EVER sat about wondering at the end of a hearty Christmas roast why there's always gravy left over?

Well a physicist, Lee Fisher has done some research for gravy company Bisto and he reckons he's found the answer. He took a look at gravy absorption and issued a set of rules to maximise the amount of gravy you can eat. First of all you've got to ensure the gravy is hot - absorption times can be increased by up to 20%. Roast potato's should be arranged soggy side down as it is 30% more porous.

Right, now you are ready to begin eating. Start off with the meat as this won't absorb any gravy, however hard you try. Then attack the greens - sprouts, peas or beans, they absorb 15% of their dry weight in 30 seconds and then the Yorkshire puddings which absorb a gusty 90%. Finally after at least 5 minutes, you can eat the roast potatoes, be warned they can take up to 10 minutes to absorb their 30%. Any leftover should be dealt with by dipping ciabatta bread in - the big holes in the bread do a great job of soaking up the juices.

Fisher's calculations boil down to a simple equation:

where W is uncooked weight, D is dry or cooked weight and S is the shrinkage factor.

Armed with this information, there are no more excuses for leaving anything behind on your plate!

Source: The Guardian