cooking

noun

1. (uncountable)The process of preparing food by using heat.

   “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, […]”

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

   “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.”

2. (countable, rare)An instance of preparing food by using heat.

   “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”

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

   “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. (uncountable)The result of preparing food by using heat.

   “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.”

   “"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."”

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

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

4. (uncountable)The result of preparing food by using heat.

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

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

   “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.”

   “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.”

5. (uncountable)The cheapest available beer for sale in a public house.

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

adj

1. (not-comparable)Designed or suitable for culinary purposes.

   “I filled the cooking pot with water.”

   “This tree bears cooking apples.”

2. (informal, not-comparable)In progress, happening.

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

3. (not-comparable)Cheap; better suited for use in recipes than drinking.

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

   “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!”

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

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of cook