Hi

We just recently bought a deep fryer for lots of culinary projects. We
thought let us try to make some chips / "french fries" first, that
should be easy. Far from it. Maybe you can tell us what went wrong.

We cut potatoes as recommended. Dried them. Pr fried them at 160C for
about 4 minutes. Couldn't do it longer because they already turned
brown. So I was scared and took them out. Heated oil to 190C for the
finals and after about a minute or two put them back in again for
about 3 minutes as recommended. But at that time they were already
dark brown and not looking appetising at all.

Result: Dark brown outside, inside not really cooked and dry-ish but
kind of soggy. Outside still oily. So too dark and still not cooked
properly. Not recommended to eat. Tried them - very sweet and soggy.

We tried a second batch increasing the time in the 160C bath a few
minutes just causing them to brown more, then back to 190C for two
minutes. Result: even darker, same texture, bit more chips flavour but
still not really cooked the way they should be.

Question? Why do they brown so quickly while they do not cook
properly? I think the fryer has enough power as I can see the heater
not needing too much time to heat the oil.

Well there are two things I suspect:
a) Wrong oil (we use sunflower oil, but doesn't smoke)
b) Wrong type of potato. We selected a hard cooking one. But because
of the chip flavour so sweet I suspect that there was a high sugar
content which may have caused them to caramelise and thus the colour.
Hmm, I don't really know...

I noticed the suggestion to leave them stand for 30 mins before
increasing the temp. But in my case they were already darker than they
should in the 160C process.

Well, we will try some other potatoes but I find it rather strange. I
mean I have never seen anybody frying "real" potatoes as most people
just use a bag of frozen pre-cut chips and pour them in the basket. I
don't want to do that as I don't know what is really behind it.

So far the chip experiment was very disappointing.

(I will check the oil temperature with a reliable thermometer, maybe
the thermostat is out.)

Any suggestions?


Thanks


Michael

"Michael Passler" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Hi
>
> We just recently bought a deep fryer for lots of culinary projects. We
> thought let us try to make some chips / "french fries" first, that
> should be easy. Far from it. Maybe you can tell us what went wrong.
>

<snipped>

The type of potato is crucial. Did you use russets or a similar mealy baking
potato? They are best. THe red-skinned ones or other boiling potatoes are
not recommended. I do not know if this was your problem but it's the only
thing I can think of.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Hi,

You are correct in thinking it is the sugar on the
surface of the chip that is caramelising and turning them
brown. I understand that potatoes under certain conditions
convert some of their composition back and forth between
starch and sugar and that certain varieties are higher in
sugar to start with. When sliced they 'bleed' this sugar
which needs removing before you fry them.

Make sure that you wash the chips thoroughly under
running water, soak them for a short time and of course dry
them before frying. You might try changing to a more
suitable variety such as Maris Piper, King Edwards (not the
cigars) or even Golden Wonder if you can find them.


Cheers - Joe

Michael Passler > wrote:
> We cut potatoes as recommended. Dried them. Pr fried them at 160C for

Here I'll ask a question:
What's the best width to cut potatoes in?
1.0 cm ?
1.2 cm ?

Do there exist any devices like several knives tied together, spaced the
right distance, so I'd just get it through the potato?

I find cutting it the right size to be the most difficult part of making
french fries, and such device would be most helpful.

--
Miernik ________________________
___________________/__ tel: +48608233394 __/
Do not use Paypal. They sometimes shut down accounts and steal users money!
http://www.paypalwarning.com/

"Michael Passler" > wrote in message
...

> We just recently bought a deep fryer for
> lots of culinary projects. We thought let us
> try to make some chips / "french fries" first,
> that should be easy. Far from it. Maybe you
> can tell us what went wrong.

Congrats on your fryer -- we got one last year as a present from a
Belgian friend/colleague of my husband's, who then proceeded to teach
me the Belgian way to make fries (aka the "one and only true way,"
which I won't quibble with given that fries make up half of the
Belgian national dish, moules frites). It'll take you a few tries to
get the knack, but you'll get it right eventually.

> We cut potatoes as recommended.

What size was recommended? I was instructed that 1x1 cm to
1-1/2x1-1/2 cm and then to whatever uniform length you want is
appropriate.

> Dried them.

Good. I was really surprised to find that it's completely unnecessary
to soak the potatoes before making fries. Wrap them up in a good
dishcloth for half an hour or more to soak up the excess liquid and
starch.

> Pr fried them at 160C for about 4 minutes.
> Couldn't do it longer because they already turned
> brown. So I was scared and took them out.

Unless you're making what's known in the US as "shoestring" fries
(which are cooked all in one go), your fries shouldn't brown at all
during the first frying. Time to get out ye olde thermometer and
double-check the temperature of your oil. Also make sure you don't
cook too many fries at one time; you want to make sure the oil can
circulate freely between the them and, most importantly, that you
don't bring the temperature of the oil down too much.

