TheScienceBehindCrispyFrenchFries

JonathanSmithLukeStetler
Abstract:

Thepurposeoftheexperimentwastodeterminethetemperatureatwhichfrench
friesarecooked.Forourexperiment,wedecidedtocookBatch1at300degrees,Batch
2at350degreesandBatch3at400degrees.Theywereallcookedfor4minutesinthe
sametypeofoil,canolaoil.Allbatchesweremadefromallthesamepotatoandallcut
thesamesize.Weweredetermininghowcrispyeachofthebatcheswere,afterfrying
andhowmuchpeopleenjoyedeachbatch.Neitherourquantitativedatanorour
qualitativedataturnedoutverywell.Bothtypesofdataturnedoutasweexpectedbut
wewerehappywiththeamountofresponsesweweregiven.Thereweremanyerrors
inourmethodology,butwedidthebestwecouldinthetimethatwewereallotted.As
youseeinthetables,ourqualitativedataturnedouttobeallovertheplace.Some
peoplethoughttheyweretoosoftwhileothersthoughttheywerecrispyenough.
Althoughourexperimentwasnotperfect,wewerehappywiththedatathatwegotand
thefeedbackthatwereceived.

Introduction:

FrenchfriesareanAmericanicon,
andfriedfoodingeneralmakesupa
goodportionofAmericasdiet.Eachyear
theaverageAmericanconsumes
twentyninepoundsofFrenchfries(1).
Forthatreason,weasconsumerscanbe
veryparticularwhenitcomestothetaste
andstyleofourFrenchfries.Most
restaurantmadeFrenchfriesaredeep
friedinoil,whilehomemadeFrenchfries
areusuallybakedintheoven.Bothtaste
delicious,butcantheytasteevenbetter?
Theearliestknownreferenceto
friedpotatoesisfromtheEnglish
literature
ATaleofTwoCities
byCharles
Dickens(2).Frenchfriesbeginwiththe
mostbasicingredient,thepotato.
PotatoescametoNorthAmericafrom
SouthAmericawiththeSpanish

Conquistadors.Whatwasoncespecific
onlytotheIncaEmpirewasspreading
aroundtheglobe,beginningwithSpainin
early1579.PotatoestravelledEurope,
findingtheirwaytoIreland.Duetotheir
quickandeasygrowthrate,theIrishfood
culturewasbasedonthesmall
vegetable.Finally,asIrishimmigrants
flockedtoAmericaafterthePotato
Famine,theybroughtwiththemtheir
spuddelicacy.
Soonafter,itwasdiscoveredthat
ifyoucutthepotatoesandsimplydrop
theminboilingfattheoutcomewas
enjoyable.TheFrenchfrywasborn.They
werequickandeasytoproduceand
couldfeedhundreds.Whileitisunknown
whocreatedthefirstfry,itisknownthat
bythe1830sFrance,Belgium,andeven

theUnitedStatesofAmericawas
developingfriedpotatoes(3).
Everythingfromthesizeand
lengthofthepotatotothetemperatureof
theoilisresearched,experimentedwith
andoveryearsofconsumerfeedbackis
solidifiedtoformthecommonAmerican
frenchfry.
Thegoalofthisexperimentwasto
identifywhatfryingtemperaturecreates
theFrenchfrywiththehighestmoisture
content.Beforefrying,thepotatoholds
moistureinsideofit.Asitisfryinginthe
hotoil,mostoften325degrees
Fahrenheit,thewaterturnstosteamand
leavesthepotatoleavingholesinthe
structure.Theholesthatareclosertothe
surfaceofthepotatofilledwiththeoil.
Becauseofthis,theholesthataredeeper
inthefryremainempty.Thiscreatesthe
fluffyorcrispyFrenchfrydepending
onhowlongthefryisallowedtoremain
intheoilandhowhottheoiltemperature
is.Infact,itwasthefastfoodindustry
thatperfectedthefryingtechnique

Methodology:

