The soaking, Mr. Nasr said, is the secret to the crisp texture of the fries. It draws out the starch, making them more rigid and less likely to stick together.
The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.
The key to frying restaurant-quality French fries is to fry them not once, but twice. Trust me; there is a reason to the madness. The first fry par-cooks your potatoes to soften them, while the second fry both finishes the cooking process and achieves the beloved crispy texture.
First let's talk about why cut potatoes need to be immersed in water to begin with. The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.
Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Allow them to soak, 2 to 3 hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak overnight.)
The best potatoes for French fries are soaked in a sugar solution before frying. The sugar solution has something to do with the carbohydrates and prevents the potatoes from soaking up a lot of grease, so they get crunchy.
Blanching: The Reason Why French Fries Taste Better
Your potatoes need to take two separate dips in hot oil to reach restaurant quality. Oil-blanching is a two-part process that reduces the moisture and starch content in your fries, helping them crisp up.
"It's because McDonald's cooks their fries with beef flavoring mixed within their vegetable oil," divulged the content creator.
Employing the double-fry method gives the fries a perfectly crisp exterior. Freezing the fries before the second fry gives them a distinctly fluffy interior.
Step 1: Peel, Cut and Blanch
They're then briefly immersed in hot water to remove excess natural sugars for color reasons. According to McDonald's, blanching also eliminates enzymatic activity which prevents spoilage and develops a fluffy interior, similar to a baked potato, for better texture.
Fill a large bowl with cold water and stir in 2 tablespoons of salt. Place the sliced potatoes in the salt water and let them soak for 15 to 30 minutes. This will help them bake up crispier. When the potatoes are done soaking, drain them, and dry very well with a towel.
Soak the uncooked potatoes for 30 minutes in an ice bath. They can soak longer, but you'll need to keep them in the fridge while they soak. Don't soak for longer than 3 hours.
As health concerns over saturated fat grew in the 1990s, McDonald's finally made the switch to vegetable oil. Unfortunately, customers noticed that the fries didn't taste how they used to. To mimic the chain's original oil blend, the oil is laced with natural flavoring to replicate that mouthwatering smell.
In the 1990s, as health concerns over saturated fat reached an all-time high, McDonald's faced a backlash against the use of beef tallow, and worried about losing customers, the chain switched to vegetable oil. Unfortunately, many customers said the new texture and taste weren't up to the mark.
We stick to a gold standard that helps us ensure we deliver you a great tasting McDonald's fry. It starts with the right potatoes, which we cut exactly right, and then use a canola-blend oil with just the right amount of flavoring.
Once at the restaurant, our fries are simply cooked in dedicated frying vats in a non-hydrogenated blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil which is 100 percent suitable for vegetarians. In fact, McDonald's French Fries are officially accredited by the Vegetarian Society.
Yes, beef fat tallow was eliminated from the cooking oil, but since the change affected the flavor that many other consumers loved, the franchise found itself on shaky ground.
There are a couple of possible reasons why this works. One is there's already less water in the food after the first fry. The second reason is that the first fry changes the microscopic architecture of your food.
Soak the potato strips in water with a dash of apple cider vinegar. Soaking the potatoes draws starch to the exterior of the potato. This prevents fries from sticking together and helps them get crispy. Vinegar delays potatoes from turning brown and also speeds up the starch extraction.
Boiling not only pre-cooks the interior of the fry so it will be nice and soft when you eat it but more importantly this step is the secret to prevent fries from turning dark brown later in the frying process.
Give them a cold water bath: Once your potatoes are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the potatoes completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.