You probably feel passionate about your favorite fry type, be it curly, waffle, crinkle-cut, or wedged. Maybe you find a bite of perfection when you dip a fry in your chocolate shake, a tub of ketchup, or even a bit of mayonnaise. Though there are a lot of preferences in the wide world of French fry options, one thing can’t be debated: the importance of the perfect preparation method. After all, that method is the golden ticket to the gold standard in fries.
What is Blanching?
Yes, a perfectly timed oil bath is essential, but it’s the step just prior that makes or breaks your fries. Blanching is the process of dunking your sliced, pre-cooked potatoes in a scalding vat of water or oil. They are left in the liquid for a very short time interval, then hastily removed and immediately placed into a container of cold water in order to stop the cooking process.
Why is Blanching Essential?
Is the perfect fry attainable? Yes. In addition to the golden ticket that is your fryer, you can also implement smart cooking strategies that can help you create the gold standard in fries.
Blanching has a number of fantastic benefits. The first and arguably most important to the consumer is that it kills potential food pathogens, verified by American Frozen Foods Institute through recent work. Another major upside to blanching is that it deactivates the enzymes that turn your food an unappetizing brown color. When potatoes are sliced and then left out to sit for extended periods of time,enzymes in the potato react with oxygen particlescausing this unfortunate discoloration. The drastic heat of a quick blanch eliminates the risk of browning. This means your potatoes do not have to be fried immediately after they are cut; in fact, blanched potatoes can be stored for twelve to twenty-four hours before being fried. This saves you stress and lets you cook on your own schedule.
Blanching also works toreduce the moisture content of the French fry, helping them crisp up much more easily when fried. When the potatoes are transferred to the cold water after the hot liquid dip, the cells of the potato shrink, ensuring the fry will not absorb as much oil when it is later fried. Additionally, the starch it removes from the potato can positively impact the quality of your oil.
All that is to say: blanching will add taste and texture benefits to your French fries. A blanch in a hot oil bath will lend extra crispness and golden color to your final product.
Pitco Precision: Crafting the Perfect Fry Every Time
When it comes to serving the best French fries, it all boils down to the fryer itself. Size matters, throughput matters, and quality is paramount. Dimension and efficiency can play an enormous role in food quality, meaning a fryer isn’t just a piece of foodservice equipment in your commercial kitchen. It’s the Golden Ticket to the perfect fry, a Gold Standard by which all other fries can be measured.
Not sure which fryer is right for your operation? Even if French fries are your primary goal, or perhaps if they’re not, your fryer selection should depend on the goals you’re looking to achieve. Pitco has created a Fryer Selection Tool that can help with this process, and we invite you to give it a try as you look to create the Gold Standard fry.
As big believers in the Gold Standard of French fries, Pitco put together the ultimate French fry resource page. We encourage you to check it out to learn more.
