The Main VARIETIES and SHAPES of “Deep- Fried” Potato Dishes

Allumette 

Match Stick

  

   French-Fry 

      Pont-Neuf 

    Long-Branch

         Shoe-String   

                       

     Crisp

                                                           (Game Chips)

 And contrary to popular North American belief, as can also be clearly seen in the above illustrations, the French-fry is not a method of cooking; but, as the illustration and the next few recipes show a very specific method of cutting the potato in preparation for cooking

Deep Fried Varieties

In order to obtain a crisper, much more satisfactory product; deep-fried potatoes should first be blanched; and then finished; at a higher temperature.

NB: The larger (more volume) the potato is, the lower the fat temperature for this first blanching must be to avoid over colouring the surface before the potato is cooked inside.

·        Shoe String-This style of potato is very slow to produce and requires a special cutter, used mostly for making ”potato nests” as containers for other foods. The Shoe String potato is very long, about a quarter of an inch wide, about one-eighth of an inch thick, and as the name suggests, looks like a shoe-string.

·        Allumette- matchstick (the American shoe-string). In recent years this style of potato has become very popular as a snack food, originally, like the shoe string potato it was used to make “potato nests” or as a garnish.

·        Crisps –game chips (the American Saratoga chips) - Have become extremely popular as a snack food-originally they were usually crushed and the crumbs used to bread game, fowl, other foods. Using a mandolin, cut potatoes 1/16 of an inch thick; like all deep fried varieties, this type should be first blanched, and then finished at a higher temperature.

·        Gaufrettes Potatoes (Latticed Wafer)-Used as ordinary crisps

·        Pommes Frits (FRENCH FRY POTATOES)1/4x1/4 x3 inches long, with blunt ends were considered to be the perfect size and shape for deep frying-French fry refers to the size and shape of the cut potato-not to the cooking method. Used mostly to accompany sandwiches and lighter meals.

·        Long- branch Potatoes (random length)-were considered to be the mark of a low class, poorly run, car-less establishments. This is the deep-fried potato so common to the fast-food industry. McDonald’s Restaurants, who use this cut exclusively for their deep- fries, have recently been forced to admit that they also use a small amount of milk product in these in order to improve flavour and crispness; this practice can be potentially deadly to people, who are lactose intolerant, or who, like my son suffer from a form of Acute Acrodermatitis Antipathica (As a baby he was inadvertently poisoned (came very close to death) by a nurse-while being treated for an outbreak of this condition-who gave him a Popsicle; which too; often, contain small amounts of milk product. Sandy, my son, would break out in what looked very much like severe second degree burns after the ingestion of even very small amounts of milk or milk products) or other similar diseases.

·        PONT-NEUF (1in.x 1in. X3ins.). This slightly larger size is used primarily with steaks and larger meals.

·        Bataille 3/4 inch dice) - Really a fast and less acceptable variation of Parisienne or Noisette and usually, like Long-branch; usually, considered the mark of a lower class establishment.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.