
Fries of the Future - danso
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/772775254
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khrbrt
Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on
how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow.
Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to
switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it
may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive.

[0] [http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-
my...](http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-my-heart)

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astura
If you need fries fried in beer tallow, Popeyes is a national chain that uses
beer tallow to fry everything, including the fries.

You'll find they are nothing special.

~~~
Endy
It isn't exactly special, but it tastes good and it doesn't make you feel like
you just ate something that came entirely out of a factory.

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Richard_East
You can make french fries incredibly easily at home, using just a microwave.
They taste a lot better than anything bought commercially.

Just buy a big potatoe, cut it into thin strips. Place it on a regular dinner
plate. Add seasoning. Microwave for 5 minutes.

Take out, shuffle the strips around, add oil (regular olive oil works fine)
and normal, non-processed cheese. Microwave for another 3 minutes. Its done
when you can poke a fork through the fry without any resistance.

Total prep time: about 10 minutes.

~~~
trianglem
Why are you adding the cheese?

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coldpresent
Text-only version:
[https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254](https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254)

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narag
I only see three lines of text, more than I saw coming from the nag screen
(nothing).

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chiph
> DIHEL: So back then - almost 20, 25 years ago - Lamb Weston invented a
> coating called Stealth, which was their secret coating that you couldn't see
> and you couldn't tell was on the french fry, but it lasted - it was crispier
> longer, up to 12 to 15 minutes.

Costco sells Ore-Ida "Fast Food" frozen fries that have a coating on them. I
hate them. You drop them on the pan for baking and your fingers get oily. They
are supposed to come out crispy, and the best I can say is that they don't
come out limp & soggy.

I'd much rather have fries au naturel. No coatings - just the sliced potatoes,
deep-fried. And then a sprinkle of salt. Sam's Club sells a frozen waffle-cut
fry that is pretty good.

McDonalds fries are actually cooked twice. And have a coating. They're briefly
fried at the factory to keep them crispy, and then of course fried again at
the restaurant just prior to selling them to you.

[https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/mcdonalds-reveals-
beloved-f...](https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/mcdonalds-reveals-beloved-
fries-made/story?id=28382592)

~~~
jmvoodoo
They're actually par boiled, then fried once at the factory, then frozen, then
fried again.

Strangely, following this exact process results in a fantastic french fry made
at home. I started doing this after reading about it in the Food Lab book by
Kenji Lopez-Alt. Highly recommend that book btw.

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momokoko
_> If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster
horses._

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SubiculumCode
Just fry them on the way to the customer. Just bake the pizza on the ride over
to the customer. Self driving, potato fryin future.

~~~
watersb
Spoiler: At the end of TFA, they actually reveal that they are already working
on it.

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paranoidrobot
I've experienced lots of limp-chip scenario in delivered food.

I find it's worst with American McDonalds-style french fries - they're very
thin, and steam themselves into a soggy mess very quickly, pretty much no-
matter what happens.

Australian/English style chips seem to have a better longevity if they're
cooked properly (double-fried, and a more developed golden colour than
pale/white). The best chips for delivery are battered (light tempura style),
although it's rare to find them. They remain crisp and crunchy even long after
they've gotten cold.

Packaging is also a serious concern, too - plastics are right out, as steam
will be trapped and condense on them much more rapidly - even if the packaging
isn't closed tightly. Paper or cardboard are best. Foil can be okay as a
backup option for a short period, if it's kept hot.

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jwilk
Archived copy of the transcript (without GDPR nag screen):

[https://web.archive.org/web/20191121194422/https://www.npr.o...](https://web.archive.org/web/20191121194422/https://www.npr.org/transcripts/772775254)

~~~
TsiCClawOfLight
Why the downvotes? Many US pages are increasingly annoying to read from the
EU, this is genuinely helpful.

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riffraff
nice, it would be nice if this could be applied to any sort of batter, so I
could order fish & chips and have both of them crisp and non-soggy :)

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nlh
This is super cool! I’d never considered literally changing the fry formula to
keep them crispy - that’s clever.

Years ago I daydreamed about this problem (it was never a serious endeavor but
fun to think about). I’d thought the key would be to make a cheap container
that optimized for crispness. Maybe something that absorbed moisture but had a
reflective inner coating to insulate and keep the heat.

Anyway, it’s always fun to read about more-serious folks who tackle the same
problems and find good solutions!

~~~
maxerickson
By the time the moisture is available to the container, it's soaked the
(formerly) crispy outside of the fry.

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madengr
I believe there was a pizza startup that cooked the pizza in a wheeled oven,
as it was delivered. You could do the same with fries.

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op00to
I would love to see the gymnastics required to keep boiling hot oil safely
transported by Uber drivers.

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dplgk
Air fryer?

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tingletech
in the article they said the self driving robot fry making cars would use air
fryers

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fma
Does China not buy potatoes from the US? I don't understand why the executives
wanted to wait...

I'm sure we've all had soggy fries before in the US so its not a new problem
isolated to fast food delivery...

~~~
bobthepanda
China is the largest producer of potatoes in the world, accounting for 26% of
the world total.

According to this, only Alaska is currently allowed to sell fresh potatoes to
China. [https://www.potatopro.com/news/2019/united-states-potato-
ind...](https://www.potatopro.com/news/2019/united-states-potato-industry-
hopes-export-china)

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a_c
Can someone be kind enough to provide a TL;DR

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khrbrt
People are downvoting but I appreciate this request because the transcript is
very disorienting to read.

Planet Money used to be a great source for learning about the economy but has
recently become unlistenable. For example, I tried listening to their
Halloween episode about recessions but gave up after ten minutes of bad jokes
and audio "fluff".

~~~
a_c
I appreciate very much for the summary, thank you! For one, I haven't heard
about Planet Money before. You summary gave me context what the post is about
and I subscribed to the podcast because of your reply. I bet many others would
find it useful too. Thanks again!

