I’m going to say you’re cooking French fries wrong. If I don’t cut, soak, poach them in water and vinegar then dry and fry they would look like the left side.
BrowensOwens
IDK hommie. Mine at home look like DRO.
WhatThePuck9
They’re not dirty, the ones cooked at home have excess starch which is caramelizing.
Wembledon_Shanley
More oil, hotter temp, proportionally smaller batches. A lot of people (esp. Americans) tend to home fry with as little oil as possible, either due to not wanting to waste it or for health reasons. However, if you use less oil when frying, it will struggle to stay up to temp when you add the things into it; lower temps make for soggier fried foods.
Also, people tend to not allow their fried things to properly drain after frying, which means more oil stays on and gets absorbed into the food, leading to a greasier fry.
thespeculander
besides that you cannot just slice potatoes and fry them as they are, I used to run a restaurant, and the first batch after changing the oil always tastes off, it needs to be used few times to feel riight, in other words reuse oil, and learn how to process potatoes for frying
SuperDoubleDecker
Those are frozen fries that were blanched.
You can do that at home too. It’s just a process.
Careless-Narwhal3738
Just roast them with butter and herbs
Due-Wind-3324
Ever have cavendish crinkle cut in the air fryer? My goodness. Phenom
ShartingTaintum
Bot. Stop posting this. I commented on the same damn post a few days ago.
ShartingTaintum
Bot.
rand-san
Left side looks like in-n-out fries 😅
monstermash420
Cooking from frozen helps make them look like restaurant fries too
abhitchc
Best fries I ever made, and this was by an accident, it was when I sliced them up, parboiled them, and stepped outside to do something then forgot that I had a pot going. Came back inside and they were almost too soft to get out of the pot. Carefully let them dry and then put them in a pot of peanut oil at around 375°.Absolutely incredible results. Double fried them. Super crispy on the outside, and creamy in the middle.
Beyond_bound
A lot of possible factors, preparation, cooking method, and food additives. Try soaking, then boiling your fries to al dente first, then dry them. Also, a big deep fryer can cook batches more evenly, but it takes more oil.
I’ve never been able to get fries even like that, but my uncle, who had a fish restaurant, used a deep fryer, and had packaged fries, always had them perfect.
Ok_Nothing_9733
The left pic is natural cut/skin on fries. The right is without skin
OnionTaster
For me it was potato type
franlol
I personally prefer the ones on the left
Phyre-4409
We make home fries all the time never look like that. The fresher your potatoes the better, try yellow versus the brown ones, cold water soak after peeling, cast iron skillet lots of oil, vegetable oil does better in my opinion vs Canola, no cast iron skillet a nice deep fryer is fine, we use the Fry daddy by Presto or use your favorite spaghetti pot aka Dutch oven for most folks.
Creative-Fee-1130
Saponification of old oil lets it combine with surface moisture on the fries, leading to more intimate contact between the oil and carbohydrates on the surface of the fries. This allows the browning reaction to occur more quickly with less discoloration.
vgullotta
Thanks for this post, I learned a couple new things from the comments I wouldn’t have thought to ask. 😊
JelloWise2789
That’s because you’re not using andenochrome
dr_tardyhands
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say: temperature. A restaurant grade deep frier is probably pretty good for doing the thing it does reliably.
ConceptJunkie
Different fries?
ChErRyPOPPINSaf
Restaurants tend to 1. Soak the fries 2. Parboil 3. Partially fry them 4. Freeze them in batches 5. Fry them to order. Potatoes can be cooked multiple times to achieve different results.
SkyPork
Gotta point out that photos can be misleading. If you played with the color balance on the left the fries would have the same golden hue as the restaurant fries.
But as mentioned below, getting perfect fries is fucking difficult, and takes a lot of steps.* My air fryer fries taste better than almost any restaurant fries, but they *look* more like your “clean oil” fries.
*Adding cuz I just thought of it: I have no idea how 5 Guys does it. They may have changed, but pre-pandemic I remember their fries being just incredibly delicious, and I swear I watched them cut fresh fries and drop them straight into peanut oil. No double-frying, no rinsing, no soaking. It’s like magic.
WasabiFairyFart
I’m not sure but I’ll eat both.
Armedwithapotato
Is the skin still on the left?
xbee_teex
Restaurants put them in frozen
TheNewYellowZealot
Restaurants that hand cut their own fries make fries that look like the left side, because to get fries that look like the right side, you need to double cook them. McDonald’s and such have a supplier that poach and dry then freeze their fries.
Crash2088OG
Heat monitoring is also a crucial factor.
Jonn_1
Okay, a lot of useful information in the comments about how to achieve the aesthetic on the right.
But are they ones on the left healthier? I mean starch is good for you right?
iAhMedZz
Supermarkets here sell bags of frozen French fries, when I cook them, they come out as perfect as McDonald’s fries (this is my scale for top-tier fries): Golden, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Don’t mistake me as an expert cook too, I literally leave the fries in oil for 3-5 minutes untouched then take them off. When I’m in a good mood, I steer them, that’s about out.
