Q. We do not blanch out potatoes; we cut them directly into a Cambro container, cover with water, and fry within 36 hours. The potatoes turn out differently from one lot to another. Can you help?
A. Probably not… The biggest error that I see units make when they fry fresh potatoes is not blanching them.
In addition to not blanching, here are a few other tips to keep the potatoes from failing or turning out crispy:
You mentioned Cambro, here is there web site. http://cool.cambro.com/Storage.ashx.
I especially like using the Cambro Crisper to place cut potatoes into with water. They have a drain at the bottom to get rid of any excess starch that comes off of the potatoes.
There are scientific reasons. To say it simply… a double fry removes a considerable amount of moisture from the potato and seals off the surfaces of the exterior of the potato on the first “blanch” which can be done in water or oil. The potatoes need to be dry or drained of excess moisture before the second fry. They can be stored overnight. The second frying, or “finish fry”, removes additional moisture but crisps up the exterior so you can end up with a texture of a baked potato center inside and crisp golden exterior. The second you drop potatoes into hot oil it can drive down the oil temps by 50 degrees or more. As respected cookbook author, Shirley O. Corriher, says in her book CookWise “adding cold food is like adding lumps of ice”. Without blanching the potatoes it will take much longer to rid the moisture and take longer to crisp up. http://www.amazon.com/CookWise-Successful-Cooking-Secrets-Revealed/dp/0688102298
Q. I would like to do a potato dish for a party that is simple and straight forward, but can be combined with dips or sauces to make each of my guests feel like they created something special. Any ideas?
A. Yes, two potato concepts come to mind. The first is an Idaho Potato Lollipop and the second is an Idaho Mashed Potato Bar.
The lollipop idea came from this ad we ran a couple of years ago when the chef at Parcel 104 in Santa Clara California did this for an event. Chef Bart Hosmer is now with Marriott International as the Sr. Director, Culinary – Americas. He took smaller sized (90 or 100 count to a fifty pound box) Idaho russets, peeled them and then sliced into round circles. Once cooked, the addition of a wooden stick or skewer creates a lollipop appearance. Add upscale dips or sauces and you have the makings of a fun party dish. Everyone can customize to their taste preferences. Here is the link and a video of the concept:
Idaho® Potato Lollipops Recipe
http://www.idahopotato.com/video_player/id-43/
Next, is the ultimate mashed potato bar. The potatoes can be whipped with creamy buttermilk or half and half and placed into pastry tubes. Piped into small glass containers (or martini or margarita glasses) then flavored oils (such as a colorful basil or saffron or tasty truffle oil) can be warmed and drizzled over the potatoes, and then the toppings bar begins. Check out this link for suggested toppings: http://www.idahopotato.com/recipes/id-612/ from Erica Moore, Ciganovic, Chef, Bonne Bouffe, Los Angeles, CA
