It is something so common that we have come across it countless times in restaurants of all types and conditions. The technique of individually wrapping each tuber to make roast potatoes is so established that it is even the one we share in DAP and we practice at home. But we may have been doing it wrong all this time.
The potatoes roasted like this go well, well cooked and delicious if the times are respected, and it has the advantage of being a clean method that allows meat, fish or other garnishes to be cooked at the same time on the same tray, without touching each other. However, the science tells us that it is not the best method to get the most out of the versatile tuber.
They explain it clearly from the Idaho Potato Commissioneven stating that doing so should be prohibited as it could be a trick used by some locals to hide defects or bruises in the product.
Exaggerations aside, the objective reason behind his position is that a potato has, on average, between a 70 and 80% waterdepending on the variety and freshness. By wrapping it completely in aluminum foil, we are creating a hermetic closed compartment that prevents that moisture from escaping, concentrating it inside and causing the potato to it cooks with their own vapors. We are basically cooking it al papillote.
Thus we actually obtain a cooked potato, not roasted, wet and with soft skin, which is also easy for us to overcook as we lack direct visual guidance. If it is overcooked, in addition to being wet, it can be floury and brittle, with wrinkled skin that could also burst. And it will not have the delicious roasted, caramelized flavor that baked vegetables give us.
The exception to yes use aluminum foil
The only case in which it is recommended to resort to the technique of completely wrapping the potatoes with aluminum foil is when cooking them over coals in a barbecue, in the fireplace or with the direct action of fire in a bonfire This way they are protected from the flames, which would otherwise end up calcining it quickly, and the effect of the fire manages to convey that delicious smoky flavor that we cannot get in the oven at home.
You only have to control well both the level of exposure to the flames and the cooking time, as it is easy for burn on the outside, being somewhat raw on the inside if the action of the fire is too intense and direct. A digital thermometer can help us monitor that temperature to make sure that the heart of the tuber is well cooked to its point without scorching on the outside.
ThermoPro TP02S 5 Second Instant Read Kitchen Thermometer Digital Food Thermometers with Long Probe for Meat BBQ Food Liquids Oil Water
Images | Freepik – Martin Cathrae – Jarritos
In DAP | Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
In DAP | Roasted potatoes at low temperature in Crock Pot