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Can You Really Bake When a Recipe Tells You to Fry?

November 24, 2021

It is a truth universally acknowledged that whenever a recipe for fried food is published—be it chicken or French fries, falafel or doughnuts—the first question will be whether that food can be baked instead.

And fair enough! Frying is messy, stinky, and splatter-y. While I'd happily accept a fried fish taco if someone else is offering, I don't want to fry on a weeknight in my small, ventilation-poor kitchen (and I imagine you don't either). Unless I have to, that is.

To see whether frying is worth the frazzle (or whether a baked version can make a perfectly acceptable stand-ins), we made and tasted baked and fried versions of sweet potato fries and falafel. Read on to see what happened—and, if you're curious, why it did.

Only one can win!!!! (Just kidding—it's not that simple.) Photo by Bobbi Lin

What Happened

The test

To test baking versus frying, we made two foods we love but would rather not go through the trouble to fry: sweet potato fries and falafel.

Sweet potato fries

Baked sweet potato fries seemed like a sure bet: After all, the most popular sweet potato "fries" on the internet are actually baked—and a recipe for fried fries is surprisingly hard to come by.

For our baked candidate, we tried The Kitchn's Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries, which is similar to our recipe for Southwestern Spiced Sweet Potato Fries, but theirs includes a game-changing ingredient: powdered starch.

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Top Comment:
“The baked falafel actually tasted healthy but not in a boring way, also they freezed well and reheated without that extra greasy oil you when you reheat fried food ewwwww. I was pleased. I bet in the air fryer they would be even better. ”
— Yvette S.
Comment

To make them, cut one large sweet potato (about 1 pound) into 1/4-inch-thick wedges, then coat with 2 tablespoons of corn starch or potato starch (we used potato) followed by 3 tablespoons of oil. Spread the wedges out in a single layer on an un-greased baking sheet, then bake at 400° F for 25 minutes, flipping every fry after 15. (We had to crank the heat to 425° F for the last 5 minutes to get a good color and crust.)

The baked sweet potato fries look... gunky. But they were our taste-off champs! Photo by Bobbi Lin

For the actually-fried fries, we made So Good Blog's Delicately Crispy Sweet Potato Fries: For this recipe, rinse the sweet potato strips in a few changes of cold water, then coat them in starch (this recipe calls for corn starch, and a much smaller amount: 1 1/2 teaspoons—as opposed to 2 tablespoons in The Kitchn's recipe—per every sweet potato) and deep-fry in a pot of oil that's between 325° and 350° F until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, and drain on a paper towel–lined baking sheet.

Falafel

For the falafel, we turned to a good old Food52 favorite: World's Easiest Falafel with Tzatziki.

We baked one batch on a lightly oiled baking sheet for 25 minutes at 425° F, until sufficiently brown on one side.

The other batch, we fried according to the recipe's instructions: We heated 1 cup of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, then fried the falafel balls for 3 minutes on each side, until deeply brown all over.

The baked falafel were only brown on their bottoms (and drier throughout). Photo by Bobbi Lin

The results:

Sweet potato fries

On first look, we were a little confused/put-off/upset by the appearance of the baked sweet potato fries, which, due to the large amount of potato starch, were gloopy going into the oven and retained a starchy exterior even once they were baked. The fried fries were flawless in comparison, with their smooth and discernible crusts.

Yet we actually preferred the baked sweet potato fries, despite their gunky appearance and chalkier coating. Neither group stayed particularly crispy—both erred on the softer side of the fry spectrum, even immediately after they were cooked, and got only softer over time—but the baked strips maintained more of a bite. Plus, the thin ends of the wedges got extra brown on the baking sheet (see those dark brown points in the photo below?), whereas every strip in the fried batch had a uniform softness.

Photo by Bobbi Lin

We also found that the flavor of the baked bunch was also sweeter and purely sweet potato-y, not obscured by any frying oil. We'd definitely try baking sweet potato fries again—perhaps with a smaller amount of starch, at a higher oven temperature, and on preheated baking sheets.

Or, if we wanted to give frying another go, we might try to double-fry (two runs through the hot oil), which is supposed to help the fries stay crispy far longer.

