Frozen fries vs fresh cut, air fryer winner was obvious

I used to only do frozen fries because they're easy, but last month I tried fresh cut Yukon Golds soaked in cold water for 30 minutes then patted dry. The texture difference is huge, the fresh ones get crispy outside and fluffy inside, frozen ones turned out chewy no matter the temp. Has anyone else made the switch or am I just doing frozen wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole_baker1mo ago

and honestly I think people WAY overthink fries. Like yeah fresh cut are nicer but we're talking about a side dish for burgers, not a whole life choice. I've had good frozen fries plenty of times, you just gotta shake the basket halfway and not pack them in like sardines. Either way you're eating fried potatoes, so let's not act like this is some kind of kitchen victory.

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elliot_gibson271mo ago

Gotta say though, you're spot on about frozen fries, but "shake the basket halfway" only works if you're actually frying them in oil. If someone's doing them in the oven or an air fryer, shaking helps for sure, but you gotta be careful not to break the coating off. I've seen people do that and end up with half-naked fries that just get soggy. And don't get me started on the frozen crinkle cuts, those things hold up way better than the straight ones most of the time. So yeah, frozen is fine, just treat them a little different depending on how you cook them. But I'll agree, it's still just fried potatoes at the end of the day.