There are several terms in cooking that are not always clear to a novice home cook who has just embarked on this blessed path. In complex and simple culinary recipes, the word “sauté” is often used. This is one such way of preparing a product that requires a closer look. What is it - frying, stewing or some other process of heat treatment of a dish (usually one of its ingredients)? Let's figure it out together.
Sauteing is extraction
The term itself comes from the French word passer, meaning “to pass some time.” The essence of the process is processing in fat, oil, in which the product (mainly vegetables) undergoes extraction. What does this mean? During the extraction process, coloring and aromatic substances are transferred into fat (for example, into vegetable oil), and the product itself (for example, onions) undergoes softening and becomes tender and tasty, as if revealing all its internal advantages. If we talk about sautéed onions, then excessive sharpness and bitterness disappear from it, and it becomes soft and delicate in taste, acquiring a special, refined aroma. That is why this process is often used in haute European cooking.
Browning and sautéing
Sometimes in recipes the term “passivation” or “passivate” appears. But this is a grammatical error, since this word is from the category of sports terms and means in acrobatics, for example, “to prevent a fall, to insure when jumping.” In the first case when the letter “e” is used, it is a culinary term.
Determining the value
The most accurate definition of the meaning of the word can be found in the culinary dictionary of a famous historian and practitioner of culinary art. Sautéing is the frying of finely chopped vegetables over low heat in a fairly large amount of oil or fat until the product is soft. It is important to avoid sudden frying, burning, or crust formation.
What is being sautéed
This heat treatment is applied mainly to root vegetables, in particular carrots and beets. Onions are no exception. And they do this for the sole purpose of identifying and emphasizing the characteristic taste and color (remember about extraction), which, as was noted in ancient times, are enhanced during such frying. For example, sautéed onions are used in many European dishes, baked goods, and side dishes.
Example: onions and carrots
Take a frying pan with well-heated vegetable oil (to about 120 degrees). We use sunflower, olive, and corn. Peel a couple of medium onions and chop finely. Place in hot oil. Fry for a couple of minutes over moderate heat. Add grated carrots there. We make sure that the vegetables do not burn, but soften softly (but do not cook) and “open up”. When the onion becomes transparent and a little golden, and the carrots are soft, then it’s time to turn it off. Vegetables can be added in this form to soups, fillings, and other dishes.
By the way, sautéing is a universal process. This effect can also be applied to fish cut into small pieces, as well as other products that have the property of quick cooking.
How to sauté flour?
In some recipes of various varieties, flour is also subjected to similar heat treatment. This is done to season soups or sauces. There are white, red and cold sauté:
- White. During the process of frying and simmering, flour does not lose its natural (white) color.
- Red. The flour takes on a darkish, golden color (usually used for seasoning red sauces).
- Cold. Flour is mixed with oil without heating or frying.
Each of us is familiar with culinary failures - sticky pasta, meat that most closely resembles a piece of old rubber, unbaked pies and a million other “masterpieces” that make us disappointed in our own abilities.
We have collected for you several typical mistakes of novice chefs, avoiding which will turn you into a cooking guru. At least they should.
Rinse pasta
Rinsing pasta with cold water after cooking can make any Italian faint - after all, valuable starch remains on its surface, which helps the sauce to be absorbed better. Moreover, Italian housewives use the water in which pasta was cooked to dilute sauces that are too thick.
Cook tomatoes with other vegetables
One of the most common mistakes novice cooks make is putting tomatoes in a dish along with potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. The acid contained in tomatoes slows down the cooking process of other vegetables, which can cause the dish to take longer to cook. For the same reason, vinegar is added to dishes when the dish is almost ready to be served.
Salt the broth at the beginning of cooking
Everything is very simple here - if you salt the broth at the very beginning of cooking, then there is a risk of getting a very salty dish, since the water will boil away during cooking. By the way, the secret to a delicious broth is to put the meat in cold water. But if you plan to cook excellent meat, then the water intended for its preparation should boil.
Use a blender to mash potatoes
A blender, of course, is an excellent assistant in preparing a lot of dishes, but not when it comes to mashed potatoes. The most delicious “mass” is obtained if you make it the old fashioned way, using a masher, and then beat with a regular fork. By the way, professional chefs carefully drain all the water in which the potatoes were boiled and even dry them directly in the pan.
Use too little or too much spices
Chefs have a joke that an under-salted dish is much worse than an over-salted one. The same applies to any seasonings and spices - their lack can affect the quality of the dish, literally depriving it of taste. But you shouldn’t put all the spices that you find on the shelves - “over” in this case is just as bad as “under”.
Put a lot of toppings on pizza
At first glance, it may seem that the more toppings on a pizza, the more beautiful and tastier it turns out. However, this is not true - when preparing pizza, it is better to strictly adhere to the amount of ingredients indicated in the recipe. This way you can get a crispy dough that will not sag and will give you the opportunity to eat pizza with your hands - just like they do in its homeland.
Boil dough products in a small amount of water
Pasta, dumplings, dumplings and other dough products must be boiled in plenty of water. If there is not enough water, then the dough risks turning into a paste, and then instead of an appetizing dish, you will get something that least of all resembles a tasty meal. In addition, pasta or dumplings will stick not only to each other, but also to the walls of the pan, and washing it, you see, is still a pleasure.
Chop the onion in advance
Finely chopped onions become bitter very quickly, so dishes with them also begin to taste bitter. The same thing can happen if you cut an onion with a dull knife. Therefore, you need to chop the onion right before placing it in the dish and only with a sharply sharpened knife.
Cut steak meat along the grain
Even the best meat can be successfully turned into a real “shoe sole” if you cut it along the grain. When frying, such pieces will shrink and become very tough. To avoid this, the meat must be cut across the grain - then it will not change its shape during cooking and will remain soft.
Quench soda with vinegar
Despite the fact that our grandmothers used this technique, it has no practical meaning. During quenching, all the carbon dioxide, which was supposed to give the dough airiness, goes into the air, but the soda that remained unquenched during this chemical experiment is responsible for raising the dough. In one of the old recipes, to make the dough airy, it is recommended to use this technique: dissolve a spoonful of soda in 1/4 glass of water, and a teaspoon of citric acid in another glass with the same amount of water, and then add it to the dough.
Bake potatoes immediately after cutting
Agree, baked potato wedges with a crispy crust look very appetizing. On the picture. In practice, achieving such a crust can be very difficult. However, if you soak the slices in cold water for a couple of hours before placing them on a baking sheet, the excess starch will disappear, and after baking the potatoes will look exactly like those in the pages of culinary magazines.
Cook vegetables for a long time
Even if you're not a fan of al dente dishes, it's worth remembering that all green vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach, do not tolerate long cooking. Therefore, to prepare them, a culinary technique such as blanching is used - short-term heat treatment in boiling water. The duration varies from 2 to 5 minutes and depends on the selected vegetables. This method of preparation will not only preserve their taste and color, but also minimize the loss of vitamins.
Sauté onions and carrots at the same time
One of the most common mistakes when creating a sauté for soup (mistakenly called "sautéing") is putting the onions and carrots in the pan at the same time. In fact, you need to add the onion first, wait until it starts to become translucent, and only then add the carrots. The secret is simple: contrary to popular belief, onions take longer to cook, and when they burn, they acquire a bitter taste, which is transferred to the dish.
Skip sugar when preparing savory dishes
We are, of course, not talking about adding sugar to the soup in the proportions used for making jam. However, a small pinch of sugar in borscht, solyanka, goulash or other dishes - especially those containing acidic ingredients like tomatoes - can qualitatively improve the taste. By the way, this rule also works in the opposite direction - a pinch of salt in sweet dough dishes gives the baked goods a richer taste.
Since childhood, I hated fried onions. Any dish, even the most delicious, if it contained fried onions, immediately turned into disgusting in my eyes. Perhaps I would have suffered like this all my life, but, fortunately, I was told how to fry onions correctly and, since then, fried onions have turned from a means of torture into an exquisite taste and an invariable component of recipes.
- 1 onion
- 100 ml oil
Chop the onion (in half rings or small pieces), place in a frying pan, add oil. Place on higher than medium heat.
Fry for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
At this stage, as a rule, it is considered that the onion is ready. Which is undoubtedly a mistake.
Increase the heat to high and constantly stir the onion (5-10 minutes) until it looks like this:
Onions fried until golden brown have an exquisite golden color and a very pleasant sweet taste.
Meat fried with such onions has a much more pleasant taste. In all kinds of soups it is almost unnoticeable, but the taste, on the contrary, improves. Well, mashed potatoes with such onions are a completely different dish!
Of course, onions fried in this way take more time, but this time is worth spending for an excellent result.
When preparing frying for a simple soup, pickle soup, cabbage soup or borscht, a second course, in a salad or as an ingredient for baking, the question often arises of what to fry onions or carrots first. Some home cooks fry the onion, then add chopped carrots, others do the opposite. How to fry and sauté correctly?
