“A spatula takes a month to learn, a knife takes three months to master, but the heat and temperature takes a lifetime to perfect.”
Achieving precision with cooking heat & temperature control is the paramount and formidable aspect of mastering cooking.
To be a chef, one must master the cooking heat & temperature applied to a dish.
Skillful regulation of cooking temperatures guarantees that ingredients are cooked to perfection, resulting in a well-balanced dish that embodies the ideal characteristics of color, aroma, flavor, shape and nutritional value.
For example, chicken and pork need to simmer for a longer time over a low temperature to make more tender and juicier.
One must understand the fire and the cooking temperature fully to master the cooking well.
It’s essential for all to understand the concept of cooking temperature levels. The cooking temperature is made of heat energy by firing the fuel such as the petroleum, the gas, the natural gas and the wood or the heat from electricity appliances.
We can test and monitor the cooking temperature in real time by using thermometers such as JIMUTO instant read thermometer, which can help us adjust the cooking fire/heat and temperature to the needed level more easily based on practical needs.
THE COOKING TEMPERATURE IS DYNAMIC
Generally, or in most of scenarios, it is not easy to keep the cooking temperature stayed in the same number for a relatively long-time range, because the heat from the fire is not constant. Thus, the cooking temperature is dynamic and we need thermometers such as JIMUTO instant read thermometer to make the real-time monitoring and adjustment on time based on needs. Yet, maybe we can use those cooking appliances which are powered by electricity to achieve the stable cooking temperature, but as for most of practical cooking scenarios such as BBQ and grilling, if we use those appliances, we will lose lots of cooking fun or even the meal.
THE MASTER OF COOKING TEMPERATURE LEVELS
Mastering the cooking temperature levels is a real and hard test for a chef, especially for home cooking lovers. They have to control different cooking temperature levels for different ingredients’ characteristics such as their type, shape, amount and ripeness or even control the cooking temperature with different levels for the different cooking processes of a same dish. To cook complex dishes or ingredients masterfully. Chefs have to master different levels of cooking temperatures skillfully and sophisticatedly.
RULES OF HEAT LEVELS AND TIMING FOR DIFFERENT COOKING SCENARIOS
Large ingredients with touch textures: needs low heat and a longer time to cook;
Dishes with crispy exterior and tender interior: need a period of high-temperature cooking;
Dishes which need softness and stickiness need a gentle and long cooking process, applying either a medium or low heat is the best cooking method for those dishes.