danielle’s tip
The Perfect Home Made Fries It’s important to get children used to the flavor of healthy home made food early in life so they will continue the tradition of eating well and avoid preservatives as they get older. Show them that food tastes better when you make it yourself with the perfect home made French fries.
You don’t need special tools to make the fries perfectly even. All you need is a cutting board, a good knife—preferably a large butcher’s knife with a flat cutting edge—and a deep pan. Place the knife tip on your board wile holding the handle up and come down on your potato in adjacent slices, about ¼ inch thick. When you get to the center of your potato, place the slices together with the largest slice face down on the board so you have one half of your potato ready for slicing long, French fry strips. Cut, again, about ¼ inch and you should have perfect fries of even thickness—although some will be smaller and some longer. As long as they are roughly the same thickness, they will fry evenly and you can avoid burning some while undercooking others. Cut the same way with the other half of your potato. Preheat about four cups of oil in a pan. Dip one of the fries in, and if it sizzles, it’s ready. Don’t overcrowd your fries because they will end up decreasing the temperature of the oil, cook more slowly and soak up more grease. Remove each batch of fries with a deep-frying or ordinary spatula onto a paper towel-lined dish. Shake a bit to get all the grease off and flavor to taste with salt. your tips My kids will try anything with a few sprinkles on it—like on oatmeal for breakfast. For dinner, ketchup usually works. Susan Walker Cleveland Heights, Ohio Q: Frying usually requires a lot of oil and could get costly. Is there a more economical way to make home made fries? Lidia Thompson Elizabeth, New Jersey A: Actually, you can reuse your oil after you’re done. Just let it cool and then pour it through a strainer (to pick up any small burnt pieces) and into a jar. I close the lid and place in my refrigerator for future frying. You would be surprised how much oil you have left each time you make home fries if you make sure your oil is adequately hot, your pan is deep enough, and if you do not overcrowding your fries. —Danielle