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I love homemade fresh cut fries and been making them at home for many years. Ever since we moved from Ohio to Florida the fries sometimes won't turn out anymore. I have a deep fryer, russet potatoes and I soak them in water prior to frying. I have tried both putting fries in and cooking at 350 till done and double frying(blanching first). Each method works but then suddenly stops working and fries turn out limp, soggy, dark brown with a disgusting sweet flavor. I can't figure out why it happens at times but not always. I do the same routine and never had it happen once in Ohio.
It can turn out perfect one day and next day will be gross. Same batch of potatoes, same oil, same methods. Any ideas why? Only thought is climate differences?? Changes in weather, humidity.. seriously cannot think why else it would be great then terrible with nothing changed back to back days. I love making at home fries but get so frustrated when they turn out poorly but I literally did the same thing both times. I end up wasting potatoes. Any ideas why it changes like this back and forth??
Maybe the russet potatoes are not the same?
There are few varieties and the top varieties are russet Burbank, russet Norkotahs, russet Arcadia, Ranger Russet, Umatilla Russet, the Shepody, and russet Butte.
You might want to soak your precut raw potatoes in lightly salted water, in the fridge overnight. Soaking removes excess of the starch making them really nice and crispy when fried. https://frugalinsa.com/fry/should-yo...re-frying.html
Refrigeration will turn fresh potatoes sweet. Potato storage is an issue in the south, both at home and commercially. If the potatoes were shipped a long distance in a truck that was too deeply refrigerated, the ones more exposed to the cold would get sweet, while the ones insulated by the outer mass might stay fine. Try buying them at a different supermarket chain. NEVER refrigerate a starch potato.
You might also try doing the cutting and first cook (blanch) immediately upon purchase, then freeze those for the second cook (which is in effect what the store bought frozen french fries are). Once blanched and flash frozen, they don't seem to turn sweet the same way. The dark brown is the sugar that has been caramelized.
Corn starch is commonly used to coat stuff being deep fried to add crispness, but I suspect you won't need it once the cold storage issue is resolved.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We used to do the same and while we never had that problem, I have been doing them lately in our Ninja Foodi using the air fryer feature. They just get soaked for an hour in water, drained, patted dry, tossed in vegetable oil first, and it's about 20 minutes at 400, stopping halfway to toss about. They have been delicious every time.
What you described to me sounds like old potatoes, when they start to get a bit wrinkly on the skin and soft.
I live in FL too and my French fried potatoes come out fine. I par-boil them first to where there's resistance when I try to pierce them with a fork. I use a frying pan (not a deep fryer) with a low level of vegetable oil (not olive oil because it cooks too quickly) and I turn the potatoes as soon as one side browns. I take them out with a slotted spoon and then put them onto a paper towel to soak up excess grease. Crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside.
I've never used a deep fryer so there might be a whole other way of doing things with one. A frying pan has always been fine for me.
I love homemade fresh cut fries and been making them at home for many years. Ever since we moved from Ohio to Florida the fries sometimes won't turn out anymore. I have a deep fryer, russet potatoes and I soak them in water prior to frying. I have tried both putting fries in and cooking at 350 till done and double frying(blanching first). Each method works but then suddenly stops working and fries turn out limp, soggy, dark brown with a disgusting sweet flavor. I can't figure out why it happens at times but not always. I do the same routine and never had it happen once in Ohio.
It can turn out perfect one day and next day will be gross. Same batch of potatoes, same oil, same methods. Any ideas why? Only thought is climate differences?? Changes in weather, humidity.. seriously cannot think why else it would be great then terrible with nothing changed back to back days. I love making at home fries but get so frustrated when they turn out poorly but I literally did the same thing both times. I end up wasting potatoes. Any ideas why it changes like this back and forth??
That is a sign your potatoes have been exposed to extreme cold. This may have happened where they were stored before you even bought them. Methinks in Florida, due to a radically different climate than in Ohio, the retailers may have to keep produce chilled to avoid spoilage during the summer months. Try buying the potatoes at a different shop, or talk to the grocer at your grocery store and see if they can shed some light on how the potatoes are stored before they are placed on the displays.
Refrigeration will turn fresh potatoes sweet. Potato storage is an issue in the south, both at home and commercially. If the potatoes were shipped a long distance in a truck that was too deeply refrigerated, the ones more exposed to the cold would get sweet, while the ones insulated by the outer mass might stay fine. Try buying them at a different supermarket chain. NEVER refrigerate a starch potato.
That's why I thought fries sucked when I lived in SC! I'm from NY and where I live we grow a ton of potatoes. Salt Potatoes are HUGE thing around here. I live in NY again and fries are great again. I don't even live in the same region of NY now.
We use russets and cut them into french fries in the AM and soak them.
We place them into a pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
We strain off the water.
Then we spread the bottom of a sheet pan with avocado oil and pan fry the french fries in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes. We flip the french fries and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
My husband makes his own. Peels, slices, then parboils them for a small amount of time, maybe 10 minutes, to soften them up a bit. Then, bakes them on a cookie sheet which has been oiled.
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