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What Would French Fries Taste Like If You Made Them On Jupiter?

sciencehabit writes "Hoping that studying deep frying in different gravitational conditions will help them improve space food for future astronauts, scientists with the European Space Agency chopped potatoes into thin sticks and deep fried them in extra-virgin olive oil, one side at a time, in a spinning centrifuge that created conditions of up to nine times Earth's gravity, akin to that seen on Jupiter. Higher gravity levels significantly increased the heat transfer between the hot oil and the potato, shortening frying time and resulting in thick, crispy crusts, the team reports. In fact, the scientists may have discovered the ideal gravitational condition for creating crunchy fries: The crust reached its maximum thickness when the potato was fried at three times Earth's gravity; any further increase in gravity levels did not improve the fries' crispiness."

2 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Ig Nobel Prize? by bunyip · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Surely this research is a leading candidate!

  2. Re:So, next piece of equipment for molecular gastr by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Whirling hot oil around at high speed, in a kitchen.

    What could go wrong?

    But you know, the same people who deep fry turkeys would try this.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.