Some students at the Edge Hotel School at the University of Essex have collaborated with the Samual Whitbread School in Bedfordshire to develop a mathematical formula to cook the perfect roast potato. They have named this the “Edge Hotel School Method”.
Calculating the exact measurements required to cook the perfect potato is a very time-consuming task and you can’t simply put a potato in the oven and expect results. The students have patiently toiled for this and they believe that the end result is worth it.
The key is maximising the surface area of the potatoes, which they do by cutting them at a 30-degree angle. “We’re going for a formula which takes the three radii of the potato and it multiplies them all together so that you can figure out the surface area,” a student from the Samuel Whitbread School explained to ITV News.
This increases the potato’s surface area by 65% and makes it more crispy and more delicious. It is observed that people normally cut potatoes in quarters before roasting them. This technique cuts them lengthwise and then each half is cut at an angle of approximately 30 degrees.
The amount of potato used is the same but the surface area is increased by more than half. The students use Heston Blumenthal’s roast potato recipe to cook the potatoes in the oven. You don’t just have to take their word for it. Members of the public and professional chefs were asked to try the roast potatoes for themselves and they all gave a positive feedback.
Some of the chefs across the United Kingdom have already started using the Edge Hotel School Method to make the perfect roast potato. You can watch the video below.
