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I am trying to build up a list of all the cooking methods which can be used to cook something, including terms used in the stages of the cooking process used to cook such food. Here is what I have come up with so far:

  • boiling
  • simmering
  • steaming
  • poaching
  • sweating
  • braising
  • frying
  • shallow-frying
  • stir-frying
  • deep-frying
  • refrying
  • toasting
  • broiling
  • stewing
  • charbroiling
  • grilling
  • sauteéing
  • browning
  • baking
  • marinading
  • pickling
  • macerating

Is there anything else which can be added to this list (or where can I find a complete list of these in English (I expect these terms to differ a little bit from language to language, even with some incompatibilities, given that different cultures are associated with cooking methods that to some extent would differ), and if such book or other source is proprietary than could someone please quote from it and post an answer)? Thanks.

Jack Maddington
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is a poll – TFD Jun 28 '15 at 10:01
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    Defined very broadly since they don't all involve heat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cooking_techniques – goldilocks Jun 28 '15 at 10:55
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    Jack, I know that you are new here and don't know how the site works yet. Closing a question is not something personal, it just means "this question is out of our scope". It is done because we know that certain types of question don't work well with this format, producing bad collections of answer in which nobody can orient themselves. One very common type are "list" questions. They end up incomplete, ridden of duplicates, and voting does not help the best answer to rise to the top because there is no best answer, per definition. This is why we have a rule that they should be closed. – rumtscho Jun 28 '15 at 12:04
  • Thanks @goldilocks. The Wikipedia page you point to is, and will be very useful, now and in the future. – Jack Maddington Jun 28 '15 at 15:42
  • related (but also closed) : http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/47434/67 – Joe Jun 28 '15 at 18:25

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I think any "exhaustive" list here is bound to be arbitrary. Some of your own categories overlap (e.g., frying, plus several subcategories of such); so, e.g., is "slow cooking" a cooking method or is it the same as simmering? Is frying in a wok (aka. stir frying) a distinct method from what you call "shallow-frying"? I would say it is, which makes me think of your other question regarding "frying in water": Could it have a distinct name as a style of boiling or streaming? I don't see why not, but I do not think there is one.

Anyway, here's a few:

Finally, although it does not involve heat and thus might not be "cooking", marinading ceviche, since it achieves the same denaturation via acid, still seems like a form of cooking to me.

I'd think baking has a lot of distinct subcategories too -- what does a waffle iron count as?

Community
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goldilocks
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  • Sorry, couldn't find a dictionary entry for [basting in Merriam-Webster Dictionary](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bast) assuming one has to look up the verb "to bast". Could you please provide a reference? Thanks. – Jack Maddington Jun 28 '15 at 15:40
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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basting_(cooking) It's usually combined with roasting. – goldilocks Jun 28 '15 at 15:54
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    Thanks for the link. That will do. I've also added three more terms to the bottom of the list. Let us know if you can think of anything else. Thanks. – Jack Maddington Jun 28 '15 at 16:00
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    I added *reducing* above, since that is pretty distinct from boiling. – goldilocks Jun 28 '15 at 17:40
  • Isn't reducing just the opposite of oxidizing (either one or the other takes place in a chemical reaction). Or is the term used differently here, or perhaps connected to the chemistry meaning in some not-so-obvious way? – Jack Maddington Jun 28 '15 at 20:05
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    I think the reactions taking place in a reduction would depend on what's in the liquid, although primarily it's just about vapourization. E.g., you take equal parts light stock and balsamic vinegar or orange juice, boil it down to 1/4 - 1/5 the volume, and you are left with a sweet sauce good for glazing, etc. They can get as complicated as soups, but the general principle is that you're cooking something down from mostly water to a syrup, including possibly dissolving things in it. – goldilocks Jun 30 '15 at 11:52