sauté
soh-TAY
/soʊˈteɪ/
To fry food quickly in a minimal amount of hot fat over high heat, frequently tossing or stirring.
Sautéing requires high heat and constant motion to cook food rapidly, keeping it crisp and vibrant rather than soggy.
The story behind the word. The word 'sauté' is the past participle of the French verb 'sauter,' which means 'to jump.' This is a literal description of the cooking process: because the pan is incredibly hot, the food 'jumps' around as it sizzles, and the chef must constantly toss it to keep it from burning.
Word relationships
- pan-fry: Pan-frying typically uses slightly more oil, lower heat, and larger pieces of food that are turned only once or twice, whereas sautéing involves constant tossing of small pieces.
- steam: Steaming cooks food using the vapor of boiling water without any fat or direct contact with a hot pan.
Commonly confused with
- stir-fry: Stir-frying is an Asian technique using a wok over extremely high heat with constant stirring, while sautéing is a Western technique using a flat-bottomed pan.
Word family
- sautéed (adjective): Cooked quickly in a small amount of hot fat.
- sautéing (noun): The act or process of frying food quickly in hot fat.
Collocations
- sauté lightly
- sauté in butter
- sauté pan
- quickly sauté
Example sentences
- "First, sauté the minced onions and garlic in olive oil until they become soft and translucent." A standard instruction for preparing aromatic vegetables.
- "The line cook used a wide, sloping pan to sauté the sliced mushrooms, flipping them with a deft flick of his wrist." Describing the technique in a professional kitchen setting.
Memory hook
Sauté comes from the French word for 'jump.' Picture the vegetables performing a 'somersault' in the hot pan. Sauté means to make the food jump.
When not to use
Do not use when deep-frying food in large quantities of oil, or when slow-cooking food over low heat.
Fun facts
- A true sauté pan has straight sides to keep liquids from splashing, while a skillet has sloped sides designed specifically to make tossing (jumping) the food easier.
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