Everybody loves French fries, but did you know that when starch-rich foods are cooked at high temperatures, the potentially cancer-causing chemical Acrylamide is created. Now, a new British study suggests that one can cut down the levels of this carcinogen simply by soaking potatoes in water before frying them.
Acrylamide is basically created when such foods are cooked above 120 degrees when frying, grilling, baking or even roasting them.
The study has found that washing raw chips, soaking them for 30 minutes and soaking them for two hours can reduce the formation of acrylamide by up to 23 percent, 38 percent and 48 percent respectively.
The study wass conducted only if the fries were cooked to a light color. It’s not clear whether the same reductions could be achieved if French fries are cooked to a deep, dark brown.
“There has been much research done by the food industry looking at reducing acrylamide in products but less so on foods cooked at home, and we wanted to explore ways of reducing the level of acrylamide in home cooking,” said lead author Rachel Burch of Leatherhead Food International.
The three-year project recommended eating home-cooked meals, which contain much less acrylamide than processed products.