The secret tool for crispy food
Do you always want the crispiest fried chicken, toast, cookies and pita bread? I get it, we all do. Fortunately, the solution is very simple and costs only a few euros: go and get a cooling rack right now.
A slice of bread comes out perfectly crispy from the toaster, but as soon as you put it on your plate it immediately becomes soggy. Because the bread is hot, it releases steam (moisture). On your plate, that moisture has nowhere to go, so it gets absorbed completely by the bread. Disgusting. Recently, I’ve been putting those slices of bread and anything else that needs to stay crispy on a cooling rack, and I can’t believe I never tried this simple trick before.
Late to the party
After years of cooking obsession, I now have pretty much every tool you could think of at home. A deep-fry and sugar thermometer? Check. Different-sized spatulas for large bowls as well as the smallest ones? Check. A small rolling pin specifically for dumplings? Check. Yet it never occurred to me to buy a cooling rack, even though so many recipes say you should use one.
Almost every cookie recipe says that you should let the cookies cool on a cooling rack. I never saw the point—you can just do that on a baking sheet too, right? Yes, but then the bottom becomes much chewier because no air can reach it. The steam escaping from the hot cookies has nowhere to go and gets absorbed back into the cookies. This makes cookies chewy and crispy things soggy. Slices of bread, pita breads, Vietnamese crispy pancakes: put them all on it.
Better than paper towels
Forget paper towels. Place your cooling rack on a baking dish or large baking sheet and let your fries, fried chicken or tempura drain on the rack. Paper towels become completely saturated with oil, and if you leave your fried food on them for too long, it will still become soggy and greasy. With a cooling rack, all the fat drips away, and the underside of your food stays wonderfully crispy too.
I bought mine for €14 and think it’s worth every cent, but later I saw at Duikelman and Dille & Kamille that you can get them for as little as €7. Even cheaper! So you’re only a few euros away from crispy food and a life without soggy sandwiches.
Also read:
