French fries, the delicious and golden crispy food with tempting aroma, are popular among the public, whether as a classic snack with hamburgers in fast food restaurants or as a snack to satisfy your cravings at family gatherings. One of the key factors in frying delicious French fries is the potato variety used. Which potato is the best choice for French fries? This article will take you to explore the answer in depth.

Classification of potato varieties

1. Flour potatoes

Flour potatoes usually have thicker skin and extremely high starch content. According to relevant research, the starch content of flour potatoes is about 22% calculated by wet weight. Such a high starch content makes them appear drier and harder during cooking, which is exactly the characteristic required for French fries. Because the high starch content can quickly dehydrate during frying, forming a crispy shell and a soft and glutinous interior. This type of potato is very suitable for baking, frying, and making mashed potatoes. Black potatoes, some yellow potatoes, and varieties such as Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet, Umatilla Russet and Shepody, which are commonly used in McDonald’s French fries, are all floury potatoes.

Take Russet Burbank as an example. This variety of potato is slender in shape, with a rough skin and brown color. Its starch granules are large, which allows it to expand quickly during frying, and the fried French fries have a mellow taste, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. McDonald’s went through a lot of experiments and screening when selecting potato varieties, and finally determined these floury potato varieties, precisely because of their high starch content and good frying characteristics.

2. Waxy potatoes

Waxy potatoes are characterized by thin skin, low starch content, and a wet weight of about 16%. Compared with floury potatoes, waxy potatoes have a higher water content. This type of potato is more suitable for quick stir-frying to obtain a crisp taste, or for stewing and other dishes that require the integrity of the potato to be maintained. However, they are not suitable for frying because dark stripes and unsightly lines will appear after frying.

Waxy potatoes have a crisper taste and are suitable for making dishes such as cold potato shreds. They can also maintain a good shape when stewed and will not fall apart easily. However, due to their low starch content, it is difficult to form a crispy shell when fried, and they will become soft and collapse, affecting the taste.

Specific Potato Varieties Suitable For French Fries

1. Russet Burbank

As mentioned earlier, this is the potato variety originally selected by McDonald’s. It has a high starch content and is undoubtedly an ideal choice for making French fries. It has a long history of cultivation and is widely grown in the United States and other countries. Russet Burbank potatoes are relatively regular in shape and moderate in size, making them very suitable for industrial production of French fries.

2. Ranger Russet, Umatilla Russet and Shepody

They were later approved by McDonald’s for use in French fries. These varieties of potatoes are similar to Russet Burbank in terms of starch content and taste, but they also have their own characteristics. For example, Ranger Russet potatoes are slightly lighter in color, Umatilla Russet is more slender in shape, and Shepody is more delicate in taste.

3. Atlantic variety

The potato is round in shape, with white skin and light yellow meat, smooth skin, and extremely light eyes. The color after frying is excellent, and the decolorization effect after processing is good. It is the main variety for fried potato chips and is also suitable for French fries. The starch content of Atlantic potatoes is moderate, about 18%. It has a crispy taste and a rich flavor. Because of its smooth skin, it is easy to clean and peel during processing.

4. Favorita

It is an early-maturing variety with an oblong tuber, round top, light yellow skin, bright yellow flesh, smooth skin, large and neat tubers, few and shallow buds, concentrated tubers, and fast tuber expansion, which is suitable for frying chips and can also be used for frying French fries. The starch content of Favorita is high, about 19% to 21%. It has a short growth cycle and high yield, so it is more common in the market.

5. Charpoti

It is a medium-maturing variety with an oblong tuber, white skin, white flesh, smooth skin, and extremely shallow and prominent buds. It has early and concentrated tubers and large tubers, making it an ideal variety for potato fries. The starch content of Charpoti is high, the taste is good, and the fried French fries are golden, crispy and delicious.

Common Varieties In China

Black-skinned potatoes

Black-skinned potatoes perform quite well among potatoes suitable for French fries. It has a high starch content, generally between 18% and 20%. The skin of black-skinned potatoes is dark purple to black and is rich in nutrients such as anthocyanins. The fried French fries have a good taste, with a crispy skin and soft and glutinous inside. Black-skinned potatoes are widely grown, especially in some mountainous areas and high-altitude areas.

Red-skinned potatoes

Relatively speaking, they are also more suitable for French fries, but the fried French fries may not be crispy enough. The starch content of red-skinned potatoes is slightly lower than that of black-skinned potatoes, about 16% to 18%. Its skin is red and very bright. Red potatoes have a delicate taste and a little sweetness. When frying French fries, the frying time can be extended appropriately to increase its crispness.

