French fries

[yvonne johnson]

Has anyone else tried making home made French fries as suggested by Jeffrey Steingarten in his book “The man who ate everything”?

Basically, you just place the cut, dried pots in a big pan with deep sides. Cover pots with cold (yes, cold) oil and place on high burner. I’ve done so many times. They come out quite well, but have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan. His method is very easy though.

Much better results are obtained using the double fry method, I think. Deep fry for a few minutes. Remove, let rest and cool (could be up to a few hours). Then deep fry a second time till golden

Steingarten also outlines all sorts of advice on whether to wash pots after cutting (he says no) etc. He also says that there is no taste advantage in placing pots in iced water before frying or in blanching (in boiling water) before frying.

[Holly Moore]

I have been trying to make a great home french fry for quite a while and am getting close.

I started off with three purchases - a home appliance deep fat fryer, a deep fat thermometer and a potato cutter that makes 1/4" fries.  The fryer ended up on the curb the next trash day.  Very, very slow recovery time (the time it takes the oil to come back to cooking temperature after the items to be cooked are placed in them).  

I kept the last two items - both are essential.  I now fry the potatoes on my gas range using the thermometer to zero in on the proper temps.

As Yvonne stated a two step process is the best.  Fry the potatoes at a low temperature (275 degrees) for 4-7 minutes.  Ths is the blanching process.  You want them to turn soft and limp without browning.

Drain them and let them cool/settle for at least an hour.  Then finish fry them.  1 - 2 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown.  Serve immediately.

It is better to cook a few fries at a time (1-2 servings).  More than that and the oil won't recover its temperature fast enough.

As to potatoes, Idaho Russets are best.  YukonGolds are OK.  Cut your potato 1/4" and 3/8".  Shoestring style is too thin to achieve a truly great french fry.  

[Jason Perlow]

The best deep fryer in the world is a 25 dollar hand hammered wok purchased in chinatown. No home deep fryer unit comes close.

Fill with peanut oil and fry up whatever you want. Just remember to reserve your frying oil using a strainer in a plastic vessel (those plastic deli soup or chinese soup containers work great) to get out the burnt bits floating around. You can probably reuse the oil half a dozen times before changing it.

[yvonne johnson]

Very interesting, Holly. I think I’ve been working intuitively. My fries are probably around the same size, but I cut them by hand, and if I’m using the plunge into hot oil (single or double) method, I test the temp of the oil by putting in one fry to see if it sizzles. Using a thermometer would be safer. Cooking times I do not have down pat. I go by color, tho I know some pots will not brown as much as others. I too go for Idaho. And I totally agree: shoestring fries are not fries. Whoever invented them needed their head examined!

Quick question too. Plunging things into water or oil—are both considered blanching? This is an aside:  Nigel Slater whom I much admire suggests par boiling pots before roasting and shaking the pan about when drained. They get beautifully flaky and come out terrifically crunchy when later roasted in goose fat. But roast pots probably deserve another thread.

Final question on fries. Do you use a basket in the pan during the cooking process? Pros and cons? I haven’t in a few years and instead use a scoop (that I associate with Chinese cooking (very flat wired thing, ladle shaped)) to retrieve them when done.

Jason, I've not used a wok for fries. I use my All-Clad pasta pan. It's deep. And you’re probably going to laugh and see me as a waster. I throw away oil after one use.  Lard would be another matter. I’d use that again to fry my fries!

[mamster]

I've tried the Steingarten recipe, which I think he attributes to Robuchon but without much documentation, and wasn't too happy.  They were okay, but they came out like fries come out when you try to shortcut the process by not double-frying, which is in fact what I did.

As far as reusing oil goes, in principle it's a good idea--Russ Parsons's new book talks in some detail about why slightly used oil makes the best fry.  However, oil used in professional deep-friers generally contains silicone, which rises to the top and makes a protective seal against the air and therefore against oxidation.  If you reuse oil at home, strain it well and keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard or the fridge.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure quite how widespread the silicone-mix oil is.  Hey, Shaw, what kind of oil do they fry in at Gramercy?  Does it have silicone, or is that more a chain fry-pit thing?

Best thing I've fried recently was sweet onion fritters from David Waltuck's book.  It's a good book in general, even if it's clearly not all "staff meals," and those onion fritters with the tamarind dipping sauce totally made my day.  They're svelte cousin of onion rings.

