# 1. Potatoes; 2. ??? 3. Profit!--I mean vodka!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-potatoes-2-3-profit-i-mean-vodka/341532>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 25, 2006, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-potatoes-2-3-profit-i-mean-vodka/341532 "2006-01-25T07:43:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-potatoes-2-3-profit-i-mean-vodka/341532/21 "2006-01-25T22:41:45Z")

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> [@Alan Smithee](#):
>
> That site seems to say that the mash is just heated to convert the starches into sugars. Is that really all it takes? Why doesn’t my potato soup taste sweet, then?

I don’t know how it is with potatoes, but with malted grain, there’s a precise band of temperatures you have to reach for the amalyze to take effect. Anything over 170 F and the enzymes (alpha- and beta-amalyse) are effectively shut off. IIRC, it’s about 158-162 F for one hour or so to effectively convert the starches in malt into fermentable sugars.

I would guess potatos would work similarly.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-potatoes-2-3-profit-i-mean-vodka/341532/22 "2006-01-25T22:44:12Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> IIRC, it’s about 158-162 F for one hour or so to effectively convert the starches in malt into fermentable sugars.

I meant to say 148-152 F.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-potatoes-2-3-profit-i-mean-vodka/341532/23 "2006-01-26T19:26:55Z")

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> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> Just remember kids, distilling alcohol, even for home use, is illegal in the US, but it’s also pretty dangerous. See, to evaporate the alcohol you need heat. And when you condense the alcohol, you’ve got a highly volatile fuel. Heat plus fuel plus oxygen makes fire, m’kay? So you’re pretty much playing with fire and the equivalent of gasoline if you set up a still in your kitchen.

There are much safer ways to distill out there that take longer but do not require excessive amounts of heat. Also, there are freeze-distillation methods not particularly great, but they do work. They are occassionally employed by homebrewers to make eisbeer, but they are technically illegal if they increase the alcohol content by something like 1/2%. I’d have to look up the exact numbers.

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