Home Fries Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

Are home fries healthy? ›

By using heart-healthy olive oil and baking your hand-cut fries, you'll be getting all of the nutrients potatoes naturally have to offer, according to the USDA, without all of the unhealthy fats and preservatives so common in fast food fries, per McDonald's.

Before all that, though, the secret is to briefly poach them in boiling water (or "blanch" them) before they go into the hot oil. This ensures that the fries are cooked all the way through before getting crisped up in the fryer.

Hash browns (or hash browns and hashed browns), are traditionally shredded potatoes that are pan fried to a golden brown. Home fries are made from cubed or diced potatoes. They are fried up along with onions and often bell peppers. Really the difference is in the size of the potatoes.

“The use of fried potatoes is probably associated with a higher risk of diabetes and other comorbidities for several reasons, such as cooking with trans fats,” the study report says. Trans fats are fairly easy to use, because they last a long time and are inexpensive to produce.

Home fries are a harder sell: Soft chunks of cooked potato, pan-fried with onions and maybe peppers until golden brown outside and tender within.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Soggy fries have usually either been cooked in oil that isn't hot enough, or were cooked in too large a batch, overcrowding the pan and reducing the heat. The secret to getting tasty French fries that are crisp on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside is to fry them twice.

There are lots of recipes that call for par-boiling the potatoes first to reduce the amount of cooking time, but it's an extra step and an extra pan to wash. If you cook the potatoes over medium heat and keep them covered for most of the cooking time, the lid traps in steam, which helps cook the potatoes through.

When oil is heated, it starts to break down. And oil that has slightly broken down actually produces crispier french fries than fresh oil. It has to do with how effectively the oil molecules bond with the food and fresher oil doesn't bond as well.

While it may seem like a pain, soaking the potatoes in hot water for 10 minutes prior to cooking them in the air fryer is essential. The water removes excess starch, allowing the fries to be their crispiest. Instead of soaking them in large bowl of cold water, I like to use hot water to cook the potatoes slightly.

What makes fries so crispy? ›

Additionally, restaurant fries are so crispy because, among other things, they use old oil continuously. As oil heats up it breaks down—cooking oils with a high smoke point will break down more slowly—and that creates crispier fries.

Ingredients and Processing: McDonald's hashbrowns are made using specific ingredients and processing methods designed to create a consistent and appealing taste. They use high-quality potatoes and other ingredients that are processed and seasoned in a way to achieve a particular flavour profile.

Served as a side dish, appetizer, or snack, cottage fries are potatoes (preferably Russet, but more on this below) cut into 1/2-inch rounds, seasoned, and roasted in a hot oven until they're crisp and lightly browned on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Substitute fresh potatoes for 30 ounces of frozen hashbrowns. Substitute diced green onions for 3 tablespoons dried chives.

If you make low-salt, baked french fries at home using fresh potatoes, you can provide your family with vitamins and minerals for less money than some other popular side dishes.

The homemade version has fewer carbohydrates and calories, and less fat, saturated fat and sodium. The higher fat content of McDonald's fries is most likely due to deep fat frying or even some pre-frying done before the fries are shipped to the restaurant.

There are 185 calories in 100 grams of Home Fries.

Probably not. The frozen fries are partially cooked in oil before being frozen so they are still very fatty, just like the ones from a fast food joint. Potatoes themselves aren't unhealthy, per se, they are almost totally carbohydrate, but complex carbs.