Soak those Spuds to Reduce Acrylamide (a cancer-causing chemical)
I read about this in “MindYourBody” tabloid on my way to work. The short article is said to be reproduced from The Los Angeles Times.
According to the British researcher a Leatherhead Food International, a food and beverage research and consulting company, rinsing or soaking raw french fries in water before frying may reduce levels of acrylamide, a cancer-causing chemical.
Acrylamide is created in small amount during the production of french fries and potato chips. Acrylamide is linked to cancer in rodents which leads researchers to believe that it many be carcinogenic to human beings too.
The Brit researchers found that soaking for 2 hours helped in the reduction of acrylamide by 48%. Simply washing or soaking them for 30 minutes, will see to a 23% and 38% reduction respectively.
The question that came to my head was: WHY?
The answer given by Mr Barry Swanson, a food science professor at Washington State University was: “Rinsing and soaking the spuds reduces levels of sugar - one of the chemicals that reacts, upon frying, to form the acrylamide.”
Hmm, actually, come to think of it, french fries are loaded with salt and fat. Other than soaking them in the water, the easiest way to reduce the cancer-causing chemical is to cut down the portion we eat.
Technorati Tags: acrylamide, soak the spuds
Source: MindYourBody pubished by Singapore Press Holdings, 19 March 2008