Ingredients
According to the usual recipe, to prepare the frying, you will need the following ingredients: one or two onions, carrots (one piece), 3 large tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Tip: Vegetables need to be fried to enhance the aroma and taste of the broth or other dish; also fried carrots and onions improve the color of the food, which becomes brighter and richer.
In addition to onions and carrots, depending on the dish and recipe, the following are added: tomatoes or tomato paste, bell peppers, and garlic. If desired, you can fry: any edible mushrooms, sausage, celery root, parsnips, a little spices to taste. It is possible to add chopped white cabbage and potato slices. Vegetables can be taken rationed, or you can “by eye”, and more of what you like.
To make the soup more nutritious, you can use salted or smoked lard instead of oil for frying vegetables. If this option is not suitable, instead of vegetable oil, you can take butter or a little melted animal fat.
Sometimes the frying is not prepared, the vegetables are chopped and sent raw to a broth or other dish. The onion should be added to the soup 10 minutes beforehand. until ready, and carrots for 15, since the onion is more tender, it takes less time to cook. A dish with boiled foods will be easier.
The frying is added to the soup at the end of cooking, about 5 minutes, otherwise it will simply boil over.
Preparation
Place a frying pan or saucepan on the stove in medium mode, pour in the oil. It will take 1 or 2 minutes to warm up. The peeled onion is finely chopped or divided into half rings; if you like, you can cut it into cubes.
In medium heat, first fry the onions, this will take about three minutes. If you fry the carrots first, remove them, and then add and fry the onions, then you can’t even dream of a golden crust, which gives the best taste and aroma to the food. Therefore, it would be correct to fry onion rings or pieces, stirring constantly to ensure even frying, then add carrots, grated on a coarse grater or thin half-circles of carrots, cut with a special vegetable knife, or an ordinary kitchen knife, but sharply sharpened. Fry everything together for 5 minutes. at high heat, with constant stirring, when the degree of browning that you individually want appears, the frying is transferred to a plate, then to a dish, or directly to food.
Experienced chefs recommend finely chopping the onion, coarsely grating the carrots, mixing thoroughly with your hands, and quickly throwing the vegetables into a hot frying pan with slightly smoking oil, then you can achieve a brownish golden hue of sautéed vegetables. If you want caramelized onions, then they are thrown into the frying first. When carrots are placed first, sweet juice will be released during the process; when fried, it can spoil the taste of the food and prevent the onions from frying, so you need to be careful and careful when frying.
You can sauté onions and carrots together by adding a little water to the container. If you fry in one frying pan at the same time, it is better to grate the carrots; the chopped vegetable will take longer to cook.
You can fry vegetables at the same time, but in different frying pans of two adjacent burners. Which product to fry first and which second also depends on what dish the fried vegetables will be used in. But if the onion is the first, then the aroma of the dish will be more appetizing; carrots do not give such a smell.
In beet borscht, try to fry the carrots and onions together by mixing them in a saucepan and continuing to stir periodically for 10 minutes. Pour in coarsely grated raw beets and add 2 large tablespoons of oil. Fry the mixture for another 10 minutes, the heat is set to medium, after the allotted time for frying, the mode is switched to low, half of the broth is poured into the vegetables, the frying is simmered under the lid for about 10 minutes, before the end of cooking the borscht, the prepared vegetable composition is placed in it.
For pickle, onions and carrots are fried for 10 minutes. in medium fire mode or 7 min. over high heat. Then pickled or pickled cucumbers, grated or chopped with a knife, are poured into the frying pan; fry the mixture for 5 minutes. Add a little butter and half the broth, cover with a lid, set the heat to low, 10 minutes. stewed. The roast is placed in the pickle 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
If you want a more satisfying soup, you can add a little flour while frying vegetables, stirring constantly. You can prepare a snack from carrots, which is enriched with carotene and vitamin A, useful for diets, for children and the elderly. In this recipe, coarsely grated carrots are fried first, always in hot vegetable oil.
Next, thin onion half rings are laid out, the mixture is mixed and fried for about 8 or 11 minutes. Next, add bell pepper, cut into squares, throw in bay leaves, ground black pepper, salt if desired, mix everything and stir-fry for 10 or 12 minutes. The finished carrots are placed in a salad bowl; sprigs of parsley and dill can be placed on top. Fried carrots are consumed both hot and cooled with bread and meat.