MaterialsNeeded:
1. Potatoes
2. CanolaOil
3. Large/DeepPot
4. BakingPan
5. Oven
6. Stove
7. SpringScale(3)
8. FryingThermometer(at
minimumupto400degrees
Fahrenheit)

andcreatedtheequipmentweuseto
producetheperfectfry.Thehigherthe
temperature,themoremoistureis
releasedfromthepotatoandthecrispier
thefry.Thelowerthetemperatureofthe
oilthemoremoistureremainsinthefry.
Thisalsomeansthatthehigher
temperature,thecrispierthefry.Thereis
adelicatebalancebetweenamoist
FrenchfryandacrispFrenchfry.

AnotherchangeintheFrenchfry
industrywasbakingtheFrenchfriesvs.
fryingtheFrenchfries.Whilebotharea
dehydrationreaction,theamountofoil
usedinfryingisfardifferentthanthe
bakedfrenchfries.
Also,thedistributionofheatis
differentasthebakedfrieshavecontact
toabakingsheetunderneaththemwhich
couldunevenlytransfertheheatas
opposedtothefriesbeingsuspended
entirelyinthehotoil.

InourefforttoexamineFrench
fries,wesplitourexperimentintotwo
differentsections.First,wequantitatively
examinedthemoisturecontentofthe
Frenchfriesthatwerefriedatdifferent
temperatures.After,wemadetwo
batchesoffrenchfriesboiledandbaked.
Thegoalwastodeterminewhichfries
werelikedthemostbyourtastetest
subjects.

Tostudythemoisturecontentofour
frenchfries,weusedaspringscaleto
measuretheforcerequiredtobreakthe
Frenchfry.Thisbeganbycuttingthe
potatoesintoanequallengthandsize.
Wechose3inchesaourpredetermined
lengthandhalfacentimeterasour
chosenthickness.Itisveryimportantto
keepthesemeasurementsasexactas
possiblesothatthereisonlyonevariable
thatischanged.Thatvariableisthe
temperatureoftheoilinwhichwefrythe
potatoesin.Tobegin,wefriedabatchof
potatoescanolaoilthathada
temperatureof300degreesFahrenheit.
Eachbatchwasfriedfor4minutes.Once
thatbatchwascomplete,weraisedthe
temperatureoftheoilto350degrees
Fahrenheit.
350degreesFahrenheitisthe
recommendedfryingtemperaturefor
makingfrenchfriesathome(4).The
sameprocessoffryingthepotatoesfor4
minuteswasrepeated.Finally,weraised
thetemperatureoftheoilto400degrees
Fahrenheit.Onceagain,thefryingsteps
arerepeated.Oncethethreebatchesof
Frenchfrieswerecomplete,oneFrench
fryfromeachbatchwaschosentobe
tested.TheFrenchfrywastapedsothat
1.5incheswerehangingovertheedgeof
atable.Usingthespringscalewe
measuredtheforcerequiredtobreakthe
Frenchfry.

Thistrialwasrepeatedwithfivedifferent
frenchfriesfromeachbatch.
Tofindqualitativedata,wemade3
typesoffries.Alltypeswereprepared
accordingtotheirspecificrecipe.The
onlythingwechangedisthetemperature
atwhichwecookedthefrenchfries.We
setupadoubleblindtastetest.Adouble
blindtastetestmeansthepeopleeating
thefooddonotknowwhereitcamefrom
andthepeopleservingthefooddont
knowwhereitcamefrom.Onlytheones
administeringtheexperimentknowwho
isgettingwhat.Thepeopleservingthe
foodcantknowbecausetheymayact
differentwhengivingpeoplethe3
differentfoods.
Iftheytrulyhavenoidea,thereis
nowayforthemtohaveabias.Wewill
givethetestsubjectsthe3typesof
frenchfriesandhavethemvoteonwhich
onestheylikethebest.Theywillbe
blindfoldedsothattheydontdevelopa
biasthroughthelookofthefrenchfries.
Wewillhavetheconsumersratethe
tasteonascaleof110foreachtype.
Thiswillgiveusanideaonhowmuch
theylikeeachkindoffrenchfry.

