Note that the browning of food can only be achieved through dry-heat cooking. Examples of dry-heat methods include:

    * Roasting & Baking
    * Grilling & Broiling
    * Sautéing & Pan-Frying
    * Deep-Frying

Moist Heat Cooking

Moist heat cooking methods include any techniques that involve cooking with moisture — whether it's steam, water, stock, wine or some other liquid. Cooking temperatures are much lower, anywhere from 140°F to a maximum of 212°F, because water doesn't get any hotter than that. Examples of moist-heat cooking methods include:

    * Poaching, Simmering & Boiling
    * Steaming
    * Braising & Stewing





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Now you learn new cooking tips and techniques about dry heat and moist heat cooking. Cooking is so much fun especially when you learn new things.

Source

Aunt Ginny's Forgotten Dessert

This recipe was in high fashion in the mid-1950s. It works just as well today

Meringue
5 Large eggs, whites only (about 2/3 cup); reserve yolks for another use
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/8 teaspoon table salt, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/3 sup sweetened flaked coconut, optional


Fruit  Salad
1/2 cup dried cherries, sweet and/or tart, 3 blood oranges, segmented, juices reserved, 1 cup small chunks of fresh pineapple, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened in refrigerator 30 minutes before serving, if desired


For the meringue: Center a rack in the oven to 225 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. trace a 9-inch circle onto the paper; flip the paper upside down, so the tracing side is down. Set aside. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the vanilla, cream of tart and salt. Whip the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until glossy and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, about 1-5 minutes more. Without delay, spoon large dollops of meringue onto the sheet pan within the traced circle's circumference to form a thick, tall ring. Leaving the middle empty. With the back of a large spoon, smooth the meringue mounds to even the circle. Sprinkle with coconut, if desired. Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringue is crisp, uncracked and dry to touch, but still white, although the coconut will turn light golden brown. (You'll notice that during baking, the 9-inch ring expands to about 10 1/2 inches, leaving about a 3-inch space in the center.) Turn the oven off; leave meringue in the oven overnight when ready to serve, gently lift the ring from its parchment paper. Transfer to a large serving plate. Serve within a couple of hours, otherwise cover loosely with foil to protect it from humidity.

For the fruit salad: Combine cherries and reserved blood orange juice in a large bowl; let soften for at least 10 minutes. Add the orange segments and pineapple. Sprinkle with sugar, and mix thoroughly. Spoon into the center of the meringue.

To serve: The delicate meringue is prone to shattering when cut. Gently saw from center of the ring to the outside edge with a long, finely serrated knife (which should be more finely serrated than a bread knife). If the meringue begins to crack, rinse knife under hot tap water, dry and then begin again. Spoon some fruit over the individual servings of meringue; if desired, serve ice cream on the side.

Per serving: 154 calories, 2g protein, 39g carbohydrate, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 57mg sodium, 2g fiber.


Source: San Francisco Chronicle SFGate.com Newspaper Food section, styled by Julia Mitchell