The spectral reflectance of French fries
Chips, along with fish, are one of the cornerstones of English life. Little need then, you’d think, to tinker with their properties – but no, nothing is safe from the fiddling hands of science!
Having nothing better to do at the North Dakota State University, Dr. Panigrahi and his team decided to have a look at how colours bounce off French fries.
They used a technique called spectral reflectance, also known as colorimetry, which describes colours in terms of numbers. Each wavelength of light in the visible (red to violet) spectrum reflects back differently depending on the type of surface and the beloved chip is no different.
Measuring this in chips that have been cooked at different tempertures, in different oils and even using different kinds of potato gives varying results every time. Colour charts can then be made to work out which chips are good, which are bad and which are ugly.
You might think this is a bit of a waste of time and nothing more than an excuse to stuff your face all day long, but it is useful. Getting a computer to check the colour of chips automatically would save loads of time in fast food eateries around the world. And, you’d always get that perfect golden chip.
[Panigrahi, S., et al., (1996). Applied Engineering in Agriculture 12, 721-724.]
French Fry Facts
One of the earliest references to British 'chips' is from Charles Dickens in his book Tale of Two Cities (1859): "husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil."
Although they are called French fries in many places, their origin is not in fact French. They probably get their name because the potatoes are "frenched" - cut into lengthways strips.
Marie Antoinette made potatoes sexy when she paraded through the French countryside wearing potato blossoms in her hair. It became all the rage in Paris but it didn’t save her head.
According to old legend, carrying a peeled potato in the pocket can cure toothache, whilst wearing a dried potato around the neck helps rheumatism.
Despite what you may think, potatoes are not high in calories. One average sized potato has fewer calories than a grapefruit, more potassium than a banana and more accessible iron than any other vegetable.
Top photo: Jean Scheijen
Having nothing better to do at the North Dakota State University, Dr. Panigrahi and his team decided to have a look at how colours bounce off French fries.
They used a technique called spectral reflectance, also known as colorimetry, which describes colours in terms of numbers. Each wavelength of light in the visible (red to violet) spectrum reflects back differently depending on the type of surface and the beloved chip is no different.
Measuring this in chips that have been cooked at different tempertures, in different oils and even using different kinds of potato gives varying results every time. Colour charts can then be made to work out which chips are good, which are bad and which are ugly.
You might think this is a bit of a waste of time and nothing more than an excuse to stuff your face all day long, but it is useful. Getting a computer to check the colour of chips automatically would save loads of time in fast food eateries around the world. And, you’d always get that perfect golden chip.
[Panigrahi, S., et al., (1996). Applied Engineering in Agriculture 12, 721-724.]
French Fry Facts
One of the earliest references to British 'chips' is from Charles Dickens in his book Tale of Two Cities (1859): "husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil."Although they are called French fries in many places, their origin is not in fact French. They probably get their name because the potatoes are "frenched" - cut into lengthways strips.
Marie Antoinette made potatoes sexy when she paraded through the French countryside wearing potato blossoms in her hair. It became all the rage in Paris but it didn’t save her head.
According to old legend, carrying a peeled potato in the pocket can cure toothache, whilst wearing a dried potato around the neck helps rheumatism.Despite what you may think, potatoes are not high in calories. One average sized potato has fewer calories than a grapefruit, more potassium than a banana and more accessible iron than any other vegetable.
Top photo: Jean Scheijen
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