The Common Mistake Chefs Never Make When Roasting Vegetables

Roasted vegetablesIt sounds so simple – chop some veggies, place them in the oven with some oil and seasonings, and wait for the perfectly golden produce to cook. Except that for some reason, mine always end up looking more like sous vide veggies than browned, crispy perfection. I’ve tried spacing them apart to prevent steaming, but no luck: that magical caramelisation just doesn’t occur. Turns out I might be making a common mistake – and though fixing it might come at the minor cost of a longer washing-up time, I reckon it’s worth a go.Baking paper spells disaster for your veggiesI’ve always used tinfoil or baking paper to line my roasting trays, mostly (to be honest) because I can’t be bothered deep-cleaning them afterwards. But while tinfoil might be a slightly better option than parchment paper, experiments from both culinary expert Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Kitchen and Serious Eats proved neither is ideal.That’s because a good char, and great crispiness, is down to direct heat transfer.A baking tray presents one barrier between the heat of your oven and your vegetables, but it’s a thin one, and because it’s likely metal, it’ll maintain a lot of the heat. When you add another layer, you interrupt the heat transfer further. This is true of tinfoil, even though it’s metal. But baking paper poses two problems. First, it creates another layer on top of your baking sheet – as we know, that’s a problem for heat transfer. Secondly, baking paper can’t tolerate the very high heat needed to create a char. That’s why it’s sometimes used for baking things like cakes, where you don’t want the side of the batter to come into contact with a searing surface.Still, a burning point of 215°C and a design that deliberately hampers some heat transfer make baking paper uniquely bad for crunchy veg.No wonder chefs like Dawn Perry, head baker at Superkind Cookies, never use them for this job.What is the best way to roast vegetables if you want them crunchy?Though it might pose a little more of a problem when it comes to washing-up time, experts roundly agree that an unlined, metal baking tray is your best bet.If you really can’t stand the thought of deep-cleaning the roasting tin, though, tinfoil is your second-best bet. Still, though tinfoil-lined baking trays may still brown veggies somewhat, they’re unlikely to create a truly delicious, deep char (sigh).Related...These Are The Best Potatoes For Roasting, According to Gordon RamsayMary Berry's 'Posh' Secret To The Best Roasted VegetablesI Added This Aussie Staple To My Roasted Vegetables And I'll Never Look Back

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