roadfix
Chef Extraordinaire
When in doubt get an oven with a big, red, conventional, single analog dial. There is no distinguishing between baking and roasting.
Question About Roasting Versus Baking.
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Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
Let me throw this question back at you. My oven has no setting that says ROAST. So you tell me.... how do I roast food in it?
Hint: the answer is very simple. I even gave it to you up above.
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I completely understand with the oven settings. That is not the issue. The issue is people here said earlier that roast and bake are the same,I agree on that when it comes to stove . But you can't say in a recipe that says roast they also mean bake. Like roasted potatoes and baked potatoes. That is two different things,right? Different out comes. So in a recipe like my ham one that says cover and roast for x amount of time.....that does not apply. ,so why do refer to roast here in the recipe? It's not the stove its why and when recipes say roast. Think of roast....think of a crunchy carmelized outside. But not in this case with the ham. A lot of recipes mention roast when comes to meat but it does not reflect the carmelized outside. So why say roast in oven. Maybe this is a little clearer on what I am trying to ask. Also say like oven fry you are using the bake cycle but you know the food is going to fried like when done .so why wouldn't when you say roast it would mean carmelized outside. Maybe I am not asking the right way....but I hope this helps on what I am trying to ask. Sorry so long just trying to get across what I mean.
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Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
If we throw in a stove with with both convection and regular ovens into the mix this whole question will self destruct?
Here is another approach..... Bake a cake at 350 degrees ,but say if its meat we say its roast chicken? Correct me if I am wrong, but is it because of the food cooking we say either roast and bake and roast doesn't mean the technique to cook it?
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RPCookin
Executive Chef
I think that you are reading too much into this. I'm sorry but unless you are making cakes and pastries, roasting and baking ARE the same thing. The terms may be used to specify different foods, but the process is identical.
Take "baked" macaroni and cheese. I want it a bit golden and crispy on top, but I wouldn't call it roasted. It just sounds funny. The same with gratin potatoes.
But I can make "roasted" vegetables and I don't want a crisp crust on them. Maybe a slight bit caramelized for some veggies, but not crispy or crunchy. Yet I would never call them baked.
A baked potato is essentially roasted, but we still call them baked potatoes. Or in some places it's a jacket potato, which eliminates any confusion.
In other words, it's more the usual problem with the English language, that the words are mostly used interchangeably with various dishes, and they really have little to do with the cooking process.
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You are asking us to read the mind of the recipe writer, who we don't know, and judge their intent while writing a recipe. Plain and simple, it just doesn't matter. Semantics and cooking are two vastly different subjects. You take each and every word/description/direction too literally and lose the meaning of what is needed.
Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
We are trying to correct you, but you are not listening to or believing us.
I get the impression you are not a native English speaker, so that may be where part of the confusion lies. English is a hybrid language which originated from more than one language. Many of our words came from Anglo-Saxon, which is a Germanic language. When France occupied England hundreds of years ago, the English language also assimilated many French words.
So we have many terms for which there are words having the same, or nearly the same, meaning, but a different origin.
Roast comes from the Old French word "rostir," which means "to cook by dry heat." Online Etymology Dictionary
Bake comes from the German word "backen," which means "to cook by dry heat in an oven or on heated metal or stones."
Bake | Define Bake at Dictionary.com
For the most part, these words are interchangeable.
This happens a lot in English. That's why we have words like "dine" (French origin) and "eat" (German origin) which mean the same thing. In many cases, the French origin word is just a fancier way of saying it.
So please stop being so literal.
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bakechef
Executive Chef
My convection oven has roast feature that cycles the broiler element on and off and uses the fans to circulate. It does a really nice job crisping skin on poultry and creates a very even color all over that high heat roasting on a regular setting doesn't quite match.
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Thanks for all the advice. As far as being literal,just trying to understand. ( sorry).I would like to say that when I see the word roasting I think of crunchy crust etc... You guys know what I am saying and baking I think of merly just browning things. Maybe I am wrong , so with that said that is why I am having a hard time when a recipe says like ham for example,cover and roast in oven. When I see roast I think of the above I just explained. Same problem when I see or hear people say I roasted chicken in a crock pot ..... How is that possible. Crock pot only braise. So WHY do they say ROASTED when clearly it's not. I don't think this is being literal to ask this question. Any one know why they say chicken in the crock pot is roasting?
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No, because we cannot read the recipe writer's mind and their intent when they wrote the recipe, they used the words they wanted to when they wrote the recipe. You will have to contact the recipe writer and ask THEM why they chose the words they did when they wrote their recipe.
bakechef
Executive Chef
I'm not an expert in marketing, but I pay attention. Different words are used to conjure up different feelings in consumers. "Roasting" likely conjures up feelings of savory and delicious meats with a crisp skin or crust. Baking on the other hand doesn't have the same affect when it comes to meats. "Baking" as in "fresh baked" gives people the feeling of warm soft bread, or chewy cookies with a crisp edge and melty chocolate etc..
