Roast potato hack could 'improve gut health' - and bag you crispier spuds

Roast potatoes
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You'll never cook roast potatoes the same way again with this hack.

We all love a roast potato, especially with a Sunday dinner. However, many of us also know that achieving the perfect balance of crispy exterior and fluffy interior can be challenging. If the ratio is slightly off, the result can be underwhelming, and most of us will have at least one memory of eating a disappointing roast.

There's no shortage of recipes promising the secret to the ultimate crispy roast potatoes, with everyone having their own unique methods for achieving a similarly scrumptious outcome. But what if there was a way to make your roasties not only crispier but also better for your health?

One woman's viral recipe suggests that a simple tweak in your cooking method could improve your gut health and bag you crispy spuds every time, while also cutting down the time you spend in the kitchen making a Sunday roast.

Laura Stevens revealed her tip in a TikTok video, explaining that freezing your potatoes after parboiling them but before roasting can make them healthier. She claimed that this process increases the potato's resistant starch content. Resistant starch behaves like fibre in our bodies and doesn't convert into glucose, thus benefiting the bacteria in our gut and promoting cell health.

The woman elaborated: "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.

"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 have to freeze the potatoes post-boiling, as they merely need to be cooled. However, freezing enables you to prepare your roasties in bulk ahead of time, ensuring they last longer and are available when required.

Health Line explains that the method of cooling foods to boost their resistant starch is known as starch retrogradation. While it works brilliantly with potatoes to "substantially increase their amount of resistant starch", it can also be applied to foods like rice and pasta.

Viewers of Laura's video were astounded by the trick, with many unaware that cooling potatoes after cooking could enhance their resistant starch and improve gut health.

One viewer commented: "This is such a great hack I never would have thought of! I'll definitely be giving this a go." Another chimed in: "This is such a good idea regardless of gut health."