Cooking is the act of preparing food for eating by the application of heat. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor or digestibility of food. It is the process of selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Factors affecting the final outcome include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual doing the actual cooking .The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the myriad nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural, social and religious considerations that impact upon it.Applying heat to a food usually, though not always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, consistency, appearance, and nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence of roasted foodstuffs, both animal and vegetable, in human (Homo erectus) campsites dating from the earliest known use of fire, some 800,000 years ago. Other methods of cooking that involve the boiling of liquid in a receptacle have been practiced at least since the 10th millennium BC, with the introduction of pottery.

He can measure the pressure inside a chip and has worked out how to produce 24 litres of mayonnaise from a single egg. Hervé This, France's most famous chemist - and inspiration to Heston Blumenthal - gives Ian Phillips the strangest cooking tips he's ever heard.

How to make your own soda, how to order sushi when you don't know what you're doing, and how to make your kitchen smell wonderful when you're cooking.

Although research shows that many people deem cooking a chore, baking falls into another category entirely. Since it isn't a necessary day-to-day task, it's viewed as a hobby. Canadians report that baking is a favourite wintertime activity (I once read that flour sales spike in January - J is your mystery letter for today). While January days are..

Choosing the right cookware for the job is an essential to cooking, roasting, stir frying or making sauces. This article provides tips on what to look for when choosing cookware.

Chris Allingham is a big fan of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker and has maintained a personal website and online discussion forum for the past 10 years, www.virtualweberbullet.com.Chris provides photos, tutorials, cooking tip, etc. It's a great "unofficial" Weber product fan site and is not affiliated with Weber-Stephen Products.