Roasting facts for kids

Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and yorkshire pudding

Roasting is a popular way to cook food. It involves cooking with dry heat, often in an oven, over an open fire, or on a grill. This method gives food a delicious crispy outside and a tender inside. Roasting is different from boiling or steaming because it uses hot air or direct heat instead of water.

What Foods Can You Roast?

Many different types of food are roasted around the world. This cooking method is very versatile!

Roasting Meat

People often roast various kinds of meat. Popular choices include chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and duck. When you hear someone say "a roast," they usually mean the roasted meat served with side dishes like vegetables.

Roasting meat often takes a while to make sure it's cooked all the way through and safe to eat. For some meats, like lamb and beef, people sometimes prefer them to be a little "pink" in the middle. This means they are not fully cooked to the center, which can make them more tender.

Roasting Other Foods

Besides meat, many other foods can be roasted. Vegetables are often roasted, which brings out their natural sweetness and gives them a lovely texture. Common roasted vegetables include potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and bell peppers.

Some foods are almost always roasted as part of their preparation:

• Coffee beans: Before they are ground and brewed, coffee beans are roasted. This process develops their flavor and aroma.
• Chocolate beans: The beans used to make chocolate are also roasted. Roasting helps to create the rich, deep flavors we love in chocolate.

Images for kids

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  Tudor style roasting meat on a spit

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  Whole roast chicken

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  Shawarma prepared on a rotating spit

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  Roast vegetables

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  A 3 kilograms (6.6 lb) top round roast of beef, tied and ready to be browned and roasted

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  Untrussed (untied) and trussed chicken for roasting

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  Roasting of burbot with scallops (France) to be cooked