Over the weekend I came across a couple of videos by one of the presenters of the MythBusters TV show, explaining how McDonalds make their french fries. This has been done by McDonalds as a promotional feature to create some positive PR. This is specific to the US, however I don’t have anything specifically from the UK to compare it with.
While watching, I compared it to my process, and was surprised by how over-complicated it is. The videos are here and here, but let’s walk through the McDonalds method:
Obviously they start with potatoes, however they come from a wide variety of breeds which means they have no control over the size, shape or flavour. They cut the potatoes with high pressure water through a cutting block. The pressure of the water will, however wash away some of the flavour from the the fries.
The fries are then dipped in a solution of dextrose (a form of sugar) and Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, both of these are to add colour.
Once coloured, the fries are part cooked. The oil used is a mix of Canola Oil, Soybean Oil & Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. They add flavouring with beef, hydrolyzed wheat & milk and add citric acid & Dimethylpolysiloxane, which help the oil last longer & be easier to cook with.
This is quite a concoction of ingredients, but most concerning is the use of Hydrogenated oil. Hydrogenated means that they change unsaturated fats into trans-fats. This makes the oil last longer, but trans-fats are MUCH worse for you than unsaturated fat.
The last stage in the factory is to freeze the fries – yes, after partially cooking them, they freeze them to make them easier to transport and store before use!
Once at the shop, they re-fry them in another concoction of oil, again including hydrogenated oil, but also adding TBHQ (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone), this is a preservative which is safe to use in very low levels (0.02%). At higher doses it has side effects from nausea to vomiting and over longer periods can cause cancerous precursors in stomachs.
My method is somewhat simpler:
I buy Maris Piper potatoes, which have been a traditional chipping potato for decades, giving the best flavour as well as a good size. The potatoes I buy are grown in Lincolnshire and are 100% natural, not Genetically Modified in any way.
I prepare the potatoes first thing in the morning, and start by peeling them in a ‘rumbler’. This rubs the skin off, leaving as much of the potato as possible. There is a fine spray of water to wash the skin away as they are processed.
The peeled potatoes are then stored in a drum filled with fresh water during the day. Although some of the flavour will be lost into the water, the majority is kept as fresh as it can be without the use of chemicals.
When I need to cook some chips, I scoop some potatoes from the barrel and allow the water to drain off. I pour the potatoes into a chipper, which pushes the potatoes through a cutting block to create the chips.
The chips are put into the frier, which contains entirely natural beef dripping. This provides all the cooking requirements and adds the flavour in one go. The only additive in the dripping is a natural anti-oxidant (E306), which, despite being an ‘E’ number is actually Vitamin E!
The cooked chips are shaken to remove as much oil as possible, and then stored in a heated chip drawer, which both maintains the heat of the food, and also allows any remaining oil to run off.
When served, we leave it up to the customer to add salt (and vinegar) if they want to!
I might even make my own video to show how un-complicated the process can be! I;d be interested to hear your feedback, and any questions you have. You can contact me via Facebook or my feedback form