Different Types of Cooking Methods and Techniques: A Chart

The different types of cooking methods and techniques make far more sense once you stop memorising a list and start asking two questions about any dish: how is heat reaching the food, and is water part of the process? A seared steak and a pot of soup can sit on neighbouring burners, yet they behave in opposite ways. One cooks in fat and hot metal, while the other cooks in liquid that can never get hotter than boiling.

This guide sorts the main methods into families and explains what each one does to food. It gives you a chart to compare them side by side, then walks through choosing a method for real ingredients. It finishes with the mistakes that turn good intentions into grey meat and soggy vegetables.

What are the different types of cooking methods and techniques?

Cooks and culinary schools usually group the different types of cooking methods and techniques into three categories:

• Dry heat: hot air, hot metal, open flame, radiant heat or hot fat cooks the food, with no water as the cooking medium.
• Moist heat: the food cooks in or over water, stock, wine or steam.
• Combination: the food is browned with dry heat first, then finished slowly in liquid.

The split matters because of temperature. Water boils at 212°F (100°C) at sea level, and a little lower at altitude, so anything cooked in liquid or steam stays near that point. Dry heat has no such ceiling. A pan, an oven or a pot of oil can run far hotter, and that extra heat drives browning.

Cooks call this browning the Maillard reaction. It is a set of reactions between proteins and sugars at the food’s surface that creates the brown crust and savoury flavour on toast, roast chicken and seared mushrooms. Sugars on their own also caramelise at high heat. The result is a clear trade-off: moist heat cooks gently and evenly but leaves food pale, while dry heat builds flavour on the surface but can dry out the inside.

How heat actually moves

Three mechanisms sit underneath every method, and most methods mix them:

• Conduction: heat passes by direct contact, from burner to pan to food. Searing is mostly conduction.
• Convection: a moving fluid (air, water or oil) carries heat around the food. Boiling, deep-frying and fan ovens rely on it.
• Radiation: heat travels as infrared energy from a glowing source, such as a broiler element or hot charcoal, straight onto the food’s surface.

Methods versus techniques

People use the two words interchangeably, but it helps to separate them. A method is how heat is applied: roasting, poaching, braising. A technique is a skill that makes a method work. Examples include patting meat dry before searing and deglazing, which means loosening the browned bits stuck to a pan with a splash of liquid. Basting, resting meat after cooking, and cutting vegetables to an even size so they finish together are techniques too. For the prep side of that, see our guide to food cooking techniques and prep skills.

Dry-heat cooking methods

Within the different types of cooking methods and techniques, dry heat is the largest family and the one most responsible for flavour. One point surprises people: cooking in fat counts as dry heat. Oil contains no water, it gets much hotter than boiling, and it browns food. So sautéing, stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying all belong here.

Roasting and baking

Roasting is a dry-heat method. Food sits in an oven and is surrounded by hot air, with some radiant heat from the walls and conduction from the pan. “Roasting” usually describes meat, poultry and vegetables, and “baking” describes breads, cakes, casseroles and fish, but the physics are the same.

Roasting suits tender cuts and vegetables that benefit from a browned exterior. Use a rack, or spread food out, so air can circulate. Crowded vegetables steam in their own moisture instead of browning.

Grilling and broiling

Grilling cooks food over a heat source, and broiling cooks it under one. Both rely heavily on radiant heat and are fast and intense. That makes them right for thinner, tender foods: steaks, chops, burgers, fish fillets, peppers and zucchini.

On a grill, a two-zone setup gives you more control. Keep one side hot and the other cooler, so you can sear food and then move it across to finish without burning. Under a broiler, rack distance is your heat dial. Move food closer for quick colour, and lower it for thicker food that needs more time.

Sautéing and stir-frying

Sautéing means cooking small or thin pieces quickly in a little fat in a hot, wide pan, moving them often. Stir-frying is a close cousin done in a wok with constant tossing, which spreads very high heat over a curved surface.

Both depend on preparation. Have everything cut, measured and within reach before the pan heats. The French call this habit mise en place, “everything in its place”.

Pan-frying and shallow-frying

Pan-frying uses more fat than sautéing, and the food is moved less so a crust can form. Shallow-frying adds enough oil to come partway up the food, as with breaded cutlets or fritters, which are usually turned once.

A heavy pan holds its heat better when cold food goes in. Cast iron is a good choice, and our guide on caring for cast iron pans covers how to keep one ready to use.

