Fries kept in a cellar, aged oil, and perfect symmetry? If you've ever wondered why french fries at restaurants always taste better than homemade fries, this is your chance to find out!
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00:00Fries kept in a cellar, aged oil, and perfect symmetry? If you've ever wondered why french
00:05fries at restaurants always taste better than homemade fries, this is your chance to find
00:10out.
00:11One of the secrets to how fast food restaurants make their french fries crispy is that they
00:15double fry them. The result is a french fry that's soft inside and crispy outside. The
00:21reason has its basis in science. Food scientist Dr. Ariel Johnson and celebrity chef Jet
00:27Tila demonstrated the process in a popular science video. They start out by soaking the
00:33fries in cold water to remove excess starch and then pat them dry. Johnson said about
00:38starch granules,
00:39They're very hard and they're not very tasty.
00:42But when you heat the potato through frying the first time, the starch granules inside
00:46start to let water in and soften through the, quote, starch gelatinization process. You
00:51only need to fry the potatoes the first time for about five minutes. The first round of
00:56frying yields limp, greasy fries, but that's exactly what you want to ensure the final
01:00fry is soft inside. After your first round of frying, excess grease is removed from the
01:06surfaces and some cooks choose to freeze the fries before the second round of frying.
01:11If restaurants like McDonald's don't appear to double fry their fries, it's because they're
01:15using frozen fries that have already undergone an initial flash fry before freezing. Johnson
01:20says that during the second round of high-temperature frying, the remaining water fries away, leaving
01:26behind a fry that's crisp outside and soft inside.
01:30To accomplish a soft yet crispy fry, temperature matters. When restaurants double fry their
01:35sliced potato strips, their first round of frying is at a lower temperature than their
01:40second round of frying. During the first round of frying, the goal isn't to brown the french
01:45fry — it's to soften up the inside of the potato to make it pillowy and creamy. However,
01:50the second round of frying is all about developing a crisp, golden-browned outside.
01:55In the popular science video, Arielle Johnson, food scientist, says that during the second
02:00fry, the key to a beautifully browned surface is to activate the Maillard reaction. As she
02:06explains it as,
02:07"...the reaction between naturally occurring sugars and amino acids in ingredients brought
02:12to a high temperature."
02:13According to food chemist Harold McGee, the first stage of frying should be for 8 to 10
02:18minutes in oil that is 250 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. The second stage should be in
02:24hotter oil around 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 to 4 minutes.
02:31When you decide to make french fries at home, you shouldn't just grab whatever potatoes
02:35you have in the pantry, because not all potatoes fry up the same. Restaurants know that the
02:41best type of potato for french fries is starchy rather than waxy. If you don't pay attention
02:46to the type of potato you use to make your fries, you'll end up with fries that don't
02:50taste as good as the ones you get in a restaurant.
02:53Starchy potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture. When starchy potatoes heat up,
02:58the starch inside separates to make fluffier french fries. The most iconic starchy potatoes
03:03are russet potatoes, and they're perfect for french fries.
03:07Masterclass says you'll want to avoid using waxy potatoes for french fries because they
03:12have a lot of moisture with a lot of starch. It's best to save your waxy potatoes for dishes
03:17that need the potatoes to be able to hold their shape, like potato salads or soups.
03:22Waxy varieties include yellow potatoes, red potatoes, and fingerling potatoes.
03:28Restaurants know that cellar-aged potatoes are best for making french fries. You'll want
03:32to store potatoes for your french fry making at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit in a dark place
03:37in covered containers to duplicate the way growers store them. The ideal storage location
03:43should have about 95 percent humidity as well. Cellar aging causes the potatoes to
03:48go dormant, so they don't sprout while you store them.
03:51Cellar aging in the dark also prevents an increase in toxic solanine on the surface
03:55of the potatoes, according to Michigan State University. If you peel a potato and find
04:01green flesh beneath it, that means the potato has been exposed to too much sunlight. When
04:06you eat enough spuds that are green beneath the skin, you run the risk of developing solanine
04:11poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or headaches. In worst cases, the toxins
04:16can cause paralysis, comas, and even death. Better to just avoid those green ones.
04:21I reckon what you like to eat in there?
04:26Well, the french fries are pretty good.
04:31Restaurants use neutral, high-smoke point oils to fry their french fries. The smoke
04:35point is the temperature at which oil begins to break down and smoke. Once oil reaches
04:40the temperature at which it smokes, it gives off a burned flavor and releases harmful polar
04:45compounds that have been linked to various health issues. So, not only does using a high-smoke
04:50point oil keep your french fries tasting their best at high temperatures necessary for crisping
04:54your fries, but it also keeps you healthier.
04:58According to Michelin, cooking oils with the highest smoke points include avocado oil,
05:02refined vegetable oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, canola oil, and grapeseed
05:09oil. However, you will want to avoid refined vegetable oils for frying because they have
05:14already been exposed to heat and break down easier.
05:18While some restaurants like McDonald's once fried their fries in lard, the practice largely
05:22changed in the 1990s as people started to worry about high levels of cholesterol and
05:27saturated fats in their foods.
05:30While french fries have a starchy, carb flavor that is pretty amazing on its own, restaurants
05:35add seasonings that elevate the flavor. The most basic seasoning to add to fries after
05:40cooking is salt. When chef Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, talked with NPR,
05:47she said that salt brings the aromatic qualities of vegetables to the top, which can make fries
05:51taste more like themselves.
