Editing Cooking (section)

{{Short description|Preparing food using heat}}
{{About|the preparation of food specifically via heat|a general outline|Outline of food preparation|varied styles of international food|Cuisine}}
{{Distinguish|Coking}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

[[File:Agdz-rosino-05.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|A man cooking in a [[restaurant]] kitchen, [[Morocco]]]]

'''Cooking''', also known as '''cookery''' or professionally as the '''culinary arts''', is the art, [[science]] and craft of using [[heat]] to make [[food]] more [[palatable]], [[digestible]], [[nutritious]], or [[Food safety|safe]]. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open [[fire]], to using [[electric stove]]s, to [[baking]] in various types of [[oven]]s, to [[Boiling#In_cooking|boiling]]  and [[Blanching_(cooking)|blanching]] in [[water]], reflecting local conditions, techniques and traditions. Cooking is an aspect of all human societies and a [[cultural universal]].

Types of cooking also depend on the skill levels and training of the [[Cook (profession)|cooks]]. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and [[chef]]s in [[restaurant]]s and other food establishments.

Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to [[human]]s. Archeological evidence of cooking fires from at least 300,000 years ago exists, but some estimate that humans started cooking up to 2 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2015/09/02/a-brief-history-of-cooking-with-fire/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325112804/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2015/09/02/a-brief-history-of-cooking-with-fire/|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2019|title=A Brief History of Cooking With Fire|last=Rupp|first=Rebecca|date=2015-09-02|website=National Geographic|access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wrangham |first1=Richard |title=Catching Fire: How cooking made us human |date=2009}}</ref>

The expansion of [[agriculture]], [[commerce]], [[trade]], and [[transport]]ation between [[civilization]]s in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as the invention of [[pottery]] for holding and [[boiling]] of [[water]], expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced [[Scientific method|scientific]] techniques to food preparation to further enhance the [[Flavoring|flavor]] of the dish served.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A New Spin on Cooking |journal=Scientific American |volume=304 |issue=3 |pages=23 |author1=W. Wayt Gibbs |author2=Nathan Myhrvold |bibcode=2011SciAm.304c..23G |year=2011 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0311-23a |pmid = 21438483}}</ref>