This sunday august 20 is celebrated on French Fry Day. There are no specific or concrete data about why it is celebrated every August. But one of the origins of this stick-shaped food goes back to Belgium and France. Actually, it is a historic fight which continues to this day.
On the one hand, the French proudly and confidently say that it was they who invented this dish. at the end of century XVIIIin the heart of Paristhe sellers of French fries who made them in full view of their customers inside braziers and pans. They cooked only with oil. In turn, the Belgians claim their authorship. The only difference lies in the cooking which is divided into two stages. First, they cook them in oil and then with animal fat.
A few days from the gastronomic ephemerisI know the chef’s tips to make them perfect fries.
The choice and cutting of the potato
“We use White potato because it has very little waterwhich allows it to remain well dried after fryingand also because you can cook with peelremaining more rustic. However, the red potato is the most recommended to do French fries”, commented Fabio Muruaexecutive chef of Rufino, a modern grill where meat and vegetables have equal prominence.
“It is paramount trust in your supplierespecially in this winter timewhere the good potato is scarce. The second is the product quality: we must ensure that they are first selection potatoes and avoid those that come from being collected in cold roomssince they do not reach the necessary maturation to get a good result,” he said. Leandro Canalicchiohead chef of the La Capitana bodegón, where typical Buenos Aires dishes are tried.
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Both cooks advise going to the traditional and cut the potatoes type walking stickalso called “French style”. However, Rufino’s chef proposes to use the potato with its peel and in thinner strips than the traditional ones. In this way, they will remain more crispy after a single fry.
The secret of cooking
exist different methods and tricks to achieve a dry and crunchy potato. In La Capitana, they peel the potatoes the day before and let them rest in water, in the fridge, overnight. Then they cut them into Canes and submerge them in water again for another hour. “This process allows remove excess starch and that better results are obtained when frying”, stated Canalicchio.
After rinsing and drying them, they carry out a first cooking in preheated oil at 210 – 220 °C, for two or three minutes. They remove them, lower the temperature to 180 °C and they fry again until barely golden. By following these steps, you get Crispy on the outside and tender on the insidewith a very particular shine”, he concluded.
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For his part, Rufino’s chef prefers to cut the finer potatoes and make a unique cooking in high oleic sunflower oil, at a temperature that never exceeds 180 °C, until golden. “This is called cooking in first frying and the result is a super crispy potato with just the right touch of creaminessMurua said.
If you want to add an extra touch of flavor, before frying, the sticks can be passed through a mixture of spices to tasteas paprika, garlic powder and pepper.
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Ideas to “tune up” your fries
Bruce Grill Station, a Wild West-inspired restaurant that specializes in wood-fired quebracho meats offers three ideas to complement the French friesadding up lots of flavor.
- Blue cheese cream: sauté minced garlic in a skillet over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Then add 200 g of cream, 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese and 50 g of blue cheese. Cook over low heat until the cheeses are melted, season with pepper and salt to taste and serve hot.
- Aubergine dip: wash 500 g of aubergines and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place in the oven over medium-high heat along with some garlic cloves with skin on and cook for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cut 50 g onion brunoise. Remove the vegetables from the oven, extract the pulp from the aubergine and the garlic, and mix with the onion. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
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- Chili con carne: Lavac and cut into brunoise 1 kg of tomatoes, 200 g of onion, 150 g of red bell pepper, 150 g of green bell pepper and 20 g of garlic. In a pot, sauté the garlic and onions until transparent. Add 1 kg of minced meat, the tomato, the bell peppers and 400 g of cooked black beans. Season with hot paprika and oregano to taste, a teaspoon of brown sugar, pepper and salt. Cook for 45 minutes over medium heat and serve.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
