Cooking or
cookery is the
art,
technology and
craft of preparing
food for consumption with the use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the
world, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions and trends. The ways or types of cooking also depend on the skill and type of training an individual cook has. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Cooking can also occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably with
ceviche, a traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime juice.