What is the point of a baking rack?
I notice when I bake cookies (usually chocolate chip or peanut butter) the recipe often says "place on baking rack to cool". Because I don't have one, I just place them on a plate after removing them from the pan. It doesn't seem to do any harm. What is the point of buying this special piece of equipment?
Best Answer
A cooling rack serves two primary purposes.
First, it allows the cookies (or other baked good) to cool faster by letting air circulate completely around the cookie.
Second, it prevents the steam escaping from the cookies from soaking the bottoms, and other cookies placed on top.
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Quick Answer about "What is the point of a baking rack?"
A wire rack allows air to circulate completely around whatever is on it. This means that the pan or baked good will cool faster than if simply left on a countertop or a trivet. A hot pan will continue baking whatever is inside it, so faster cooling prevents over-baking.Do I need a baking rack?
So next time you're wondering, \u201cDo I need a cooling rack to cool cookies\u201d the short answer is \u2026 it's better to have one than not. If you bake at all, a cooling rack is a worthy investment; you'll use it for just about every baked good that comes out of the oven\u2014pies, cakes, tarts, and tortes. And cookies, of course.Do you really need a cooling rack?
Cooling racks really are an essential piece of equipment for a baker. They create a perfect place for a hot pan, or a de-panned baked good, to cool down evenly and quickly.What is the point of a cooling rack?
Use a cooling rack, which diffuses the heat and helps prevent scorching by keeping delicate foods off the bottom of the pan. When roasting juicy meats like steak or chicken thighs, put beans or vegetables under the cooling rack to soak up the drippings while they cook.What is the purpose of a wire rack?
A wire rack elevates the food off of a solid surface, so that air circulates and the bottoms of your battered fish fillets don't get soggy from absorbing residual steam. You also don't want fried food sitting in its own grease (like these aloo tikki), so the cooling rack allows excess fat to drip off.More answers regarding what is the point of a baking rack?
Answer 2
In addition to hobodave's cookie-specific answer, as a general point (since this was asked as a general question) it's also quite important to have a rack if you are baking anything with a significant quantity of fat (i.e. meat). The rack allows the fat to actually drain; otherwise the food would end up being drowned in its own fat and become soggy. In extreme cases the fat may actually burn and seriously taint the flavour of the food you're baking.
Answer 3
When you place something on a cooling rack you expose more of the surface area to the air allowing your cookies, bread, etc to cool faster than just leaving them out on the pan.
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