tr sote (a dish prepared this way) · it saltata (a dish prepared this way) · id tumis (a dish prepared this way) · bcl ginisa (a dish prepared this way) · bg соте́ (a dish prepared this way) · gl refrito (a dish prepared this way) · fi käristys (a dish prepared this way) · gl rustrido (a dish prepared this way) · id tumisan (a dish prepared this way)
Borrowed from French sauté, past participle of sauter (“to sauté”, literally “to jump”); in cooking, diced onions jump in the pan from the hot oil.
Meanings
(transitive) To cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat, allowing the food to brown and form a crust stopping it from sticking to the pan as it cooks.
Lightly sautéing fresh spinach in a drizzle of olive or avocado oil meets this baseline, and it’s tasty and nutritious as well. 2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025:
Frying and sautéing are methods that heat foods for the most part by conduction from a hot, oiled pan, with temperatures between 350 and 450°F/175–225°C that encourage Maillard browning and flavor development. 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 14, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
Parboil three-fourths cup carrot, cut in strips, fifteen minutes; drain, and sauté in one tablespoon bacon fat to which has been added one tablespoon finely chopped onion.[…]Cook until potatoes are soft, then add twelve small onions cooked until soft, then drained and sautéd in two tablespoons butter to which is added one tablespoon sugar. Onions need not be sautéd unless they are desired glazed. Serve from casserole dish. 1906, Fannie Merritt Farmer, “Lamb and Mutton”, in The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, section “Lamb en Casserole”, page 220:
sv sautera (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · bcl gisa (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · id tumis (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · hu pirít (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ca saltar (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ja 炒める (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · fr sauter (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · tr sotelemek (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · fi soteerata (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · tr sote etmek (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · fi käristää (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · cmn 嫩煎 (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · mr सॉटे करणे (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · it saltare (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · bg соти́рам (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · it padellare (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ja ソテー (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · da sautere (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ru жа́рить на ма́сле (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · de sautieren (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · pt saltear (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ms tumis (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · pt refogar (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · hu megpirít (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · cmn 煎炒 (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · gl refogar (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · it rosolare (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · hu kevés zsíron, hirtelen kisüt (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · ga sótáil (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · es rehogar (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · gl rustrir (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat) · es ahogar (to cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat)