One of the best things for me — besides the potatoes — that came out of the Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes recipe was the use of parchment paper. I have always heard about parchment paper. A lot of recipes call for it and a lot of people use it, but I never had. I always thought it was a waste. Why buy paper you are going to put in the oven just to use once? I didn’t really understand it. And I probably still don’t understand all of the benefits of it, but the benefits I do understand make it worth it — to me — to use it. I love using parchment paper to roast/bake on!
One thing I love about it is easy clean up — of course, right? I mean you just put the paper down on the pan and roast/bake/cook on it and then when your food is done you just take it off the pan and throw it away. As I mentioned I used to think that was a waste, but it saves me a few other things. It saves me time . . . . I am not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan. It saves water . . . . again, not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan. Not even really having to wash the pan most of the time. Some times I can just wipe the pan clean. Sometimes I wash it, but it is so quick it is not even comparable. Along the lines of washing, I am saving soap, if you want to go so far as to say that — it would be true. So the clean up alone is GREAT.
Also the food tends to cook differently. I say differently as opposed to better because not everyone might like the way it cooks. It tends to help allow the food’s moisture to evaporate better. Perhaps the paper helps soak it up then it dries. Not sure of the science behind it, but I know that using foil does not allow the food to dry as much so the food does not get as crispy. That is why I broke down and bought some when I was going to make the potatoes. Actually I had bought some a long time ago I just never saw the real point in using (read “WASTING”) it. So the food seems to get “crispier” than without the paper. I like that!
One thing I do when I use parchment paper is I wet the pan a little. The parchment paper I have comes on a roll so it tends to have that curved shape. It also seems really slippery. The paper always wants to move around the pan. So I put a little water on the pan so the paper stays in place. Then usually once the food is on it, it doesn’t slide around.
I usually use it for roasting veggies. Tonight I am roasting sweet potatoes.
I always thought that parchment paper was good up to 450° F so that is what I roast/cook/bake at, but the box says 420° F, which I just noticed as I was taking a picture of it for this post. Oh!
I know there are other uses for parchment paper. I can think of a few, but what about you? Do you use parchment paper? What do you use it for? Don’t you love it?
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