Potato hack for crispier roasts could also improve your gut health - and is easy to do
One woman's hack for crispier roast potatoes could also benefit your gut - and it even cuts down prep time on the day you decide to cook them.
Take your roast potatoes to the next level with this hack.
We all love roast potatoes, but they can be tricky to get right. The delicious roast dinner accompaniment must be the perfect levels of crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside; if the ratio is even a little bit off, they can be disappointing.
There are countless recipes out there claiming to offer advice on how to get the very best crispy roast potatoes, and everyone seems to have slightly different ways of getting a similarly delicious result.
But what if we told you that there's a way to make your roasties crispier and healthier at the same time?
According to one woman's viral recipe, making one change to the way you cook your roast potatoes could improve your gut health. What's more, it will even save you some time when you come to cook your roast dinner.
Laura Stevens shared her hack in a video on TikTok. In it, she said the best way to make your potatoes healthier is to freeze them after they've been part boiled but before you roast them.
She claims this process should increase the resistant starch in the potato. Resistant starch acts like fibre in the body and doesn't get turned into glucose, so it can help the bacteria in your gut and improve the health of your cells.
The woman explained: "This might be the easiest way to improve your gut health. When you cook, freeze, and reheat potatoes, it increases their resistant starch, which feeds the good bacteria in your gut.
READ MORE:
Clean stove using 'magic' skincare product that works better than wipes [ADVICE]
Chopstick tip guarantees 'perfect bite' of noodles every time – with no mess [INSIGHT]
You're storing cheese wrong - right way keeps it mould-free for months [TIP]
"At the start of the week, I'll boil up a bunch of white and sweet potatoes, chuck a couple of spices on them, and freeze them. When you're ready to cook them, they take about 25 to 30 minutes in the oven and they make the crispiest, yummiest roast potatoes."
You don't necessarily need to freeze the potatoes after you've boiled them, as they simply need to be cool. However, freezing allows you to batch-prepare your roasties ahead of time so they last for longer and are ready when you need them.
According to Health Line, the process of cooling foods to increase their resistant starch is called starch retrogradation. While it works excellently with potatoes to "substantially increase their amount of resistant starch", it can also be done with foods like rice and pasta.
Commenters on Laura's video were blown away by the hack, as many of them had no idea that cooling potatoes after cooking them could increase their resistant starch and make them better for your gut.
One person said: "This is such a great hack I never would have thought of! I'll definitely be giving this a go."
And another added: "This is such a good idea regardless of gut health."
