What does it mean to "sweat" ingredients?

katje, Nov 27, 11:42pm
eg vegetables and seafood for example. I seem to be coming across a lot of recipes lately which say to "sweat" items in a pan. is this a term for steaming!

cgvl, Nov 27, 11:45pm
no similar to sauteing. low heat so onions in particular go nice and clear not brown. heat through without colouring.Is best description I can give

carlosjackal, Nov 28, 3:36am
As cgvl has explained - sauteed for a few minutes and not on too higher a heat to ensure that they do not colour.

makespacenow, Nov 28, 4:22am
Back home it means you place the ludicrous on so rather then the ingredients frying in the oil/water/butter the steam from cooking can not escape the pot so things "sweat". But maybe in nz it has different meaning.

spotswood, Nov 28, 5:37am
You also put a lid on the pot so it sweats better from the steam.

elliehen, Nov 28, 5:46am
I love words and really need to know.Does "ludicrous" mean "lid" in a language I'm unfamiliar with!

katje, Nov 28, 8:44pm
ludicrous usually means something is laughable :) I too am curious here

antoniab, Nov 29, 3:27am
I was wondering too :)

davidt4, Nov 29, 4:44am
Autocomplete gone feral!

makespacenow, Nov 29, 6:25am
no meant to say lid.stupid predictive spelling.each time my kids play with my phone they re set it !

ace441, Nov 29, 9:48am
"Sweating" applies to the aromatic vegetable base of a recipe and simply means for you to start those veggies cooking before other ingredients are added. The goal is to soften the vegetables without browning them and let their flavors get a chance to start mingling.

Sweating is similar to sautéing in that it is usually done in a pan on the stovetop with a relatively small amount of oil. Unlike sautéing, you want to sweat vegetables over a medium heat and you don't want the vegetables to start browning. Look for the vegetables to start glistening and softening around the edges, then move on to the next step in the recipe.

This technique is often used in recipes where those aromatics will be a background flavor base rather than main ingredients in the dish. It's also used a lot in slow-simmered dishes where the vegetables will continue to cook over a long stretch of time, like with braises and soups.

katje, Nov 29, 11:25am
lol hilarious ;) I wondered if that was what had happened haha.