We all know that fried potatoes are dangerous for human health because during the frying process they generate cancer-causing substances. Acrylamide, a carcinogenic substance, is formed during high temperature processing of potatoes in low moisture conditions. You get the same bad result if you bake, fry or roast potatoes.
So, what can be done?
Experienced chefs know a trick: they boil potatoes for a short while before frying them. Pre-cooked this way, potatoes can be fried faster, avoiding an excessive formation of acrylamide. Eating potatoes cooked this way helps your liver and generally helps digestion.
Pre-cooking can also be done briefly placing the potatoes chips in a microwave before frying.
Pre-cooking through boiling or microwaving gives a pleasant colour to the potatoes and does not change the taste of the fried potatoes.
Frying should be done at 190 Celsius degrees, thus sharply reducing the acrylamide level.
Pre-soaking potatoes before frying can dramatically reduce the formation of acrylamide and may therefore reduce any subsequent risk it may pose.
Washing raw French fries, and then soaking them (from 30 min up to 2 hours) reduced the formation of acrylamide by up to 48%, but only if they were fried to a lighter color.
Scientists are still trying to find ways to lower the acrylamide levels, a compound that has been a source of health concerns in fried foods, by silencing certain genes of several sorts of potatoes. Nevertheless, gene manipulation is in itself a very debated topic around the world. One thing is certain though - the future of food products and cooking will never be the same!
