Experimentbeginnerdraft
Cloudy potato water
Also searched as: making potato starch visible, starch experiment
In short: Cut potatoes release starch into the water, and you can even see it.
Picture it
Like flour dust settling in a glass: what floated invisibly in the water slowly sinks to the bottom.
Before · Afterfresh
You need · 1½ hours
- a potato
- bowl of cold water
- a glass
How it’s done
Sequence · Step 1 of 3
Cut a potato into sticks and put them in water.
All steps as a list
- Cut a potato into sticks and put them in water.
- After 30 minutes take the sticks out.
- Pour the water into a glass and leave it for an hour.
What you see
The water is cloudy, and a white layer settles at the bottom of the glass.
Why it happens
That is starch that fell out of the cells when cutting. Rinsed off, it no longer sticks to the surface, which is why soaked chips turn crispier.
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004)