Lasagna batteries are real, and can accidentally appear on your display
By Joshua Tyler | Being published
Netflix series The man inside It’s back for a second season on the streaming service, and it has a special thanksgiving episode. In that episode, one of the guests brings a lasagna, which proves to be ruined when the foil is removed from the top, and Danson’s Charles Nieuwendyk reveals that it has turned into a Lasagna batter.
The idea of lasagna becoming a battery may seem like something done for comedic effect, but Nieuwendyk assures his guests that this is a real thing that can happen sometimes. You’re right, and it can be in your next Lasagna, too.
The “Lasagna Battery” is not a kitchen myth or a twisted meme; It is a true electrochemical phenomenon in which processed food can produce a measurable electrical charge. The science behind it is surprisingly straightforward.
The science behind lasagna batteries
Electricity is simply electricity moving from one object to another. A battery, or any battery, is built from three layers: two different metals and a different substance, an acid or salt between which allows the ions to shock.
Standard diracell does this with manganese dioxide and zinc. Lasagna is made with tomato sauce, meat, and that aluminum pan you forgot to take out. Same principle, different vibe.
Tomato Sauce is acidic, full of citric acid, making it a perfect electrolyte. Cheese and meat don’t do much for electricity, but they make excellent separators, layers that keep metals apart while allowing oons to drain.
Then you put in the real power players: metal dishes, foil, or aluminum baking tray. Put the stainless steel in contact with the aluminum with something between them, and you accidentally built a galvanic cell.
LaSagna batteries actually generate power
People often find “Lasagna battery” in a difficult way: You leave the rest in an aluminum lid, cover it with foil, stick it with a metal spoon or two inside, and leave. After many hours, the foil starts to peel, the tray forks, or your fork gets strange black marks on it.
That’s not kitchen dressing and tearing, that’s the order of electrochemistry. Metals melt slowly because electrons flow between them. Your dinner produces energy while you sleep.
The electricity produced by the lasagna battery is not enough voltage to run your phone. But IS It is enough to cause rust, destruction of dishes, and worse conditions, leaving you with a tray that looks like someone attacked it with a blowtorch.
The more points of contact you build, the more current you get. More placements? The surface of the earth? More acid? Congratulations, Tony STARK, TRAIN TO TRAIN FREE PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION GUARANTEE.
Can you eat a battery of lasagna?
Lasagna batteries look bad, but they don’t hurt. You can still eat leasagna if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
A completely battery operated lasagna can taste metallic and ready to eat. Some people discard the affected layer and eat the rest, which solves the taste problem if you don’t want to make a new lasagna from scratch.
Food batteries are flammable
Food-as-a-battery is not new. Schoolkids at SchoolKids have been making potato electrodes since the beginning of scientific preparation. But lasagna brings something special to the party: layers, moisture, and a natural electrolyte built into it.
Cover acidiic foods in foil inside aluminum pans, or allow different metals inside something salty or acidic, and build yourself a small energy plant, whether you did it or not. That’s a lasagna battery.
