Q My 7-year-old son asked us over dinner recently at which point potatoes melt (I assume in a vacuum). Please advise. —Steffen Potatoes don’t really melt at any temperature. The starches break down and gelatinize, which is part of the normal cooking process; as the heat rises, the different components will sublimate at different temperatures. But what I want to know is, do you normally add “in a vacuum” to all his questions and assume that’s what he meant?
