Braising and Stewing: 7 Tips for 7 Vegetables (2024)

FAQs

What are the 7 cooking methods for vegetables? ›

Stewing requires completely submerging the ingredients in the cooking water while braising calls for just partially covering them with water. Water-rich vegetables are more suitable for stewing while braising works best with robust foods that can withstand the longer cooking times that cause the juices to reduce.

While you can braise most any vegetable, a good place to start is with the sturdy, full-flavored vegetables, including carrots, parsnips, onions, turnips, rutabagas, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, fennel, leeks, potatoes, cauliflower, endive, and hearty greens.

Braises & Stews

Leg cuts from chicken and other game birds are fitting. Fish and seafood are also used but generally are cooked for much less time because of their delicate nature. Let's not forget that a braise or stew can also be prepared with vegetables or other ingredients including tofu.

Stewing is the mosit heat method which is similar to simmering in that the liquid is heated until it forms gentle, yet quickly moving bubbles. The difference between stewing and simmering is that stewing generally involves a much smaller amount of liquid that is retained and served with the food as a sauce.

Braising is for cheaper, larger cuts of meat, such as beef cheeks. Stewing would use smaller cuts of meat that are uniform in size and it's key to stewing that the meat is totally immersed in liquid. Both processes involve the lid being on the pot, which is also very important.

Add stock or water halfway up the meat you're braising and bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Once it's simmering, you can add in aromatics. Cover and keep it at a low simmer on the stovetop or in the oven at 350 degrees F. Cooking low and slow breaks down the tough meat so it's tender and delicious.

What is the best liquid for braising? ›

Braising liquid is traditionally stock and wine; however, beer emphasizes other flavors in meats. Stock emphasizes the meat flavor, while wine and beer diversify the profile. Wine works in any braise, increasing depth, nuance and acidity.

Keep the lid on when braising meat, as it needs moist heat over a long period of time to break down the collagen and connective tissues for fork-tender results. "Pot covered, the ingredient you are braising gets continuously bathed in these steaming and simmering liquids, which the item flavors in turn," says Welsh.

The first step of a braise is to brown the meat. Browning adds color and flavor to the final dish. This may be done in any fat of your choice (olive or vegetable oil, bacon fat, butter, etc.) in a pan on the stovetop.

Some of our favorite cuts to braise are beef short ribs and chuck, pork shoulder and Boston butt, lamb shoulder and shanks, and chicken thighs and legs. And if you have the option of getting bone-in meat, you should: It will impart better flavor to the braising liquid and sauce.

Moist-heat cooking methods are techniques used with tougher cuts of meat and with sturdy root and fibrous vegetables to break down their tough connective tissue and fiber. Methods include blanching, parboiling, boiling, poaching, simmering, steaming, braising, stewing, fricasséeing, and pot-roasting.

Processing of vegetables

The goal of processing is to deter microbial spoilage and natural physiological deterioration of the plant cells. Generally, the techniques include blanching, dehydrating, canning, freezing, fermenting and pickling, and irradiating.