We have just become accustomed to applying certain words to certain things to portray them in a way that makes them desirable. Whether this is influenced by tradition or marketing depends on the person. Hope this makes sense, this isn't based on any scientific data but my own observations.
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
Because "they" don't know what they are talking about. That's it.
There are a lot of folks out there like that and some of them write recipes.
RPCookin
Executive Chef
This is really part of the problem. You can't assume that because someone typed up a recipe and posted it on the internet or in any other source that they know what they are talking about. That is probably true even here, if you are just looking at a single source. But when everyone who has posted here says the same thing, and we have a lot of experienced cooks here - even a few professional chefs - then you can believe that you are getting good and factual information.
Just forget that your oven has two different settings for bake and roast. If you follow most recipes and only use the bake setting, you can't go wrong. If you cook a roast on the bake setting according to the instructions in a recipe, it will probably turn out nicely roasted, as the author intended.
Once again, there really is nothing more to understand about it. That crock pot statement is simply wrong, and just confuses the issue. Roasting and baking are done in the oven, and both processes can be done with only one setting. I've been roasting with only a "Bake" setting for some 50 years, so I might have some clue what I'm talking about.
How do you think our predecessors did it in a wood stove? They didn't have a "Bake" button or a temperature control, yet they still managed. You can bake bread in a cast iron Dutch oven with coals on an open fire, or roast meat on a spit over an open fire. That's all just words, semantics. What is important is the process, and that is just variations on a theme for anything cooked with dry heat in the oven.
Learn the processes and forget about the words.
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roadfix
Chef Extraordinaire
Even many high end ovens don't give you bake and roast choices. Turn dial to set temp and that's it. They don't need all the electronic control gizmos. If you want browning turn on the broiler for a few minutes. Just don't walk away from the oven and forget.....
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
Actually I would have agreed with you there RF, until I got my new ($1,000) GE gas stove recently. I'm still discovering all it does. The single normal oven can be switched to convection, which indeed does have both BAKE and ROAST choices.
The booklet says the "bake multi rack" mode is equipped with Auto Recipe Converson for baking cakes and cookies.
The Convection Roast mode is meant for roasting whole cuts of meat on a single rack.
I'm going to do an oven Tri Tip tonight to see how it goes with the convection Roast mode. Teaching this old dog new tricks is always interesting.
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CarolPa
Executive Chef
Kayelle, maybe you can teach me how to use my oven. I have had it for 3 years and haven't figured it all out yet. I also have both convection roast and convection bake, but mine doesn't say multi rack. Inside the oven, the broil element is on the top. The bake element is right under the bottom of the oven. I use convection bake when I bake cookies but have never used convection roast because I didn't know what that meant. I am accustomed to just having a dial for the temperature and setting the timer. Is it true that when you use convection roast the top element heats up also? If not, then there's no difference between convection roast and convection bake. The fan turn on for both. When I cook meat, I usually just use Bake. I have used Bake for roasted vegetables, too. I guess I should read my manual.
Mine is also GE but looks a little different from yours. It has an extra oven on the bottom but it's very small and pretty much useless except to keep things warm. One time I tried baking the rolls in it on Thanksgiving since the top oven was in use. The rolls burned on top and were raw on the bottom. I do not recommend a GE Profie.
Mine is also GE but looks a little different from yours. It has an extra oven on the bottom but it's very small and pretty much useless except to keep things warm. One time I tried baking the rolls in it on Thanksgiving since the top oven was in use. The rolls burned on top and were raw on the bottom. I do not recommend a GE Profie.
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bakechef
Executive Chef
Mine is a Samsung and has the convection roast feature. Convection bake uses the top and bottom elements to preheat, and the bottom element only to maintain the temperature.
Convection roast keeps cycling the top broiler element throughout the roasting process, aiding in browning, making a nice crisp skin.
I like convection roast for vegetables it caramelizes the veggies quickly.
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CarolPa
Executive Chef
Next time I use it I will have to look to see if the top element is also on when I use convection. Never looked. I just noticed the fan.
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
My GE stove is the Adora and the bottom drawer is for storage that I desperately need, rather than the extra oven. I don't bake but I may have to do a couple of cookie sheets just to check it out. Get out your booklet Carol.
I always say someone was paid big bucks to write them.That's the way I understand it too BC. The Tri Tip is about to ROAST in the convection oven at 425 degrees. More later.
