cooking

English

Etymology

From cook +‎ -ing. The noun and adjective follow from the verb. The use of the word cooking to describe cheap bitter was popularised by the title character of the BBC sitcom Oh No, It’s Selwyn Froggitt (1974-1978).

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊk.ɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ʊkɪŋ

Noun

cooking (countable and uncountable, plural cookings)

1. (uncountable) The process of preparing food by using heat.
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 6, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎^[1]:

     The men resided in a huge bunk house, which consisted of one room only, with a shack outside where the cooking was done. In the large room were a dozen bunks; half of them in a very dishevelled state, […]

   • 1995, Padraic O'Farrell, chapter 6, in Ancient Irish Legends:

     The cooking took a long time. Fionn built a spit from the ash that the salmon had knocked down.

   • 2014, Vickie Vaclavik, Elizabeth W. Christian, Essentials of Food Science, page 97:

     Of nutritional benefit in cooking is a short cooking time in a minimal amount of water or steaming the vegetables. Yet, there are times when just the opposite, that is lengthy cooking, with plentiful water may be desirable to achieve mild taste–foods such as mild tasting cooked onions may benefit from lengthy cooking and plentiful water.

   • Process definition

     A series of events which produce a result (the product). (1 of 9 process definitions)

   • Food definition

     Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life. (1 of 4 food definitions)

   • Heat definition

     Thermal energy. (1 of 19 heat definitions)
2. (countable, rare) An instance of preparing food by using heat.
   • 1904, Winston Churchill, The Crossing, page 1:

     In the tiny kitchen a dozen men and a boy tried to hush their breathing, and sweltered. For it was very hot, and the pent-up odor of past cookings was stifling to men used to the open

   • 1992, R. S. Khare, The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experiences of Hindus and Buddhists, page 194:

     This culinary process is but the first in a series of cookings, of which the intracorporeal cookings constitute the rest.

   • 2004, Michael Symons, A History of Cooks and Cooking, page 95:

     Historian Madeleine Pelner Cosman addresses the multiple cookings of single dishes in medieval recipes. Why would a veal stew require four changes of pot and five separate cookings?

3. The result of preparing food by using heat.
   1. (uncountable) One's ability to prepare food; cookery.

      My cooking isn't very good. I don't have any idea how to prepare a good meal.

      I missed my mum's cooking while I was at university.

      • 2005, Diana Kirk, Sex, Lies and Rodeo Games, page 67:

        "I know his cooking is bad, but […] " She fluffed the pillows and placed them behind Suzanne's neck. "I thought Josh's cooking was much worse than Matt's, but I guess the bad-cook crown goes to the big guy."

      • 2012, J. M. Waters, Grey Falcon, page 14:

        His cooking is good to mediocre and most of the time, simple and filling.

      • 2013, Anna Bromley, Wild Animals and Wedding Outfits, page 145:

        Azie is a charming and attentive host. His cooking is excellent and the meals he prepares seem healthy and nutritious.

   2. (uncountable) The style or genre of food preparation.

      What you've produced is a perfect example of authentic Chinese cooking.

      • 2001, Reiko Weston, Cooking the Japanese Way, page 9:

        One of the most common styles of Japanese cooking is called nimono.

      • 2007, Andrea Broomfield, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History, page 3:

        No one, regardless of money and status, could work very successfully outside these variables, and as a result, people's diet and cooking were largely the same, although the rich could afford more food and more variety than could the poor.

      • 2009, Pat Chapman, India Food and Cooking: The Ultimate Book on Indian Cuisine, page 53:

        Though sesame is a minor spice in Indian cooking, it is an important export crop there. It has a somewhat neutral, nutty taste and it is used to texture delicate cooking.

   • Cookery definition

     The art and practice of preparing food for consumption, especially by the application of heat; cooking. (1 of 4 cookery definitions)

   • Style definition

     Senses relating to a thin, pointed object.

     1. A sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.
     2. A tool with a sharp point used in engraving; a burin, a graver, a stylet, a stylus.
     3. The gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour.
     4. The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower. (1 of 15 style definitions)

   • Genre definition

     A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
4. (uncountable) The cheapest available beer for sale in a public house; cooking bitter or cooking lager. ^[1]
   • 2009, David Nobbs, Reginald Perrin Omnibus: (Reginald Perrin), page 189:

     ‘Pint of bitter, please,” said Reggie. ‘Pint of cooking,” said the landlord.

   • Bitter definition

     Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance). (1 of 4 bitter definitions)

   • Lager definition

     A type of beer, brewed using a bottom-fermenting yeast.

Synonyms

• (skill or style of food preparation): See culinary art

Derived terms

• cooking oil

Descendants

• → Japanese: クッキング (kukkingu)

Translations

Adjective

cooking (not comparable)

1. Designed or suitable for culinary purposes.

   I filled the cooking pot with water.

   This tree bears cooking apples.

   • Culinary definition

     Relating to the practice of cookery or the activity of cooking. (1 of 2 culinary definitions)
2. (informal) In progress, happening.

   The project took a few days to gain momentum, but by the end of the week, things were really cooking.

   • Happening definition

     present participle and gerund of happen
3. (of an alcoholic drink) Cheap; better suited for use in recipes than drinking.
   • 1885, Bacchus(pseud.), New guide for the hotel, bar, restaurant [&c.]. Pt. 1, by Bacchus & Cordon Bleu, page 255:

     Bone a shoulder of mutton and lay in the following pickle for 24 hours, viz.:…half pint of cooking claret…and long peppers.

   • 2001, Langston Hughes, Arnold Rampersad, Dolan Hubbard, The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Gospel Plays, Opera, and Later Dramatic Works, page 204:

     JOHN JASPER: Mama says for you to come on upstairs and bring her a pint of cooking sherry. BODIDDLY: You know your Mama ain’t gonna do no cooking this time of the night!

   • 2008, Henry Smith, The Master Book of Soups, page 188:

     Add 1 pint of cooking sherry and boil again for 30 minutes.

Verb

cooking

1. present participle and gerund of cook

   • Cook definition

     A person who prepares food. (1 of 7 cook definitions)

References

• “cooking”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.