Editing Cooking (section)

==Ingredients==
Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living [[organism]]s. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and [[spice]]s come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of [[fungi]]. Cooks also use [[water]] and [[mineral]]s such as [[salt]]. Cooks can also use [[wine]] or [[Distilled beverage|spirits]].

Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called ''[[Protein (nutrient)|proteins]]'', ''[[carbohydrate]]s'' and ''[[fat]]s''. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules.

===Carbohydrates===
{{Main|Carbohydrate}}
Carbohydrates include the common sugar, [[sucrose]] (table sugar), a [[disaccharide]], and such simple sugars as [[glucose]] (made by enzymatic splitting of sucrose) and [[fructose]] (from fruit), and [[starch]]es from sources such as cereal flour, rice, [[arrowroot]] and potato.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002469.htm|title=Carbohydrates: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia|website=medlineplus.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-02-04}}</ref>

The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex. [[Polysaccharide|Long-chain sugars]] such as [[starch]] tend to break down into more digestible [[Monosaccharide|simpler sugars]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Öste|first=Rickard E.|title=Nutritional and Toxicological Consequences of Food Processing|chapter=Digestibility of Processed Food Protein|date=1991|chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2626-5_27|series=Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology|volume=289|pages=371–388|place=Boston, MA|publisher=Springer US|doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-2626-5_27|isbn=978-1-4899-2628-9|access-date=2021-05-19}}</ref> If the sugars are heated so that all water of [[crystallisation]] is driven off, [[caramelization]] starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of [[carbon]], and other breakdown products producing [[caramel]]. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins causes the [[Maillard reaction]], a basic flavor-enhancing technique.

An [[emulsion]] of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In [[European cuisine|European]] cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a [[roux]] is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guide.michelin.com/sg/dining-in/what-is-roux-sg/news|title=What is...roux?|website=MICHELIN Guide|language=en|access-date=2019-02-04}}</ref> In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or [[corn starch]] and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous [[saccharide]]s during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of [[sauce]]s. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.

===Fats===
{{Main|Fat|Cooking oil}}
[[File:Frying doughnuts.jpg|thumb|[[Doughnut]]s frying in oil]]
Types of fat include [[vegetable oil]]s, animal products such as butter and [[lard]], as well as fats from grains, including [[maize]] and [[flax]] oils. Fats are used in a number of ways in cooking and baking. To prepare [[stir fry|stir fries]], [[grilled cheese]] or [[pancake]]s, the pan or griddle is often coated with fat or oil. Fats are also used as an ingredient in baked goods such as [[cookies]], cakes and pies. Fats can reach temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to other ingredients, such as in frying, deep frying or sautéing. Fats are used to add flavor to food (e.g., butter or bacon fat), prevent food from sticking to pans and create a desirable texture.

Fats are one of the three main [[macronutrient]] groups in human [[Diet (nutrition)|diet]], along with [[carbohydrate]]s and [[protein]]s,<ref name="webster2">Entry for [[mwod:fat|"fat"]] {{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fat |title=Fat &#124; Definition of Fat by Merriam-Webster |access-date=8 December 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725084302/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fat |url-status=bot: unknown }} in the online Merriam-Webster disctionary, sense 3.2. Accessed on 2020-08-09</ref><ref name="mckin20142">{{Cite web |title=Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat |url=http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921024358/http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm |archive-date=21 September 2014 |access-date=20 September 2014 |website=McKinley Health Center |publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]]}}</ref> and the main components of common food products like [[milk]], [[butter]], [[tallow]], [[lard]], [[salt pork]], and [[cooking oil]]s. They are a major and dense source of [[food energy]] for many animals and play important structural and [[metabolic]] functions, in most living beings, including energy storage, waterproofing, and [[thermal insulation]].<ref name="khan00002">{{cite web |title=Introduction to Energy Storage |url=http://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/biomolecules/fat-and-protein-metabolism/v/introduction-to-energy-storage |publisher=[[Khan Academy]]}}</ref> The human body can produce the fat it requires from other food ingredients, except for a few [[essential fatty acid]]s that must be included in the diet. Dietary fats are also the carriers of some [[Flavoring|flavor]] and [[aroma]] ingredients and [[vitamin]]s that are [[Lipophilicity|not water-soluble]].<ref name="sand20162">Thomas A. B. Sanders (2016): "The Role of Fats in Human Diet". Pages 1–20 of ''Functional Dietary Lipids''. Woodhead/Elsevier, 332 pages. {{isbn|978-1-78242-247-1}}{{doi|10.1016/B978-1-78242-247-1.00001-6}}</ref>

