Subject: Best oil for French Fries?
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Default (default at default.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:06:53 GMT
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What's the best oil for French Fries? I'm guessing the healthiest ones aren't the best tasting, but at the moment I have no idea what's healthy OR good tasting oil, so any input is appreciated.
From: zxcvbob (zxcvbob at charter.net)
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:10:15 -0600
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"Best" is kind of subjective, but the lowest calorie oil would be mineral oil. It also does not get rancid, so you could filter and reuse it over and over. HTH :-)
Bob
From: Wayne Boatwright (WayneBoatWright at SMN.worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 07:05:17 GMT
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zxcvbob wrote:
> "Best" is kind of subjective, but the lowest calorie oil would be
> mineral oil. It also does not get rancid, so you could filter and
> reuse it over and over. HTH :-)
Surely you're not serious. The OP would probably shit himself to death!
From: sf (nobody at pipeline.com)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:45:45 GMT
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Default wrote:
> What's the best oil for French Fries? I'm guessing the healthiest ones
> aren't the best tasting, but at the moment I have no idea what's healthy OR
> good tasting oil, so any input is appreciated.
You're frying, so peanut, canola or corn oil is good. You want something with a high smoke point and very little flavor to impart.
From: Wayne Boatwright (WayneBoatWright at SMN.worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 07:07:53 GMT
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sf wrote:
> You're frying, so peanut, canola or corn oil is good. You
> want something with a high smoke point and very little
> flavor to impart.
When I was a teen there was a small local restaurant that had the most remarkable tasting French Fries. When asked how they made them, we learned that they used peanut oil and changed the oil in their fryers daily.
From: Aenuff (Aenuff at bobsplace.org)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 19:52:41 -0000
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> When I was a teen there was a small local restaurant that had the most
> remarkable tasting French Fries. When asked how they made them, we learned
> that they used peanut oil and changed the oil in their fryers daily.
mmmm... peanut oil fries (chips to me!!!) are fantastic, our local Chinese fries in peanut oil and I always get some when I order. Alternatively beef dripping in a cast iron chip pan, that how chips should be made. Fryers full of corn or vegetable oil make fries not chips, there is a real difference.
Try Maris Pipers in 1/2" chips fried in beef dripping and you'll know what I mean, real nostalgia for me!
From: sf (nobody at pipeline.com)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 05:39:02 GMT
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Aenuff wrote:
> mmmm... peanut oil fries (chips to me!!!) are fantastic, our local Chinese
> fries in peanut oil and I always get some when I order. Alternatively beef
> dripping in a cast iron chip pan, that how chips should be made. Fryers full
> of corn or vegetable oil make fries not chips, there is a real difference.
FYI, the ORIGINAL McDonald's fries were fried that way,,, but our health concious rabble rousers quashed that a long time ago. McDonalds fries were CRISPY and flavorful. <sigh> Oh for the good ol' days.
If people don't want their fries cooked that way, then they should vote with their feet and not yap the subject to death.
From: Tony P. (kd1s at nospamplease.verizon.reallynospam.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 07:16:48 GMT
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Sf says...
> You're frying, so peanut, canola or corn oil is good. You
> want something with a high smoke point and very little
> flavor to impart.
I wonder if you can still find beef tallow. That's what McD's used to use, and why the fries tasted so damned good. Now you get cardboard tasting fries. Ick!
From: Dimitri (Dimitri_C at prodigy.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 20:08:54 GMT
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Tony P. wrote:
> I wonder if you can still find beef tallow. That's what McD's used to
> use, and why the fries tasted so damned good. Now you get cardboard
> tasting fries. Ick!
Nope just flavored with not fried in.
"McDonald's apologized for telling customers for a decade that its fries were cooked in 100 percent vegetable oil, when all the while its raw potatoes were first seasoned with beef extract."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134506693_mcdonalds04m.html [dead link. later redirect blocks in archive.org]
From: Dog3 (dognospam at adjfkdla;not)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 23:28:34 -0000
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Dimitri deliciously posted:
So *that's* what they did to ruin their fries. HAH! I always wondered what happened to their recipe for the fries. They used to be the best. Thanks for the link.
