Is the potato omelette less caloric if we let it cool in the fridge?

The potato omelette is so ours that it generates debates that polarize the population: those who put onion in it, those who don't; those who make it creamy, those who don't. But there is another more intense debate in nutrition with the potato omelette: resting it in the fridge to make it tastier, less caloric, and more digestible.

So let's take it step by step. The potato omelette, refrigerated or not, is a caloric dish because we fry potatoes, which turn into fast-absorbing carbohydrates. No matter how many hours it spends in the fridge, there will be no magic trick that will make it a light dish. However, the usual temperature of a refrigerator does "partially modify the structure of the potato starch, and therefore this fact influences both glycemia and gut health," states dietitian-nutritionist Anna Grífols. Furthermore, the potato omelette rested in the fridge also becomes more compact and creamy, which is why many of us perceive it as tastier the day after cooking it.

Rapid rise in blood sugar

To understand what glycemia is, let's explain what happens when we fry potatoes. The granules of their starch (carbohydrates) break down, making them more accessible to digestive enzymes. The more we cook them, the more this will happen. "This is why freshly fried potatoes cause a high glycemic index: the body digests this starch quickly and glucose passes more easily into the blood," therefore, the body has a faster rise in blood sugar. "When cooked potatoes cool in the refrigerator for hours, some of this starch undergoes a process called 'retrogradation,' which means some starch chains reorganize and form what we know as resistant starch, which is a type of fiber," points out Grífols. Then this type of starch reaches the colon more intact, where it acts similarly to fiber and, therefore, becomes part of the food for our intestinal flora.

To continue, there is another myth that has spread with the potato omelet, which involves another resting period. In this case, it is the potatoes in water hours before we fry them. "It's true, water helps remove some of the surface starch, and that's why when we fry it, it's less sticky and crispier," says Grífols, who adds that "if we reduce excess surface starch, the formation of the dreaded acrylamide, a compound generated when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures, can also be slightly reduced." In other words, the trick, if you do it, is good, but it's not linked to digestive effects but to cooking temperature and biochemical consequences of fried potatoes.

In summary, refrigerated potato omelet (which should always be made once it has cooled after cooking) can have nutritional benefits for the body, and good ones, because we take care of ourselves from the inside when we eat leftovers of the potato omelet from the previous day's meals. It's another story if someone says they prefer to eat it as soon as they've cooked it. Debates are always generated with potato omelet. Is it because it's a lifesaver dish for our daily meals or because we don't eat it frequently? Here we go again, divided once more.