As you begin adopting healthier eating habits, you may encounter limitations not only on which foods you can eat, but how you can prepare them. Knowing the three types of cooking methods can help you stick to your plan without sacrificing delicious flavors.

When eating healthy, you're likely going to avoid certain cooking techniques:

• Pan-frying
• Deep frying
• Grilling (in some cases)
• Smoking

Today, we'll break down the three main categories of cooking methods, along with a few examples you can use to eat healthier. We'll start with the one you're probably most familiar with.

1. Dry heat cooking

Dry heat cooking involves exposing food to a source of high heat, whether by circulating hot air around the food in the oven or direct contact with the heat on a pan. Dry heat cooking typically involves using fat or oil to either a. enhance the flavor of the food you're cooking or b. to assist with the cooking process, such as transferring heat.

Here are a few types of dry heat cooking methods:

• Baking

Traditionally speaking, the term "baking" refers to cooking bread and pastries while "roasting" refers to cooking meat and veggies. Which, if you think about it, makes sense since you don't typically use fat or oil to cook bread and pastries—you mainly rely on an even surrounding of heat.

Semantics aside, baking is worth having on this list as it is a form of cooking. Baking simply means cooking food in dry, indirect heat (as opposed to a direct source of heat, like a pan).

• Roasting

Similar to baking, roasting cooks foods with dry heat, but at higher temperatures. Unlike baking, roasting typically utilizes fat or oil to enhance the flavor of the food. Roasting is typically a slower process than its direct-heat competitors like sautéeing and stir-frying, but the flavor you get in the end is super scrumptious. Crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful on the inside?

• Sautéeing

Originating from French meaning "to jump," sautéeing refers to cooking food in a pan quickly with a small amount of fat over high heat. Unlike roasting, where fat or oil is used to enhance the flavor, fat or oil is used in sautéeing to help cook the food. With fat as the cooking medium, the results of food being cooked should be browned and flavorful exterior with a more tender and moist interior. 

Sautéeing is a little more intricate and time-sensitive than other cooking methods, but the results can be mouth-watering. Prepping ingredients in advance helps prevent overcooking or burning.

• Stir-frying

You've probably heard of stir-frying in Asian cuisine. Similar to sauteing, stir-frying also requires a small amount of fat and high heat. Stir-frying is sauteeing, but with more action and more heat. You traditionally see woks used to stir-fry because the food is being continuously tossed, turned, and stirred. 

Stir-frying is an excellent healthier cooking technique because it requires minimal oil, and takes less time to cook than other cooking methods. Again, prepping ingredients in advance helps prevent overcooking or burning.

Let's move on to the second cooking method.

2. Moist heat cooking

As you may expect, moist heat refers to the use of liquid or steam to cook the food. This is an excellent healthier alternative to cooking as you're not depending on oils or fats to cook the food. Unlike dry heat cooking where the food is stiffer, moist heat cooking creates a more tender texture, in either meat or veggies, and the food is typically free of any browned or seared surfaces.

Here are a few types of moist heat cooking methods:

• Poaching

Poaching is where you use submerge food in a hot liquid between 140 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit to cook it. Since oil and fat aren't needed, you end up with a moist, delicately cooked end result. This cooking method is particularly useful for delicate foods like eggs, fruits, and lighter meats like fish or poultry.

• Simmering

Like poaching, simmering also requires submerging food in hot liquid. But the process of heating the liquid is different. Simmering involves getting a liquid to the boiling point, then lowering the temperature so the liquid remains hot but still able to produce tiny bubbles, thus creating a simmer. 

Simmering is a very versatile cooking method, as you can simmer just about anything: rice, meats, soups and broths, vegetables, even grains and legumes.

• Boiling

Boiling is the hottest moist heat cooking method, as you're using boiling point to cook (212 degrees Fahrenheit). Boiling is best suited for "tougher" foods such as hard- or soft-boiled eggs, potatoes, and carrots. Though a super simple cooking method, boiling is a super handy cooking method to know, whether you use the "slow boil" method or the "full boil" method. Again, no fats or oils, just hot liquid and a tasty meal.

• Steaming

Pretty self-explanatory, you use steam (typically from boiling water) to surround the food and cook it without removing the moisture. In traditional homes, steaming often looks like using a stove pot with a basket to fit over it, but can also be achieved through other means such as microwaves. You can steam many foods: vegetables, fish and shellfish, and even desserts such as creme brulee.

3. Combination cooking

As to be expected, combination cooking uses both dry and moist cooking methods. While a longer cooking process since you're using more than one technique, combination cooking combines the best of both worlds in a meal: a crisp, browned exterior (dry heat) and a moist, flavorful interior (moist heat).

Maximum flavor. Maximum satisfaction.

Here are a few types of dry-heat cooking methods:

• Braising

Braising typically involves a two-step process of sautéeing or searing at high temperatures, and then cooked in some liquid in a covered pot at a lower temperature. This method helps achieve a fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth texture in tougher meats and vegetables. Braising is a longer process of cooking than other methods, but the results are unforgettable.

• Stewing

Stewing is like braising, but the food is fully submerged in liquid rather than sitting in some liquid. Unlike braising, the food and liquid are often served together in one dish (think soup or gravy). Again, this is an excellent way to tenderize tougher foods like meat and vegetables without losing the flavor.

Conclusion

As you can see, there's a lot of overlap with dry heat, moist heat, and combination cooking methods. 

Rather than seeing it as overwhelming, think of it as helpful. Once you master one cooking method, others should appear easier too. With time, practice, and a lot of experimenting, you can implement these cooking techniques (and many more!) into your healthy-eating journey without sacrificing delicious taste.

Have a favorite or go-to cooking technique? Let's hear it!