On the other hand, when I cut the fresh potatoes myself and do the same process they turn out like the image on the left. I’m sure there’s some kind of wizardry rituals needs to be done before you cook the fries so that it turns up good. I have also noticed the thickness of the cut matters a lot. We don’t typically have machines at home that cuts all fries in the perfect frying form, but restaurants and manufactures do, and that itself is a major factor. Overall, it’s not related to the oil or the cooking process.
32 Comments
I’m going to say you’re cooking French fries wrong. If I don’t cut, soak, poach them in water and vinegar then dry and fry they would look like the left side.
IDK hommie. Mine at home look like DRO.
They’re not dirty, the ones cooked at home have excess starch which is caramelizing.
More oil, hotter temp, proportionally smaller batches. A lot of people (esp. Americans) tend to home fry with as little oil as possible, either due to not wanting to waste it or for health reasons. However, if you use less oil when frying, it will struggle to stay up to temp when you add the things into it; lower temps make for soggier fried foods.
Also, people tend to not allow their fried things to properly drain after frying, which means more oil stays on and gets absorbed into the food, leading to a greasier fry.
besides that you cannot just slice potatoes and fry them as they are, I used to run a restaurant, and the first batch after changing the oil always tastes off, it needs to be used few times to feel riight, in other words reuse oil, and learn how to process potatoes for frying
Those are frozen fries that were blanched.
You can do that at home too. It’s just a process.
Just roast them with butter and herbs
Ever have cavendish crinkle cut in the air fryer? My goodness. Phenom
Bot. Stop posting this. I commented on the same damn post a few days ago.
Bot.
Left side looks like in-n-out fries 😅
Cooking from frozen helps make them look like restaurant fries too
Best fries I ever made, and this was by an accident, it was when I sliced them up, parboiled them, and stepped outside to do something then forgot that I had a pot going. Came back inside and they were almost too soft to get out of the pot. Carefully let them dry and then put them in a pot of peanut oil at around 375°.Absolutely incredible results. Double fried them. Super crispy on the outside, and creamy in the middle.
A lot of possible factors, preparation, cooking method, and food additives. Try soaking, then boiling your fries to al dente first, then dry them. Also, a big deep fryer can cook batches more evenly, but it takes more oil.
I’ve never been able to get fries even like that, but my uncle, who had a fish restaurant, used a deep fryer, and had packaged fries, always had them perfect.
The left pic is natural cut/skin on fries. The right is without skin
For me it was potato type
I personally prefer the ones on the left
We make home fries all the time never look like that. The fresher your potatoes the better, try yellow versus the brown ones, cold water soak after peeling, cast iron skillet lots of oil, vegetable oil does better in my opinion vs Canola, no cast iron skillet a nice deep fryer is fine, we use the Fry daddy by Presto or use your favorite spaghetti pot aka Dutch oven for most folks.
Saponification of old oil lets it combine with surface moisture on the fries, leading to more intimate contact between the oil and carbohydrates on the surface of the fries. This allows the browning reaction to occur more quickly with less discoloration.
Thanks for this post, I learned a couple new things from the comments I wouldn’t have thought to ask. 😊
That’s because you’re not using andenochrome
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say: temperature. A restaurant grade deep frier is probably pretty good for doing the thing it does reliably.
Different fries?
Restaurants tend to 1. Soak the fries 2. Parboil 3. Partially fry them 4. Freeze them in batches 5. Fry them to order. Potatoes can be cooked multiple times to achieve different results.
Gotta point out that photos can be misleading. If you played with the color balance on the left the fries would have the same golden hue as the restaurant fries.
But as mentioned below, getting perfect fries is fucking difficult, and takes a lot of steps.* My air fryer fries taste better than almost any restaurant fries, but they *look* more like your “clean oil” fries.
*Adding cuz I just thought of it: I have no idea how 5 Guys does it. They may have changed, but pre-pandemic I remember their fries being just incredibly delicious, and I swear I watched them cut fresh fries and drop them straight into peanut oil. No double-frying, no rinsing, no soaking. It’s like magic.
I’m not sure but I’ll eat both.
Is the skin still on the left?
Restaurants put them in frozen
Restaurants that hand cut their own fries make fries that look like the left side, because to get fries that look like the right side, you need to double cook them. McDonald’s and such have a supplier that poach and dry then freeze their fries.
Heat monitoring is also a crucial factor.
Okay, a lot of useful information in the comments about how to achieve the aesthetic on the right.
But are they ones on the left healthier? I mean starch is good for you right?
Supermarkets here sell bags of frozen French fries, when I cook them, they come out as perfect as McDonald’s fries (this is my scale for top-tier fries): Golden, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Don’t mistake me as an expert cook too, I literally leave the fries in oil for 3-5 minutes untouched then take them off. When I’m in a good mood, I steer them, that’s about out.
On the other hand, when I cut the fresh potatoes myself and do the same process they turn out like the image on the left. I’m sure there’s some kind of wizardry rituals needs to be done before you cook the fries so that it turns up good. I have also noticed the thickness of the cut matters a lot. We don’t typically have machines at home that cuts all fries in the perfect frying form, but restaurants and manufactures do, and that itself is a major factor.
Overall, it’s not related to the oil or the cooking process.