potato depends on the surface area Chips, which are almost all surface, average about 35% oil, while thick fries are more like 10– 15% French Fries “French fries” may first have been made in significant quantities by Parisian street vendors early in the 19th century They are potato sticks cut with a square cross section, 5–10 mm on a side, deep-fried in oil, with a crisp gold exterior and a moist interior that’s fluffy if the potatoes are high-starch russets, creamy otherwise Simple quick frying doesn’t work very well; it gives a thin, delicate crust that’s quickly softened by the interior’s moisture A crisp crust requires an initial period of gentle frying, so that starch in the surface cells has time to dissolve from the granules and reinforce and glue together the outer cell walls into a thicker, more robust layer Good fries can be made by starting the potato strips in relatively cool oil, 250–325ºF/120–163ºC, cooking for 8–10 minutes, then raising the oil temperature to 350–375ºF/175–190ºC and cooking for 3–4 minutes to brown and crisp the outside The most efficient production method is to pre-fry all the potato strips at the lower temperature ahead of time, set them aside at room temperature, and then the brief high-temperature frying at the last minute Potato Chips Potato chips are essentially french fries that are all crust and no interior The potatoes are cut into thin cross sections around 1.5 mm thick, the equivalent of just 10–12 potato cells, then deep-fried until dry and crisp There are two basic ways of frying chips, and they produce two different textures Cooking at a fairly constant and high oil temperature, around 350ºF/175ºC, heats the slices so rapidly that the starch granules and cell walls have little chance to absorb any ... crust and no interior The potatoes are cut into thin cross sections around 1.5 mm thick, the equivalent of just 10–12 potato cells, then deep-fried until dry and crisp There are two basic ways of frying... cooking for 8–10 minutes, then raising the oil temperature to 350–375ºF/175–190ºC and cooking for 3–4 minutes to brown and crisp the outside The most efficient production method is to pre-fry all the potato strips at the. .. method is to pre-fry all the potato strips at the lower temperature ahead of time, set them aside at room temperature, and then the brief high-temperature frying at the last minute Potato Chips Potato