

Store the oil in a bottle that is well washed and dried (1-litre pop bottles are ideal) and refrigerate until the next use.

You should strain the oil through a coffee filter or through paper towels placed in a colander. Recovering the oilįrench fry cooking oil can be reused, up to seven or eight times for some deep fryer models. This second round can take place hours later, just before it’s time to serve.Īfter the fries are cooked, drain off excess oil and pat them dry with paper towel. Before you start, increase the temperature of the oil to 190☌ (375☏) and then cook the fries until they are evenly browned. The second round of cooking begins at least 10 minutes later. Heat a large amount of oil to 180☌ (350☏) and cook the potatoes for 5 minutes. The first round cooks the potato while the second round browns it to perfection at a higher temperature. The perfect fries need to be cooked twice.

Use regular olive oil (and not extra virgin) because regular olive oil has a higher smoke point and therefore a higher heat capacity. Olive oil is more expensive but does add an unparalleled taste. However, canola oil can emit a bad smell at high temperatures. It is an excellent pick but some have turned to canola oil due to the wave of peanut allergies. Peanut oil has long been the oil of choice for fries. The more oil you use, the hotter it will remain during cooking, allowing steam to exit each fry. It is also important to thoroughly drain and pat potatoes dry to avoid excess steam from cooling the cooking oil. Recent tests have shown that 10 minutes of soaking is enough if you use warm tap water. They advocate changing the water a few times during this period and making sure to remove starch at the bottom of the bowl from the previous soak. Some purists recommend three or four hours of soaking at room temperature. This removes excess starch, which will convert into sugar and brown fries before they are cooked. The thinner the cut, the faster and crispier the end result. Fries should be about the same size in order to fry evenly. The cutĪ potato can be peeled or not, it’s up to you. They contain less moisture and starch, which is what you want to make good fries. The end result will be soft, mushy fries, due to steam trapped beneath the surface.Ī popular belief is that old potatoes make good fries. Potatoes with low starch content and high moisture change colour before losing their moisture. Oil cannot penetrate a potato while steam is being released. Sara Published: These homemade french fries are potatoes that are cut into sticks and deep fried until golden brown, then sprinkled with seasonings. It discharges a lot of moisture from inside the potato and prevents it from absorbing too much oil. Steam causes two very important things to happen. This is the source of that bubbling sound you hear when fries are being cooked. Moisture inside a potato is pushed outward when it comes into contact with hot oil. Starch particles absorb less fat, cook faster and produce lighter and crispier fries. Russet potatoes (also called Idaho) contain more starch than other potatoes.