Deep-frying

Deep-frying submerges food in hot oil, so heat reaches every surface at once by convection. Results are fast and evenly crisp, but it is the least forgiving method at home. Oil that is too cool gives greasy food. Oil that is too hot burns the outside before the inside is done.

Use a deep, heavy pot filled no more than about halfway with oil. Keep a thermometer in the pot to hold the temperature your recipe specifies, and never leave hot oil unattended.

Moist-heat cooking methods

Moist heat is the gentle side of the different types of cooking methods and techniques. Because the liquid stays near boiling, it is hard to scorch food, and heat reaches the centre evenly. The trade-off is that nothing browns. Flavour has to come from the liquid, the seasoning or a separate browning step.

Boiling

Boiling means a rolling boil, with large bubbles breaking the surface constantly. It is the right choice for pasta, for blanching green vegetables and for reducing a sauce quickly. It is usually the wrong choice for meat, fish and eggs, which turn tough or rubbery when the water churns hard around them.

Simmering

Simmering is a step down from boiling. Small bubbles rise gently and break the surface only now and then. Stocks, soups, beans, sauces and much of the “boiling” called for in recipes are really simmering. When a recipe says to bring something to a boil and then reduce the heat, the real cooking happens at the simmer.

Poaching

Poaching is gentler still: the liquid barely trembles, with few or no bubbles. It suits delicate foods such as eggs, fish fillets, chicken breasts and fruit. Cooks often flavour the poaching liquid with aromatics or wine so the food picks up some character from it.

Steaming

Steaming cooks food above boiling water, surrounded by vapour rather than sitting in liquid. Vegetables keep their shape and colour, fish stays moist, and dumplings cook without falling apart. Keep the lid on, leave space for the steam to circulate, and check the pot so it does not boil dry.

Blanching and shocking

Blanching is a brief dip in boiling, well-salted water. It is usually followed by “shocking”, a plunge into iced water that stops the cooking. Blanching sets the colour of green vegetables, loosens tomato and peach skins, and part-cooks vegetables you plan to finish in a pan later.

Wrapped and slow cooking

Cooking food sealed in parchment or foil is known by the French name en papillote. It counts as moist heat even though it happens in the oven, because the food steams in its own juices. Parchment parcels have their own pitfalls, covered in our piece on parchment paper cooking mistakes.

A slow cooker also works by moist heat. The covered pot traps liquid and steam and holds food at a gentle heat for hours.

Combination methods: braising and stewing

Combination cooking is where the different types of cooking methods and techniques overlap. You brown the food first with dry heat for flavour, then finish it slowly in liquid for tenderness. It is the answer for tough, inexpensive cuts with plenty of connective tissue, such as beef chuck, pork shoulder, lamb shank and chicken thighs.

The reason it works is collagen, a tough protein found in connective tissue. Long, gentle, moist cooking breaks collagen down into gelatin, which makes meat tender and gives the cooking liquid body. Quick dry heat cannot do this. That is why a grilled chuck steak stays chewy while a braised one falls apart.

What is braising?

Braising uses larger pieces of food that are browned, then partly submerged in liquid and cooked slowly, usually with a lid, on the stovetop or in the oven. The part above the liquid cooks in trapped steam. An oven gives steadier, all-round heat than a burner, which makes it easier to keep the liquid at a lazy simmer.

What is stewing?

Stewing follows the same idea with smaller, evenly cut pieces fully covered in liquid. Because more of the food’s surface sits in the liquid, the sauce becomes a bigger part of the dish, as in beef stew, curries or a ragù. Browning the pieces first is common but optional. Some stews skip it for a lighter colour and a cleaner flavour.

Pot roasting and other hybrids

Pot roasting means braising a whole large joint with only a little liquid. Many everyday dishes also borrow from both families. You might sear a thick pork chop and finish it in the oven, or brown chicken pieces and then simmer them in a sauce.

A heavy lidded pot, such as one in enameled cast iron, handles all of these. Our guide on caring for a cast iron pot explains how to look after one.

Cooking methods chart: heat, medium and best foods

Here is the chart many people look for when they search for the different types of cooking methods and techniques. It compares each method by category, by what carries the heat and by what it does best. Print it or save it from your browser if you want a reference for the inside of a cupboard door.