From: sf (nobody at pipeline.com)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 05:40:26 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> "McDonald's apologized for telling customers for a decade that its fries
> were cooked in 100 percent vegetable oil, when all the while its raw
> potatoes were first seasoned with beef extract."
That was after they stopped frying in beef fat.
From: Charles Gifford (taxicolor at earthlink.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:07:35 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> Nope just flavored with not fried in.
Now Dimitri as we are friends I know I can disagree with you. What you are referring to is a fairly recent occurrence. Before the introduction of vegetable oil, adulterated or not, McDonalds fries were fried in beef fat - from the beginning of McDonalds. They were very good. Beef fat is still the best. I no longer have the freezer space to make it and, sadly can't at such fine foods any more. But beef fat is still the best.
From: Dimitri (Dimitri_C at prodigy.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:17:20 GMT
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Charles Gifford wrote:
> Now Dimitri as we are friends I know I can disagree with you. What you are
> referring to is a fairly recent occurrence. Before the introduction of
> vegetable oil, adulterated or not, McDonalds fries were fried in beef fat -
> from the beginning of McDonalds. They were very good. Beef fat is still the
> best. I no longer have the freezer space to make it and, sadly can't eat
> such fine foods any more. But beef fat is still the best.
IIRC the tallow was never the prime oil used it was a flavor enhancer to the vegetable oil. The practice was in broad use when the stores actually prepared the fries from potatoes right in the store. For years now that practice has been abandoned in favor of a frozen product.
Today they use.
http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html [archive.org]
French Fries: French Fries, Salt
French Fries: Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor (beef source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to preserve natural color). Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil). TBHQ and citric acid added to help preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent.
From: Alan Zelt (alzelFINNFAN at tworldnet.att.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 05:58:28 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> French Fries: French Fries, Salt
> French Fries: Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor
> (beef source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to preserve natural
> color). Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (may contain
> partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil
> and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or
> sunflower oil and/or corn oil). TBHQ and citric acid added to help preserve
> freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent.
As a rule, I refuse to use ingredients that I cannot pronounce, or contain more than two sylables. As for the need to robe the spuds in a specially formulated chemical mix, that goes beyond the pale.
From: Brian Macke (macke at strangelove.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 22:31:32 -0600
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Alan Zelt wrote:
> As a rule, I refuse to use ingredients that I cannot pronounce, or
> contain more than two sylables.
How do you eat at ethnic restaurants? I'd butcher the name of any quality ingredient used in a Thai or Russian restaurant.
> As for the need to robe the spuds in a specially formulated chemical
> mix, that goes beyond the pale.
McDonald's didn't start the fire. They've exploited it to a new level in recent years, but prefabricated and processed food has a heritage whose lineage includes stuffing vegetables in salt water and stuffing ground meat into the intestines of the dead animal.
From: Charles Gifford (taxicolor at earthlink.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:32:24 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> IIRC the tallow was never the prime oil used it was a flavor enhancer to the
> vegetable oil. The practice was in broad use when the stores actually
> prepared the fries from potatoes right in the store. For years now that
> practice has been abandoned in favor of a frozen product.
It just occurred to me that we have been down this road before! I apologize for bringing it up again Dimitri. We shall, once again, have to disagree with respect.
Charlie
From: Dimitri (Dimitri_C at prodigy.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 15:06:17 GMT
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Charles Gifford wrote:
> It just occurred to me that we have been down this road before! I apologize
> for bringing it up again Dimitri. We shall, once again, have to disagree
> with respect.
Charlie see the last paragraph from Australian Broadcast:
http://www.abc.net.au/am/s302914.htm [archive.org]
"This announcement has to be put in some perspective. In 1990 McDonalds in the USA announced with much fanfare that it would switch to cooking its fries in vegetable oil, making them acceptable to vegetarians who will not eat food cooked in beef fat.
The company also made a virtue of the fact that its switch to vegetable oil was made for nutritional reasons to offer customers a cholesterol-free menu item.
