opening oven periodically while roasting?

[coppercone2]

do you think that opening an oven periodically while roasting improves the quality of the roast (particularly with veggies) because it lets humidity out of the oven, or is the natural rate of humidity loss in the oven high enough where it does not matter?

I..e if you want to make good roasted vegetables (more akin to BBQ food), and especially with mushrooms.

[SilverSolder]

I've always found that opening the oven "slows things down" or stops the processing going on in there...  so I avoid it, preferring to plant temperature probes and looking in through the glass when I can.

[qat]

AmazingRibs.com has a good article about this, it talks about grills and mainly temperature though, but the theory should still apply: https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/myth-if-youre-lookin-you-aint-cookin/

[coppercone2]

the temperature analysis is one thing, but the thermal transfer rate from humid air is not touched, which is what I am thinking about.

I noticed that I think I get better quality roasted vegetables (specifically brocolli, mushrooms) when I open the door a few times. They taste more like I want them to taste, which is more like grilled veggies. I know spacing is very important (crappy 1 pot stir fry vs labor intensive high quality standing there for a long time stir fry)

I think its not explored

The grill I feel like it blasts out everything in there like crazy (tons of smoke) wheras the oven, if you say drop cheese in there, you will see the slow rate of smoke emission from the back of the oven near the fume extractor

I measured air temperature with a thermocouple and its pretty fast to recover, I noticed if I am cooking wet PCBs (which have a lower moisture content), if you leave the door closed for 25 min and open it, you get blasted with humid air, but if you open it after 15 min and then again after 15 min, the first time you open the door you get a blast of humid air and the 2nd time not really, it feels to my face that there is a high amount of humidity retention

the assumption is made that the amount of water and rate of vapor generation from say a mushroom is very constant and opening the door has little effect because it gets replenished quickly, but maybe what I am going for is a wet bake to get rid of most of the water then a dry bake where there is much less water left that does something different to the surface. I feel like it makes a difference between leftover veggies being thrown out after 3 days or them being eaten day #2 with satisfaction.

i typically also spin my brocoli after washing in a salad spinner and wipe mushrooms with a wet towel to reduce overall amount of moisture, laying the baking tray in the fridge for a while also dehydrates it a little bit prior to cooking

[SilverSolder]

Sometimes I add water in a pan inside the oven e.g. when baking, to keep the humidity high during the process.  It makes a difference to the result, as the baked goods loses humidity more slowly or not at all!

[coppercone2]

i mean like roasted vegetables that you can put in a sandwich, they need to be pretty dry

[IanB]

The answer probably depends on the food you are cooking.

Roasting meat, you will need to open the door now and then to baste it, or it will dry out too much.

Roasting vegetables, you may need to take the tray out of the oven once or twice to turn them them, so they cook evenly. Otherwise they could be burned on the bottom and undercooked on the top.

Both cases, don't leave the door open while you work or the oven will cool down too much.

If you are baking bread, the opposite applies. You may put a tray of water in the oven for extra steam for a crisp crust, and don't open the door until the bread is cooked.

[DrG]

Seems like this is product-specific (i.e., what you are cooking), as has been mentioned.

For baking, humidity control does seem to be a big issue - https://bakerpedia.com/3-ways-to-control-oven-humidity/

https://www.readingthermal.com/equipment/humidity-sensor-commercial-baking-oven.html

For grilled veggies and roasted peppers, I use a broiler and do crack the oven - for careful inspection and turning, to avoid unwanted charring, but maybe humidity reduction is an added benefit that I had not realized.

[Halcyon]

do you think that opening an oven periodically while roasting improves the quality of the roast (particularly with veggies) because it lets humidity out of the oven, or is the natural rate of humidity loss in the oven high enough where it does not matter?

I..e if you want to make good roasted vegetables (more akin to BBQ food), and especially with mushrooms.

I find if your vege comes out a soggy mess, then you're either cooking it too long and/or not at a high enough temperature.

For example, I normally cook my potatoes in the oven. 200 degrees C for about 45-60 minutes (depending on how thick the pieces are). All it needs is some raw potato cut up into halves or quarters, thrown in a bowl with some olive oil and any seasoning that you like, then on a pan with baking paper. If you've cut them in half, put the cut side down, they'll crisp up nicely. If you've quartered them, start with one cut side down, then turn to the other cut side about 20-25 minutes in.