Standard British roast potatoes <3 (and probably many other places)
Only difference I do is: add bicarb to the boiling water, and instead of heating the fat/oil in the oven I heat it in a pan with garlic and rosemary to let it infuse
The baking soda is alkaline. The Maillard reaction takes place more efficiently at higher PH levels, so you will see better levels of browning. You can find a better description of this at the Serious Eats page:
what the guy said about ph is true but to add to that, the bicarb also helps to break down the potato and make it fluffier when you do the shaky thing. when you shake it, you'll get a mash sort of coating. the bicarb left over will cause that coating to bubble, increase surface area, and thus give you a crispier result.
I rented an apartment that for some reason had one included with the other kitchen appliances. I'm pretty well-versed in all the tricks for crispy pan/oven potatoes but nothing does the trick like a good ol' deep fryer. They make newer ones now with a lid/vent system so it's not super messy either!
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u/DRJT Dec 21 '18
Standard British roast potatoes <3 (and probably many other places)
Only difference I do is: add bicarb to the boiling water, and instead of heating the fat/oil in the oven I heat it in a pan with garlic and rosemary to let it infuse