So, what's the situation in Australia?
Well, McDonalds here would only say that they had never said the oil they cooked in was completely vegetarian.
Indeed the potato chips we get here is cooked in a mixture of beef tallow and cotton seed oil. Hence the humble vegetarian potato chip may well be non-existent."
From: Charles Gifford (taxicolor at earthlink.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 09:11:06 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> So, what's the situation in Australia?
> Indeed the potato chips we get here is cooked in a mixture of beef tallow
> and cotton seed oil. Hence the humble vegetarian potato chip may well be
> non-existent."
That's fine Dimitri, but I was talking about the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Charlie
From: Jack Schidt® (jack-schidt at snot.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 20:20:41 GMT
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Charles Gifford wrote:
> Beef fat is still the
> best. I no longer have the freezer space to make it and, sadly can't eat
> such fine foods any more. But beef fat is still the best.
Yeahbut.....pork fat rulez!
Jack Lardo
From: Dimitri (Dimitri_C at prodigy.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 15:08:03 GMT
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Jack Schidt® wrote:
> Yeahbut.....pork fat rulez!
Yep!
Mexican home fried potatoes fried in lard........
From: Charles Gifford (taxicolor at earthlink.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 09:12:15 GMT
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Dimitri wrote:
> Yep!
>
> Mexican home fried potatoes fried in lard........
Ah Ha! That's why! You don't like rendered beef fat! <grin>
From: Steve Wertz (swertz at cluemail.com.invalid.gov)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 00:07:37 -0600
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
Beef fat.
Now that the fast food industry doesn't use it anymore, where does all the beef fat go?
From: Tim Challenger ("timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at")
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 12:39:22 GMT
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Steve Wertz wrote:
> Now that the fast food industry doesn't use it anymore, where does
> all the beef fat go?
sausages.
From: Arri London (biotech at ic.ac.uk)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 06:55:15 -0700
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Steve Wertz wrote:
> Beef fat.
>
> Now that the fast food industry doesn't use it anymore, where does
> all the beef fat go?
Soap, sausages, animal feeds etc
From: Michael (dognospam at adjfkdla;not)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:12:44 -0000
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Default deliciously posted:
> What's the best oil for French Fries?
I use canola oil and it works well. I do not reuse or recycle the oil.
From: hahabogus (not at valid.invalid)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:07:25 GMT
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Michael wrote:
> I use canola oil and it works well. I do not reuse or recycle the oil.
I make fries so infrequently these days...But when I made them more often I used a mix of canola and lard. The gourmet fries lovers (my kids and their friends) liked them better than McD's. But it's been a while.
From: Goomba38 (Goomba38 at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 06:56:19 -0500
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hahabogus wrote:
> I make fries so infrequently these days...But when I made them more often I
> used a mix of canola and lard. The gourmet fries lovers (my kids and their
> friends) liked them better than McD's. But it's been a while.
Did you cut your own potatoes or use frozen ones?
From: hahabogus (not at valid.invalid)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 23:30:14 GMT
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Goomba38 wrote:
> Did you cut your own potatoes or use frozen ones?
I"d cut my own...thin fries...not the fat style fries.
First I'd cut my potatoes (after washing them). These were un peeled red potatoes. Cut them into maybe 3/8 inch or so strips...never measured them.
Then I'd soak them in salted water to remove excess starch, for at least 1 hour maybe 2. Be sure to dry them well...hot oil and water just don't get along.
Then fry them up (once only) in hotish oil till they were crisp and felt right* when messed about with a spoon with holes in it.
I would fry fry them in an old aluminum pot with out a basket or thermometer.
*Hard to explain
They kinda feel hard/stiff when cooked enough but the color was still a pale golden.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 16 Mar 2004 00:23:36 GMT
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hahabogus writes:
>*Hard to explain, kinda feel hard/stiff.
I don't think you need to explain those details to Goomba
From: sf (nobody at pipeline.com)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 05:42:33 GMT
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hahabogus wrote:
> I make fries so infrequently these days...But when I made them more often I
> used a mix of canola and lard.