Yellow potatoes

Some varieties of yellow potatoes can be used for French fries, but be sure to choose those with a powdery taste. The starch content of yellow potatoes varies greatly, generally between 15% and 20%. Some yellow potato varieties have a high moisture content and are not suitable for French fries. When selecting, you can judge whether the potato is suitable for French fries by observing the texture and cross-section after cutting. If the cross-section is relatively dry and has a powdery texture, then this variety is more suitable for French fries. White potatoes are not suitable for French fries and it is difficult to fry them to achieve the desired effect. White potatoes have a lower starch content and a higher moisture content, and they tend to become soft after frying.

Steps For Making French Fries At Home

1. Choose a potato suitable for frying French fries, such as red-skinned potatoes, yellow-skinned potatoes, or one of the foreign varieties mentioned above. Wash and peel them, and cut them into long strips as thick as your little finger. When cutting the strips, try to keep the size of the potato strips uniform so that they can be heated evenly during frying.

2. Soak the potato strips in a large basin of cold water for 5 minutes. If conditions permit, you can change the water once during this period to remove some of the starch in the potatoes. The soaked potato strips will be more refreshing and less likely to stick when fried.

3. Add cold oil to the pan and put the potato strips directly into the cold oil. This can remove as much moisture as possible from the potatoes and make the fried fries crispier. Putting the cold oil in the pan can allow the potato strips to heat up slowly to avoid the situation where the surface becomes burnt too quickly while the inside is not cooked through.

4. Turn on a low heat, slowly heat the oil, and fry slowly. Do not touch the fries until they begin to turn a little brown to prevent them from breaking. This process requires patience and usually takes about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the potato strips and the oil temperature.

5. Wait until the fries start to brown a little, then use a spoon to gently stir them to ensure even heating. At this time, you can increase the oil temperature appropriately to make the surface of the fries crispier.

6. When the fries feel a little hard when you stir them, you can take them out. The fries you take out can be placed on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil, which will make the fries healthier.

7. Sprinkle salt from a high place, shake it gently, and you can enjoy it. When sprinkling salt from a high place, the salt can be more evenly distributed on the fries, increasing the taste.

The Process Of Making Fries In A Factory

Factory production of French fries usually adopts assembly line operation to improve production efficiency and ensure product quality. The process is as follows:

1. Potato screening and impurity removal: Preliminary screening of freshly unearthed potatoes to remove mud, small stones and other debris in the field. This step is usually completed by roller screening.

2. Washing and peeling: Put the potatoes into a rotating large drum and spray them with high-pressure water while rotating to wash them.

3. Cutting: The washed potatoes are placed in the strip cutter for cutting.

4. Bubble washing: The fries are placed in the bubble washing machine to remove starch.

5. Blanching: The fries are fixed in color after passing through the blanching machine to improve the taste.

6. Dehydration: Remove excess moisture from the surface of the fries to prepare for frying.

7. Frying: The fries are placed in the automatic frying equipment for frying.

8. Degreasing: The fries are placed in the vibrating degreasing machine to remove excess oil from the surface of the fries.

9. Freezing: The fries are placed in the freezing area after draining oil and are quickly frozen at a temperature of -25~-15℃.

10. Packaging: The packaging machine is used for weighing and packaging.

Equipment Used In The Fries Production Line In Factory

There are many types of equipment used in the fries production line, mainly including the following:

1. Brush cleaning equipment: used to remove dirt and debris on the surface of potatoes.

2. Fries cutting equipment: cut potatoes into uniform fries.

3. Rinsing equipment: remove starch from the fries and preheat them.

4. Blanching equipment: to make the French fries evenly heated and improve the taste.

5. Frying equipment: to fry the French fries at high temperature to make them expand and crisp.

6. Draining and air-drying equipment: to remove excess oil from the French fries and perform preliminary cooling.

7. Quick freezing equipment: to quickly freeze the French fries to maintain the taste and quality.

8. Packaging equipment: to package the French fries and prepare them for sale.

In addition, there are equipment for lifting and conveying raw materials, equipment for connecting various links with conveyor belts, as well as facilities and equipment for temperature control, hygiene and safety, etc., to ensure that the French fries processing process is efficient, continuous and meets food safety standards.

Choosing the right potato variety is crucial for frying delicious French fries. Flour potatoes are more suitable for frying French fries because of their high starch content and relatively low water content. Among the many potato varieties, whether it is the common black-skinned, red-skinned, and yellow-skinned potatoes in China, or some professional French fries varieties abroad, they all have their own unique advantages. Mastering the correct steps for frying French fries, you can also fry delicious French fries at home and enjoy the pleasure brought by delicious food. At the same time, we can also try different potato varieties and frying methods according to our own tastes and preferences to create our own delicious French fries.