Sautéing
Sautéing is a method of cooking food. It uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan. The heat must be quite high. Ingredients are often cut into pieces or sliced thinly. This makes the food cook faster.
Sautéed food is browned, but it keeps its texture, moisture and flavor. If meat or fish is sautéed, the pan's remains can be used to make a sauce.
Differences
[change | change source]Sautéing is different from pan-frying. People sometimes confuse the two. In pan-frying, larger pieces of food (like chops or steaks) are cooked quickly.
Sautéing is also different from searing. Searing only browns the surface of the food.
Olive oil or clarified butter are commonly used for sautéing. Most other fats will work too. Regular butter will produce more flavor, but it burns at a lower temperature and more quickly than other fats. This is because of the milk solids in it. Therefore, clarified butter is better for sautéing.
