the practice or manner of preparing food or the food so prepared; cookery.

the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat.

A step in cheesemaking during which the cut curd is heated to assist in whey removal from the curds.

Preparation and heating of food before eating. See diet.

The application of either dry or moist heat to food.

Cooking is the act of applying heat to food in order to prepare it to eat. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavor or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result.