Oh, and the Chinese skimmer is the greatest thing ever.

(Edited by mamster at 11:16 pm on Aug. 21, 2001)

[Holly Moore]

Blanching is more commonly used for water blanching, but I am referring to blanching in oil.  The goal is a limp fry that is still white.  This cooks the fry through.  The finish frying at a hot temperature crisps the skin and makes the fry golden.

I do things the easy way when I can and for me a basket is easier.  So I use a basket.  Also means I can drain the fries all at once.

Re straining shortening.  Try straining through either a coffee filter or a paper towel.  Two ways to tell if the shortening is shot and can't be re-used.  Taste - it's rancid.  Or smoking.  It shouldn't smoke at 375 degress.

[Katherine]

I fry potatoes in pure olive oil, reserved for that purpose only. I reuse it many times, and as no breading or batter goes into the pot, it only occasionally needs filtering, and never tastes "old" or "rancid". It usually gets replaced when it starts to foam when adding fries.

Liquid vegetable oil is less stable. If I fry anything in that, I usually throw it out afterwards.  

[Bilmo]

I use a big pot with a basket, designed for deep frying.  Works beautifully.  I double fry, but I've been wondering - since the first, low temperature blanching fry doesn't brown or crisp the potatoes, what's the point of even frying them?  I think it might be easier to bake or microwave them for the 1st "fry".  It seems that the point of the 1st fry is to cook the potatoes, so that the 2nd fry can be done at a browning, crisping temperature.  I haven't tried that yet, but will.

[Katherine]

Fried preboiled or baked potatoes come out different than french fries, and you probably should try the potato and method you're considering to see what the effect is.

Good, but not french fries. The "potato skin" we see in bar cuisine is prebaked, have you tried them?

[Terrie]

I have to concur with the double fry method - it makes perfect fries!

Little personal story on this - just last weekend I was trying to fill in the menu at my boyfriend's house for dinner (it appears that just hamburgers are enough of a meal with his crew).  When I suggested potatoes, I was talked into making french fries (he knows I make them from scratch).  When he told his 11-year-old that I was making homemade french fries, his eyes lit up.  But, when he came in the kitchen and saw me peeling potatoes, he asked "what about the french fries?"  When I held up the potatoes, he asked, "french fries come from potatoes?"  !!

(Edited by Terrie at 2:49 pm on Aug. 22, 2001)

[Katherine]

In the pursuit of knowledge, I peeled three different potatoes (red bliss, russet, and Idaho bakers), cut into french fry shapes and blanched them in water for 6 minutes, then drained them, patted them dry, and fried them.

They took a long time to brown. (10 minutes/serving) I think that boiling them didn't drive off the water as prefrying does. Also, the sugars which brown on the surface may have boiled off into the water. The surface was porous, and slightly crispy, but not crunchy as a golden brown fry is.

Red bliss were the best. They were meltingly tender inside, and brown on the outside, without being soggy. Russets were ok, while the Idaho potatoes were like the worst fast food fries you've had-like cold tasteless MacDonald's fries. Maybe we boiled off the flavor, too.

If anyone had said to you that these three were a new type of "lite" fry, you would have agreed, but secretly suspected that there was every bit as much fat as in the regular type.

[Holly Moore]

I wish I had listened better or at least remembered more from my college food chemistry classes.  My little bit of recall says that potato use is dictated by specific gravity - hi and low.  Low specific gravity potatoes, and I believe red bliss is low, are best for boiling and pan frying.  High specific gravity potatoes, such as Idaho russets are best for baking, french fries and potato chips.

In a perfect world an "Idaho Baker" would be an Idaho russet.  But in today's supermarket, I'm assuming that Bakers are not russets but some off-breed that the all-powerful Idaho Potato Council will not permit to be called russets.

I worked corporately in new products for McD's back when they shifted from fresh to frozen fries.  Simplot was the frozen potato supplier who developed the McDonald's frozen fry.  They went to point of replicating the McDonald's blanching process of blanching the potatoes in 25% lard shortening prior to flash freezing.  It took a year of testing and refining, but the result was a frozen shoe string potato that McD heavy users couldn't tell from fresh.

My guess is that Katherine is correct and that boiling in water, which can not get higher than 212 degrees, can not pull the moisture out of the fry.  It is probably also not hot enough to start the crust that forms on a shortening blanched potato.  I'd be willing to bet that a twice fried potato has less shortening absorbtion than a once boiled once fried potato and is in fact a "liter" potato.

