Cooking - one of the thermal processing processes used in gastronomy. It takes place in the boiling water environment. During this process, the proteins contained in the dish are cut, and the starch is broken down, which makes these ingredients become digestible through the human digestive system. The relatively low temperature of this process, not exceeding a hundred or so dozen degrees Celsius, causes that the product does not produce harmful food degradation products.

The course of the cooking process has a large impact on the movement of nutrients in the dish. To achieve the effect of the passage of nutrients from the cooked product to the decoction should be cooked for a long time in a large amount of water, starting from the low temperature of water. The effect of passing the ingredients to the decoction is desirable in the preparation of soups, in particular the broth. Cooking in a small amount of water, by throwing the product into boiling water, allows the retention of nutrients in the cooked product.

In dietetics and in the preparation of some traditional dishes, steam cooking is also used. It involves cooking products in the steam environment by placing them in a special pot. Steaming allows you to maintain the maximum amount of nutrients in the dish cooked in this way. It is especially recommended for cooking vegetables.