Recipes / Veggies

Convenient, labour costs & waste determine that frozen french fries dominate the world market for peparation perference.

BNG Trading have had a long association with the Farm Frites Group for many years & for obvious reasons. With BNG Trading importing over 20 x 40 foot reefer units of french fries from Europe annually, our growth in the PNG market has been impressive indeed, though certainly not by accident.

Farm Frites are world leaders in R&R, quality & product consistency & based on those parameters, our relationship has development exponentially

The Two Stage Process: Double Frying (First Stage)
The frying process is performed in two stages which consists of blanching frozen french fries in hot fat at a temperature of 160°C to partially cook. The objective is not to impart any colouration but rather to pre cook only.

Why do you blanch the French Fries Frozen
The water content still remaining in the french fries are crystalized in their frozen form, this crystalized moisture is stored in the centre of the potatoes, but during the blanching process, the moisture is transferred to the exterior after they cool. Since the moisture is already on the outside, it’s now easier to eliminate during the final fry.

The Two Stage Process: Double Frying (Second Stage)
Not convinced? Consider the McDonald’s process who blanch their fries at 76°C, then freezing before sending them to their branches.

Then, they are fried in hot fat (190°C) to obtain a crisp texture of the exterior followed by subjecting to a deoiling process, salting, & finally spicing.

The two stage process is a time honoured tradition, not only is it a necessary process, the science

The Oil
There are many varieties of oil that people prefer. But a study showed that corn oil is what most fast food chains used to fry their fries. Corn oil is low in saturated & monounsaturated fats.

The main key to frying fries is temperature & time control. Cooking them at high temperature & short time may end in cooked exterior but uncooked interior. However, Cooking at low temperature may result in soggy fries.

1. High Smoke Point: Compound oils are specifically designed for frying, due to their a high smoke point. This means it can be heated to high temperatures without breaking down, which is ideal for deep frying.

2. Neutral Flavor: Compound oils also have a neutral flavor that doesn’t interfere with the taste of the food being fried.

3. Reusability: Though expensive, compound oils are designed for multple use & can be strained & reused numerous times. If looked after correctly this oils can be extremely cost-effective.

4. Crispiness: Using compound fats will produce a product that are crisp on the outside & soft on the inside.

5. Less Absorption: Some compound fats are formulated to be less absorbed by the food, resulting in less greasy fries.

In summary, consider the following:

1. Choose the right potato, a floury variety like Russet Burbank, Coliban or Sebago are ideal for french fries.
2. Soak your potatoes prior the cooking to minimize “Reduced Sugars” content & the potential of “After-Cooking Darkening” (ACD) occuring.
3. Potatoes contain 80% water & 20% solid matter. Reduce water percentage by pre cooking in water initially, drying & then blanching in hot oil at 160°C to partially cook further extracting additional

water.
4. Choose a neutral flavour oil with a high smoke point, preferably a compound oils but canola is a suitable alternative.
5. Coook 100gms per 1 litre of oil only & let the oil reach a temperature of 190°C after each cook prior to cooking thr next batch.

Importantly, while compound & vegetable oils are an ideal medium for cooking french fries, it’s also important to consider nutritional factors. Regularly consuming foods fried in oil can have health implications, so it’s recommended to enjoy these foods in moderation.

Choosing Potatoes for Baking
Just about every baked potato in the United States is made with a russet potato, a starchy variety with a thick, papery skin. When cooked, the pectin holding the russet’s cells together breaks down easily, resulting in a more powdery, granular texture. Many people will tell you that the russet is hands down the best potato for baking. And, while I’d agree that it’s a great choice, I wouldn’t go quite so far—on a recent trip to the UK, I ate a baked potato made from a much moister, waxier variety, & it was sublime. Of course, the fact that it was drenched in butter didn’t hurt.

Still, the russet is a classic, & ultimately the type I’m most likely to grab when I’m planning to bake some potatoes.

Rule 1: Puncture It
The prevailing wisdom calls for puncturing the potato in several spots with a fork or paring knife, since there’s a small risk that an unvented potato will explode from pent-up steam. I’ve never seen this happen firsthand—probably because we always punctured the potatoes in the restaurants where I worked—but Kenji says he once saw a potato blow up in the face of a chef he worked for.

