Cooking Potatoes Question

[BakerAunt]

I was reading an article on food and health, and I came across the following comment on potatoes:

"Potatoes contain an amino acid called asparagine that, when exposed to high heat, changes into acrylamide, a neurotoxin. Acrylamide binds to the ends of our axons, making it tougher for brain cells to communicate with one another. Water protects asparagine, so soaking potatoes for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking them can stop it from transforming into acrylamide. Drain the potatoes and blot them dry before cooking."

I've never heard of this before. The article also did not cite any studies.

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[Mike Nolan]

Acrylamide wasn't even discovered until 2002, so there haven't been a lot of studies on it yet.

The American Cancer Society seems to think the evidence is not yet conclusive. See https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/acrylamide.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide

It seems to be present when potatoes are cut up and cooked or fried at a high temperature (ie, potato chips and fries.)

There are cooking benefits to pre-soaking sliced potatoes or starting them at a low temperature (130-150 for 20 minutes), it may turn out there are health benefits as well.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hmmmm... Potato chips and French fries cause cancer... Hmmmm... sounds like a way to scare people out of eating junk food!

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