Making food for our consumption is an art that has been passed on from generation to generation.

From time to time, this art has been developed to the best standards and practices.

While there’re a variety of cuisines, the same process is applied when cooking. “Stoves or burners are lit up to get flames”.

A pan or pot has to be placed on flames then cooking begins.

A cooking spoon is used for stirring ingredients within the pot or pan.

Steps taken to encourage easy cooking methods will continue, and also be employed. Time spent doing cooking can be reduced if certain techniques are applied.

In our homes, we should practice methods that quicken the way we cook for ourselves or the family.

These days, time is a factor, and as a result, consideration is given to the time we spend doing something.

Knowing some of these ideas will aid quick food preparation at home and in commercial kitchens. The development of these ideas started in the past till today, and further will it continue.

Technologists have developed equipment to aid quick preparation of meals.

Chefs have contributed a lot in ways food preparation can be done timely.

When there is electricity, a microwave device can facilitate the reheating of food in seconds and minutes.

These ideas that enable easy cooking, are something those of us who cook, are aware of or could be aware of.

We’ll be reviewing these easy cooking methods in this blog post:

1. Preheating

Getting things done quickly or fast doesn’t just happen, “there must be a plan to make it happen”.

Doing things to get the desired result in the area of cooking is something that can be developed constantly. 

Why is preheating important? Is there a need to preheat a pan or pot before cooking?

The way to better understand this is when you want to grill something in a pan or saute something in a pot. The reactions you get from a pot or a pan that is preheated with some oil in it are different from a pot or pan with no heat or desired temperature.

Another area is during baking or roasting. The oven has to be preheated, though, ovens have to be set at different temperatures, depending on the item to be cooked, the essence is to stimulate or quicken the cooking process.

To get a quick response during frying, the oil has to be preheated. In commercial kitchens, deep fryer equipment has facilitated the cooking of food ingredients so much.

The device can keep preheated oil on standby mode or ready-to-use mode. A lot of ingredients can be fried without delay during busy moments in the kitchen.       

A preheated salamander will glaze food products faster. When you put food product into a non-preheated salamander, and turn it on, (the salamander), the result can’t be the same unlike when it’s already preheated.

Making a pancake on a preheated flat-top grill will be quicker, grilling of food items on a ready-preheated grill is ideal to achieve quick cooking.

The point is, that preheating at the required temperature before cooking is important to achieve faster results, unlike preheating that isn’t at the required temperature.

Whether at home or in a commercial food preparation place, methods to quicken the food cooking process can reduce the time length of culinary activity.

2. Ready-Boiled Water

When it comes to culinary work, doing things in advance is one area caterers use to facilitate the cooking process.

This method to speed up food preparation is essential. Experienced chefs do this often!

This technique is another means to fasten the cooking process. Getting boiled water ready is one method to make your cooking faster.

For instance, if you are making beef goulash, after sauteing the ingredients in the pot, immediately add your standby-boiled water.

If it’s a meal that’ll take 20 minutes to cook, it’ll take less time, unlike when you start out with cold water.

If you want to cook rice, have water in the pot boiling, before adding the rice, unlike cooking with cold water. If you have an electric kettle, get the water boiled in the kettle, with the washed rice in the pot, add the boiled water.

If you want to economize your gas usage, an electric kettle can assist in doing this — boil water with an electric kettle, and keep it on standby for your cooking.

3. Spices  And Seasonings 

The idea of converting food solids into a powdered substance is one of the food innovations of today.

The device of machinery that processes these substances is a welcomed development.

If you look into shelves or cupboards in domestic or commercial kitchens, you’ll find containers of cooking substances used to spice, season, or flavor dishes.

These containers could come in different shapes and sizes, with different labels of brands on them. 

The labor at factories where these commodities are being processed is worth the effort. Bringing this effort to enable quick food production in culinary work is commendable.

The export and import of these products between countries has become a global business.

These products can be part of consignments in containers on cargo ships sailing to be delivered at worldwide locations.

There’s an assortment of these products: ginger, garlic, nutmeg, etc. Take “fresh ginger” for instance, this ingredient is processed into a dried state, and ground into powdered form.

The development of these food ingredients into ready-made products used to flavor dishes enables easy cooking, or the idea behind their making is to facilitate the cooking process.

The blending of spices is one of the ideas food experts have created to reduce the length of cooking times.

If you have whole or blended nutmeg, and you need to spice a dish with it, which one will be quicker to use?

4. Prepared Meat And Seafood 

The processing of meat items, and getting them packaged in a meat processing plant is another area that has aided the cooking time.

This has reduced the butchery we do domestically, and it has also reduced the butchery that is done in professional kitchens.

Although these services rendered by abattoir businesses are not for free, the concept of commercial butchery services has assisted, both domestic and commercial kitchens a lot.

Refrigerators in homes contain processed meat products that are ready-made for cooking use at any time.

Stocks of processed meat products found in refrigerators in commercial kitchens are huge.

Seafood products can’t be Left out as well.

Supplies of processed packaged meat products that are received in hospitality businesses are on the rise.

Domestic and Commercial kitchen reliance on meat products from abattoir companies is increasing by the day.  

Prepared meals

This concept has established a specialization in the catering business. The reliance on abattoir businesses has come to stay.

This development of cutting and preparing meats in shapes and sizes, and refrigerating them prior to usage, is another means that facilitates the cooking time.

Pork chops, fish fillets, T-bone steaks, etc., the preparation of these items, and making in rations has impacted the way food preparation is done today.

You can purchase a frozen item like a pork chop, thaw it prior to the time of usage, and when it’s time to cook, it’s easy cooking. 

On the other hand, if you have a whole meat item like chicken or fish to debone or cut, undertake their dissection and preparation beforehand to facilitate your cooking.

Do your butchery in advance, portion, arrange the meats, and refrigerate. When it’s time to cook: easy cooking!   

5. Cleaned-Prepared Vegetables 

This aspect has also helped to make cooking of food quicker.

Some companies specialize in the procession of vegetables and the packaging of it.

As vegetables are in direct contact with the soil, cleaning them is necessary before their usage. Getting them ready before cooking takes some time. 

After harvest, vegetables are prone to spoil quickly. The action taken to preserve them before consumption is necessary.

In other words, when vegetables are harvested, the first thing that comes to mind is the preservation of it before consumption.

Factories established for the processing of veggies undertake this task, and the labour in these processing factories is enormous.

You can understand this when you have vegetables with soil on it, or when you harvest crops at the backyard garden or farm at your home.

You know what it takes to prepare and preserve them for your cooking.  

To benefit from these ideas that facilitate cooking, learn to apply methods that reduce the period of time in doing your cooking.

When you get vegetables like “whole carrots”, make out time to peel, dice, or cut them into shapes or sizes that you want. You can even precook or blanch the vegetables, pack and refrigerate it.

Whenever you need it for your cooking, the prepped or prepared carrots are ready to be used.

Assortments of prepped or precooked packaged vegetables are in grocery shops and supermarkets. 

The trend of these products has facilitated not only cooking that is done in homes and restaurants but also, catering that is done at offshore and remote site locations.