It’s understandable why cooking students might be focused on the idea of health while working in the kitchen. After all, they understand heat and how it could potentially strip away all of the nutritional benefits that are typically associated with certain foods. As a result, certain culinary methods may be put to use more than others. Fortunately, one of the better methods, as far as health is concerned, has to be sautéing.
Why is it that this particular method works so well, you may wonder? What is it about sautéing that helps it to stand out from other culinary methods? Here are three of the biggest talking points of sautéing to consider before getting started in the kitchen.
Cooking with oil helps seal in nutrients
One of the reasons why sautéing works well as a healthy cooking method is because of the ingredients. This goes far beyond the mushrooms, vegetables, or legumes that may be incorporated. What should be focused on is the oil that is incorporated. For those who do not know, cooking oil can better seal in nutrients that might have otherwise been lost during the cooking process. While coconut oil may be viewed by many as the best option, just about any oil with monounsaturated fats is worth taking into consideration. It’s important to stay mindful of any oil’s smoke point, though. If the product is heated past said point, its nutrients are stripped away. As a result, the oil is rendered meaningless.
Ingredients are cooked more effectively
Another reason to support sautéing is that the ingredients themselves are smaller. For example, if you plan to incorporate chicken into whatever dish you are trying to create, chances are that you will have to bring them down into more bite-sized portions. The reason for this is because sautéing requires the food to not only be tasty, but tender as well. Just about everyone has had a meal where they have to stop and say, “This wasn’t cooked the entire way through.” If you are having difficulty eating a sautéed meal, chances are that it was not prepared effectively. Fortunately, smaller ingredients can be cooked the entire way through faster. For the sake of effective sautéing, bite-sized ingredients are the ones to keep in mind.
Sautéing requires one’s undivided attention
Chefs at any of the best cooking schools in New York will be able to tell you that food stands a chance of sticking when being sautéed. Fortunately, there are many methods that can be learned from establishments like the Institute of Culinary Education, and one of them is to consistently move the pan. When food settles, it stands the chance of sticking to whatever surface it is being cooked on, regardless of how clean it is. You can usually tell when the food in a pan has to be shaken or stirred, since it may start to smoke. This method will ensure that fewer ingredients stick, and that they will be cooked fully, which ultimately leads to better meals.
*Photo Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Saut%C3%A9ed_snow_pea_shoots%2C_Mayflower_Restaurant.jpg