Essential cooking methods every chef needs to know

Steaming is a moist cooking method that uses the steam from boiling water to prepare food. It’s a gentle, healthy method of cooking, preserving more of the nutrients and moisture in food than boiling. Steaming is perfect for keeping delicate ingredients intact, and for maximising the nutritional value of vegetables. It’s widely used in East Asian cuisine.

Best for:

• Fish and shellfish

• Dumplings, bao buns, and other dim sum

• Vegetables like broccoli, green beans, cabbage, and carrots

• Reheating foods without drying them out

Essential equipment for steaming:

• Steamer basket or bamboo steamer

• Wok, saute pan, or saucepan with lid

Professional setups often use multi-level steamers or steam ovens for efficient bulk steaming. 

Sautéing is one of the most versatile cooking techniques, used across many types of cooking from French cuisine to fast-paced professional kitchens. It’s a high-heat, dry cooking method that involves cooking ingredients quickly in a small amount of oil or fat, usually in a shallow pan and over direct heat. The goal of sautéing is to caramelise or brown the outside of the food while keeping the inside moist and tender. 

Best for:

• Aromatics such as garlic, onions, leeks, and carrots

• Leafy greens like spinach, cabbage, and kale

• Thinly sliced meats like beef, chicken breast, and seafood

Essential equipment for sautéing:

• A sauté pan 

• A heat-resistant spatula

• Vegetable slicers to prepare ingredients for bulk sautéing. 

• A cooking oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado or grapeseed oil

A good sauté pan will distribute heat evenly and, due to its high sides, allow for easy stirring and tossing of ingredients. Look for a heavy-based stainless steel or non-stick aluminium sauté pan for best results. For more advice on selecting a pan, read our guide to the different pan types.

Poaching is a moist-cooking method where food is gently cooked in a liquid such as water, milk, or stock, at a low temperature — typically 70–80°C. It’s a gentle method that’s ideal for cooking delicate ingredients that might flake or break apart at higher temperatures.

Best for:

• Eggs

• Fish, seafood, and chicken breasts

• Fruits like pears, plums, peaches, and berries

• Dumplings

Essential equipment for poaching:

• A deep saucepan with high sides

• A slotted or perforated spoon for gentle removal from the liquid

• A strainer sieve for removing excess egg whites before poaching eggs

• A thermometer to monitor water temperature

To elevate your breakfast game, a perforated insert can be used inside saucepans to poach multiple eggs at once.

Simmering is another moist cooking method, but it requires hotter temperatures than poaching, typically around 95°C. When food is simmered, it’s cooked in a liquid at just below the boiling point, usually for a long time to deepen flavour and tenderise tough textures. The liquid will usually be brought to the boil first, before the heat is lowered.

Best for:

• Soups and stews

• Pasta sauces 

• Curries

• Tough cuts of meat

Essential equipment for simmering:

• A stockpot or dutch oven with a lid to prevent evaporation

• A spoon for serving

• A ladle or serving spoon

Frying is a dry cooking method that uses hot fat — typically oil — to cook food quickly and evenly. It produces a crisp, browned exterior and a moist and juicy interior. There are different types of frying, including pan frying, shallow frying, and deep frying, with each one producing different results and requiring a different technique. 

Best for:

• Battered and breaded foods like chicken, fish, schnitzel, and tempura

• Meats that are naturally high in fat like bacon, sausages, steak, and pork chops

• Fritters and donuts

• Stir-fried vegetables

Essential equipment for frying:

• Stainless steel or non-stick frying pan, deep fryer

• Slotted spoon, tongs, or skimmer

• Oil thermometer for deep frying

Broiling is another high-heat, dry cooking method where food is exposed directly to heat from above, usually in an oven. It’s similar to grilling, but the heat source typically comes from the top rather than below. Broiling is an ideal cooking technique for creating a caramelised, crisp exterior in a matter of minutes. 

Broiling can be carried out on its own, or used to finish dishes that have been boiled, simmered, or slow cooked.

