Potatoes are a fundamental pillar of cuisine throughout Latin America. This tuber, central to countless recipes, presents technical challenges when trying to achieve a perfect texture at home. Many cooking enthusiasts attempt to replicate restaurant results, where they are known for their crispy exterior and tender interior. The secret appears to lie in an everyday ingredient chefs began using successfully during the 2020 lockdown: baking soda.
American cook J. Kenji López-Alt, a leading figure in culinary experimentation, promoted this technique after studying British cooking practices. The British often boil potatoes with rendered fat so a layer of starch forms that browns and crisps when exposed to oven heat.
Las roast potatoes became popular in pubs, ideal to pair with beer ZAK CHAPMAN – (Source: Pexels)
López-Alt substituted the fat with baking soda after identifying a key chemical reaction. As he explained on the Serious Eats site, this solid compound breaks down pectin, the cellular “glue” that holds vegetables together. By disrupting that structure during the boil, the chef prevented the pieces from falling apart prematurely while encouraging the formation of a starchy paste.
The key to the method lies in manipulating the pH of the cooking water. The chef argues that the process depends on an exact alkaline balance. “The lower the pH, that is, the more acidic it is, the less it will break down. Conversely, the higher the pH, that is, the more alkaline it is, the faster it will break down,” the chef detailed in his technical analysis.
Based on this evidence, the cook recommends adding just one tablespoon of baking soda to the water. The reaction creates an environment that accelerates surface breakdown of the tuber, forming the thin layer needed to achieve the desired crispness in the oven.
However, the technique requires precision. The chef warned that how the vegetables are cut is crucial to the recipe’s success. The pieces need to remain large and consistent in size.
If the pieces vary too much in dimension, the effect of the alkaline water can become counterproductive and compromise the integrity of the preparation. The expert’s basic premise is simple: “Alkaline water helps the outside of the potatoes break down more, creating a greater amount of the starchy paste that results in an extra-crispy exterior.”
The key to getting crispy potatoes is parboiling them by adding a tablespoon of baking soda to the water (Source: Pexels)
This discovery, supported by food science, changed how cooks approach the most popular pub side dish. By combining the parboil with baking soda and a blast of oven heat, it achieves a texture that once seemed exclusive to professionals. The technique is simple, inexpensive, and effective for anyone looking to improve home cooking results by changing one fundamental aspect of traditional cooking.
Step-by-step method to achieve roast potatoes:
Cut the potato into pieces of equal size.
Start them in cold water so heat enters gradually to the center of the tuber, and at the same time add one tablespoon of baking soda to the water.
A suggested ratio is one tablespoon of baking soda per two liters of water.
Bring the water to a boil and let it boil for five minutes.
Remove from heat, drain, and place the potatoes in an ovenproof dish.
Roast in the oven at 200 °C (392 °F) for at least 20 minutes.
Remove and carefully turn the pieces so the sides that are not yet browned are exposed. Then return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until fully golden.
Remove and season to taste.
LA NACION
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