Wednesday 16 June 2021

Cut Cancer Risk By Soaking Your Spuds

It started as a question about an impending housewarming present. I replied with a link to an airfryer on sale on Lazada. This led on a comment about cancer risk from  fried foods plus an image about how brown potato chips or fries get in relation to how much acrylamide has built up on them. Acrylamide is a carcinogen or a cancer-causing substance created when starchy foods are cooked on high heat. Quite simply, the browner the fry, the higher the acrylamide count. 


I did a quick Google search for "frying potatoes acrylamide" and found this article - Strategies to Reduce the Formation of Acrylamide in Potato Chips. A Market and Consumer’s Prospective. Holy hit the right spot batman! 

So the LTDR summary is
1. Acrylamide forms because of the sugar and an amino acid called asparagine found in potatoes. So it's not anything you could prevent, except by not eating potatoes.
2. Scientists have done a whole of experimental cooking, 
3. Their results 
- Adding the herb rosemary to the olive oil used for frying reduces acrylamide production by 25%. 
- Soaking potatoes in water for 15mins reduces acrylamide production by 65%!
- Soaking potatoes in acidified water by adding vinegar or a citric acid (lime, orange etc) reduces acrylamide production by up to 75%! 

So there you have it - reduce your risk of cancer by merely soaking your cut spuds in water. 

No comments: