Sweating (cooking)

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Vegetables being sweated, showing a lack of browning Vegetables being sweated.jpg
Vegetables being sweated, showing a lack of browning

Sweating in cooking is the gentle heating of vegetables in a little oil or butter, with frequent stirring and turning to ensure that any emitted liquid will evaporate. [1] Sweating usually results in tender, sometimes translucent, pieces. [2] Sweating is often a preliminary step to further cooking in liquid; [1] onions, in particular, are often sweated before including in a stew. [lower-alpha 1] This differs from sautéing in that sweating is done over a much lower heat, [2] sometimes with salt added to help draw moisture away, and making sure that little or no browning takes place. [2] [4]

Contents

The sweating of vegetables has been used as a technique in the preparation of coulis. [5]

In Italy, this cooking technique is known as soffritto, meaning "sub-frying" or "under-frying". [1] In Italian cuisine, it is a common technique and preliminary step in the preparation of risotto, soups and sauces. [1]

See also

Notes

  1. "While European cooks start most stews by gently sweating aromatic vegetables such as onions, carrots, celery, and garlic as a gently flavored mirepoix or soffritto, most Indian cooks rely most heavily on onions. And instead of the gentle ..." [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ruhlman, M.; Ruhlman, D.T. (2011). Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto. Chronicle Books LLC. p. 69. ISBN   978-1-4521-1045-5 . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Marcus, J.B. (2019). Aging, Nutrition and Taste: Nutrition, Food Science and Culinary Perspectives for Aging Tastefully. Elsevier Science. p. 241. ISBN   978-0-12-813528-0 . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  3. Peterson, J. (2017). Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, Fourth Edition. HMH Books. p. pt800. ISBN   978-0-544-81983-2 . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  4. Kish, K.; Erickson, M. (2017). Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques. Crown Publishing Group. p. 28. ISBN   978-0-553-45976-0 . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  5. Chapelle, Vincent La (1733). The Modern Cook. N. Prevost. p. 92. Retrieved February 10, 2021.