French Fries

The two-bath secret

The best fries are fried twice. In the first bath, at around 160 degrees Celsius, the potato cooks through and turns soft inside. In the second, much hotter bath of about 190 degrees, the outside turns golden and crisp in moments. Fast food chains do the first step in factories, then freeze the fries, so restaurants only do the final crisping fry.

Since the 1960s most fries in the United States have been made from frozen russet potatoes, a variety with lots of starch and little water. That is why they stay fluffy inside.

What else is in them

Fast food fries are rarely just potato, oil and salt. A small amount of dextrose, a type of sugar, helps them brown evenly. Some recipes include an ingredient to keep the potatoes from turning grey. In the US, McDonald's fries also include a natural beef flavour containing milk derivatives, which matters for vegetarians and people with allergies.

Recipes differ by country. Reported ingredient lists for German McDonald's fries, for example, are shorter than the US version.

Salt, fat and calories

Fries are energy-dense. A large serving of McDonald's fries in the United States weighs about 154 grams and has about 510 calories, mostly from carbohydrates and fat, plus about 350 milligrams of sodium. That is roughly a quarter of a 2,000-calorie day in one side dish.

Choosing a small size, sharing a large one or asking for no added salt are easy ways to enjoy fries while eating less of them. Since 2008, McDonald's in the US and Canada has fried without trans fats.

French, Belgian or neither

Nobody agrees where fries were invented. Belgium and France both claim them, and the name French fries may simply describe the way the potatoes are cut, in long thin strips.

Whatever their origin, fries are now served almost everywhere, from British chips with vinegar to Canadian poutine with gravy and cheese curds.

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