Friday, January 18, 2013

Deep frying of potatoes


A study has shown that soaking potatoes in water before frying cuts down on the formation of the suspected carcinogen acrylamide, says Dr. K. K. Aggarwal.

Acrylamide is created when starch-rich foods are cooked at high temperatures, (1200C) such as frying, baking, grilling, broiling or roasting. Raw or even boiled potatoes test negative for the chemical. Boiling and microwaving appear less likely to form acrylamide as the coking does not involve very high temperatures. Longer cooking times increase the amount of acrylamide produced when the temperature is high enough.

Potato chips and French fries contain high levels of acrylamide compared to other foods, with lower levels also present in bread and cereals.

Acrylamide, is harmful to health and may cause cancer in animals.

In a study published in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture it has been found that simply soaking potatoes before frying can significantly reduce the formation of acrylamide.

Soaking of cut potatoes in water before putting these on fire to make vegetable or some other dish has been the usual practice in earlier days. Our parents certainly used to follow the old traditions even if sometimes there was a question mark on the justification to follow a certain ritual!

Dr. Narendra Kumar
OptometryToday@gmail.com

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