Why You Shouldn't Be Cutting Up Roasted Potatoes Too Much

In terms of comfort food, you really can't beat potatoes. This humble root vegetable is as versatile as it is delicious when slathered in butter and seasonings. In addition to baked varieties, French fries, and fancy scalloped potatoes, roasted potatoes are a bona fide crowd-pleaser when they show up on the dinner table. Much of their appeal is based on their amazing texture, as the perfect roast will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (per The Pioneer Woman).

Although you can enjoy a fine roasted spud at any time of the year, they're a staple of the holiday season. According to the Independent, Christmas dinners almost always include roasted potatoes, much to the delight of friends and family. And while most people are in agreement when it comes to the deliciousness of "roasties," agreeing on a common cooking technique is a bit more challenging. Opinions vary greatly from chef to chef when it comes to things like the preferred oil and seasoning. Opinions also diverge when it comes to cutting potatoes prior to roasting.

Everyone seems to have their own ideas about how to cut potatoes to ensure the perfect roast. Pillsbury shares a recipe that calls for red potatoes to be cut into fourths to create little bite-sized chunks. On the other hand, a Food Network recipe from Rachael Ray recommends cutting the potatoes in half when roasting. The way you cut the potatoes can have an effect on their texture, with certain techniques being associated with ideal crispiness.

The perfect spud cut is even backed up by science, as explained by the Daily Mail. Hospitality students in the U.K. decided to experiment with different cuts to determine which created the finest result in terms of crispiness. Their experimentation found that roasted potatoes achieve the best texture when cut at a 30-degree angle, as opposed to cutting them in half or in quarters. It's believed that this diagonal cut is more successful because it increases the surface area, which in turn enhances the crispiness. And when subjected to a taste test, people preferred the new cut at a rate of 6.6% when compared to the traditional method. In addition to how you cut your potatoes, there are other roasting techniques you can use to ensure perfection.

While roasting potatoes might seem relatively easy when compared with more complicated recipes, there's actually lots of room for error according to the Mirror. Jeff Baker, an esteemed chef who once prepared meals for the Queen herself, offers a few tips on how to get the perfect roast for your spuds. The crispness of your potatoes will be in jeopardy if you crowd them on the baking pan since they can be saturated by the oil and become overly soggy. Accordingly, it's important to leave room between them to ensure a crispy outer layer. You can enhance crispiness even further by briefly boiling potatoes in water with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes before you roast them. Pillsbury reminds cooks to cut their potatoes into similarly sized cubes or use smaller baby potatoes to ensure even cooking.

When it comes to cooking time, it generally depends on the size of the potatoes. A good rule of thumb is to plan for a cooking time of at least 30 minutes when the oven temperature is set to 475 F. In this case, Baker recommends assessing the spuds every 10 minutes or so to prevent them from becoming overdone. While they seem relatively trivial, these tips show how little variations in cooking can have a big impact on the finished product.