Hmmm. I hadn't thought of that combination before.
From: Scott (heimdall at spamless.invalid)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 14:50:22 GMT
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Michael wrote:
> I use canola oil and it works well. I do not reuse or recycle the oil.
Isn't it supposed to work better on the second or third use?
From: Mark Thorson (nospam at sonic.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 14:58:54 GMT
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Scott wrote:
> Isn't it supposed to work better on the second or third use?
I remember it says that in _The_Professional_Chef_, but I believe that was in reference to lard or beef fat deep frying oils. A mono- or polyunsaturated vegetable oil would be more likely to develop off flavors with use.
From: Michael (dognospam at adjfkdla;not)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 15:06:03 -0000
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Scott deliciously posted:
> Isn't it supposed to work better on the second or third use?
I really don't know. I know restaurants that reuse oil after straining it but I've never done it.
From: nancree at aol.com (Nancree)
Date: 15 Mar 2004 15:40:05 GMT
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do NOT use mineral oil for cooking ! it is a mineral oil from oil wells, and not meant for food consumption. It is used as a strong laxative. Not used in foodl
From: MHKS at webtv.net (Amanda)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:13:44 -0500 (EST)
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Hello Everyone: There is a restaurant that we go to in the Northern part of Rhode Island that has some AWESOME french fries. They do not use frozen potatoes to make them. They come out browned just right and they have a hint of a sweet taste to them. Not sure what is used to make them but some of us think that it is peanut oil. They may also make their chicken that way but I'm not certain about that. This place does not have a menu. They only have two dinners to choose from. We think that the chicken may be cooked in a pressure cooker. Does anyone know how to get the french fries to have that hint of a sweet taste to them? Thank You. Have a nice sunny day.
From: Michael (dognospam at adjfkdla;not)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 23:25:23 -0000
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Amanda deliciously posted:
> Does anyone know how to get the french fries to have that
> hint of a sweet taste to them?
Sweet in what way? Are there any seasonings on the fries?
From: al ({ask_me} at blueyonder.co.uk)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 22:27:52 -0000
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Michael wrote in message OR good tasting oil, so any input is appreciated.
> I use canola oil and it works well. I do not reuse or recycle the oil.
Never heard of that ... am I being ignorant or is it a non-UK type thing?
From: Julia Altshuler (jaltshuler at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 22:34:41 GMT
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al wrote:
> Never heard of that ... am I being ignorant or is it a non-UK type thing?
Canola oil is rapeseed oil, thus named because it is more appealing to the consumer that way. You know how it is with the good oil/bad oil thing. New reports come out every day about how what you were eating yesterday is bad for you while something else is in. Canola oil was being touted for a while as being good cholesterol-wise, but many people didn't care for its taste or performance for frying. At least, that's my story in the U.S. I'd be interested in learning if it's otherwise in the U.K.
--Lia
From: A.C. (email at address.com)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 19:13:25 -0500
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al wrote:
> Never heard of that ... am I being ignorant or is it a non-UK type thing?
canola oil is actually rapeseed oil. now you see why they don't use that name :P it has a high smoke point and has good properties for deep frying food. the canadians developed the oil hence the name can-ola ;) their maybe a uk equivilent but i don't know what it is...
From: Tim Challenger ("timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at")
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 12:44:44 GMT
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Default wrote:
> What's the best oil for French Fries?
Lard is absolutely the best. But I think most of the taste depends on the variety of potato used.
From: Steve Wertz (swertz at cluemail.com.invalid.gov)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 13:16:43 -0600
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Tim Challenger wrote:
>Lard is absolutely the best. But I think most of the taste depends on the
>variety of potato used.
Lard is pork. Pork fat doesn't taste nearly as good as beef fat, and pork fat (when deep frying) stinks like all hell broke loose.
From: Tim Challenger ("timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at")
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:17:08 GMT
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Steve Wertz wrote:
> Lard is pork. Pork fat doesn't taste nearly as good as beef fat,
> and pork fat (when deep frying) stinks like all hell broke loose.