Falafel

You will not mistake a baked falafel for a fried one. Whereas our fried falafels were brown and crunchy all over, the baked patties were crisp on just one side. Yes, we could have been more diligent about flipping them, but even the brown underside of the baked falafel was not nearly as flavorful or crackly as the crust on their fried counterparts.

What's more, the fried falafel, while flaunting their crunchy exteriors, also had moister, greener, more flavorful interiors, too.

The fried falafel were browner on the outside (and greener on the inside!). Photo by Bobbi Lin

But many of our official taste-testers (that is, hungry members of the Food52 team) noticed that if you slathered the falafel in enough tzatziki, the differences became less noticeable—a lesson for the wise!

We may try baking falafel again—flipping them halfway through the baking time and being more generous with the amount of oil—but, in this instance, frying seems worthwhile.


Why It Happened

To understand why baking and frying impart such different results in terms of flavor and texture, you have to understand just a teeny bit of the science behind it.

First off, frying creates a steam barrier that protects the interior of the food from drying out: When your falafel or drumstick hits oil, which is at a much higher temperature (typically between 325° to 425° F) than the boiling point of water (212° F, let us remind you), there is a sudden expulsion of hot steam from its surface, explains Amanda Greene, a contributing food scientist to the Huffington Post.

This water vapor repels the oil, preventing it from penetrating the interior of the food, and cools the surrounding oil so that the heat can make its way to the center of the food before the exterior burns. As that heat moves inward, starches gelatinize (in the case of potatoes), proteins denature (fried chicken), and fibers soften (fried vegetables), say David Joachim and Andrew Schloss of Fine Cooking.

See those bubbles? That's water turning to steam as it hits the hot oil. Photo by Ashley Rodriguez

And frying is much more efficient than baking, which makes for shorter cook times, which means that you're not dehydrating the interior of the food in an effort to crisp up the outside. When you fry, as Harold McGee outlines in On Food and Cooking, the "entire surface of the food is in contact with the cooking medium" and that cooking medium (oil!) is much more efficient at transferring energy than air. We know this: Sweet potato fries take nearly 30 minutes in the oven compared to 5 minutes in the oil; falafel take 25 minutes in the oven, 6 in oil.

No other cooking method delivers such crisp, delicious browning while keeping food moist and tender on the inside.
Fine Cooking, on Frying

Because the food's whole surface (or, in the case of the falafel, half of the surface at a time) is in contact with the hot oil, you're also more like to come away with evenly-cooked pieces. The oil can infiltrate all of the tiny cracks and crevices—just compare the smooth surface of the fried fries to the spotty baked fries, and the uniformly-browned falafel patties to the splotchy baked undersides. In the oven, only some of the food can be in contact with the hot baking sheet at any given point, which necessitates flipping (and spatula contortion). Plus, you risk burning thinner sections—like the points of the sweet potato wedges—before the exterior is sufficiently crisp.

If all this sounds like a case for frying, don't be alarmed: Remember that we favored the crisper, sweeter baked sweet potato fries! Perhaps because they were so thin with rather lean interiors, that the natural flavor was not overpowered by a hot bath of oil?

Regardless, there is a time and a place for frying. But in many cases, you can fake it in the oven—just don't think your egg rolls will be as smashingly crunchy as those from the restaurant.

  • If you are keen to bake when a recipe says to fry, try the convection setting (if you've got one). As McGee explains, convection ovens increase the rate of heat transfer and reduce baking times. You should be able to get crispier, more evenly cooked exteriors in less time (though you may need to reduce the oven temperature and check on your food more frequently!).

  • But if you're ready to fry, take steps to keep your hard-earned fried food crispy: Greene of the Huffington Post recommends immediately transferring your food to a 200° F oven until you're ready to serve it: By keeping the food steaming, you'll slow the migration of oil into the food (stymying greasiness) and prevent sogginess, which is a common pitfall of breaded and battered foods especially, because as the food cools, the steam in the space between the crust and the food condenses until water droplets (which translates to mushiness) form. Keep the food warm and stave off the sog.


To Bake or To Fry?

But baking doesn't always compromise quality! Below, you'll find baked (left) and fried (right) versions of some of our favorite foods. They're not exactly the same, but both are good options (promise!).

What typically fried foods have you had great success—or great failure—baking? Divulge in the comments below.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • kitblu
    kitblu
  • Mark Read
    Mark Read
  • tara
    tara
  • Yvette Sol
    Yvette Sol
  • Cphyman
    Cphyman
I used to work at Food52. I'm probably the person who picked all of the cookie dough out of the cookie dough ice cream.