> Heated oil to 190C for the finals and after about
> a minute or two put them back in again for about
> 3 minutes as recommended. But at that time they
> were already dark brown and not looking appetising
> at all.

Your fries need to sit a bit longer (on absorbent paper) before the
second frying -- you can even refrigerate them overnight if you want
(make a large batch, do the first frying for all of the potatoes, let
the whole batch rest for at least 30 minutes, then fry off half of the
batch for this meal, stick the rest in the fridge to save for
tomorrow's meal).

> Result: Dark brown outside, inside not really cooked
> and dry-ish but kind of soggy. Outside still oily. So
> too dark and still not cooked properly. Not recommended
> to eat. Tried them - very sweet and soggy.
>
> Question? Why do they brown so quickly while
> they do not cook properly? I think the fryer has
> enough power as I can see the heater not needing
> too much time to heat the oil.

You're cooking them at too high a temperature the first time around.

> Well there are two things I suspect:
> a) Wrong oil (we use sunflower oil, but doesn't smoke)

Sunflower oil's fine. You basically want an oil that has a high smoke
point. We generally use grapeseed or canola. Lard is excellent for
fries, if you can stand the smell (I can't, so I don't use it).

> b) Wrong type of potato. We selected a hard
> cooking one. But because of the chip flavour so
> sweet I suspect that there was a high sugar
> content which may have caused them to caramelise
> and thus the colour.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "hard cooking" potato (some food
descriptions get very complicated when moving from country to
country). Use a potato suitable for baking-- one that ends up fairly
dry and mealy when cooked -- what would generically be referred to as
a russet or Idaho potato in Southern California, or "bage kartoffler"
(baking potato) here in Denmark.

> I noticed the suggestion to leave them stand for
> 30 mins before increasing the temp. But in my
> case they were already darker than they should
> in the 160C process.

Don't skip this step; but also don't brown the potatoes during the
first cooking.

> Well, we will try some other potatoes but I find
> it rather strange. I mean I have never seen anybody
> frying "real" potatoes as most people just use a bag
> of frozen pre-cut chips and pour them in the basket.
> I don't want to do that as I don't know what is really
> behind it.

We use real potatotes, always. Our Belgian friends -- even the
bachelors -- make real fries, using real potatoes. It takes a bit
more time, but the results are worth it.

> So far the chip experiment was very disappointing.

Don't get discouraged. Try the above suggestions.

> (I will check the oil temperature with a reliable
> thermometer, maybe the thermostat is out.)

Built-in thermostats in deep fryers are notoriously bad. The fryer we
have (a Belgian brand) isn't bad, but it's not perfect; I regularly
check the temperature with another thermometer.

Summary:

1. Peel and cut dry, mealy potato variety into appropriate 1x1 to
1-1/2x1-1/2 cm and uniform length pieces.
2. Thoroughly dry fries -- wrap in dishtowel (linen is great for this)
20-30 minutes.
3. Heat oil in your fryer to 160-170C (my fryer says 170).
4. Fry potatoes in small batches until cooked through; do not brown
(potato should be cooked through, although it won't be "puffy" inside,
and will be slightly blistered on the outside).
5. Drain and cool fries on a rack or absorbent paper (you can
refrigerate fries overnight at this point), at least 30 minutes.
6. Bring oil in fryer to 190C.
7. Fry potatoes in small batches until golden brown. Remove to a rack
or absorbent paper to drain briefly and sprinkle with salt. Serve
immediately.

Good luck!
-j

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004, Miernik wrote:

> Michael Passler > wrote:
> > We cut potatoes as recommended. Dried them. Pr fried them at 160C for
>
> Here I'll ask a question:
> What's the best width to cut potatoes in?
> 1.0 cm ?
> 1.2 cm ?

.... if i was good at metric (or any measurement) i could probably tell
you...

> Do there exist any devices like several knives tied together, spaced the
> right distance, so I'd just get it through the potato?

yes, but like all kitchen appliances, they break easily. the professional
ones are mounted above a sink.

> I find cutting it the right size to be the most difficult part of making
> french fries, and such device would be most helpful.

I find that you need to be more qualitative about it than a device would
be. I generally try for a regular fry size (it's about the width of my
middle finger), but when I'm cutting the ends, I need to be careful that
they are cut differently because they only have three sides and not four.

I tend to cut with a straight chop through the middle of the potato, then
turn the flat sides down, make from 2-4 slices, and then comes the
difficult part... cutting them the other way so that they're as regular as
possible.

just my .02 cents

Lena

Miernik wrote:

> Do there exist any devices like several knives tied together, spaced the
> right distance, so I'd just get it through the potato?
>
> I find cutting it the right size to be the most difficult part of making
> french fries, and such device would be most helpful.


