Double Frying Your Fries

French fries have nothing to do with France. What we now know as French fries can be traced back to late 1600 Belgium, where poor villagers were forced to use potatoes when the fish they usually fried was unavailable to them during the winter. American soldiers stationed in Belgium during WWI discovered their fried potatoes, and because the Belgian army spoke French, the Americans called them “French fries.", and the rest is history. Currently, there are over 90 million kilograms of Canadian French fry potatoes stuck in storage due to the diminished demand from restaurants because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian producers are pleading for the public to consume more French fries, and because we're all in this together, I'm willing to do my part to help Canadian farmers out. If I'm going to be forced to eat more French fries, I may as well make them the best way possible - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. As I don't own an air fryer, I will have to use the double fry method. This will take longer to make, but luckily, 2020 has given some of us all the time we need to live our best French fry life.

Ingredients

• Russet potatoes - they're denser and they have the least amount of moisture in them; avoid red and new potatoes as they contain so much water that they will actually hollow out when you fry them when the water evaporates
• canola or peanut oil - oils with a high smoke count will break down slower leading to crispier fries
• lemon juice

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and add to it 15 mL of lemon juice. Set the bowl aside.
2. Peel some potatoes and remove any eyes from them. Slice the potatoes into French fries and put them into the bowl of cold water as you go. Potatoes start to darken if they're exposed to oxygen for too long, including the oxygen in the water - the acid from the lemon juice helps keep the potatoes white.
3. When you have enough fries, rinse them under cold water in the bowl until the water turns clear to rinse off any excess starch. Add another 15 mL of lemon juice and a few cups of ice to chill the water thoroughly. Move the bowl to the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
4. Heat the cooking oil you're using in either a deep fryer or in a Dutch oven to 163℃
5. Remove the French fries from the ice bath and pat them dry with paper towels.
6. When the oil reaches temperature, carefully add the fries to it. Cook them for 6-8 minutes, or until they're soft and are slightly golden in colour. While the fries are cooking, put some paper towels at the bottom of a bowl large enough to hold all the fries and set it aside.
7. Carefully take the fries from the oil and put them in the paper-lined bowl to drain.  Let them stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, or place the bowl in the refrigerator them again until you're ready to use them. Remember to turn off the heat under the oil during this time.
8. Reheat the oil to 190℃, and carefully return the fries to the oil to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until they're golden brown and crispy. Allow them the drain again, then salt generously, and serve immediately.