Expiremental comparison to theory Expiremental comparison to theory As mentioned earlier the potato undergoes a structural change when it is heated up. The amylose bound up in a crystalline structure is released during heating. Because the amylose reacts with iodine an easy way of monitoring this reaction is by treating a cross section of the potato with a diluted iodine solution.
Distinctive rings spread further and further in towards the center of the potato during baking.
With the reaction kinetics known, we can graph the expiremental vs theoretical values. The reason the model for the reaction kinetics of the structural breakdown fails at lower temperatures probably has to do with the heat transfer properties of the potato. A certain oven temperature is in other words needed for the heat to distribute properly in the potato.