Principles of Cooking - Poaching

Moist Heat Cooking - Poaching

The concept of moist heat cooking is simple - cooking food in a moist (wet) environment.

These methods include poaching, simmering, boiling and steaming.

Today's focus was on the two variations of poaching; shallow poaching and submersion poaching.

In submersion poaching the food is completely covered with liquid (between 160 and 180 degrees F)

In shallow poaching the food is placed in just enough flavorful cooking liquid to come up to half way up the sides of the item. With shallow poaching you gain the added benefit of using the poaching liquid (cuisson) to prepare a sauce that can be used to accompany the dish. When shallow poaching you often finish the cooking in the oven after covering the pan with a parchement paper circle (cartouche) as shown above.