The intricacies involved in taking two simple ingredients— potatoes and oil—and applying science, heat, and a bit of blind faith are so complex that it boggles the mind It took me a good decade to finally decode their secrets, to achieve that holy grail of burger joint cookery: the perfect French fry A substantial, crisp, grease-free crust that cracks open with a puff of steam revealing a tender, almost fluffy center There are four basic criteria that define a perfect French fry: A perfect French fry should have a crisp crust that breaks instead of bending • Perfect Fry Factor #1: The exterior must be very crisp but not tough In order to achieve such crispness, the surface structure of a fry must be riddled with microbubbles It’s these tiny crisp bubbles that increase the surface area of the fry, making it extra crunchy Ideally, this layer should only be as thick as it needs to be to add crispness Any thicker, and you start running into leathery or tough territory • Perfect Fry Factor #2: The interior must be intact and fluffy and have a strong potato flavor Fries with a pasty, mealy, or gummy interior or, even worse, the dreaded state known as “hollow-fry” (when the interior is missing entirely) are an automatic fail • Perfect Fry Factor #3: The fry must be an even light golden blond Fries that are too dark or are spotty have an off-putting burnt flavor Light golden but perfectly crisp is how I want my fries to be • Perfect Fry Factor #4: The fry must stay crisp and tasty for at least as long as it takes you to eat a full serving Fries that comes straight out of the fryer are almost always perfectly crisp The true test of a great fry is whether or not it is still crisp and edible a few minutes later, after it’s been sitting on your plate The bendy fry pictured above fails that test First, a few decisions For potato variety, russet is what you want Its high starch content means that it’ll fry up crisper ... Perfect Fry Factor #2: The interior must be intact and fluffy and have a strong potato flavor Fries with a pasty, mealy, or gummy interior or, even worse, the dreaded state known as “hollow-fry” (when the interior... increase the surface area of the fry, making it extra crunchy Ideally, this layer should only be as thick as it needs to be to add crispness Any thicker, and you start running into leathery or tough territory... Perfect Fry Factor #1: The exterior must be very crisp but not tough In order to achieve such crispness, the surface structure of a fry must be riddled with microbubbles It’s these tiny crisp bubbles