July 13 is National French Fries Day! French fries are a classic fast-food treat and the perfect hamburger pairing.
There are many different ways to enjoy French fries. Whether you prefer your fries Cajun-style, sweet potato, crinkle-cut, curly, waffle, or covered in chilli and cheese, this day is the day to celebrate this worldwide favourite.
If you are not a cook and would like to try your hand at making fries at home to celebrate this day, you should know that home-made French fries are not the easiest dish to make.
But they taste amazing, and you can experiment to find your ideal recipe. If you are wondering how to make them great, read on.
Founder of GlamFoodie, Charmaine Ramalope, and chef Nonhlanhla Mabaso share below a few tips on how one can go about choosing the right potatoes and cooking delicious and crunchy fries at home this National French Fries Day.
Charmaine Ramalope’s tips
The secret to making crispy fries is to fry them at least twice - the first fry should be at a low temperature to cook the potato on the inside and the second fry is to crisp them up.
Make sure you use oil with a high smoke point such as canola or peanut oil.
To prevent the outside of the fries from getting too brown before the inside cooks all the way through, place the cut potatoes in cold water in the fridge for about 20 minutes before frying.
Rinse the potatoes well so there is no excess starch and pat dry well before frying, as this ensures there’s no oil spatter.
Nonhlanhla Mabaso’s tips
Generous wash in cold water. Once you have cut your potatoes in the shape of a chip, you need to wash them. Lots of water and where possible, soak in water for about five minutes.
Once removed from the water, pat dry with a kitchen towel.
Preheat the deep fryer to 165°C. First cook for about five to seven minutes and leave to cook for about 10 minutes. Then pre-heat the oil to 170°C and deep-fry for about 10 minutes until light brown and crispy on the outside.
Remove and drip as much oil as possible, turn the chips over into a kitchen towel-lined container, season with salt, (and vinegar, for some), and enjoy immediately.
When it comes to French fries, there are different types in all shapes and sizes that you can put these tips to the test. Locally, the most popular fries are the potato wedges which are chunky and contain a lot of potato filling. There are also steak fries that have a crunchy and nicer taste, and we also have the standard fries, which are a classic choice.
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