Blanching and freezing potatoes ahead of time cuts down on cook and prep time, with blanching in particular producing that fluffy, creamy interior we know and love in fast-food fries.
Blanching. Another restaurant trick is to blanch the fries in water, then freeze them, which allows more of the potato's moisture to escape, thus producing a crispier fry.
Do Fry Frozen Foods. This one may seem like a no brainer, but frozen foods make the perfect deep frying vessel. Most frozen products, like French fries, are blanched prior to being frozen, which lowers cook times. This means you'll have food cooked in top speed!
The freezing process helps to draw more water out the potato so it results in a crispier fry. The fries are pulled out of the freezer before service and fried once again, seasoned, and served.
The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.
Soaking the sliced potatoes is the fundamental first step of making proper french fries. The soaking process removes the troublesome starch on the outside of the potato, which will help the fries achieve the perfect crispness.
Add vinegar, water and potato strips to a pot, cover, and heat to boiling. Boil for 10 minutes. Why vinegar? The acidity of the vinegar holds the potatoes together so they don't get mushy and fall apart while boiling.
When frying French fries, do not let them thaw before using. I recommend that frozen French fries be kept completely frozen before using. This guarantees that the surface of the potato is sealed during the frying process, resulting in a crispy, high quality fry. Some operations do thaw potatoes before cooking.
Keep the fries frozen until you are ready to use them. Do not thaw before cooking or the fries will turn mushy and brown. You can cook your fries in various ways, including baking, air frying, and deep-frying in oil.
Simply slicing potatoes and roasting them takes at least 45 minutes from craving to consuming. Blanching and freezing potatoes ahead of time cuts down on cook and prep time, with blanching in particular producing that fluffy, creamy interior we know and love in fast-food fries.
The key to frying restaurant-quality French fries is to fry them not once, but twice. Trust me; there is a reason to the madness. The first fry par-cooks your potatoes to soften them, while the second fry both finishes the cooking process and achieves the beloved crispy texture.
Double Fry Method = Crisp exterior, fluffy interior – If you want the best homemade french fries, you really need to cook them twice. First at a lower temperature to make the interior soft like a baked potato, then a second time at a higher temperature to crisp the edges.
We use a blend including canola and sunflower oils to cook with. Like all vegetable oils, it's cholesterol free. We use only 100% Aussie grown beef to serve you the best beef burgers, sourced from farmers across the country.
At the beginning of the potato season, when we're using newer potatoes, the naturally-occurring sugar content is very low and we do need to add a small amount of sugar dextrose to our fries to ensure they maintain that golden colour.
“It's because McDonald's cooks their fries with beef flavoring mixed within their vegetable oil,” the San Diego-based content creator explains in a TikTok posted last week that's served up 9.6 million views. It's “why the fries taste so good,” he added, but it's “probably bad news for vegetarians.”
The baking soda is clutch, as it alkalizes the water/potatoes and contributes to the crunch effect. The salt goes both in the water and on the potatoes for maximum seasoning. A big glug of olive oil makes them super crunchy and that fat gives the super high heat something to work with.
What kind of oil do I use? The key here is using something with a high smoke point. Neutral-tasting oils are great for frying: peanut, canola, vegetable, safflower, grape-seed, et cetera. These all have a smoke point well above 350°F.
Why use salt water for soaking potatoes? There's moisture naturally found in potatoes, and moisture is drawn to higher concentrations of salt. (This is a process called osmosis.) So, if you put the potatoes in a salt water bath, that will help draw out some of their moisture, resulting in crispier fries.
French Fries
Leave the potatoes in salt water for 15 to 30 minutes before frying. But if needed, you can also soak them for no more than 24 hours.
A properly made fry must hit the oil twice--once at a lower temperature, and then again at 350 degrees Fahrenheit--to get the perfect creamy interior and crunchy exterior. Before all that, though, the secret is to briefly poach them in boiling water (or "blanch" them) before they go into the hot oil.