Good news Despite the lack of gravity in space, you can enjoy the taste of fried potatoes
<p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr">Weather of Arabia - Can we really fry potatoes in space, despite the lack of gravity? You might think this is a difficult and messy experience that will lead to third-degree burns, but it turns out that cooking with oil may not need gravity to be effective. </p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://assets.iflscience.com/assets/articleNo/69228/aImg/68369/fry-l.webp" /></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Although it is not a healthy method, it is undeniable that frying is a delicious method of cooking food that has been followed globally for centuries by humans, imagine with me the sight of crispy potatoes, their deliciously soft interior and the speed of the entire process</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> But wait, there is much more than oil, heat, and food in the frying process. In the case of French fries, for example, you may have noticed bubbles forming on the surface, which rise up due to their buoyancy.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> But new research shows that the bubble scenario may not be possible in space, as bubbles do not rise in the absence of gravity, creating a vapor barrier around the potatoes and preventing the oil from frying them.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><blockquote style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> "Ask any chef and they will confirm that the physics and chemistry behind food is a complex and fascinating subject that crosses over into other scientific disciplines," Professor Theodoris Karabantsios of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a member of the research team in charge of the studies, said in a statement.</p></blockquote><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> To verify this, the European Space Agency (ESA) has conducted experiments to understand what happens when food is fried in microgravity. A special robotic fryer equipped with high-speed cameras was used to record and track the movement of bubbles. These experiments were carried out during an ESA metaphor flight where the crew was able to take advantage of the zero-gravity condition of the aircraft's flight.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The results are that the bubbles do not stick to the surface of the food in the case of microgravity, allowing the food to fry naturally. This means that astronauts can consume French fries on their long space flights without any problem. </p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2k6t6t1p76w" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><blockquote style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Lead author John Leumbas concludes, "Aside from nutrition and convenience, studying the frying process in space may also lead to advances in various fields, from conventional boiling to hydrogen production from solar energy in zero gravity."</p></blockquote><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>The study has been published in the journal Food Research International</strong></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Source: <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/what-happens-if-you-fry-in-microgravity-esa-h... style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p>
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