Rescuing soggy fries
A crisp fry has a dry, browned crust over a soft center. Water left on the surface turns to steam in the oil and keeps that crust from setting. Wet potatoes also make hot oil spatter, so dry them well.
Fry twice: cook, then crisp
Fry once at about 150°C (300°F) to cook the inside soft. Rest the fries so the surface dries, then fry again near 190°C (375°F) to crisp. Drain on a rack and salt right away.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Why soak cut potatoes in water and then dry them?
It washes off surface starch. Less starch means fewer gummy patches on the crust.
True or false: Patting potatoes dry before frying helps them crisp.
True. Dry potatoes make less steam in the oil, so the crust can set.
What went wrong? You tip hot fries into a covered bowl. By the time they reach the table, they're soft.
The bowl trapped steam that rewet the crust. Steam from hot fries condenses on the crust.
Fill the blank: Hot fries in a closed container go soft because trapped ___ wets the crust.
Hot fries in a closed container go soft because trapped steam wets the crust. Steam condenses on the crust.
Set the temperature for the second, crisping fry, in °C.
About 190 C. The second, crisping fry runs hotter than the first.