Griddle/Pan Fried: inflated potato?

Subject: inflated potato?
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Don Wiss (donwiss at panix.com)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 05:45:37 -0400
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As webmaster for bigspud.com I sometimes get correspondence. I'm a bit baffled by this one, from a non-English speaker in Saudi Arabia. First he writes:

I would like to ask you about frying potatos slids at tow pans, since transfer it from one to onother it gett inflated. do you have seen this, i have seen it on TV. the chef is from Europe.

I ask for clarification. He then writes:

The chef was frying potato slices in one frying pan for around 15 seconds and transfer it to another pan one by one. it was getting inflated suddenly and look crespy, how come the potato get inflated is there any special recips? please help me in this matter, it's important to me to know it.

Any one here understand this?
From: Thierry Gerbault (ThierryGerbault at NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 09:57:22 GMT
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Wouldn't these be "souffléd potatoes"?
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 13 May 2002 11:11:42 GMT
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When thin potato slices are deep fried they will inflate/puff. The trick is in determining the proper thickness, which is a bit thicker than for potato chips... you will need to experiment with a mandoline.
From: nobody at nevermind.com (Fishface)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 11:52:21 GMT
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Don Wiss wrote:
>The chef was frying potato slices in one frying pan for around 15 seconds
>and transfer it to another pan one by one.
>it was getting inflated suddenly and look crespy,how come the potato get
>inflated

I've seen dear Julia demonstrate this. Potato slices are deep-fried at one temperature; removed from fryer, and fried again later at a different (hotter, I think) temperature. The potato slices puff up like little pillows.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 13 May 2002 12:11:51 GMT
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Fishface writes:
>I've seen dear Julia demonstrate this. Potato slices are deep-fried at
>one temperature; removed from fryer, and fried again later at a
>different (hotter, I think) temperature. The potato slices puff up
>like little pillows.

Pommes Soufflees
(Puffed Fried Potatoes)

Peel the potatoes and trim them into uniform cylinders about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Cut into thin slices, about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. Pour the vegetable oil into 2 large heavy saucepans to a depth of about 3 inches (8 cm).

Heat the oil in the first pan to a temperature of 325F (160C), and to 375F (190C) in the second. Working with a handful at a time, pat the potatoes dry with paper towels and drop them into the 325F oil. Fry for 5 to 6 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drop into the 375F oil. They should puff almost immediately. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Serve immediately.
From: Tiffy (ghwnospam at eudoramail.com)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 12:57:45 GMT
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I think he's talking about potato chips ! Fry thin slices lightly then transfer to really hot fat and they puff ??

Peter
From: Roy Hughson (rhughson at pipeline.com)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 10:00:19 -0400
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Don,
Your correspondent is talking about a French specialty called "pommes soufflees."

Thick slices of potato are cooked in oil at about 275°F for a while and then transferred to oil at 375°F. This makes them puff up. They have to be served hot out of the high-temperature oil because as they cool they collapse. There's a recipe for them in "Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Cookbook," on p. 461.

There used to be a restaurant in midtown Manhattan (back in the '70s as I recall) called "Charles a la pommes soufflees" that specialized in this dish.

I've made them, but it's a nuisance, since the potato slices have to be of the same thickness and the fat temperatures have to be controlled fairly accurately.

I've never seen an explanation of the phenomenon, but I think what's happening is that the first (low temperature) cooking puts an impermeable coating on the outside of the potato slices and the second, hot, frying vaporizes the moisture remaining in the potato. Since the steam can't get out through the coating, the slice puffs up.
From: silvasurfa (eric.son at bigpond.blah.com)
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 00:40:08 +0930
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Roy Hughson wrote:
> I've made them, but it's a nuisance, since the potato slices have to be of
> the same thickness and the fat temperatures have to be controlled fairly
> accurately.

And even with the best of care, there will be aproportion that just don't puff.
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 14 May 2002 00:21:08 GMT
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silvasurfa wrote:
>And even with the best of care, there will be aproportion that just don't
>puff.

I've tried the recipe in Joy of Cooking several times and mine never puffed. Same problem I have with pooris.
From: Thierry Gerbault (ThierryGerbault at NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 00:49:18 GMT
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Greykits wrote:
> I've tried the recipe in Joy of Cooking several times and mine never
> puffed. Same problem I have with pooris.

You must have a basic poofing problem! {:-)
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 14 May 2002 03:05:59 GMT
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Thierry Gerbault wrote:
>You must have a basic poofing problem! {:-)

I think I must. But, there is nothing better than home-made fries or chips for a quick snack, so I guess I'll stick to what I can do well in this case.
From: Thierry Gerbault (ThierryGerbault at NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 04:31:52 GMT
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Greykits wrote:
> I think I must. But, there is nothing better than home-made fries or chips for
> a quick snack, so I guess I'll stick to what I can do well in this case.

Amen on both counts! Good fries are so satisfying...
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 14 May 2002 05:16:06 GMT
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Thierry Gerbault wrote:
>Amen on both counts! Good fries are so satisfying...

