Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

hello,
we had a great time experimenting with soaking and oven frying potatoes. we all agreed that the soaked potatoes were crispier than the others, BUT we cannot understand the science behind it. Is it the change in starch or pectin or density? can't seem to find an explanation that i can understand. any suggestions on where to look?

Hello AlfredSqu,

I’m assuming that you are working on the project described here:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p042.shtml

And it’s great to hear that you had fun with the project. I did some online searching and did not find a more detailed explanation for the effect of soaking the potatoes than the one given in the “Background” section of the project description. Evidently soaking the potatoes in water removes some of the starch. Removing excess starch enables more moisture evaporation from the potatoes during cooking, which improves crispness.

I must say that food science is not my area of expertise. Perhaps other forum contributors with food science experience will provide some better insight.

I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.

A. Norman