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I am new to cooking and I was always wondering if there is a study for the amount of time to cook different type of styles:

  1. What are the most basic ingredients to make a batter for deep frying?
  2. What are common cooking times for different type of meats and fish (just fliets, nothing too complicated)?
  3. What are the basic ingridients and time for curry?
  4. What are the most basic ingridients for pasta sauce?

A lot of this knowledge seems to come from recipes, but I was wondering if there is a name for this (food chemistry? food science?) or a source where I can find "all" (or most common) the methods to treat basic (primary) materials (meat, dairy, vegtables, fruits etc.)

I know there exist recipe books but I am looking for the very basics where no "flavour" or "taste" is involved. i.e. where the primary knowledge I need to know about cooking different types of food.

Snifkes
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    Possible duplicate of [Resources that explain the science of cooking?](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/9657/resources-that-explain-the-science-of-cooking) – Tetsujin Dec 02 '19 at 17:37
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    If no "flavour" or "taste" is involved, what is your goal? You can eat just about anything edible prepared just about any way if you don't care how it tastes. – Taylor Pope Dec 02 '19 at 18:32
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    Your example questions have "answers" that will teach you nothing. 1) Flour & water. 2) 4 minutes. 3) Onion, curry powder. 4) Olive oil. Until you know the rest, the simplification is actually guaranteed to "fail". – Tetsujin Dec 02 '19 at 18:52

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It seems to me that Ratio meets your needs:

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking Paperback – Sep 7 2010 by Michael Ruhlman (Author)

Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor.

Amazon's related titles and "customers also bought" features will probably also be helpful here.

Kate Gregory
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There are many cookbooks that talk about basics of cooking, not just lists of recipes. "Salt Fat Acid Heat" and "Joy of Cooking" are popular two such books. If you're looking specifically for the science of cooking, "Cooking for Geeks" focuses on that aspect.

Taylor Pope
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