When we bought this house in late '96, I tossed the deep-fryer (Sunbeam) and the cable tv, I suppose to improve our lifestyle.

Well, a friend gave us a grandaddy or some such fryer, and it has no temp settings or basket, but I'm enjoying the fries. Potato chips are great when they are home-made. I don't cut them perfectly thin, so some are like chips and others are like fries. I looked at veggie chips at the store the other day - 4 bucks for a little bag! Have to get more inventive here. I always use the double fry method, but cook them longer than Joy said, the results are better that way. Oh, and soak in ice water, first.
From: Thierry Gerbault (ThierryGerbault at NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 06:06:20 GMT
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Greykits wrote:
> Well, a friend gave us a grandaddy or some such fryer, and it has no
> temp settings or basket, but I'm enjoying the fries. Potato chips
> are great when they are home-made. I don't cut them perfectly thin,
> so some are like chips and others are like fries. I looked at veggie
> chips at the store the other day - 4 bucks for a little bag! Have to
> get more inventive here. I always use the double fry method, but cook
> them longer than Joy said, the results are better that way. Oh, and
> soak in ice water, first.

Yup, seems like you're doing it the best way. Ever try sweet potato or yam chips, lightly salted afterward? Delicious!
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 14 May 2002 22:09:24 GMT
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Thierry Gerbault wrote:
>Yup, seems like you're doing it the best way. Ever try sweet potato or
>yam chips, lightly salted afterward? Delicious!

I need to buy some yams today! Any other veggies good for making chips?
From: Thierry Gerbault (ThierryGerbault at NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 01:13:58 GMT
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Greykits wrote:
> I need to buy some yams today! Any other veggies good for making
> chips?

I've heard of people doing plantains and jicama, but I've not personally tried either. I should think the flavor would be good. Jicama is rather bland like a common potato, the plantain, depending on ripeness, might have a bit of sweetness.
From: Charlie L. Gifford (saiga at concentric.net)
Date: 15 May 2002 09:01:52 GMT
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Thierry Gerbault wrote:
> I've heard of people doing plantains and jicama, but I've not personally
> tried either. I should think the flavor would be good. Jicama is
> rather bland like a common potato, the plantain, depending on ripeness,
> might have a bit of sweetness.

Also excellent are turnip, carrot, lotus root and parsnip.
From: nobody at nevermind.com (Fishface)
Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 17:37:46 GMT
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Thierry Gerbault wrote:
>I've heard of people doing plantains and jicama,

Taro root is spectacular. I believe the trick is to use veg that aren't too moist -- turnip, potato, etc.. Zucchini would be great, but disintegrates. Beet chips would be pretty, but an awful lot of trouble to experiment with.
From: ndooley at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (Nancy Dooley)
Date: 13 May 2002 07:08:20 -0700
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Don Wiss wrote:
> The chef was frying potato slices in one frying pan for around 15 seconds
> and transfer it to another pan one by one.
> it was getting inflated suddenly and look crespy,how come the potato get
> inflated
> is there any special recips?

Yes, the potatoes are sliced fairly thin (but not paper thin) - sort of uniform slices - then fried first at about 350 or so for a short period of time - then drained and slightly cooled and fried again at a higher temp (375?) until light golden brown - they puff up on the inside - most of them do, anyway, and the cook gets the ones that stay flat. ;-) Jacque Pepin did these on one of Julia's shows. It's really neat. Pommes Souffle? or something like that.
From: blair[no spam] at world.std.com (Blair P. Houghton)
Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 07:04:27 GMT
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Nancy Dooley wrote:
>Yes, the potatoes are sliced fairly thin (but not paper thin) - sort
>of uniform slices - then fried first at about 350 or so for a short
>period of time - then drained and slightly cooled and fried again at a
>higher temp (375?) until light golden brown - they puff up on the
>inside - most of them do, anyway, and the cook gets the ones that stay
>flat. ;-)

I think the crucial point is they need still to be hot inside.

The normal method for making really good non-puffy fries is to fry them in 325F oil for 4-5 minutes then drain them and let them cool fully (20+ minutes) to room temp then fry them in 375F oil for 2-3 minutes.

If you take them straight from the 325 (more like 300 while cooking) to the 375 the shock must be exploding the warm steam inside.
From: gloria p (puester at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 15:30:12 GMT
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Don Wiss wrote:
> The chef was frying potato slices in one frying pan for around 15 seconds
> and transfer it to another pan one by one.
> it was getting inflated suddenly and look crespy,how come the potato get
> inflated

Yes, he is talking about "pommes souffles" where sliced potatoes are fried twice and puff up like tiny pitas. I've never made them but have had them in restaurants. Google should turn up a recipe.
From: Moosemeat (moosemeat at attbi.com)
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 03:09:55 GMT
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Don Wiss posted:
> please help me in this matter, it's important to me to know it.

This tweaks my curiosity. Whatever could be so important for you to know this?
From: Don Wiss (donwiss at panix.com)
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 23:53:04 -0400
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Moosemeat wrote:
>This tweaks my curiosity. Whatever could be so important
>for you to know this?

Sorry, but I did not ask him that. And he doesn't know I posted his question here.