35-minute experiment
Crowded vs spaced vegetables
The same vegetables, two very different tops.
The idea
Vegetables spread in one layer brown, and the same vegetables piled together steam and stay pale.
The one thing you change: Spacing on the pan
You need
- Two handfuls of cut potatoes or broccoli
- 2 tbsp oil
- Salt
- Two sheet pans or one big pan split in two
Steps
What you should find
The spread vegetables are browned and crisp at the edges. The piled ones are soft and pale.
Brown food in batches
Mushrooms are about 90 percent water, and most foods release plenty. In a packed pan that water can't boil off fast enough, so it pools and the food…
Read the explainer