14 Comments

kitblu May 13, 2017
I would like you to test falafels made in an aebelskiver pan compared to baked and fried.
 
Mark R. May 13, 2017
Our present favourite sweet potato recipe is a simple baked recipe. Wash and scrub the baked potato, cut into half inch thick discs, toss in a mix of olive oil, whole grain mustard and a dash of Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Place on an oven pan, sprinkle with salt. Place on top shelf of oven at 425 F. Watch them bake. Turn over the slices when they easily disengage from the pan (tap on the side with a spatula). Watch them bake. Remove when still fleshy on the inside, crispy and a bit caramelized on the outside.
 
Mark R. May 13, 2017
When frying french fries (usually more like scalloped potatoes than long, thin fries), we were taught to: partially fry the fries, remove from the oil and place on kitchen towels to catch the drained oil, turn-up the heat on the oil, sprinkle the fries with salt, quickly fry again in the (very) hot oil. The result, fries which "rustled like newly fallen autumn leaves". Always spectacular.
I now have to try that with sweet potatoes.
 
tara May 12, 2017
I loved this article. I often try the baked version of any recipe (because I want it to work!!) and honestly am sometimes rather disappointed by the final outcome. Dry, dense, and lacking in flavour seems to be the norm. I think an air fryer may be in my future:)
 
Yvette S. May 12, 2017
I've made successful baked falafel recipe from Mark Bittman (I decided to bake instead). Yes you do have to flip them to get golden and give a little light brush of oil on both sides. Yes they are a little denser. The fried ones are more light and yes indeed fluffy. But I loved the baked ones and actually liked them better. The baked falafel actually tasted healthy but not in a boring way, also they freezed well and reheated without that extra greasy oil you when you reheat fried food ewwwww. I was pleased. I bet in the air fryer they would be even better.
 
Cphyman May 12, 2017
I have a new Breville smart oven with the air fry setting, and I'm having great results with potatoes, Brussels sprouts and the like. I'm going to try falafel. I think because it sits on a grid rather than a solid pan it might work well.
 
Paul M. May 12, 2017
Great article and I loved the science tidbits. My dad was an organic chemist/food industry consultant who could explain everything food and beverage. Thanks for the reminiscing. But, one question: you mentioned convection but did not discuss the hybrid option of the air fryer. These work by convection at the high temps and are a happy medium time wise. I've seen dozens of options in all difference price ranges and positive reviews about the process results. Your thoughts?
 
Ryan W. May 12, 2017
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Julie May 11, 2017
I unintentionally made the best, crispiest sweet potato fries I've ever had by forgetting about my sweet potato on the counter for a month. I unburied it from the pile of mail that had accumulated on top of it, peeled it, sliced it up, doused in avocado oil, coated it in spices, and chucked it in the oven at a high heat. They crisped up so beautifully that I ate the entire pan in one sitting.

I tried to recreate it with a fresh sweet potato, but the results were disappointingly not crispy. I think leaving my poor sweet potato languishing on my counter helped to dry it out and make it more crispy? I need to forget about more sweet potatoes to test the theory...
 
Sarah J. May 11, 2017
Very interesting...! I wonder if you could achieve a similar effect by slicing up a sweet potato and leaving it exposed to air in the fridge for a few hours. The same way that people get crispy skin on chicken!
 
dinner A. May 11, 2017
I make sweet potato oven fries often, but don't use any sort of coating. Just toss them with generous oil and salt and bake hot (425-450), flipping when the pan side is well browned. They are only a little bit crispy (as you noted for both your baked and fried sweet potatoes; I think it's hard to get sweet potatoes crispy) but they taste great. Removing them from the pan to a cooling rack helps preserve the bit of crisp they do have.
 
Joy H. May 11, 2017
Another good way to get crispy-crunchy results without frying is to use your waffling iron! It doesn't work for everything, but for those that it does, it's amazing!
 
Sarah J. May 11, 2017
So smart!! I've been eyeing (oohing and ahhing!) your waffling experiments on Instagram—so impressive and tasty-looking!
 
Joy H. May 11, 2017
Haha, thanks! I'm definitely hooked on waffling leftovers =)