We’ll all be popping into the chipper on the way home thanks to this news from Italy.
On the scale of things that are not good for you, chips are way up there. While they might be the closest many of us come to a vegetable all day, the deep-fried treats are usually the first thing cited when it comes to stuff you should avoid.
But good news comes to us from Italy. It seems chips are not that bad for you after all. Well, certain types of chips anyway.
Professor Vincenzo Fogliano, in a study with Italian chef Giuseppe Daddio, at Federico 2 University of Naples says the following magic words: “If it’s fried in the correct way, a potato chip…can be an excellent nutritional product.”
So what is the correct way? Well that badness in chips comes from the deep frying but the lads reckon there are ways to reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the chips.
“A fundamental rule is that starch plays an important part in sealing the food being fried and reducing the oil absorption. The starch in potatoes….is particularly effective.”
But this only applies to fresh cut and fried chips. The frozen type, like the ones you have in your freezer are not so good.
“Attention must be paid to frozen or pre-fried products,” Professor Fogliano told Italian newspaper La Stampa. “In these cases, the quantity of oil absorbed increases significantly.”
So now all you have to do is ask your local chipper if they use freshly cut chips. If they do, you’re laughing. Just hold off on the salt, vinegar, curry sauce, spice burger and battered sausage and you’re grand.