Can't say I've ever noticed it being that bad.
From: Peter Aitken (paitken at CRAPnc.rr.com)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 15:34:50 GMT
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Default wrote:
> What's the best oil for French Fries?
I have read that rendered horse fat is considered the best in France (I am not kidding!). Lacking that, there probably is no one "best" oil because it depends on personal tastes. You can make terrific fries with peanut, canola, or essentially any other vegeable oil. I bet rendered beef fat would be good too.
From: Tim Challenger ("timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at")
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:02:46 GMT
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Peter Aitken wrote:
> I have read that rendered horse fat is considered the best in France (I am
> not kidding!).
Horsemeat can be really nice, I prefer it to beef, but can't get it very often. I don't see why the fat shouldn't be just as good.
From: Steve Wertz (swertz at cluemail.com.invalid.gov)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 13:18:20 -0600
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Peter Aitken wrote:
>I have read that rendered horse fat is considered the best in France (I am
>not kidding!).
I would bet that coconut oil would work great, though expensive. The best popcorn is made with coconut oil.
(save the artery jokes, OK?)
From: Richard Kaszeta (rich at kaszeta.org)
Date: 15 Mar 2004 13:24:15 -0600
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Steve Wertz writes:
> I would bet that coconut oil would work great, though expensive.
> The best popcorn is made with coconut oil.
I regularly used to make hash browns with macadamia oil, and I highly recommend it aside from the price, and a relatively low smoke-point. And depending on the source it can be relatively viscous at room temperature (but the good stuff is actually pretty thin).
From: Tara (jarvis57 at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 23:26:55 GMT
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Peter Aitken wrote:
>I have read that rendered horse fat is considered the best in France (I am
>not kidding!).
Jeffrey Steingarten wrote an article about his experiments with french fries fried in horse fat. He made them sound awfully good.
From: Jiminy (webpecker at libero.it)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:07:32 GMT
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
90% peanut + 10% olive!
From: cam.barr at beer.com (yourname)
Date: 15 Mar 2004 08:26:28 -0800
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Default wrote:
> What's the best oil for French Fries?
Best tasting? Oil of pork, good old fashioned lard.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 15 Mar 2004 17:24:58 GMT
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sumgai wrote:
>Best tasting? Oil of pork, good old fashioned lard.
Oil for fries shouldn't have any taste or it will cover up the potato flavor... for fries I prefer sunflower oil.
From: Jim Rutkowski (noklazlospam at cox.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:07:13 -0700
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
If you only plan on making a few servings use clarified butter, I make them this way for the kids as a special treat. Not something you want to eat on a regular basis.
From: ad.rast.7 at nwnotlink.NOSPAM.com (Alex Rast)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 02:55:28 -0000
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
Best tasting and healthiest for french fries, which require high heat, would be one of the solid, non-hydrogenated fats - beef tallow or lard if you're nonvegetarian, coconut oil if you're a vegetarian. Virtually all liquid fats start to break down at deep-frying temperature, leading to an "off" taste. With the animal fats, it's best to render themselves as long as you have access to a supply of the raw fat, because commercial versions are typically iffy in terms of quality.
They're also the healthiest, in a relative sense, because again, at the high heat, oils that break down create unhealthy by-products, making them much worse than the original oil would have been. If you're of a mind that saturated fats are just plain unhealthy no matter how you look at it, remember that french fries themselves, seen from that viewpoint, aren't health food either.
From: Jack Schidt® (jack-schidt at snot.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 20:20:41 GMT
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
I'd suggest peanut oil. Don't forget to fry them twice.
Jack Planters
From: mshaw at bangnetcom.com (Mark Shaw)
Date: 16 Mar 2004 20:42:21 -0500
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
I use safflower. Why? 'Cause Alton says so.
From: d w a c o n (aint.your.mama at pancake.box)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:17:11 -0500
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
LARD !!!
From: Blair P. Houghton (b at p.h)
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 04:05:45 GMT
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Default wrote:
>What's the best oil for French Fries?
Kaola Gold, after a week of making everything the restaurant deep fries.