Method	Category	What carries the heat	Best for	Watch out for
Roasting	Dry	Hot oven air	Tender meats, whole poultry, root vegetables	Crowding the pan
Baking	Dry	Hot oven air	Breads, cakes, casseroles, fish	Opening the oven door too often
Grilling	Dry	Radiant heat from below	Steaks, burgers, chops, vegetables	Burnt outside, undercooked inside
Broiling	Dry	Radiant heat from above	Thin cuts, browning the tops of dishes	Seconds between brown and burnt
Sautéing	Dry (fat)	Hot pan, little fat	Small tender pieces, vegetables	Wet food, cold pan
Stir-frying	Dry (fat)	Very hot wok, little fat	Thin strips, quick-cooking vegetables	Overloading the wok
Pan-frying	Dry (fat)	Pan with moderate fat	Cutlets, fish fillets, potatoes	Moving food before a crust forms
Deep-frying	Dry (fat)	Food submerged in hot oil	Battered foods, fries	Wrong oil temperature, safety
Boiling	Moist	Water at a full boil	Pasta, blanching, reducing	Toughens meat and eggs
Simmering	Moist	Liquid just below a boil	Stocks, soups, beans, sauces	Letting it creep into a boil
Poaching	Moist	Barely moving liquid	Eggs, fish, chicken breast, fruit	Liquid too hot
Steaming	Moist	Steam	Vegetables, fish, dumplings	Pot boiling dry
Blanching	Moist	Brief boil, then iced water	Green vegetables, peeling skins	Leaving food in too long
Braising	Combination	Browning, then partly submerged	Large tough cuts, whole legs	Rushing it; liquid boiling
Stewing	Combination	Optional browning, then fully submerged	Cubed tough meat, beans, root vegetables	Uneven piece sizes

Read the chart as a pattern rather than a list to memorise. Every dry-heat method trades a little moisture for colour and flavour. Every moist-heat method trades colour for gentleness. Combination methods ask for time and give you tender results from cheap, tough cuts. For a closer look at the three categories, see cooking method and techniques: dry, moist and combination.

How to choose a cooking method: a worked example

When you have an ingredient and no plan, three questions narrow the different types of cooking methods and techniques down to one or two good choices.

1. How tender is it? Tender foods (fish, chicken breast, tenderloin, most vegetables) suit fast dry heat or gentle moist heat. Tough foods (shoulder, shank, chuck, dried beans) need long, moist cooking.
2. How big or thick is it? Thin pieces cook through quickly, so high heat works. Thick pieces need lower heat, or a two-stage approach, so the outside does not burn before the centre is done.
3. What texture do you want? Crisp and browned points to dry heat. Soft, juicy and saucy points to moist or combination cooking.

Example: two cuts of beef and a head of broccoli

Say you have a sirloin steak, a piece of chuck and a head of broccoli. Run each through the questions.

• Sirloin is tender and fairly thin, so fast dry heat is the right call: pan-searing in a heavy pan, grilling or broiling. Braising would waste a tender cut. It has little collagen to convert, so long cooking tends to leave it dry and stringy.
• Chuck is full of connective tissue. Grilled, it stays chewy. Braised or stewed for a few hours, it turns tender and gives you a rich sauce. That takes planning, so it helps to slot it into a quieter day on the meal planner.
• Broccoli is flexible, so the choice comes down to texture. Roasted in a hot oven, the florets brown at the edges and taste nutty. Steamed, they stay bright and tender. Blanched and shocked, they hold their colour for a salad or a quick sauté later. Boiled too long, they go drab and soft.

The same three questions gave three different answers. Once the questions become automatic, you can read any recipe and see why it uses the method it does, and you can adapt when you lack a piece of equipment. Browse the FoodEase recipe collection with methods in mind and you will start spotting the patterns.

Common mistakes with cooking techniques

Most failures across the different types of cooking methods and techniques come from a handful of habits, not a lack of talent.

• Crowding the pan or tray. Food releases moisture as it heats. When pieces are packed tightly, that moisture cannot escape, the surface stays wet, and the food steams instead of browning. Cook in batches or use two trays.
• Putting wet food into dry heat. Surface water has to evaporate before browning can start. Pat meat, fish and washed vegetables dry first.
• Starting with a cold pan. For searing and sautéing, heat the pan before the fat and food go in. Otherwise the food sticks and stews.
• Moving food too soon. Meat and fish release from a hot pan once a crust forms. Tugging at them early tears the surface.
• Boiling when you meant to simmer. A hard boil toughens meat in stews, clouds stock and breaks up delicate food. Turn the heat down until the bubbles are lazy.
• Rushing a braise. Tough cuts tighten up before they soften, so they are rarely tender at the halfway point. If the meat is still chewy, it usually needs more time, not less.
• Cutting unevenly. Pieces of different sizes finish at different times. Even cuts matter as much as the method.
• Guessing doneness. Colour and cooking time are unreliable guides for meat, poultry and fish. Use an instant-read thermometer and follow official food-safety guidance for the correct internal temperatures.
• Skipping the rest. Roasted and grilled meat benefits from a few minutes off the heat before carving, so the juices settle in the meat rather than running onto the board.

