Searing
Searing is a brief cooking process that exposes food to intense heat, browning its surface while leaving the interior less cooked.
Maillard reaction: A set of chemical reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars that creates browned colors and complex flavors. It produces many of searing’s characteristic browned aromas and flavors.
Pan-frying: A cooking method that cooks food in a shallow layer of hot fat in a pan. Pan-frying commonly includes searing, though it usually cooks the food more fully.
Braising: A method that slowly cooks food in a small amount of liquid in a covered vessel. Braising uses moist, prolonged heat rather than searing’s brief surface-focused heat.
Cast iron cookware: Cookware made from cast iron, valued for its heat capacity and durability. Its substantial heat capacity helps maintain pan temperature when food is added.
Flavor: The combined sensory experience of taste, aroma, and related sensations in food. Browning reactions add roasted, savory, and sometimes bitter notes to seared food.
Caramelization: The thermal decomposition of sugars, producing brown pigments and new flavors. Sugars in seared foods can brown through this process alongside Maillard reactions.
Grilling: A cooking method that exposes food to heat from below or above, often over an open flame. Grills can sear food through intense radiant heat and hot grate contact.
Steaming: A cooking method that heats food with water vapor. Steam cooks food without creating the dry, intensely heated surface needed for browning.
Stainless steel cookware: Cookware made primarily from steel alloys that resist corrosion and tolerate high heat. A preheated stainless-steel pan provides a durable surface for browning food.
Food texture: The physical qualities of food perceived through touch, chewing, and mouthfeel. Searing can create a firmer, browned exterior beside a softer interior.