===Proteins===
{{Main|Protein (nutrient)|Protein denaturation}}
Edible animal material, including [[muscle]], [[offal]], milk, [[egg (food)|eggs]] and [[egg white]]s, contains substantial amounts of protein.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Reynolds |first1=Daman |last2=Caminiti |first2=Jeff |last3=Edmundson |first3=Scott |last4=Gao |first4=Song |last5=Wick |first5=Macdonald |last6=Huesemann |first6=Michael |date=2022-07-12 |title=Seaweed proteins are nutritionally valuable components in the human diet |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=855–861 |doi=10.1093/ajcn/nqac190 |issn=0002-9165 |pmid=35820048 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="nih1">{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Protein in diet |url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002467.htm |publisher=United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health}}</ref><ref name=":01">{{Cite web |title=High-Protein Alternatives to Meat |url=https://getpocket.com/explore/item/high-protein-alternatives-to-meat |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Pocket |language=en}}</ref> Almost all vegetable matter (in particular [[legume]]s and [[seed]]s) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=cooking - Fun_with_Words - 博客园 |url=https://www.cnblogs.com/funwithwords/p/16615263.html |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.cnblogs.com |language=zh-cn}}</ref> Mushrooms have high protein content.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Meiqi |last2=Zhao |first2=Ruilin |date=2023-03-01 |title=A review on nutritional advantages of edible mushrooms and its industrialization development situation in protein meat analogues |journal=Journal of Future Foods |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1016/j.jfutfo.2022.09.001 |issn=2772-5669|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rahi |first1=Deepak K. |last2=Malik |first2=Deepika |date=2016 |title=Diversity of Mushrooms and Their Metabolites of Nutraceutical and Therapeutic Significance |url=https://www.academia.edu/61123496 |journal=Journal of Mycology |volume=2016 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1155/2016/7654123 |doi-access=free |issn=2356-7481}}</ref> Any of these may be sources of [[essential amino acid]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baofu |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J7QwBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Any+of+these+may+be+sources+of+essential+amino+acids%22&pg=PA6 |title=The Future of Post-Human Culinary Art: Towards a New Theory of Ingredients and Techniques |date=2013-01-03 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-4484-0 |language=en}}</ref> When [[protein]]s are heated they become [[Denaturation (biochemistry)|denatured]] (unfolded) and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more [[friable]] – meat becomes ''cooked'' and is more friable and less flexible. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of [[albumen]] in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component in baking cakes, and also underpins many desserts based on [[meringue]].

[[File:Cuisson des pates.jpg|thumb|Water is often used to cook foods such as [[noodle]]s.]]

===Water===
{{Main|Water}}
Cooking often involves water, and water-based liquids. These can be added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (this is typically done with water, [[stock (food)|stock]] or wine). Alternatively, the foods themselves can release water. A favorite method of adding flavor to dishes is to save the liquid for use in other [[recipe]]s. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in [[steaming]], [[simmering]], [[boiling]], [[braising]] and [[blanching (cooking)|blanching]]. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased [[evaporation]], which [[concentrate]]s the remaining [[Flavoring|flavor]] and ingredients; this is a critical component of both [[stewing]] and sauce making.

===Vitamins and minerals===
[[File:November 15, 2012, The Right Cut (8223639251).jpg|thumb|Vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals.]]
{{Main|Vitamin|Mineral (nutrient)}}
Vitamins and minerals are required for normal [[metabolism]]; and what the body cannot manufacture itself must come from external sources. Vitamins come from several sources including fresh fruit and vegetables ([[Vitamin C]]), carrots, [[liver (food)|liver]] ([[Vitamin A]]), cereal bran, bread, liver (B vitamins), fish liver oil ([[Vitamin D]]) and fresh green vegetables ([[Vitamin K]]). Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including iron, [[calcium]], [[magnesium]], [[sodium chloride]] and [[sulfur]]; and in very small quantities copper, [[zinc]] and [[selenium]]. The micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/44825.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909071119/http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/44825.aspx|url-status=dead |title=Loss of nutrients when vegetables are cooked|archivedate=9 September 2009}}</ref> in fruit and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/359175.stm |work=BBC News | title=Cooking vegetables 'improves benefits' | date=2 June 1999 | access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2013}} The [[bioavailability]] of some vitamins such as [[thiamin]], [[vitamin B6]], [[Niacin (nutrient)|niacin]], [[folate]], and [[carotenoid]]s are increased with cooking by being freed from the food microstructure.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Hotz | first1=Christine | last2=Gibson | first2=Rosalind S. | year=2007 | title=Traditional food-processing and preparation practices to enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients in plant-based diets | journal=The Journal of Nutrition | volume=137 | issue=4| pages=1097–1100 | doi=10.1093/jn/137.4.1097 | pmid=17374686 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Blanching or steaming vegetables is a way of minimizing vitamin and mineral loss in cooking.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2017-10-12 |title=Effect of different cooking methods on the content of vitamins and true retention in selected vegetables |pmc=6049644 |last1=Lee |first1=S. |last2=Choi |first2=Y. |last3=Jeong |first3=H. S. |last4=Lee |first4=J. |last5=Sung |first5=J. |journal=Food Science and Biotechnology |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=333–342 |doi=10.1007/s10068-017-0281-1 |pmid=30263756 }}</ref>