What are the benefits of plancha cooking?

Neara quarter of French households which are equipped with a plancha, i.e. more than 7 million households. Meat, fish, seafood, vegetables… this very user-friendly cooking appliance allows you to grill a very large number of foods quickly and healthily.

The plancha is based on a simple principle: a metal plate heated to high temperature, generally between 250 and 300°Con which food cooks by direct contact. This plate – which can be in stainless steel, enameled cast iron, enameled steel or, more rarely, in chrome dur – is heated by an electric or gas source and diffuses even heat over its entire surface, which allows food to be quickly seared without contact with a flame.
Meat, fish or vegetables are therefore seared on the plate, which promotes surface caramelization while often preserving the softness at heart. The juices remain in contact with the food, the flesh dries out less and cooking becomes more precise.

In short, its operation is based on a simple logic: reproduce the lively and efficient cooking of the barbecue, but on a full plate, rather than on a grill or embers.

Grill cooking seduces first of all by its ability to preserve taste qualities food. Rapid cooking on a hot plate allows meat, fish or vegetables to be seared on the surface and retain their softness and juices for limit drying out. This lively cooking also allows respect textures and taste more naturalness of foods, without masking them with aromas of smoke or combustion.

In terms of health, the plancha is often considered interesting because it avoids direct contact with flames and limits combustion phenomena.

The plancha also pleases with its great ease of use and maintenance. It heats up quickly, allows intuitive cooking and offers good controleven for novices! The plate usually cleans easily after use, without ash management or cleaning of clogged grills.

Finally, its versatility is one of its strengths: it allows you to cook meat, fish, vegetables simultaneously, fruits or even certain delicate foods, with great precision.

“Cooking on a plancha does not necessarily require oil, or very little, and that is also a great asset” underlines Alexandra Murcier.
Naturally fatty foods in particular, such as certain meats (lamb chops, pork loin, duck breast, sausages) or fish (sardinessalmon, mackerel), release their own fats when cooked and do not require any additional fat addition.

Leaner meats can also be cooked without fat, but a thin film of oil can nevertheless be added, not to “fry”, but to facilitate cooking, limit the sticking of certain delicate foods (such as fish, vegetables or seafood), and sometimes improve caramelization.

Barbecue is based on cooking over embers or flames, so the heat is both more intense and more irregular. This is precisely what results in more marked cooking on the surface with a characteristic grilled crust and a slightly smoky taste, which appeals to barbecue fans. On the other hand, the food may be a little drier if the cooking is too long or the flame too close.
But beyond the taste and texture of food, these two cooking appliances do not have the same impact on their nutritional quality.
The barbecue cooking has long been singled out for being accused of causing the formation of toxic substances called heterocyclic amines (HCA). This phenomenon is linked to contact with flames or incandescent charcoal which subjects foods to very high temperatures.

Another charge of barbecue : the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)which form when fat falls on the embers and generates smoke, which is then redeposited on the food. “This is the well-known disadvantage of the charcoal barbecue, and the main advantage of the plancha which does not present this risk” adds Alexandra Murcier.

It is difficult to answer this question universally, because the “best cooking method” also depends on the food and nutrient we are trying to preserve.
The two cooking methods that are most respectful of the nutritional quality of foods are gentle cooking with little or no water: steam cooking, stewing or the oven cooking low temperature. “They have a triple advantage: they preserve temperature-sensitive micronutrientsprevent the formation of toxic compounds and limit the loss of minerals in cooking water« . But these cooking methods are not suitable for all foods, and are notably unsuitable for certain red meats which need to be entered. Quick cooking over high heat and with little fat – frying pan, plancha, electric barbecue – is then the most recommended, provided it is well mastered.

Conversely, the least interesting cooking are often those which combine very high temperatures, excess fat (or poor choice of fat) or carbonization. The fryingespecially repeated or deep, is a poor performer because it increases the caloric density of foods, can degrade certain heat-sensitive nutrients and, depending on the foods and temperatures, promote the formation of undesirable compounds.

For cooking over a wood fire, charcoal or very thorough grilling, the problem is not the fire itself, but the excesses: burnt food, direct flames, smoke, extreme temperatures. “When properly controlled, these cooking should not be banned, but they require more vigilance and should ideally remain occasional” adds the nutritionist.