John Myers
Acrylamide is considered to be a substance that is very harmful to health and can be formed when starch in food is heated to high temperatures. The exact health risk for humans has not yet been measured due to the lack of reliable data. Nevertheless, the formation of acrylamide should be avoided when preparing food. Three factors contribute to the formation of the substance:
- High temperatures
- Heavy browning
- Low water content
You have to be particularly careful when frying, baking, roasting, and frying potato and grain products such as French fries, fried potatoes, bread, or cakes. Acrylamide is formed on the surface of the food. It must therefore not dry out too much during preparation and, above all, not burn. A slightly golden discoloration, on the other hand, does not pose a health risk, which is why it is also referred to as “gilding instead of charring”.
When preparing in the pan, you should avoid searing. Instead, only cook the products at a medium level at most. You should also use heat-stable oil or frying fat. Refined edible oils tolerate significantly higher temperatures than cold-pressed oils. In addition, fewer acrylamide forms in fried potatoes if you use pre-cooked potatoes. They don’t dry out as quickly.
You should also avoid excessively high temperatures when baking. With circulating air, the food dries out faster and threatens to burn. Therefore, a maximum temperature of 180 degrees Celsius is recommended here. If you bake without convection, you should not set the oven higher than 200 degrees Celsius. This also applies to products for which higher cooking temperatures are specified on the packaging.
Once the baked goods are done, you should remove them from the oven to pause the cooking process. This will avoid over-browning, especially around the edges and crusts. In addition, the smaller the surface area compared to the volume, the less acrylamide can form with the same total amount. Bread and cakes are therefore less susceptible to acrylamide than small biscuits or rolls. You should therefore only cook cookies and other small baked goods at 190 degrees Celsius or 170 degrees Celsius with convection.
French fries that you prepare in the oven or deep fryer should not be cut too finely for the same reasons. Rather choose larger, thicker pieces to reduce the surface area of the food. Also, fry foods only until they are lightly golden brown. It is better to cook them in small portions and always use fresh frying fat. You should not exceed temperatures of more than 175 degrees Celsius. This can be checked with a fat thermometer. At temperatures below 165 degrees Celsius, the food absorbs a lot of fat, so you should keep an eye on the temperature window.
According to current knowledge, the risk of acrylamide formation is excluded if you cook food with water, i.e. boil, stew, or steam. Very small amounts of substances that are not harmful to health can arise when cooking in the microwave or pressure cooker.
Incidentally, when preparing protein-rich products such as meat or fish, no or only very small amounts of acrylamide are produced – regardless of the type of preparation. Instead, however, other harmful substances are released when meat or fish are heated above 180 degrees Celsius.