05:54So the first step to seasoning french fries in a way that makes them taste as good as
05:57restaurant french fries is to add salt. However, there are plenty of other flavors that go
06:02well with potatoes, such as onions. Think onion powder, garlic, curry powder, parsley,
06:08pepper, rosemary, and thyme. The king of amazing restaurant fries, Five Guys, uses salt and
06:14a proprietary seasoning on its Cajun-style fries. Meanwhile, food celebrity Rachel Ray
06:20jazzes up her french fries with salt, coriander, and cumin. She says that these spices are
06:26best friends, and they like to go everywhere together. You can season your fries to fit
06:31your mood or to fit the flavor profile of the other foods you're eating with your fries.
06:35Just don't forget the salt.
06:38Many restaurants, like McDonald's, start with frozen or dried fries that have already undergone
06:43an initial flash fry phase. Because the fries are partially pre-cooked, you end up with
06:48a french fry that is soft and fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Another advantage
06:53to frozen fries is that restaurants often coat them with ingredients like potato starch
06:57or cornstarch before freezing to enhance their texture and crunch. While you can pre-fry
07:02your fries yourself and freeze them, there are plenty of partially cooked popular frozen
07:07french fry brands that can make your french fry frying endeavors a little easier.
07:12Orita and Whole Foods 365 are among the top favorites. One mistake you want to avoid making
07:18with your frozen french fries is allowing them to thaw before cooking. While fries may
07:22cook faster when they're thawed, keeping them frozen will keep the surface of the potato
07:26sealed so that it results in a crispier french fry, according to the Idaho Potato Commission.
07:33There are a variety of french fry cuts, ranging from standard fries and waffle fries to curly
07:38fries and crinkle cut fries. If you think about the last fries you got from a restaurant,
07:44their shape was likely mostly the same.
07:46U.S. Grade A frozen french fries must meet specific quality standards, including being
07:51practically uniform in size and symmetry. If they're only, quote, reasonably uniform,
07:57they're considered to be U.S. Grade B, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A big
08:02reason you should use fries that are similar in size and shape is that you want them to
08:07all finish cooking at the same time. It's entirely possible to cut your french fries
08:11by hand. However, you'll get more uniform results with a dedicated french fry cutter.
08:16If you make french fried potatoes often, a cutter can save you time and help you create
08:21more uniform cuts.
08:23Air fried and baked french fries are certainly healthier since they don't require as much
08:28oil as deep fried potatoes. However, don't fool yourself. Air fried and baked french
08:33fries never taste as good as potatoes fried in hot oil. So, if you make it a point to
08:37always eat, quote, healthy fries at home, you're not getting the full flavor experience
08:42at home as you do from deep fried potatoes from restaurants.
08:46While you might sprinkle a little bit of oil on your air fried or baked fries, you're not
08:50fully submerging them and covering them with oil on all sides as you do in a deeper fry.
08:55Author Samin Nosrat told NPR that,
08:58"...fat is mostly about texture."
09:00However, she also says that each type of fat has its own flavor that it imparts to foods
09:05like french fries.
09:06You know what they put on french fries in Holland instead of ketchup? What? Mayonnaise.
09:13I've seen them do it, man.
09:15Fried foods are popular because they're comfort foods. In deep fried restaurant french fries
09:19have the power of nostalgia behind them, according to The Wall Street Journal.
09:25Cooking oil has a variety of stages, ranging from too fresh to deteriorating and ready
09:29to toss. If you make fries in oil that's too new, your fries will be pale and possibly
09:35limp. We know nobody wants fries made in old, rancid oil, either. However, when you fry
09:40potatoes in oil at its peak quality, you'll end up with beautifully golden and perfectly
09:45crisp fries.
09:47Cook's Illustrated found that mixing a little used oil with fresh oil provides you with
09:51food that is more crisp and golden than using fresh oil alone. Cook's Illustrated also says
09:57that when you heat oil, it breaks down into,
10:00"...slippery, soap-like compounds that can penetrate the water barrier."
10:04When oil starts to break down like this, the oil is better able to reach the surface of
10:08the food to brown and crisp it. And when Cook's Illustrated experimented with oil quality,
10:14it found that you can fry potatoes far more times in the same oil than battered foods
10:18like fried chicken. It stopped testing after the eighth round because the oil remained
10:23clear. However, there is a limit to how long you should continue to use oil. A 2013 study
10:29determined that oil has a frying life of about six hours before it starts deteriorating to
10:34become unhealthy and affects fried food quality. So, if you save your oil to reuse for more
10:40fries, you'll want to keep track of how much total time you've used the oil.
10:45If you think that restaurant french fries are nothing but potatoes, you'd be wrong in
10:49most cases. The truth is that restaurants often coat their french fries in other ingredients
10:55before freezing and shipping. A quick look at the ingredient list for fries from Wendy's
11:00reveals that, besides potatoes and cooking oil, the fries are coated with four types
11:04of food starch — rice flour, salt, leavening, dextrose, xanthan gum, and a chemical to help
11:11them retain color. McDonald's coats its fries with a natural beef flavor derived from wheat
11:16and milk, dextrose, and a chemical to help prevent the potatoes from graying or browning
11:20when exposed to air. The starch helps make the fries crispier, according to Sporked.
11:26Meanwhile, since dextrose is a type of sugar, it helps with the browning process when the
11:30fries reach high temperatures. If you want to make fries at home that taste like restaurant
11:35fries, you can't just throw a handful of potatoes into your fryer. Instead, you'll want to add
11:40crisping and flavoring components. For example, if you want to make a copycat McDonald's fries,
11:46you would start out brining frozen shoestring fries in a slurry of ingredients. Then, you
11:51would freeze the fries for about five minutes before deep frying. The results are more similar
11:56to restaurant fries than frying plain-cut potatoes alone.