Guest Post: The Perfect French Fry

French fries take more effort than just chopping potatoes and throwing them in a fryer and JES knows that. There is a specific science that many chefs across the world have perfected to deliver a crisp outer shell and fluffy inside with each and every bite. 

Here's how you can master the same for your restaurant. 

Blanching potatoes is an essential step in creating the perfect French fry. Blanching is the process of ensuring a vegetable's integrity over time. To blanch the potatoes before starting, briefly place them in boiling hot water then immediately plunge them into cold water. This process will rid the potato of excess simple sugars and strengthen their form so you can get firm, yet fluffy fries. 

Boiling potatoes in water will turn them into mush. They will become impossible to work with and will lose their shape. By boiling potatoes in vinegar, you will be able to soften the vegetable while keeping its form and structure. When frying the potatoes after boiling them in vinegar, they will have a blistered surface that will remain crunchy even after cooled. 

Using the right oil at the right temperature is key to creating the perfect French fry. When possible, use peanut oil at 350°F to create the ideal frying bath. Gently add in your vinegar boiled fries into a frying mesh basket and lower them into the hot oil. Shake and agitate the basket for about 50 seconds to get the perfect golden fry every time. It's important to know that when you drop the fries into the oil, the temperature will drop to around 320°F. Before starting your next batch of fries, make sure the temperature is back up to 350°F, so you get evenly cooked French fries for every order. 

If your restaurant regularly serves French fries, it is essential to have the right, long-lasting frying equipment. JES offers the equipment restaurants need to regularly offer customers great tasting French fries. High-output fryers must be equipped with the proper fry oil filters so that the oil is pristine, clean and ready to take on batch after batch of fried foods. These filters are vital to the longevity of your fryer and the integrity of the fried foods your kitchen produces. 

Vulcan, a division of ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, is a leading manufacturer of cooking equipment in the US with a broad line of products including ranges, convection and combi ovens, fryers, griddles, charbroilers, steamers, braising pans, kettles, and heated holding cabinets. Vulcan sells both to the foodservice and food retail end-user segments, including chain and independent restaurants, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, K-12 schools, colleges/universities, hotels, casinos, recreation, corrections, and grocery stores.