Cooking Techniques & Methods Flashcards
7 cards from real Culinary Arts practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cooking Techniques & Methods flashcards as text
What process is used to produce clarified butter (ghee)?
Answer: Gently heating butter and removing the milk solids and water that separate out
Clarified butter is made by melting butter, allowing the milk solids to sink and water to evaporate, then skimming or straining to leave pure butterfat with a higher smoke point.
Why should cooked meat be allowed to rest before carving or serving?
Answer: To allow muscle fibers to relax and juices to redistribute evenly throughout the meat
Heat drives juices toward a meat's center during cooking; resting allows the proteins to relax and juices to redistribute, resulting in a moister cut when sliced.
Carryover cooking refers to:
Answer: The continued rise in internal temperature that occurs after food is removed from the heat source
Carryover cooking happens because residual heat within the food continues to raise the internal temperature even after it is removed from the heat source, which must be accounted for when determining pull temperature.
What is the culinary purpose of deglazing a pan after searing or browning food?
Answer: To dissolve the caramelized fond stuck to the pan and incorporate it into a sauce or jus
Deglazing adds liquid (wine, stock, or water) to a hot pan, dissolving the fond — the concentrated, browned bits — which are packed with flavor and form the base of a pan sauce.
Which mode of heat transfer occurs when food directly contacts a hot cooking surface, such as a grill grate or pan?
Answer: Conduction
Conduction is the direct transfer of heat energy through physical contact between the food and the hot cooking surface.
What distinguishes braising from stewing when using moist-heat cooking methods?
Answer: In braising, food is partially submerged in liquid; in stewing, food is fully submerged and cut into smaller pieces
Braising uses larger cuts partially covered by liquid in a covered vessel, while stewing uses smaller, uniform pieces fully submerged in liquid — both use long, gentle moist heat.
Sweating aromatics such as onions or celery in a recipe means cooking them:
Answer: Over low to medium heat in fat until softened and translucent, without browning
Sweating gently softens aromatics in fat over low-medium heat, releasing their moisture and flavor compounds without the color changes that would alter the dish's flavor profile.