Conclusion: Put some holes in the skin, for safety’s sake.

Rule 2: Don’t Wrap It
Some folks like to wrap their potatoes in foil before baking them. That makes sense if you’re cooking in the embers of a campfire, but when I tested a foil wrapping in the oven, all it did was produce soggy skins. You’ll get much better results if you leave the potato unwrapped & expose its skin to the oven’s dry heat.

Rule 3: Use a Moderate Oven
After experimenting with a variety of oven temperatures, I found roughly 350 to 375°F to be the ideal range, producing a properly crisped skin & a creamy, fluffy interior in about an hour. Any hotter, & the potato will tend to develop a tough, dry, browned layer under the skin. Any cooler, & it will take longer than I’m usually willing to wait.

If you’re pressed for time, I’ve gotten very good results by microwaving the potato for five minutes, then finishing it in a very hot, 450°F oven for about 20 minutes. That high heat will help the skin crisp in a much shorter window of time.

Rule 4: Oil It
I found that rubbing the potato with oil before baking it makes a significant difference in the texture & flavour of the skin. Without oil, the skin becomes leathery & tough & seems thicker; it also tastes faintly of a swamp. That may be some people’s idea of a good potato skin, but it’s not mine.

With a coating of oil, though, the skin becomes tender & slightly crisp; you can bite or cut through it easily, & the flavour is much better. You can use a neutral type like canola, or a flavoured one like olive—ultimately, it won’t make a huge difference once the potato is loaded with toppings. If you want to use butter for the flavour profile, consider only clarified butter as the water content reduces the amount of crispiness you will be able to achieve.

Rule 5: Use a Rack
The final consideration is where to set the potato in the oven. Baking sheets are your worst bet, since they’re made out of conductive metals, like aluminium, that brand the potatoes with dark burned spots. Some recipes suggest setting the potato on a bed of salt instead, but I’ve tested that before, &, while it reduces the hot-spot issue, it’s mostly just a waste of salt, since it doesn’t noticeably season the flesh.

The best method I’ve found is to set the potato on a wire rack set over a baking sheet, which keeps the spud elevated & allows air to circulate all around for even cooking. If you don’t have such a rack, you can put the potatoes directly onto an oven rack. Assuming you’ve oiled the potatoes, though, I’d recommend putting a sheet of foil on the rack below, just in case of drips. (Even lightly oiled potatoes can drip as the oil becomes more fluid in the heat.)

Finish It Right
You can determine when the potato is fully baked by sliding a fork into its centre. If it slides in with absolutely no resistance, it’s done.

I like to let it rest a few minutes at this point so that it’s a little easier to handle. Then I split it open from end to end & scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl.

Yes, this is somewhat fussy. No, you don’t have to do it. You can, for instance, gently squeeze the potato in its skin to break up the flesh, then slice it open & jam some pats of butter down into the centre. That’ll be good, but it won’t be great, because that method will never ensure that the butter—let alone any salt you sprinkle on top—reaches all the places it needs to.

You can also skip the scooping step & just fork-mash the butter right into each potato half. I have no real objections to this, aside from the fact that it’ll look like two flattened & smashed potato halves.

For a more textbook baked-potato look, & to get sufficient buttering & seasoning throughout, scooping is the only real solution. I add butter, salt, & pepper to the mixing bowl & lightly mash it all together. When I want a truly satisfying meal, though, I actually like to cook two potatoes, scooping out the flesh of both & then piling the mash into the skin of just one of them. It ends up looking like one gloriously overstuffed, massive baked potato. That said, you’re free to be a little less piggy than me & serve one potato per person—this method will work either way.

Using your hands, you can form the potato-stuffed skins back into a perfect baked-potato shape. Then add whatever you want, like grated cheese, scallions, chives, sour cream, & crispy bacon bits. If you want to melt the cheese, you can throw the potato back in the oven with the grated cheese on top (making it a “twice-baked” potato, an overwrought description for something that’s just getting briefly reheated), or use a torch to melt it quickly on the countertop.
Most importantly, don’t hold back. A fully loaded baked potato isn’t meant to be a light & tidy meal—it should be rich, hearty, filling, & flavourful.