[yvonne johnson]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread. Fat Guy's mentioning the Freudian take on the french fry earlier today reminds me that I asked Bourdain--in his Q & A session--under the header of psychoanalysis (see there is a connection between Freud and the french fy!) about the perfect fry and he replied:

"Fries?  GPOD '70 count potatoes. Cut on a baron--battonet cut. BLANCHE first in 300 degree oil. Lay out on towel on sheet pan to cool and drain..Finish in 375 degree oil. Toss imediately in regular table salt."

Bourdain didn't get round to elaborating, and my questions remain:

1. What are "GPOD '70 count potatoes"?

2. Also, what about a baron. (Is it a vegetable cutter like a Mandodline?)

3. What is battonet cut?

Can someone help as I'm in pursuit of the perfect fry. And if you answer the above (correctly, of course) and attend the pub crawl tomorrow, I'll buy you a dram.

[Wilfrid]

Batonette is a standard term for vegetable chopping, and I always assumed it meant a small baton. Which would make sense. GPOD is a company which ships Idaho potatoes (as any fule kno). Baron, I think, is slang for a cutting board - the only derivation I can think of, and it's pretty obscure, seems to be from video "cutting" boards. Maybe it's a Bourdain-ism.

I look forward to me dram.

[Suzanne F]

I can help you a little:

"GPOD" is the trade name for Idaho russets.

"70" refers to the size: these would have a count of 70 potatoes in a 50# case, so each one weighs approx. 11 to 13 oz (300 - 320 g).

"Baron" I can't help you with; it was unknown to me. Sorry

"Batonnet" is a classic cut: 1/4 " X 1/4 " X 2 to 3" -- typical "french fry" cut (BTW: the CIA says 2 to 2-1/2")

Hope this helps you.

Edit: Wilfrid, you type faster than I do!!!! But Yvonne is the final arbiter of who won.

[cabrales]

I don't have the answers, but note that the Charlie Trotter book "Gourmet Cooking for Dummies" I have been reading (and which is at home) did appear to have the answer to the batonnet question. The book is quite useful.

[Wilfrid]

Ooh, I missed the part of the question about '70 - hope that didn't disqualify me. But I may still be ahead with the Baron: note Bourdain says to cut them on not with a baron - although if he does mean cutting board, it's fairly superfluous advice.

[Liza]

Of course, of course.

[yvonne johnson]

Suzanne F is way ahead. Thanks for the very specific information.

Sorry, Wilfrid, you don't come close, but I'll keep in mind the possible etymology of baron. At least all of this shows that I wasn't a total mug for not comprehending all of Bourdain's instructions.

So, do you think we'll ever come up with a definite answer on the baron? I did do a search and it appears Baron makes cooking appliances.

[Toby]

Could baron be a typo for baton? (Is there such a thing?)

[Wilfrid]

Outrageous favoritism.

[Suzanne F]

Oh, Wilfrid, just because I looked up the specifics... sorry, that's just the anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive kind of girl I am. But if it's okay with Yvonne, I'll pass the dram along to you -- especially since I can't go tonight. Besides, too many people have been too angry here lately, and I don't want anybody mad at me.

Anyway, Toby's suggestion makes sense. Especially since batonnet means "little baton." So perhaps it would be cut something like 1/2" X 1/2" by 2 - 3" -- bigger cuts for those hearty American appetites.

All the confusion could just have been because of a typo. Even if Chef Bourdain is a good writer, that doesn't mean he's any good as a typist, or speller. (Remember the bit in "2000-Year-Old Man?" -- "Shakespeare? Naw, he was a crummy writer; you couldn't read his handwriting ... A great playwright, yes, but a lousy writer.")

[Wilfrid]

I looked it up too, of course, just didn't do a thorough job. Good old google.

[yvonne johnson]

Well spotted Toby. And Suzanne, thanks yet again (and, no, Wilfrid....sorry...won't do!). Amazing it could all be a typo, the "baron". This is beginning to read like a mystery story.

OK, Wilfrid, I'm in a good mood today. So like the Dodo in Wonderland, it'll be prize drams for everyone-- winners and pathetic losers alike --tonight. g.johnson is paying.

[Toby]

I used to work as a proofreader.