Potato's For Frying

[bubblegum]

I usually buy my potato's at Tesco/Lotus but they contain so much water, not easy to make chips/French fries.

Haven't tried Macro yet.

Anybody know ?

[KarenBravo]

Thai grown potatoes make for crap frying, though, a pretty good mash.

I've found par-boiling the spuds before frying certainly helps.

The only other alternative is to buy foreign spuds at an exorbitant price.

[starkey_rich]

Tesco and Makro spuds same same either come from Holland or China.

[DonaldBattles]

I have tried every technique and it is impossible to make good French fries using Thai potatoes. There are two reasons for this, high in moisture and high in starch. This is the reason that you see only imported fries in all of the stores. However, you can make good steak fries using wedges.

[Shot]

I gave up making my own. I now buy the "American Fries" brand.....made in Belgium.

[Jimi007]

I have tried every technique and it is impossible to make good French fries using Thai potatoes. There are two reasons for this, high in moisture and high in starch. This is the reason that you see only imported fries in all of the stores. However, you can make good steak fries using wedges.

Yep, I've tried too. Just buy the frozen ones and fry them... The local potatoes also aren't very good baked in my opinion either. Mashed is the only way, although I have tried them as steak fries.

[seabear]

The "Pura Organic Food" ( ph: 076 313 363) claims, that his organic potatoes are good to make Fen Flei.

Haven't tried them yet. But his white asparagus were good.

Interesting store, well worth a visit.

C

[spiritrace]

Try soaking the cut fries in salt water a few minutes then rinse, dry and fry. It might help.

[sikishrory]

In my experience I can only get one kind of potatoes and on the box it says they come from china.

They are crap for just about everything except Jacket potatoes or boiling then wrapping in foil and heating on a bbq with some butter.

They are crap for frying for many reasons. high starch, lots of moisture and they seem to be a very sweet potato so the sugar content would makes them nothing like western style fries/hashbrowns.

Even if there were good spuds around any mash would be ruined by the weird tasting thai butter anyway, which is another issue.

Also tried french fries boiling and not boiling them first. the difference is minimal. i probably prefer to not boil first but everyone is different.

I have heard of people cooking them 3 times to make a good french fry but not sure of the exact method.

[Terry Newman]

The "Pura Organic Food" ( ph: 076 313 363) claims, that his organic potatoes are good to make Fen Flei.

Haven't tried them yet. But his white asparagus were good.

Interesting store, well worth a visit.

C

Can you PM me where it is, or just write it here, I am not sure if you are allowed to though.

[bubblegum]

The "Pura Organic Food" ( ph: 076 313 363) claims, that his organic potatoes are good to make Fen Flei.

Haven't tried them yet. But his white asparagus were good.

Interesting store, well worth a visit.

C

Can you PM me where it is, or just write it here, I am not sure if you are allowed to though.

Yeah I think you can tell on the open forum, mod ????

Anyway I'm going to try the following;

put the fries in brine for a couple of hours and rinse very good, in the fridge for a night, cook till they are done and almost fall apart, fry in 130 C till they get a bit of color.

dry and in the fridge again for min. 1 hour, deep fry at about 180 C for about 8-10 min.

Its Heston Blumentall"s recipe and its is supposed to get rid of starts and water.

[KarenBravo]

Are chips really worth all that effort?

[seabear]

The "Pura Organic Food" ( ph: 076 313 363) claims, that his organic potatoes are good to make Fen Flei.

Haven't tried them yet. But his white asparagus were good.

Interesting store, well worth a visit.

C

Can you PM me where it is, or just write it here, I am not sure if you are allowed to though.

Sorry Terry,

I'm a lazy bugger.

Google is your friend.

C

[DonaldBattles]

Please let us knowwhat your results were and how they compared with imported fries.

[bubblegum]

OK I have finished my experiment and the results were dissapointing. I tried to extract the moisture Heston Blumentall's way, did't work and tried to hydrate them leaving them over night (after been cooked) in uncooked rice. Sure a lot of moisture came ot but in the end the still came up soggy on the inside.

[eezergood]

Nothing will help, 99% of the potatoes here are simply just not the correct variety. Pura's spuds are ok BUT silly prices! The potatoes we get here are "designed" tp grow fast & white. Before any google junkies start to flame me - 1 my family had a fish & chip shop for many many years 2 I have been in the food industry for 18 years in 6 different countries.

Finally you may get lucky with a good 'flowery potato' here & there, you can make a very quick test - not 100% but good rule of thumb. Slice the spud in half & wipe it across your cutting board, after a few minutes if you see a flowery residue (will look like liquid paper ish) then there is a fair chance you can get half decent chips.

