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Anyone know of Chef's potato brand?

maui420

By maui420
in Kitchen Consumer

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maui420

maui420

Posted
Posted

i was trying nifty fifties for a burger and fries and was very pleased. being the food investigator i am (one day would like to open a food joint) and looked back in the kitchen to see what kind of fries they are serving. caught the brand name of the potatoe bag called chef's potatoe frittas. or something like that. anyone know or maybe recommend a distributor of a good french fry?

thanks

Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted

The best distributor of a good french fry is also the least expensive... a bag of russet potatoes. It's not that much work and you won't get anything frozen that your customers will like better.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Jensen

Jensen

Posted
Posted
It's not that much work

Obviously, you've never worked in a chip shop! :laugh::laugh:

(Okay, maybe it was only so much work for me because I only weighed about 95 pounds at the time.)

Jen Jensen

feedmec00kies

feedmec00kies

Posted
Posted (edited)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that what matters more is what kind of fat you cook your fries in and the process you go by cooking them, more than the actual potatoes.

In Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser points out that the same one or two companies produce and supply most of the fries in this country because, well, they have a monopoly. The reason those McDonald's fries were known for tasting "so good" was because they were fried in beef fat, which subsequently made them more rich in saturated fat than their burgers.

When people complained about the , they started putting flavoring in to duplicate the taste of the fries being cooked in beef fat, which is why they are "questionably" vegetarian (I think McDonald's has admitted the source of the flavoring is originally meat, making them non-vegetarian; this was a big deal in India where there were religious restrictions on consuming beef, but apparently they skip the flavoring there).

So Tri2Cook is right; just get your own potatoes, and work out the best cooking process instead. If you do, you'll have more control over the quality of the actual potatoes, the size of the fries, etc etc.

Edited by feedmec00kies (log)

"I know it's the bugs, that's what cheese is. Gone off milk with bugs and mould - that's why it tastes so good. Cows and bugs together have a good deal going down."

- Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry), Chef!

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maui420

maui420

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

thanks all for the replies. ive experimented with french frying last yr and found that the taste of the fry also depends on the potatoe. ive bought many different brands of russets and i guess depending on where the potatoe life was at(younger or older or maybe even where in the states), changed the amount of crisp and starchyness in the fry. so maybe a particular distributor only sells russets that are premium picked/treated for french frying.

Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you soak 'em a bit, blanch 'em in lower temp oil and park 'em until you're ready to finish them off at usual frying temps they will be crisp and tasty and hold up well (even in the popular among Canadians fries and gravy or poutine). If you want even less work, skip the blanch and drop them for 3 or 4 minutes when you put your burger (or whatever) on then let them hang until you're burger (or whatever) is ready and crisp them up for another minute or so. They'll crisp up just as nicely as the blanched version but timing is more important because they won't hold as long before going limp. I'm not trying to talk you out of your search, I'm just saying people do notice the difference (and most seem to prefer them with skin on... which means even less prep). Better tasting product for less cost is always a good thing in the restaurant business and less processed, heat 'n' eat food is good for everybody.

Edited by Tri2Cook (log)

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

ChefCrash

ChefCrash

Posted
Posted
thanks all for the replies. ive experimented with french frying last yr and found that the taste of the fry also depends on the potatoe. ive bought many different brands of russets and i guess depending on where the potatoe life was at(younger or older or maybe even where in the states), changed the amount of crisp and starchyness in the fry. so maybe a particular distributor only sells russets that are premium picked/treated for french frying.

Chef's Choice from Simplot

I agree with you. Way too many variables out of your control.

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