The Only True Crispy French Fries Recipe

Today we prepare the French fries recipe. French fries are deep-fried elongated chips made from potatoes. Originally found in Belgium, it is nowadays available as an accompaniment and snack. The inhabitants of Namur, Huy and Dinant had the habit of fishing in the Meuse and then fry their catch. As the waters were frozen in winter and fishing was difficult, the inhabitants cut potatoes in the form of fish and then fry them.

Today fries are considered as a simple accompaniment to grilled meat, fish, and sausage. It is popular outside Belgium also in France and the Netherlands. They are often served with ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, remoulade, peanut sauce and partly with vinegar especially in the UK. In the UK, French fries are often served with Italian food such as spaghetti and lasagna.

In Belgium, the snack stands usually offer a variety of different sauces to the french fries. The most common include not only ketchup and mayonnaise. It also has joppiesaus (curry and onions), tartar sauce (with chives), bearnaise sauce, cocktail sauce, andalouse sauce (with mayonnaise and tomato paste) samourai sauce (with sambal and with pickles).

French fries have the reputation of having fat, but the fat content is only 10 to 15 per cent. If low-temperature grease is used, the fat content increases. There may also be high-fat sauces such as mayonnaise. McDonald's has a fat content of 15 percent, Burger King has 16 percent for its fries.

Burger King and McCain now also has fat-reduced French fries on the American market. It has a fat content of only about 3-9 percent. The lower fat content results from an altered recipe of the batter dough covering the french fries. This low-viscosity one-pot has to be added with viscosity increasing HPMC. Pre-fried and chilled french fries for cooking in the oven contain about 5 to 8 percent without further fat addition. French fries have a high proportion of trans-fatty acids.

In New York City in the USA, only the use of cooking oil, margarine and fats has been permitted by law since July 2007 for the preparation of French Fries. In addition, the proportion of trans-fatty acids per serving must not exceed 0.5 grams. In Denmark too, the content of trans-fatty acids in food is legally limited to 2 grams trans-fatty acids per 100 grams of fat.

In Germany there is no legal food labeling. Thus, the consumer receives only a reference point by the term partially hardened fats when purchasing fries. The lower temperature on the other side makes fries more greasy and also form less of the desired aromas. In the written form French fries is the leading variant, which is expressed in French as French Fry. Pommfritt is also derived from this.

The term French fries is commonly used in Switzerland and Austria and Germany. Otherwise, the short form French Fry is widely used. The term frites continues to be the usual form, derived from the French term and the Dutch term frieten,

In the US, French fries became known after the return of US soldiers from Europe after the World War I, where they learned about French fries from French-speaking Belgian troops. In North America, since then all potatoes baked in deep fat are referred to as French Frying. The process of potato frying was known for a long time in the USA. Thomas Jefferson already served crispy fried potatoes in the White House in 1802, but not under the name of French Fries.

In British English, only the long thin potato slices are known as French fries, while the deep fried potato slices and pieces are still called potato chips. Frozen fries are increasingly industrially produced in the UK, in particular, traditional British dishes such as Fish chips and Fish fries. A distinction is made between dry, greasy, American French fries of American fast food chains and juicy, low-fat, hearty, traditional British chips.

French Fries was sold as Freedom Fries in the cafeterias of the US House of Representatives. During the Iraq war in 2003, the restaurants in the United States replaced the usual designation of French Fries to Freedom Fries as France was opposed to the US war. Meanwhile, the term Freedom Fries is no longer in use. French fries with ketchup and mayonnaise are sometimes referred to as french fries.

French fries are produced industrially as a semi-finished product. For this, they are deep-chilled after the first frying. It must be fried or baked in the oven for consumption. French fries are also made from mashed potatoes or potato granules. For the industrial production of french fries, oblong potatoes are mainly used.

In this case, potato varieties with a somewhat yellow color are preferred, so that the finished product looks golden brown and not gray and at the same time with a high starch content.

After washing, the potatoes are peeled in a steam peeler, then blanched, water jetted, pre-dried in band dryers and then baked in large, continuously operating fryers. This is followed by cooling and freezing in refrigerators/freezers. The steam peeling and the blanching causes loss of flavor and the product contains more water than traditional French fries.

The largest manufacturers worldwide are McCain Foods, Simplot and Lamb Weston.



French Fry Recipe


To prepare French fries, peel large potatoes. Cut them longitudinally into strips. Wash off the starch. Dry on an absorbent paper.

Mix them with vegetable oil or with bovine fat.

Cook for the first time at a temperature of 140 to 180 ° C until they are pale yellow. After cooling them cook at about 190 to 200 ° C for the second time until it assumes a golden color. Before serving, drain excess oil off the fries and sprinkle salt.
Next Post Previous Post
9 Comments
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous January 14, 2012 at 7:58 AM

    Happy Makar Sankranti!

  • Joelaindien
    Joelaindien January 14, 2012 at 10:04 AM

    very nice post !

  • Rahul Bhatia
    Rahul Bhatia January 14, 2012 at 1:26 PM

    A day celebrated with gusto all over the country! Wishing you the same!

  • dee dee
    dee dee January 14, 2012 at 3:29 PM

    I have enjoyed scrolling thru your blog, you have such beautiful photos! deedee

  • anthony stemke
    anthony stemke January 14, 2012 at 4:50 PM

    Happy Makar Sankranti.

  • Treat and Trick
    Treat and Trick January 14, 2012 at 7:46 PM

    Wishing you and family a happy and prosperous Makar Sankranti!

  • Sudha
    Sudha January 14, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    Your post comes just at the right time - happy Makar Sankranti:)Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving back your thoughts - do keep stopping by!

  • venuss66
    venuss66 January 14, 2012 at 11:45 PM

    My wishes to you. Nice post.

  • Max Coutinho
    Max Coutinho January 19, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    Kalyan,

    Merry Makar Sankranti, my friend! :D

    Pray, what are those sweets in the image? Are they made of nuts and figs?

    Cheerio and enjoy your festivity!

Add Comment
comment url