Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air envelops the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C (~300 °F) from an open flame,
oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance
flavor through
caramelization and
Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat (as in an oven), and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece.
Meats and most
root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially
red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a
roast. A roast joint of meat can take one, two, even three hours to cook—the resulting meat is tender. Also, meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roasted", e.g., roasted
chicken or roasted
squash.