Crispy, crunchy, mouthwatering ... math. If you have any kitchen savvy at all, you know how much numbers play a role in a recipe. It only makes sense that you can also use math to take tastiness to the next level. Looking to maximize the deliciousness of roasted potatoes? Look no further.
Mathematical Meals
Of all the issues we could be working on, finding a tastier way to produce roasted potatoes isn't especially urgent. That being said, it doesn't mean we're unhappy about this newfound cooking strategy. Reported in January 2018, students in England came up with a mathematical formula for the perfect roasted potato. The students, who came from the Edge Hotel School at the University of Essex and the Samuel Whitbread Academy (a British equivalent of an American high school) in Bedfordshire, combined their culinary and mathematical expertise to develop what they've named the "Edge Hotel School Method."
Perfect Potato Percentage
The secret to the method? It's all in how you cut it. The students collaborated on how to maximize the surface area of the potato to get the greatest ratio of crispy edges to soft innards. "We're going for a formula which takes the three radii of the potato and it multiplies them all together so that you can figure out the surface area," a Samuel Whitbread student told ITV News.
Here's how to do it: Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each piece again at an angle of approximately 30 degrees. Compared to the standard strategy of cutting potatoes into roughly equal quarters, this approach increases the surface area by 65 percent. And that significantly boosts the crispiness.
Professional chefs and members of the public were given the chance to try out the masterpiece, mathematically made roasted potatoes, and the results were resoundingly positive. Since the method was introduced, the Independent reports that chefs across the U.K. have already started emulating the "Edge Hotel School Method."
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