When cooking our food, we should pay attention to the methods used, which affect the nutrient content of foods. Depending on the way we cook our food, can either cause the nutrients to decrease or increase. Here Alina Petre, MS, RD, HealthLine.com, reflects on whether you should bake or broil your food:

“Baking and broiling are cooking techniques that employ the dry heat of an oven.

Both are considered healthy ways to cook and often used interchangeably with other cooking methods, such as roasting and toasting. Yet, each yields different results and works best on specific types of foods.

This article examines the difference between broiling and baking, as well as which foods are better suited for each method.

What is the difference between broiling and baking?

Both broiling and baking use the dry heat of an oven to cook foods, although they do so in slightly different ways, yielding different results.

Baking

Baking is a cooking method that surrounds foods with hot air to cook them indirectly. The term is typically reserved for foods without a stable structure that solidifies during the cooking process, such as cakes, bread, and muffins.

Foods are typically baked on the middle rack of the oven at temperatures up to 375℉ (190℃), which slowly cooks the inside of the food without burning its surface.

Broiling

Broiling uses direct oven heat to quickly cook solid foods, such as meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, at temperatures around 550℉ (289℃).

Foods must be placed close to the broiler for the heat to successfully reach and cook them. Depending on your oven, this may be either the top or bottom rack.

Broiling sears the surface of food and works best for cooking thin foods. This method can also be used to add texture to the outside of foods that have already been cooked using another method like baking.

How do they differ from roasting and toasting?

Baking and boiling are often used interchangeably with roasting and toasting. However, there are slight distinctions between each of these cooking methods.

Roasting

Roasting is similar to baking in that it cooks food by surrounding it with hot air.

That said, roasting is typically reserved for foods that have a solid structure before cooking — like meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables — and involves slightly higher temperatures than baking.

Moreover, foods typically remain uncovered during roasting, while they may be covered during baking.

Toasting

Toasting is used to brown the outer surface of foods that don’t otherwise require cooking, such as baked bread or raw nuts.

You can toast foods by briefly placing them under a preheated broiler in the oven or exposing them to lower heat for a longer period. For instance, you can toast nuts by placing them on the middle rack of an oven set to a low cooking temperature.

Health benefits of baking or broiling

Both broiling and baking are considered healthy cooking methods.

Baking retains the nutrient content of foods well, while both baking and broiling don’t require much added fat during cooking. Trim the fat from meat, limit oil-based marinades, and remove drippings to keep harmful PAHs from developing.”

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Read More … Article Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/broil-vs-bake#benefits