Best for:

• Browning toppings like breadcrumbs or meringue

• Melting cheese on gratins, casseroles, or Welsh rarebit

• Cooking meats quickly

• Finishing glazed meats or fish

Essential equipment for broiling:

• A broiler pan or grill-safe roasting pan

• An oven with a broil setting or salamander grill

• Heatproof gloves and tongs

Grilling uses intense direct heat, typically from below, to cook food quickly while creating a charred exterior and a smoky flavour. It’s one of the most popular dry cooking methods, ideal for searing meats, sealing in their juices and adding flavour without excess fat. 

Grilling can be done on its own to cook meats, or used to sear the outside of tougher cuts, sealing in the moisture before it’s slow-cooked to become tender.

Best for:

• Steaks, burgers, sausages, or marinated kebabs

• Vegetables like peppers, onions, asparagus, or corn on the cob

• Fish and seafood like prawns and scallops

• Halloumi

• Tofu

Essential equipment for grilling:

• A charcoal, gas, or electric grill

• A grill pan

• Tongs

• A meat thermometer

Stewing is a moist cooking method that involves cooking small, uniform pieces of food slowly in a liquid, usually over a low heat. To achieve that uniform shape, the vegetables in a stew are usually diced using the brunoise cut. The ingredients are often browned first using cooking techniques such as frying or sauteing, then simmered in stock, wine, or water until tender. The result is a rich, flavourful dish with both liquid and chunks of meat or vegetables.

Best for:

• Tougher cuts of meat like lamb shoulder or beef flank

• Root vegetables and pulses

• One pot meals like Irish stew, goulash, or tagine

Essential equipment for stewing:

• A heavy-bottom pot, stockpot, Dutch oven, or slow cooker with a lid to retain moisture

• A wooden spoon or ladle

• A sharp knife, food processor, dicing grid to cut your ingredients into uniform cubes

Braising is a combination cooking method that uses both dry and moist heat. Typically, food is first seared or browned at a high temperature, then cooked slowly in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid. 

The difference between braising and stewing lies mainly in the size of the ingredients — braising requires using larger cuts and less liquid.

Best for:

• Whole vegetables like fennel, cabbage, radicchio, or leeks

• Lamb shanks, pork shoulder, beef brisket, and short ribs

• Bone-in poultry with the skin left on

• Tofu

Essential equipment for braising:

• A braising pot or Dutch oven

• Basting tools

• Tongs

Sous vide is a cooking method where food is vacuum-sealed in a bag before being submerged in a water bath and cooked slowly at a low, controlled temperature. By maintaining a consistent low temperature, sous vide ensures even cooking throughout while preserving flavour, moisture, and nutrients. This makes it one of the most reliable and widely used cooking techniques in professional kitchens.

Best for:

• Chicken, steaks, fish, and other proteins that benefit from precise temperature control

• Eggs with specific textures (i.e. jammy yolks)

• Desserts like crème brûlée 

• Root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips

Essential equipment for sous vide:

• A sous vide immersion circulator or water oven

• A large, heatproof container, saucepan, or sous vide bath

• Vacuum-sealable cooking bags

Blanching is a water-based cooking method where food is briefly cooked in boiling water or steam, before being immersed in ice water to rapidly stop the cooking process. This allows for a more controlled cook than boiling food. Blanching is often used as a preparatory step for other cooking techniques, for example to soften or reduce harsh flavours before stir-frying or roasting. 

Best for:

• Peeling tomatoes or peaches, or removing almond skins

• Green vegetables like beans, broccoli, and spinach (to preserve their colour and texture)

• Softening vegetables like carrots or broccoli before stir-frying or roasting

• Preparing ingredients to freeze or can

Essential equipment for blanching:

• A large saucepan for boiling water

• A strainer or slotted spoon

• A bowl for ice water

• A timer for precision

Now that we’ve gone through each of the recognised cooking methods in detail, here’s an easy comparison chart that breaks down the different ways of cooking and when to use them:

By learning how and when to apply the different ways of cooking, you’ll gain the ability to transform ingredients into flavourful, visually appealing, and nutritionally balanced dishes. Whether you’re cooking at home or in a professional kitchen, knowing the best cooking methods for each ingredient will make a world of difference to your final product. 

Here at Mitchell & Cooper, we stock all the kitchenware, cookware, and appliances you’ll need to equip kitchens of any size, including products from top brands such as Bonzer, Bourgeat, KitchenAid, and Nemox. Shop the full range today, or visit our knowledge hub for more tips on all things catering.