browning reactions, which generate hundreds
of new taste and aroma molecules and so a
greater depth of flavor.
Often vegetables are coated with oil before
baking, and this simple pretreatment has two
important consequences. The thin surface
layer of oil doesn’t evaporate the way the food
moisture does, so all the heat the oil absorbs
from the oven air goes to raising its and the
food’s temperature. The surface therefore gets
hotter than it would without the oil, and the
food is significantly quicker both to brown
and to cook through. Second, some of the oil
molecules participate in the surface browning
reactions and change the balance of reaction
products that are formed; they create a
distinctly richer flavor.
Frying and Sautéing Baking oiled vegetables
is sometimes called “oven frying,” and indeed
true frying in oil also desiccates the food
surface, browns it, and enriches the flavor