Chapter Four

Cooking Methods

for Maximum Flavor

and Nutrition

T

hanks to the Internet, recipes are a dime a dozen, but their availability

doesn’t mean they will teach you how to cook. That’s because cooking is

more about method than about measured ingredients. When you know

how to cook, the ingredients you choose become a matter of personal taste—and

seasonal availability.

The enjoyment of food is, of course, a sensual pleasure that I’ve spelled out

for years using the acronym TACT: taste, aroma, color, and texture. It’s true that

all plants have those attributes in their raw state, and most can be relished just as

they are or in combination with others.

The entire purpose of cooking means you submit raw foods to heat, either dry,

such as roasting, or moist, as in steaming. Heat releases diff erent flavors and aro­

mas and changes the food’s color and texture. And over the past 50 years, I have

made it my business to study and compare these dry and moist cooking methods,

seeking out those that provide the most balanced results. Note that I didn’t say

most enjoyable.

The biggest challenges in cooking come with what we add to raw ingredients,

either by way of the cooking method (see “Deep-Fry” on page 56) or by fl avor

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