Sautéing
In this post, we will assess the sautéing cooking method. It is a dry cooking method.
With this method, you cook with a little oil at high temperatures alongside flipping the food on the pan. This cooking method is fit for an extensive range of foods, including meat and vegetables, for example, fish, pork, peppers, courgettes. Certain vegetables e.g. yams, cassava, potatoes that take longer to cook may be boiled before being sautéed.
The cooking is usually done on a frying pan that has a wide surface to prevent over-crowding and to allow for browning. Food items to be sautéed should be dry. The food is usually tossed either with a spoon or flipped.
How To Sauté
- The particular food is shredded to uniform pieces to allow for browning quickly and evenly. Recommandably, vegetables should be cut to larger sizes to reduce nutrient loss.
- The pan should be heated at high temperatures prior to adding the fat. Then fat should also be heated before placing the food.
- Place the food into pan, toss it periodically. The regularity of tossing or flipping food items is dependant of food being cooked. For example, larger cuts of meat should cook for longer before tossing while pieces of vegetables can be tossed more regularly. Though the tossing should not be done too often for food to cook properly. This is because constantly tossing the food reduces the temperatures causing food to cook even slower. Other ingredients that add flavour e.g. spices can be added while stirring to prevent from burning.The ingredients should also be cut uniformly for them to cook evenly.
A well- sautéed food is crispy and brown on surface.
Comparison With Other Almost Similar Cooking Methods
The sautéing method is different from searing because the food’s interior actually cooks unlike searing that only browns the surface of food. Additionally, unlike frying that involves food cooking with heat from oil used, sautéing involves cooking with heat from pan.
Sautéing And Nutrient Value
Nutrient loss is unlikely because cooking duration is short. The oil or fat used enhances the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin K etc.