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Do you love succulent but crispy food? If your answer is yes, you must know how important it is to use foil while oven cooking some of the foods.
Some people do not know how to use aluminum foil for cooking properly. While it is easy, you need to understand a few simple principles when using it.
Most people think that covering the food with foil will help them to cook the food faster. But is it right to say that foils help you cook food more quickly than cooking it the usual way?
If you have any confusion regarding the use of foil in cooking, then this is the article for you.
What is Foil?
Aluminum foil is a well-known kitchen staple that’s been used for generations. It’s made from a very thinly rolled sheet of aluminum metal that ends up being shiny on one side and matt on the other.
It has become a household essential because people use it for wrapping food for storage when cooking and for lining grill trays and oven pans to make them easier to clean. It is also very useful when cooking foods on the barbeque.
Why Do We Cover Food with Foil When Cooking?
The main purpose for covering food with a foil “lid” is to lock in moisture, thereby preventing the dish from drying out. It also helps the food cook more evenly by preventing the top from browning before the rest of the dish is cooked.
While some people debate the issue, aluminum foil doesn’t make much difference to the cooking time. If it does, it isn’t very important.
However, it really does help food to cook more evenly. If you wrap the food with the shiny side facing outwards, the dish will not brown as easily.
This method may slow the cooking process down slightly. This would be useful for casseroles, for instance.
If you cover the food with the shiny side facing inwards (against the food), the food item will brown and cook slightly faster. This is useful for something like a roast chicken, for example.
Does Covering with Foil Cook Food Faster?
No, covering your food with foil while it’s cooking will not make it cook faster. However, it will make it cook better, and that’s a good thing.
The aluminum foil will help to disperse the heat more evenly so that the dish cooks perfectly on all sides.
Larger cuts of meat such as a turkey, for instance, will cook better all the way through rather than being brown and dried out on the outside and raw on the inside.
Also, the foil may reflect a little of the heat, resulting in slowing the food’s cooking process a little.
If you thought that aluminum foil would help cook the food faster, this was not correct.
If you are in a hurry to cook foods such as baked potatoes or chicken faster, we recommend that you microwave them for a short time before putting them into the oven.
Please remember never to use aluminum foil in the microwave as it can cause sparks and even a fire.
We hope this article has given you a better understanding of the principles involved when cooking with foil. Please let us know your questions in the comment section below if you are still confused.