This has nothing to do with the eternal battle over whether or not the perfect potato omelette has onions. In the end, that is left to the taste of the diners. But we are going to go one step further. The Spanish tortilla has to be juicy; therefore let’s see what science says. These are the steps that must be taken to make this delicious delicacy as juicy as possible. And it is that, in short, it is a dish that practically everyone likes and is very nutritious thanks to its ingredients.
The Spanish omelette is a simple dish. It only takes a few ingredients which, moreover, are among the most cheap that we can put in the shopping cart. It is also a winning recipe because, in general, everyone likes it.
To find out how it should be perfect potato omelette we will count on grandma cooking tips lifelong. And it is that, as Elena Sanz collects in her book The science of chup chup. The culinary tricks of grandmothers explained scientifically (Critical Editorial, 2021), the wisdom of grandmothers in the art of cooking it is legendary. In addition, many of them did not know what was happening at the chemical level; but his tricks make the recipes tastier.
For this reason, this journalist specializing in science, health and the brain tells in her book how his grandmother was giving him culinary tricks throughout his life. He also included among these tricks those that make the perfect potato omelette. Let’s see what Sanz has shared about his grandmother’s recipe and the explanation he has.
Choose the potatoes well
The first thing is knowing how to choose the type of potatoes for our perfect omelette. For Sanz’s grandmother the best was the yellowbut no “green spots”. This is very important. These potatoes are known as new, which are “moist and sweet”, also contain little starch. And that gets ‘that keep cohesion even after they are cooked, which gives them a dense and moist texture.” That is, it will contribute to the tortilla having a delicacy flavor and texture.
You have to be very careful with green spots because, as Sanz explains, it is an indication that the tuber is “loaded with a toxic chemical compound called solanine“. It can produce a bitter taste; but it also symptom such as diarrhoea, vomiting, hallucinations, paralysis and cerebral edema. In short, we must avoid them since we do not want our potato omelette to become an emergency visit to the hospital.
Wait for them to stop hissing and blow bubbles
On the other hand, you have to know how to make potatoes well. Cooking is an art too and not only the recipes have good advice. In this case, Sanz explains that so that the potatoes remain in their point you have to let them cook until they stop “hissing” and making “bubbles, like minnows in the aquarium.” More than cooking, Elena’s grandmother seemed to communicate with her potatoes. And it is that although the language that her grandmother used was not that of science, it was based on it to leave the potatoes in the exact spot for her. This is how the author of the book herself tells it:
“It took a few years for me to understand the tremendous wisdom that hid my grandmother’s habit of communicating with potatoes. By immersing the tuber pieces in oil at a temperature above the boiling point of water, it immediately expels steam, that becomes visible in the form of bubbles. Just when those bubbles disappear, we reach the inflection point. And then, we better hurry to get the potatoes out of the pan. Because if we continue cooking from that moment, the oil will enter Due to capillarity in the pores previously occupied by water, the potatoes will become impregnated with fat and will become difficult to digest, as well as much less healthy.”
The egg in the potato omelette
Sanz’s grandmother used to throw a squeeze of lemon to the beaten egg to make it juicier. And this too has a scientific explanation. Adding a little lemon, even orange juice, does not affect the taste. Citric acid helps the egg proteins, which are denatured by the temperatures to which we subject them when we cook them, to separate and helps run some air between them. That is, we want the proteins to become semi-solid for the tortilla; but we don’t want you to lose all the waterThis way it will be more juicy. And that is the function of citric acid: to prevent syneresis; or what is the same, that the water stays gone outside of the protein tangle. Because if this happens, the result is “a rubbery tortilla and dry, unpleasant, not at all juicy.
To simmer
Another trick for the potato omelette to be perfect, it is also important to make it over low heat. Never above the boiling point of water. Moreover, as Sanz points out, the perfect point for the beaten egg to coagulate is 73ºC. And it is that if we exceed this temperature “we would eliminate all the liquid”. Therefore, our recipe would be ruined.
By the way, regarding the rivalry of whether or not the perfect potato omelette should have onion, Elena Sanz’s grandmother was clear: always with onion. But it doesn’t matter if it has onion or not, the Spanish omelette is always delicious.
In short, the wisdom of grandmothers, on many issues, is based on science. Although they did not have the scientific knowledge that their granddaughters have today. Therefore, cooking with them and learning their tricks can be a very good way to close ties with our grandmothers. Beyond whether they prepare the perfect potato omelette or not.