Page 206 - YC Cooking School

In France, fried potato wedges go by a variety of names. For traditional pommes frite, the
potatoes should be cut into pieces approximately 1cm thick. If you cut them any thinner

than that, they’re typically called pommes allumettes. Thick cut fries, on the other hand, are
known as pommes pont-neuf.

Dry off your potatoes before cooking them
As with all potato dishes, keep cut and peeled potatoes in water until you need to use them,

which will prevent them from turning a mucky brown colour. Make sure you dry them off
thoroughly before adding them to the hot oil though, as you want to avoid uncontrolled
fiery theatrics. Rather put them in a dry dishcloth, shake them around a bit and you’re good
to go.

Use a simple temperature test
While it may seem like overkill, it’s a good idea to use a thermometer when making pommes
frite. To get the perfect end result, you’ll need to adjust the oil temperature from hot (160 ̊C)
to even hotter (190 ̊C), and a thermometer is the most foolproof way of getting this right.
You can get by without one though by using this handy temperature test: dip the end of a
long piece of potato into the hot oil and start counting. If the oil is hot enough, the potato
will start to fry after 7-8 seconds. Now your oil is at 160 ̊C. If the potato only takes 3 seconds
to start frying, the oil has reached 190 ̊C.

Blanche your potatoes first
To achieve the perfect combination of a crispy outer crunch with a soft centre, blanche your
pommes frite first. This means frying them on a low heat for between 7 and 9 minutes until
they’re soft but still pale in colour. Then, let them rest. Increase the temperature of the oil
to 190 ̊C and fry them a second time for a few seconds until they’re golden and crispy.
Scoop them out and use paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Reuse the oil
You can re-use oil up to five times. Don’t fry potatoes in oil you’ve used for stronger smelling
things like meat or fish though; you’ll end up with fish-flavoured potatoes, which is less than
ideal.

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