О кулинарии как об искусстве, о её основных законах и мифах

The art of cooking has centuries behind it. His task has always been to satisfy human needs for tasty, well-prepared, varied, and today also healthy food. The most important thing is that the food is healthy, containing all the necessary nutrients and vitamins that the human body needs. And one more element that can be called a separate art is the design of dishes so that they evoke an appetite by their mere appearance.

Cooking Basics

First of all, all products must be natural, fresh and, accordingly, sound. Secondly, when preparing food, you must use the time-tested rules. And in the third, improvisation is always permissible, especially with the ingredients of the dishes. But in the latter case, it must be remembered that many recipes have been tested for centuries, so deviation from the description should be minimal and justified. The main ways to prepare food are:

1. Heat treatment of prepared products, including:
   • frying;
   • sautéing;
   • extinguishing;
   • cooking;
   • drying;
   • smoking;
2. Chemical processing, consisting of:
   • salting;
   • soaking;
   • pickling;
   • fermenting.

After chemical processing, products are often a kind of semi-finished products that can be used in the future not only as a light snack, but also as full-fledged meals after heat treatment. For example, you can make a hodgepodge or cook cabbage soup from sauerkraut, and pickled cucumbers will be an excellent addition to salads or raw materials for pickle.

Cooking Laws Requiring Compliance

There are several of them, and they read:

1. Cooking technology should be waste-free. That is, the ingredients should be used so that as little waste as possible goes to the bin. For example, when dealing with fish, you need to separate the head, fins and tail, fry or boil the carcass, and boil broth on the so-called waste, which will make a delicious soup.
2. Cook so that nutrients are fully absorbed. For example, do not overcook the meat, since it is not absorbed by the body in this state, but also stew it directly with side dishes: carrots, cabbage and potatoes. By eating such a dish, a person will receive more benefits than from separately prepared ingredients.
3. The food should keep biologically active substances, contained, for example, in vegetable oils. However, when the oil is heated, they are destroyed, therefore, it is better to use animal fats when heat-treating products.
4. Foods should be intelligently combined in every meal, so that the body gets everything it needs with food.
5. The menu should be varied, if a person does not follow special diets. But even in the latter case, a good cook will find the best options.
6. It is desirable to diversify the taste, color, smell of food. Today there is a large selection of spices, thanks to which a new «zest» can appear in a familiar dish.

As follows from the foregoing, the fast food that is now widespread is inadequate, so you should give preference to home cooking and proven healthy recipes, while observing all the rules of cooking.

Culinary myths

Since cooking as an art and profession has existed for more than one century, around it, as well as around any other direction, there are enough myths that are taken for truth. Some of them, in some cases, may be justified, but it's time to stop believing in others. We are talking about statements:

1. After cooking, rinse the paste under running cold water.
2. Chicken skin collects all harmful substances, is very oily, and cannot be eaten. On the contrary, the skin, due to the content of certain fats and substances, is healthier than pure meat.
3. Vitamins are lost during cooking vegetables. No, they partially pass into the broth, but most of them remain in the product.
4. The microwave oven destroys nutrients. Not at all. Heating is carried out according to the principle of movement of water in the product, it does not affect vitamins and microelements.
5. All sweet desserts are harmful to the body. Not really. In large quantities, nothing will do anything, not even meat. Sweets, in which there are, honey and fructose, as well as ice cream, meringues, etc. may even be useful if you don't overdo it.

In addition to these, there are many other myths, but you should not listen to everyone. Some of them arose on the basis of isolated cases under special conditions, so it is advisable to observe the basic culinary laws, and otherwise do as experience and intuition dictate.