6
French fries
To obtain the nicest and most crispy French fries:
• Use not too new potatoes.
• Cut the potatoes first to thick slices and then to
sticks. Rinse the sticks in a colander under the
cold water tap: this will prevent the sticks to
adhere to one another while frying. Dry the
sticks using e.g. kitchen paper.
• French fries should be prepared in two steps:
- firstly at 160 °C (320 °F), during 8-10 minutes.
- secondly at 190 °C (374 °F), during
2-4 minutes.
During the second step shake the frying basket at
small intervals; then the French fries will get a fine
overall brown.
Deep frozen food
Food from your deep freezer or from the freezer
compartment of your fridge (-16 to -18° C or
-1 to 3 °F) will cool down the oil/fat vastly when
lowered into it.
• For that reason, do not put too big portions into
the fryer.
• Let the fryer regain optimum frying temperature
before you prepare a portion of deep frozen
food (15-20 minutes).
Set the temperature knob to the frying
temperature indications on the packaging of the
deep frozen food. If these indications are not
given, set the knob to the highest temperature
(190 °C or 374 °F).
These instructions are also valid for certain
types of food which require careful preparation,
such as meat croquettes.
Deep frozen French fries are pre-fried and can
be fried in one step at 190 °C or 374 °F, for
about 5 minutes.
• Deep frozen food often contains too much ice.
Shake off as much of the ice as possible in the
sink. Then lower the food into the oil/fat
carefully, as deep frozen articles can make the
hot fat/oil bubble and splash excessively.
Tips
• Use oils and/or fats which are recommended for
deep fat frying, i.e. vegetable fat or oil
containing polyunsaturated acids.
• Regularly replace the oil or fat. Never add fresh
oil/fat to used oil/fat.
• In general the fat/oil will be tainted rather
quickly when frying food containing a lot of
protein (such as meat and fish). When the oil/fat
is mainly used to deep fat fry potatoes and is
filtered after each use, the oil/fat can be used
10-12 times. However, do not use it for over
six months. Then it should be discarded
responsibly.
Oil (after cooling down) can be poured into a
bottle and curdled fat can be wrapped in an old
paper.
Curdled fat inside the pan can be easily
removed by heating it for about one minute
(at 160 °C/320 °F). It will melt along the edges
and no longer stick to the wall.
• Always replace all fat/oil as soon as it starts
seething when heated; when it has got a rancid
smell or taste; when its colour has become dark
and/or when it has turned syrupy.
• Make sure that the food to be fried is dry,
before lowering it into the hot fat/oil.
• Filter the fat/oil if required:
- Remove the plug from the mains socket after
you have finished frying. Allow the oil/fat to cool
down for some time.
- To remove minute particles, put a piece of
paper tissue or a thin cotton cloth in a fine metal
strainer or in a sieve, then pour the oil/fat
through this filter into a pan (fig. 12).
• Clean the fryer with paper tissue. Do not forget
the inside walls.
• If you do no not use the deep fat fryer
frequently, you can best keep the oil in well-
closed (glass) bottles; preferably in the fridge.
Store fat in a well-closed (glass or stone) pot or
bowl. It is not advised to keep the fat/oil in the
fryer for a long time.
If the oil/fat has a taste...
Certain types of food (esp. fish) may lose some
fluid while being deep fat fried. This juice might
adversely affect the taste of food to be fried later
in the same oil/fat. To remove (or rather to
prevent) this taste heat the oil/fat to
160 °C / 320 °F. Then fry two thin slices of bread
(5-6 mm, or 0.25 "). Wait until all the air bubbles
have disappeared and the bread is brown all over.
Then take the bread out of the fryer and discard it.
Now the oil/fat has a neutral taste again.
Cleaning
Outside: wipe it clean with a damp cloth (if so
required add some detergent) and/or paper tissue.
Inside: remove any particles of fat/oil which are
sticking to the walls by means of a ball of tissue
paper.
It is advised to clean the inside of the fryer
thoroughly (e.g. when replacing the oil/fat). Pour
