The Skillet Sequence: Nine Steps from Soft Onions to a Pan Sauce

Sweating keeps the heat low and the color pale: vegetables such as onions soften and release liquid without browning, and the same idea is known in Italian cooking as soffritto, the base of dishes like risotto. It is where many skillet dishes begin.

Sauteing raises the heat and uses only enough fat to lubricate the pan, with small pieces kept moving so every piece browns evenly. The page contrasts it with sweating, which deliberately avoids color.

Pan frying uses more oil than sauteing and suits whole pieces such as a steak or a fish fillet. The page explains that it runs at somewhat lower heat so the center can cook before the surface burns.

Dredging coats a moist food in flour, breadcrumbs or a seasoned dry mixture before it goes into the pan. The coating holds in moisture, prevents sticking, promotes even browning and carries seasoning.

Searing applies very high direct heat to the surface until a crust forms, at roughly 150 degrees Celsius or higher. The page notes that it does not seal in juices, and that cooks use it for Maillard flavor and for the contrast of crisp outside and tender inside.

Basting spoons or brushes rendered juices or sauce over cooking meat to keep the surface from drying and to build flavor as the liquid caramelizes. The page warns that opening an oven door too often to baste can leave meat drier.

Deglazing pours wine, stock or vinegar into the hot pan and dissolves the browned residue left by searing or sauteing. Its cited lead sentence describes removing and dissolving browned food residue to flavor sauces, soups and gravies.

Reduction simmers that liquid uncovered so water evaporates and flavor concentrates, producing pan sauces, gravies and syrups. The page cautions that going too far leaves a sticky, burnt residue, so the cook must stir and watch.

Flambe closes the sequence with a brief burst of flame from a spirit of roughly forty percent alcohol added to a hot pan. The page reports that its effect on flavor is modest and that it removes only about a quarter of the alcohol.