Editing Roasting (section)

==Methods==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Sunday roast - roast beef 1.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Sunday roast]] consisting of [[roast beef]], [[potato]]es, [[vegetable]]s, and [[Yorkshire pudding]]]]
For roasting, the food may be placed on a rack, in a roasting pan or, to ensure even application of heat, may be rotated on a [[spit (cooking aide)|spit]] or [[rotisserie]]. If a pan is used, the juice can be retained for use in gravy, Yorkshire pudding, etc. During oven roasting, hot air circulates around the meat, cooking all sides evenly. There are several plans for roasting meat: low-temperature cooking, high-temperature cooking, and a combination of both. Each method can be suitable, depending on the food and the tastes of the people.
* A low-temperature oven, {{convert|95|to|160|C|F|-1}}, is best when cooking with large cuts of meat, turkey and whole chickens.{{sfn|Cooking|2011}} This is not technically roasting temperature, but it is called slow-roasting. The benefit of slow-roasting an item is less moisture loss and a more tender product. More of the collagen that makes meat tough is dissolved in slow cooking. At true roasting temperatures, {{convert|200|C|F|round=5}} or more, the water inside the muscle is lost at a high rate.
* Cooking at high temperatures is beneficial if the cut is tender enough—as in [[filet mignon]] or [[strip loin]]—to be finished cooking before the juices escape. A reason for high temperature roasting is to brown the outside of the food, similar to browning food in a pan before pot roasting or stewing it. Fast cooking gives more variety of flavor, because the outside is brown while the center is much less done.
* The combination method uses high heat just at either the beginning or the end of the cooking process, with most of the cooking at a low temperature. This method produces the golden-brown texture and crust, but maintains more of the moisture than simply cooking at a high temperature, although the product will not be as moist as low-temperature cooking the whole time. [[Searing]] and then turning down to low is also beneficial when a dark crust and caramelized flavor is desired for the finished product.
[[File:Max's Roasted Chicken - Evan Swigart.jpg|thumb|upright|Whole roast chicken]]
In general, in either case, the meat is removed from the heat before it has finished cooking and left to sit for a few minutes, while the inside cooks further from the residual heat content, known as [[carry over cooking]].

The objective in any case is to retain as much moisture as possible, while providing the texture and color. As meat cooks, the structure and especially the collagen breaks down, allowing juice to come out of the meat. So meat is juiciest at about medium rare while the juice is coming out. During roasting, meats and vegetables are frequently [[Basting (cooking)|basted]] on the surface with [[butter]], [[lard]], or [[Cooking oil|oil]] to reduce the loss of moisture by evaporation. In recent times, plastic oven bags have become popular for roasts. These cut cooking times and reduce the loss of moisture during roasting, but reduce flavor development from Maillard browning, somewhat more like (boiled or steamed) stew or pot roast. They are particularly popular for turkeys.
[[File:Vertically rotating roasted lamb.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Shawarma]] prepared on a rotating spit]]

Until the late 19th century, roasting by dry heat in an oven was called ''baking''. Roasting originally meant cooking meat or a bird on or in front of a fire, as with a grill or spit. It is one of the oldest forms of cooking known.

Traditionally recognized roasting methods consist only of baking and cooking over or near an open fire. [[Grilling]] is normally not technically a roast, since a grill (gridiron) is used. [[Barbecuing]] and [[Smoking (food)|smoking]] differ from roasting because of the lower temperature and controlled smoke application.{{sfn|Larousse|1988|p=892}}