sauté

Imagine the sizzle of garlic hitting hot butter in a pan: that's sautéing. It is a French cooking technique, pronounced "soh-tay," and the name comes from a word meaning "to jump." The food seems to jump around in the pan as you cook it quickly in a small amount of fat over fairly high heat. You might sauté vegetables to soften them before adding them to a stew, or cook chicken cutlets for a quick dinner.

While it is often used for vegetables, you can also sauté mushrooms, shrimp, thin pieces of meat, and some kinds of fruit. It is different from deep-frying because you use only a little fat, and moving the food often helps it cook evenly without burning. Think of it as a quick, lively dance between your ingredients and the pan.

To sauté (pronounced soh-tay) is a cooking technique from French cuisine that means cooking food quickly in a small amount of fat over relatively high heat while stirring or tossing it often. The word comes from the French verb sauter, meaning "to jump," which refers to the way ingredients seem to leap around in the hot pan.

Unlike deep-frying, which covers food in oil, sautéing uses only enough oil or butter to lightly coat the pan. This creates a fast cooking process that can keep food tender, flavorful, and sometimes slightly crisp. It is most commonly used for vegetables: onions turning soft and clear, mushrooms browning, or spinach quickly wilting. It also works well for foods like shrimp, thin slices of chicken, pork, or fish fillets.

The key to doing it well is using fairly high heat and moving the food often. This helps it cook evenly and reduces the chance of burning. A wide pan, such as a sauté pan or skillet, is useful because it gives the food enough room to cook without steaming.

The term is used mainly in cooking. When a recipe tells you to sauté something, it usually means to put it in a hot pan with a little oil or butter and cook it quickly, often while stirring or tossing. It is one of the basic techniques behind many fast, flavorful dishes.