1 [[eo:Kuireco]][[fr:Cuisine]][[nl:Kookkunst]][[pl:Kulinaria]]
2 '''Cooking''' is the [[art]], [[science]], [[profession]], and [[hobby]] of preparing [[food]] for human consumption. The term is often used in the narrower sense of applying heat to chemically transform a food to change its flavor, texture, appearance, or nutritional properties.
3 Heating food has several uses.
4 It can sterilize the food (depending on temperature, cooking time, and technique used), in addition to softening the food by turning [[collagen]] into [[gelatin]].
6 Because eating is a universal human drive, cooking is a nearly universal cultural feature. Specific techniques and ingredients are often regional. See [[Cuisine]] for information about the many regional and ethnic food traditions. Please see [[food writing]] for some authors of books on cookery, food, and the history of food.
8 Some major cooking (in the sense of transforming raw food with heat) techniques:
11 ** [[High tech baking]]
19 ** [[Hot salt frying]]
20 ** [[Hot sand frying]]
25 * [[Poaching (cooking)|Poaching]]
26 * [[Pressure cooking]]
28 * [[Smoking (food)|Smoking]]
30 ** [[Double steaming]]
31 * [[Vacuum flask cooking]]
33 Other preparation techniques:
38 * [[Microwaving]] (also known as "nuking")
42 * [[Food and cooking hygiene]]
44 * [[Cooking weights and measures]] (includes conversions and equivalencies common in cooking)
46 For recipes, see the [[Wikipedia Cookbook]].