Which cooking method uses high heat to brown the surface of food quickly?

Searing is a cooking method that involves applying high heat to food, typically meat, to quickly brown the surface. This process creates a flavorful crust through the Maillard reaction, which enhances the overall taste and appearance of the dish. The technique is usually done in a hot pan with some fat, allowing for a rapid and efficient browning without cooking the food completely through.

Searing is often a preliminary step before more gentle cooking methods are applied, such as braising or roasting, which then cook the food through while retaining the rich flavors developed during searing. This contrast between the browned exterior and the tender interior contributes to a complex flavor profile in the finished dish.

Other cooking methods listed, such as steaming and blanching, focus on moist heat techniques that do not achieve the same browning effect, while braising involves low, slow cooking with a combination of moist and dry heat, which is not characterized by high-heat browning. Therefore, searing is the method that best fits the description of using high heat to create a browned surface quickly.