[Jimi007]

Nothing will help, 99% of the potatoes here are simply just not the correct variety.

<snip>

I totally agree! The potatoes I see here look like what we call Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets are the preferred variety for chips or baked (jacket) potatoes, I do believe.

[candypants]

Are chips really worth all that effort?

nope

[KarenBravo]

"You can't make a silken purse from a sow's ear".

[eezergood]

Are chips really worth all that effort?

nope

This is more the point:)

[Shot]

Nothing will help, 99% of the potatoes here are simply just not the correct variety.

<snip>

I totally agree! The potatoes I see here look like what we call Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets are the preferred variety for chips or baked (jacket) potatoes, I do believe.

Correct. Russets make good fries. I prefer the Idaho Russet, which is probably the best and most versatile potato in the world. Dick’s in Seattle have the best fries you have ever had. They slice the fresh Idaho Russet, soak in salt water, then fry. I’m getting wood, just thinking about them.

I am not from Idaho, or related to anyone from Dick's

Edited January 27, 2013 by Shot

[Jimi007]

Nothing will help, 99% of the potatoes here are simply just not the correct variety.

<snip>

I totally agree! The potatoes I see here look like what we call Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets are the preferred variety for chips or baked (jacket) potatoes, I do believe.

Correct. Russets make good fries. I prefer the Idaho Russet, which is probably the best and most versatile potato in the world. Dick’s in Seattle have the best fries you have ever had. They slice the fresh Idaho Russet, soak in salt water, then fry. I’m getting wood, just thinking about them.

I am not from Idaho, or related to anyone from Dick's

I agree that the Idaho Russet is the best potato that I've ever had. I always buy them over the Washington, Oregon or California Russets. And I can make killer fries, home fries or hash browns from them. The key is to soak them after they are cut, then dry. Too bad we can't buy them here other than in a frozen bag of fries. If we're lucky.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Jimi007

[eezergood]

Nothing will help, 99% of the potatoes here are simply just not the correct variety.

<snip>

I totally agree! The potatoes I see here look like what we call Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets are the preferred variety for chips or baked (jacket) potatoes, I do believe.

Correct. Russets make good fries. I prefer the Idaho Russet, which is probably the best and most versatile potato in the world. Dick’s in Seattle have the best fries you have ever had. They slice the fresh Idaho Russet, soak in salt water, then fry. I’m getting wood, just thinking about them.

I am not from Idaho, or related to anyone from Dick's

I agree that the Idaho Russet is the best potato that I've ever had. I always buy them over the Washington, Oregon or California Russets. And I can make killer fries, home fries or hash browns from them. The key is to soak them after they are cut, then dry. Too bad we can't buy them here other than in a frozen bag of fries. If we're lucky.

I beg to differ gentlemen! The best 'chip' potato/s are King Edward & Maris piper - no silly soaking, salting, brining needed. First cook is in oil & dripping followed by a higer temp crisping faze in veg oil.

[Jimi007]

I totally agree! The potatoes I see here look like what we call Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets are the preferred variety for chips or baked (jacket) potatoes, I do believe.

Correct. Russets make good fries. I prefer the Idaho Russet, which is probably the best and most versatile potato in the world. Dick’s in Seattle have the best fries you have ever had. They slice the fresh Idaho Russet, soak in salt water, then fry. I’m getting wood, just thinking about them.

I am not from Idaho, or related to anyone from Dick's

I agree that the Idaho Russet is the best potato that I've ever had. I always buy them over the Washington, Oregon or California Russets. And I can make killer fries, home fries or hash browns from them. The key is to soak them after they are cut, then dry. Too bad we can't buy them here other than in a frozen bag of fries. If we're lucky.

I beg to differ gentlemen! The best 'chip' potato/s are King Edward & Maris piper - no silly soaking, salting, brining needed. First cook is in oil & dripping followed by a higer temp crisping faze in veg oil.

You have to fry them twice? Sounds healthy. You've got more varieties of potatoes than I ever seen or heard of. http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties I don't see a Russet though... Maybe I missed in the mass.

[JetsetBkk]

Try roasting them in an oven. Yummy!

.

[Jimi007]

Although I'd probably rather eat some of the really great rice blends they have here rather than the okay potatoes...

[Shot]

[i beg to differ gentlemen! The best 'chip' potato/s are King Edward & Maris piper - no silly soaking, salting, brining needed. First cook is in oil & dripping followed by a higer temp crisping faze in veg oil.

King Ed , had mashed potatoes for brains.