How to get a perfect crunch factor when cooking, plus a crispy potato recipe | Canada Voices

It’s often said we eat with our eyes, but we use all our senses when we eat: Our sense of smell has a greater impact on our sense of taste than our tastebuds do, and there’s the tactile experience of sticky, chewy, soft or crispy – or better yet, a contrasting combination.

Even sound affects our culinary experience. One small study found that the crisp and crunchy sound of food exhibited the largest positive correlations with pleasantness. Hearing the crunch as you bite into something magnifies your textural experience; hearing someone else do the same helps us imagine the experience of it. Social-media content creators have picked up on this, and it’s common to see a chef’s knife drag across the surface of something crunchy, creating a sound that allows our brains to perceive how it would feel to bite into, making us want to eat it.

The key to a crisp outer crust, whether you’re roasting a chicken, grilling a steak or pan-searing a piece of tofu, is to eliminate as much moisture from the surface of the food as possible. The Maillard reaction, a chemical response between amino acids and reducing sugars when foods are subjected to a temperature higher than boiling water, creates complex new flavour compounds and browning. Typically, moisture will evaporate in the oven, but it helps to give it a head start by patting your food dry with paper towels, or even tossing it in something absorbent, like flour or cornstarch.

Amazing Roasted Potatoes

Part of the appeal of roasted potatoes is the contrast between the crispy/crunchy exterior and the soft, fluffy insides, which is achieved by boiling the potatoes first.

It’s a common recommendation to start potatoes in cold water, and bring them to a boil for even cooking – so that the edges don’t start to disintegrate before the insides are done – but in reality edges that are starting to fall apart create more crunch.

Some cooks also add a bit of baking soda to the water. The resulting change in the the pH, making the water more alkaline, breaks down the pectin in potatoes, which in turn helps break down their edges so they’re crunchier once roasted. Increased alkalinity also encourages the Maillard reaction, which promotes browning. (Pretzels, for example, are dipped in a strong alkaline lye solution, which promotes their deep browning.)

You can roast any quantity of potatoes, just ensure you don’t crowd them on the pan, so that the hot air has an opportunity to circulate around them in the oven. If you like, toss a halved head of garlic and/or a few sprigs of rosemary onto the sheet along with the potatoes as they roast. (The roasted garlic is amazing squeezed into mayo for dipping.)

• 2 lbs (approximately) russet potatoes
• Salt
• 2-3 tbsp flour, rice flour or cornstarch
• Canola or other neutral vegetable oil, for cooking

Peel your potatoes and cut them into large, similar-sized chunks – I usually cut them in quarters in equal-sized but irregular shapes. Put them into a pot, cover with water, add a big pinch of salt and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender and just starting to break apart on the edges.

Drain in a colander and set it in the sink or back on top of the pot, and let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes or so to steam and dry. Toss them a couple times in the colander to rough up the edges and allow the potatoes at the bottom to come to the top to dry. If you like, shake over a few tablespoons of flour, rice flour or cornstarch, and gently toss the potatoes around to coat. (They don’t need to be evenly coated.)

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 F. When you’re ready to roast, coat a heavy rimmed baking sheet with a generous amount of oil and put it into the oven until it’s hot.

Gently, carefully place the potatoes on the sheet, turning them around to get more oil on the surface, and roast for about 20 minutes. Pull out the pan and turn the potatoes, then return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes, turning again if you like, until they’re deeply golden and crunchy. Sprinkle with salt and serve right away, with mayo or something you love for dipping.

Serves about five.