Scientists Work Out Why Fries Smell Great

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Scientists Work Out Why Fries Smell Great

Steak fries, home fries, "Freedom Fries" or just plain chips -- whatever you call them, they have a scent that gets our stomachs crying out for more. And now scientists know exactly what that heavenly smell is.

Food scientists at Leeds University [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/media/press_releases/current09/potato.htm], England, have unraveled the smell of chips using the latest laboratory equipment, as well as using human noses, successfully breaking down the yummy smell into its constituent components.

The research, commissioned by the Potato Council, was led by Dr. Graham Clayton. He said, "Lightly cooked or undercooked chips were found to contain three simple aromas, including bitter cocoa. A little extra cooking produced a more complex aroma profile, with up to nine different aromatic notes."

Those aromas include butterscotch, cocoa, onion, cheese and ironing boards.(Seriously) But the well-cooked fries then take on a mixture of aromas dependent on the potatoes, the oil, the temperature and the cooking process.

Cocoa and ironing boards, huh? Who knew?

Source: The Metro [http://tinyurl.com/ckmhzr]

Permalink

 

[Combined]

So, this is what science researches? How wonderful. How much money was spent on this alone?

In other news, I always though fries smell like garlic and meat.

 

[Pirce]

So, this is what science researches? How wonderful. How much money was spent on this alone?

In other news, I always though fries smell like garlic and meat.

What kind of meat?

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I never tough being a scientists would suck that bad.

 

[meatloaf231]

What kind of science is going on these days? First the study about teenage girls talking too much, now this?

We must be running out of things to science.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Every time I read these articles I /facepalm myself. Why would they waste their time on stuff like this? I just don't understand...

 

[Combined]

So, this is what science researches? How wonderful. How much money was spent on this alone?

In other news, I always though fries smell like garlic and meat.

What kind of meat?

Beef. Or pork. Depends on where I eat them.

 

[klc0100]

*breaks out into song* Chips glorious chips!

 

[super_smash_jesus]

wow, being a researcher myself, it pains me to see what people are able to get published. This has absolutely no merit in any scientific community, because there is no practical application for understanding what aromas a fry emits.

 

[uppitycracker]

Holy shit, this is one step closer to my previous comment! I'm in the wrong line of business....

 

[Dectilon]

Pommes frites is the word you're looking for ;D

Well... it might have use for some companies, but I fail to see why a university would do a study like this. Are they looking to get hired?

 

[Merciless.Fire]

I like fries. Good thing they weren't researching real world problems though.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Well... it might have use for some companies, but I fail to see why a university would do a study like this. Are they looking to get hired?

They were hired. The sponsor was the British Potato Council, who likely have a substantial interest in what makes "chips" tempting enough to the passers-by to get them to stop in and buy some.

-- Steve

 

[Archemetis]

it's the same thing that explorers had to deal with when the world became fully mapped, they just had to find ANYTHING that would occupy them...

thus the tour guide was born.

But yeah, it's not like they didn't have the hoverboard to invent or a car that runs on flatus... oh no, they wanted to discover that mystery that has always illuded man... "why do chips smell so good?"...

In comparison to this the big bang seems so much more of a monumental achievement...

 

[Kevvers]

I really wouldn't expect Leeds University to come up with a cure for cancer any time soon anyway don't worry about it.

 

[SilentHunter7]

Yeah, shame on them for not curing cancer.

Guys, not every scientific venture has to be the search for dark matter. They (or most likely a company) had a question, and using the scientific method, they answered it. Good for them. Dont bash them because you think it's useless. Someone paid a fortune to figure that out, so its obviously useful to someone. And who knows if 10 years down the road, it wont be used in a breakthrough discovery in how the brain works?

 

[Andalusa]

Ok, girls talking themselves into depression and why chips smell nice (apparantly). Boy, these scientists really have their priorities straight. Not.
Chip, fries, whatever you call them do not smell nice. They smell like grease and oil, they are not nice smells and oven chips just smell weird. The only potatoe based foods I like are mashed and new potatos.

 

[Nimbus]

*Bangs head on desk*

Really? I always thought they smelled like fried potatoe!