Process
Techniques
Core methods for ingredients, foundations and everyday cooking.
10 techniques
Blooming
Blooming gently coaxes colour and aroma from spices or aromatics into warm liquid or fat — a brief steep before the ingredient enters the dish proper. Saffron threads are the familiar example.
Infusion
Infusion draws flavour from aromatics into a liquid or fat using time, warmth and surface area — from saffron threads steeped in warm stock to herbs submerged in oil. The aim is extraction without bitterness or harsh browning.
Confit
Confit cooks food slowly submerged in fat at low temperature, tenderising flesh and preserving it while the fat carries flavour into every crevice. Garlic cloves and hardy herbs soften and sweeten rather than browning.
Balancing with Acid
Acid balance is the practice of adjusting acidity to brighten a dish, contrast richness and sharpen flavours that have gone flat. A small addition of lemon or vinegar is tasted, not poured — acid is a seasoning tool, not a garnish.
Blanch tomatoes
Drop ripe tomatoes into boiling water briefly, then plunge into cold water — the skin slips off while the flesh stays intact for peeling or concassé.
Dice a tomato
Cut firm tomato flesh into even cubes for salsas, soffritto and salads that cook evenly.
Julienne
Julienne cuts vegetables into fine matchstick strips of even thickness so they cook at the same rate and sit neatly on the plate. The cut depends on a stable board, a sharp chef's knife and repeated, measured strokes rather than speed.
Peel and deseed tomatoes
Score, blanch or roast to loosen the skin, then cut away seeds and watery core so only firm flesh remains.
Roast tomatoes
High heat concentrates sweetness and umami — cherry and plum halves respond especially well.
Tomato concassé
Chop the peeled, deseeded flesh into a small, even dice — it should break down gently in the pan without releasing a pool of juice.