Fried is good, but also dangerous. This is confirmed by a report broadcast in Rai 3 sends me, the program in defense of the citizen aired on Monday 17 January. Here at the center of the debate is acrylamide, carcinogenic substance which is formed when we fry or toast food. A substance that not all employees in the service know to be carcinogenic and neurotoxic. He spoke to the microphones of Federico Ruffo, the Undersecretary of Health Andrea Costa announced that the European Union has given indications to all member countries on acrylamide to intensify studies and checks aimed at establishing minimum reference thresholds.
Yet, acrylamide boasts another worrying peculiarity: each food reacts differently to this substance by establishing different minimum thresholds. What to do then to avoid the worst? According to Alessandro Circiello, spokesperson for the Italian Federation of Chefs, the fundamental rule: immerse the potatoes to be fried in water. Through this little trick, the starch escapes and the reaction that produces acrylamide is reduced. Another tip is to fry at an oil temperature that must never exceed 170 degrees.
For those who delight in the kitchen at home and do not have tools capable of detecting the temperature of the fire, here is a small but important trick. Or add green tea to the breading of fried foods, as its polyphenols interact with the Maillard reaction and reduce the formation of acrylamide by 50 percent. Furthermore, for frying it is necessary to prefer extra virgin olive oil or high oleic sunflower oil (which has a smoke point even higher than extra virgin olive oil). Last but not least, let’s stop cooking the food before it takes on its typical brown color.
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