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French fries: 5 mistakes not to make
French fries: 5 mistakes not to make

Video: French fries: 5 mistakes not to make

Video: French fries: 5 mistakes not to make
Video: Big Mistakes Everyone Makes When Cooking Fries In An Air Fryer 2024, March
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When it comes to fried potatoes, it's a bit like opening cages to the cry of "free everyone". Even if in recent years, of wild and continued demonization of carbohydrates - let alone if fried -, the poor potatoes have seen themselves repudiated and set aside by most.

But here, on the contrary, we would like to know who really had this courage. Who, that is, would have decided not to count fried potatoes anymore among the wonders of the kitchen? In any case, ours is not an official defense - the dish certainly doesn't need it - but rather a heartfelt appeal to safeguard this goodness from the hooked hands of the health conscious to the bitter end.

An appeal that begins by remembering that fried potatoes are such a wonderful dish, but only as long as they are cooked correctly, avoiding at least the grossest mistakes. So go back to Dissapore the Sunday appointment with the 5 mistakes not to make.

1) WRONG CHOICE OF POTATOES

Don't worry, we certainly do not ask you to distinguish between the hundreds of existing potato varieties, but at least a choice between white or yellow-fleshed potatoes must still be made.

In fact, white-fleshed potatoes, rich in starch, are more prone to flake off when cooked; a feature that makes them ideal for preparing gnocchi or mashed potatoes, less so for crunchy french fries.

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For fried, yellow-fleshed potatoes are better, as they contain less starch and keep their shape without undermining excessively.

2) CUT THEM AS POSSIBLE

Okay, you love cutting potatoes into sticks as much as you have seen done in trendy bistros. Of course, it is not difficult, either "manually" or with the special tool, but since home fries do not normally have any starry ambitions, they are usually cut more prosaically into cubes.

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Hey, I said "into cubes" not "as it happens": that is, cut them into cubes that are not too big, and above all regular, to make sure that they all cook at the same time; which is practically impossible with Rubik's cube model potatoes together with mignon cubes.

3) SKIP THE PASSAGE TO THE WATER

I know you don't. In fact, I often don't do it either. And instead you should.

Because if you remember what was said in point 1, starch is the worst enemy of fried potatoes, which makes you feel even more when you cut potatoes. So, once cut, immerse the potatoes in a cold water bath and leave them to soak for half an hour, changing the water a couple of times, to remove excess starch.

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In this way, you will eliminate a large part of the surface starch, eliminating (or almost zero) the risk that the potatoes stick to each other during cooking, forming an indistinct mass.

It goes without saying that, before dipping them in hot oil, the potatoes must be dried to perfection with a clean cloth. Even aspiring cooks know what happens when a few drops of water ends up in a pot of boiling oil, right? Here, then don't do it.

4) CONFUSING THE RIGHT OIL

Here we are: the actual frying. Yes, but in which oil? Simple, the one with the highest possible "smoke point". Because beyond that point the oils oxidize, developing substances that are harmful to the body, such as acrolein for example.

But we must also consider that the optimal temperature for a good frying is about 180 °, and never lower than 160 °. At lower temperatures, in fact, the oil penetrates into the food and makes the fried food greasy and mushy, while at higher temperatures everything will burn quickly, especially externally, without reaching optimal cooking inside

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And now, put two and two together: the ideal oil for frying has a smoke point higher than 180 °. Like peanut oil, for example, whose smoke point is around 210 degrees, or olive oil. But not extra virgin, whose valuable substances are degraded at high temperatures.

5) USE OIL IN HOMEOPATHIC DOSES

As the most skilled "deep fryers" in the world, that is the Chinese, teach, food must swim in oil, be surrounded by it: this is the only way to obtain crispy and light fried foods. Have you always put a millimeter of oil in a pan thinking of avoiding the risk of "overflowing grease"? You have always been wrong.

A high-sided pot filled with oil is the correct choice (or the fryer complete with basket), and a kitchen thermometer - now even less than 10 euros - can also help to measure the temperature of the oil, avoiding falling below the fateful 160-180 degrees and not exceeding 200 degrees.

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And above all, do not throw the potatoes in the oil all at once: insert them a little at a time, so as not to suddenly lower the temperature of the oil and end up with the usual greasy and soggy potatoes.

Do you want to overdo it? Try the crispy double-fried Belgian "frites": fry the potatoes once at a lower temperature, around 160-170 ° for five or six minutes, then drain, bring the oil to 180-190 ° and plunge the potatoes back into them. for the final browning a few more minutes: extra crunchiness guaranteed!

And now, all that remains is to drain the potatoes with a skimmer, or even better a "spider", or using the fryer basket; then salt them and bring them to the table. What are you saying? Did we forget to tell you to drain the excess grease on a sheet of kitchen paper? But there is no need: if you have followed our instructions, in fact, there will be no excess grease, but only golden and crunchy chips.

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