ISO: ISO: Correct oil for homemade French Fries
- Thread starter nancywisc
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bvlaurence
Active member
Did you do the two step process--par-fry at 350* and then finish fry to brown.
Peanut oil has the highest smoke point. I have used canola and corn with good browning. Just has to be hot enough to do it.
Peanut oil has the highest smoke point. I have used canola and corn with good browning. Just has to be hot enough to do it.
bvlaurence
Active member
Try the two step method like this one of Emeril's.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22763,00.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22763,00.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22763,00.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22763,00.html
I agree with Teri. I think temperature, and not the specific type of oil, is the issue
Your heat source may not be strong enough to return the oil to frying temperature after the potatoes have been added. Potatoes have so much moisture in them that adding them to hot oil is like dumping water on a fire.
The two-step process works well. It's worth it to buy an inexpensive thermometer and try it "by the book." By the time the thermometer breaks (I've broken dozens) you'll have the process down pat.
One more idea: Really fresh oil, while much better healthwise, doesn't brown things as well as oil that's been in the fryer for a while. I've read that serious fry-cooks add a little of the old oxidized oil to each new fresh batch. Heaven help our arteries!
Your heat source may not be strong enough to return the oil to frying temperature after the potatoes have been added. Potatoes have so much moisture in them that adding them to hot oil is like dumping water on a fire.
The two-step process works well. It's worth it to buy an inexpensive thermometer and try it "by the book." By the time the thermometer breaks (I've broken dozens) you'll have the process down pat.
One more idea: Really fresh oil, while much better healthwise, doesn't brown things as well as oil that's been in the fryer for a while. I've read that serious fry-cooks add a little of the old oxidized oil to each new fresh batch. Heaven help our arteries!
I'm a fried food junkie, and I've found that a 1/2 and 1/2 combo of canola and
peanut oil, (fresh, not used) are the best for onion rings, fries, fish, whatever. Oil that has broken down does not crisp whatever product you are frying. Oil that has broken down (and high temps will do that) will saturate your product. I heat at a higher temp than 350, but that may be my particular deep fryer. And with some recipes I drain and refry to crisp. Another thing is to refrigerate your veggies first and pat dry before frying.
peanut oil, (fresh, not used) are the best for onion rings, fries, fish, whatever. Oil that has broken down does not crisp whatever product you are frying. Oil that has broken down (and high temps will do that) will saturate your product. I heat at a higher temp than 350, but that may be my particular deep fryer. And with some recipes I drain and refry to crisp. Another thing is to refrigerate your veggies first and pat dry before frying.
bvlaurence
Active member
I didn't know that about old oil.I thought that with all the leftover bits in
it that the oil didn't get to as high a temp. Good to know. I got my thermometer long ago on the supermarket aisle for a couple of bucks. It is a candy and fry thermometer and works reasonably well. But it is great to have for both candy and the little deep frying we do.
it that the oil didn't get to as high a temp. Good to know. I got my thermometer long ago on the supermarket aisle for a couple of bucks. It is a candy and fry thermometer and works reasonably well. But it is great to have for both candy and the little deep frying we do.
bvlaurence
Active member
I didn't mean unhealthy at all.Just that, (sort of as Clofthwld posted) the temp doesn't
get as high as with fresh oil so the food cooks at a lower temperature and doesn't crisp/cook as well. Don't know which now--but I fry so rarely I don't keep the oil over anyway.
get as high as with fresh oil so the food cooks at a lower temperature and doesn't crisp/cook as well. Don't know which now--but I fry so rarely I don't keep the oil over anyway.
)I can't remember where I read it, years ago, but it stuck with me. Oil that has been repeatedly
heated and cooled is altered so as to make it un-healthy. Chemical changes take place, BUT the same oil makes for great deep-frying, producing crisp brown results. I remember the word "oxidation" as part of the article. The better restaurants changed their oil often, but keep a little of the oxidized oil to facilitate the frying.
I know most sources agree that "cold-pressed" oils are the healthiest, so this idea holds with that theroy. (Can someone with some hard, quotable facts rescue me here?)
Meanwhile, I just had pan-fried duck confit for dinner with potatoes fried in the fat (I had a salad too to justify the whole thing) I read in some other source that in the Southwest of France where duck and goose fat are the norm for cooking, the folks there fare very well, the same as in the South of France where olive oil is king. The poultry fat is said to be much healthier than the butter-based cooking of Northern France, but I wonder if it isn't the fact that duck/goose fat is home-rendered, NO solvents, no emulsifiers. I also read (somewhere) that home-rendered lard is high in Omega-3 or whatever, but when it is hydrogenated like Crisco to make it a smoother consistency, all of that benefit is lost.
Just rambling................about fat...................it's late........
heated and cooled is altered so as to make it un-healthy. Chemical changes take place, BUT the same oil makes for great deep-frying, producing crisp brown results. I remember the word "oxidation" as part of the article. The better restaurants changed their oil often, but keep a little of the oxidized oil to facilitate the frying.
I know most sources agree that "cold-pressed" oils are the healthiest, so this idea holds with that theroy. (Can someone with some hard, quotable facts rescue me here?)
Meanwhile, I just had pan-fried duck confit for dinner with potatoes fried in the fat (I had a salad too to justify the whole thing) I read in some other source that in the Southwest of France where duck and goose fat are the norm for cooking, the folks there fare very well, the same as in the South of France where olive oil is king. The poultry fat is said to be much healthier than the butter-based cooking of Northern France, but I wonder if it isn't the fact that duck/goose fat is home-rendered, NO solvents, no emulsifiers. I also read (somewhere) that home-rendered lard is high in Omega-3 or whatever, but when it is hydrogenated like Crisco to make it a smoother consistency, all of that benefit is lost.
Just rambling................about fat...................it's late........