Consider getting a mandoline. Here's a good one.

http://www.surlatable.com/common/pro...m?PRRFNBR=2956

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Michael Passler wrote:

>
> Hi
>
> We just recently bought a deep fryer for lots of culinary projects. We
> thought let us try to make some chips / "french fries" first, that
> should be easy. Far from it. Maybe you can tell us what went wrong.
>
> We cut potatoes as recommended. Dried them.

Rinse them to get surface starch off and then dry them.

> Pr fried them at 160C for
> about 4 minutes. Couldn't do it longer because they already turned
> brown. So I was scared and took them out. Heated oil to 190C

190 is a bit high. I wouldn't go any higher than 185. That was our
potato fryer temperature in my restaurants.

> for the
> finals and after about a minute or two put them back in again for
> about 3 minutes as recommended. But at that time they were already
> dark brown and not looking appetising at all.
>
> Result: Dark brown outside, inside not really cooked and dry-ish but
> kind of soggy. Outside still oily. So too dark and still not cooked
> properly. Not recommended to eat. Tried them - very sweet and soggy.
>
> We tried a second batch increasing the time in the 160C bath a few
> minutes just causing them to brown more, then back to 190C for two
> minutes. Result: even darker, same texture, bit more chips flavour but
> still not really cooked the way they should be.
>
> Question? Why do they brown so quickly while they do not cook
> properly? I think the fryer has enough power as I can see the heater
> not needing too much time to heat the oil.

Surface starch is likely what made them turn brown. And maybe the
actual temperature of the oil for that first fry was too high. Check
it with a thermometer you're sure of.

> Well there are two things I suspect:
> a) Wrong oil (we use sunflower oil, but doesn't smoke)

Oil's fine.

> b) Wrong type of potato. We selected a hard cooking one. But because
> of the chip flavour so sweet I suspect that there was a high sugar
> content which may have caused them to caramelise and thus the colour.
> Hmm, I don't really know...

Perhaps. You want a drier potato like a russet.

Try something that sounds utterly wrong. I was astounded the first
time I did it. Cut your potatoes about 1.5 cm square and however long
you want. Rinse them in cold water and dry well. Put them into cold
oil. Room temperature oil. Turn the fryer on to 185. Every now and
again, either gently stir them or shake the basket (if that's how
you're doing them) to move them a bit and let all sides cook.

I used just enough oil to fully cover since the potatoes shrink as
they give off their water.

A short while after the oil reaches temperature, the potatoes will be
done. Takes a variable amount of time, but think in terms of maybe 15
to 20 minutes from the time you drop them into the oil depending on
amounts.

I read this in a Jeffrey Steingarten book and it sounded silly. Tried
it. The spuds were wonderful. Downside is that you can't do it twice
in succession. Means that you need to make enough the first time around.

Pastorio

While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, Reg of SBC
http://yahoo.sbc.com said:

>Consider getting a mandoline. Here's a good one.
>
>http://www.surlatable.com/common/pro...m?PRRFNBR=2956

I have one from Zyliss, and it's quite good. I especially like the way
in which the blades are sitting in a V-shape, which makes it cut
better. I second your suggestion.
--
Nikitta a.a. #1759 Apatriot(No, not apricot)#18
ICQ# 251532856
Unreferenced footnotes: http://www.nut.house.cx/cgi-bin/nemwiki.pl?ISFN
"You can tell if someone is a doctor. Their handwriting is very messy and
illegible and they know stuff. Medical stuff." John Coxon (afdaiain)

In article >,
"jacqui{JB}" > wrote:
>
>Unless you're making what's known in the US as "shoestring" fries
>(which are cooked all in one go), your fries shouldn't brown at all
>during the first frying.

Right. Fry them for a few minutes at 320F, then spread
them out on a rack and let them cool to room temperature.
They should be limp and pale. Then fry them a few more
minutes at 375F, dump them back out onto the rack and
season.

http://www.onlineconversion.com says:

320F == 160C
375F == 191C

> Time to get out ye olde thermometer and
>double-check the temperature of your oil. Also make sure you don't
>cook too many fries at one time; you want to make sure the oil can
>circulate freely between the them and, most importantly, that you
>don't bring the temperature of the oil down too much.

Right; remember you only have a few minutes. That's not
nearly enough time to allow the oil to get back up to temp.

If in doubt, leave half the batch of fries out.

>> Well there are two things I suspect:
>> a) Wrong oil (we use sunflower oil, but doesn't smoke)
>
>Sunflower oil's fine. You basically want an oil that has a high smoke
>point. We generally use grapeseed or canola. Lard is excellent for
>fries, if you can stand the smell (I can't, so I don't use it).

Safflower oil's good for just about any deep-fried food,
too.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage --> http://www.panix.com/~mshaw
================================================== ======================
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of a rather good country." - Frederick Forsyth