A subtler mistake is treating the different types of cooking methods and techniques as fixed rules for each dish rather than as tools. If your oven is busy, you can sear a thick chop and finish it covered on the stove. If you have no steamer basket, a lidded pan with a little water handles many vegetables. Once you understand why a method works, you can swap one for another with confidence.

How to practise cooking techniques at home

The fastest way to learn the different types of cooking methods and techniques is to practise one method at a time, with inexpensive ingredients, until it feels routine.

1. Pick one method a week. Roast a different vegetable each night for a week, or braise once and simmer a stock once. Repetition teaches you how your own oven and burners behave.
2. Change one variable at a time. Roast the same vegetable at two oven settings. Or sear two pieces of chicken, one patted dry and one not, and compare the crust.
3. Time things and take notes. Set a timer every time and jot down what worked. The FoodEase timers and converters also help when a recipe uses metric weights or Celsius.
4. Learn the classic foundation. Much of the vocabulary of Western cooking, including sauté, braise, poach and mise en place, comes from French kitchens. Our guides to French cuisine cooking techniques and cooking techniques in France cover these terms in more depth.
5. Stock the basics. A heavy pan, a lidded pot, a sheet pan and an instant-read thermometer cover nearly every method here. Our list of kitchen tools in cooking helps you decide what to buy first. Grandmother’s Kitchen at grandmothers.kitchen sells kitchen goods if you need to fill a gap.

If you get stuck choosing a method for an ingredient, Sue, the FoodEase cooking assistant, can talk you through the options. Once the different types of cooking methods and techniques make sense as three families, every recipe you read starts to explain itself. You spend less time following instructions line by line and more time cooking with confidence.

Common questions

What are the various methods of cooking?

Cooking methods fall into three families. Dry-heat methods include roasting, baking, grilling, broiling, sautéing, stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying. Moist-heat methods include boiling, simmering, poaching, steaming and blanching. Combination methods, mainly braising and stewing, brown food with dry heat and then finish it slowly in liquid. The right choice depends on how tender the food is, how thick it is, and whether you want a browned crust or a soft, juicy result.

What is the stewing cooking method?

Stewing is a combination method. Small, evenly cut pieces of food are fully covered in liquid and cooked gently for a long time at a low simmer, often after browning for flavour. Long, moist cooking breaks down the collagen in tough cuts such as beef chuck or lamb shoulder into gelatin. That makes the meat tender and gives body to the liquid, which becomes the sauce.

What type of cooking method is roasting?

Roasting is a dry-heat method. Food sits in an oven surrounded by hot air, with extra heat from the oven walls and the pan. No water is used as the cooking medium, so the surface gets hot enough to brown, and browning builds flavour. Roasting suits tender meats, whole poultry and vegetables. Spread food out so moisture can escape, because a crowded tray steams instead of browning.

Is frying a dry-heat or moist-heat cooking method?

Frying is a dry-heat method, even though the food sits in liquid fat. Oil contains no water and gets far hotter than boiling water, so it browns and crisps the surface the way a hot oven or pan does. Sautéing, stir-frying, pan-frying, shallow-frying and deep-frying all belong to the dry-heat family. They differ mainly in how much fat you use and how often the food is moved.

What is the difference between braising and stewing?

Both are combination methods that brown food and then cook it slowly in liquid. Braising uses larger pieces, such as whole shanks or a shoulder, only partly submerged so the top cooks in trapped steam. Stewing uses smaller, uniform pieces fully covered in liquid, so the sauce becomes a bigger part of the finished dish. Both suit tough cuts rich in connective tissue.

Is there a PDF of the basic cooking methods?

You can make one from this page. The cooking methods chart lists each method with its category, what carries the heat, the foods it suits and the most common mistake. Use your browser's print option and choose to save as PDF. Keep the file on your phone, or print it and tape it inside a cupboard door as a quick reference while you cook.