Results:
Thevariablethatwaschangedin
ourexperimentwasthetemperatureused
tofrythepotatoes.Eachbatchoffries
wasfriedfor4minutesincanolaoil.The
forcerequiredtobreakthefrenchfries
alsoshowedconsiderabledifferences
whenmeasuredbythespringscale.Five
frenchfriesfromeachbatchweretested,
and
Figure2
showsthatBatch3tookthe
mostamountofforcetobreakthefry.
Table1
showsthatinTrial2,whichused
afryfromBatch3,ittook1.35N.untilthe
potatosnapped.Incomparison,ittook
only.001Ntobendorbreakthefrench
friesfrombatchone.
Thevaluesforthequalitative
analysisofthefrenchfriesandtheir
crispinesswerefairlyscattered.Our
surveyaskedtwoquestionsforeachof
thebatches,eachansweredonascaleof
onetoten.Thefirstquestionaskedhow
thesubjectenjoyedthefrenchfry,one
beingnotatallandtenbeingextremely.
Thesecondquestionaskedhowcrispy
thefrenchfrywaswithonebeingnotat
allandtenbeingextremelycrispy.

DiscussionandConclusion:

Theresultsofourexperiment
showusthattherearemanydifferent
factorstoconsiderwhenthinkingabout
thecommonfrenchfry.Throughoutour
tests,theonlyvariablewhichwas
changedwasthetemperatureinwhich
thepotatoeswerefriedin.Ourresults

Asshownby
Figure3
,themajority
oftastetestsubjectsgaveBatch1a1or
2onthecrispnessscale.
ThefriesinBatch2wereagoldenbrown
andmostof,ifnotallof,thefrenchfry
wascookedthrough.Batchthreewasa
darkbrown,andblackinsomeplaces.
Batchnumber2,shownon
Figure4
,also
hadanaverageof1onthecrispyscale,
with7peopleoutofthe12answeringthat
theywerenotcrispy.Batch3,whichwas
cookedatthehighesttemperature,hada
widerrangeofresults.
Asshownon
Figure5,
three
peoplegavethefriesfromBatch3aone
andthreepeoplegavethefriesafive.
Therestoftheresultswerescattered
between1and5,withthehighestrating
ata7.Overallthedatashowsthatour
testsubjectshadanequalopinionabout
thecrispinessofBatch1and2,and
Batch3wasthemostcrispy.When
askedhowtheyenjoyedthefrenchfry,
theresultswererelativelythesame,with
arangeofanswersbetween2and6.
Batch2containedthemostoutliersasit
wasgivena9aswellasa1.

showusthatthismakesalarge
differenceinthemoisturecontentofthe
fryandtheoveralltaste.Batchnumber
one,whichwascookedat300
Fahrenheit,barelychangedcolorand
fromourevaluationsstilltastedlikearaw

potato.Ourtestswiththespringscale
showedusthatthenoamountofforce
wouldactuallybreakthefry,sowe
measuredhowmuchforceitwouldtake
tobendit.Thisturnedouttobeverylittle
force.Thisshowshowmuchmoisture
remainedinsideofthatpotatoasitwas
soggytothetouchandonlytook.1Nto
move.Fromourtastetest,results
showedthatthemajorityofsubjectsdid
notthinkthatthefrywascrispyatall.
However,theystillgavethefry4
and5ontheratingscale,whichis
comparabletonumbertwo.Thisshows
thatqualitativelythereisnotaconnection
betweencrispinessofafryandthe
overalltasteofthefryinourspecificlab.
Batch2wasalsonotconsideredcrispy
duringthetastetest,asitreceivedalmost
thesameamountof1sonthescaleas
Batch2.Thiswassurprisingasitwas
cooked50higherthanBatch1.This
meansthatmoremoisturewasdisplaced
fromthepotato,asshownbyourbreak
test.Ittookanaverageof.5Ntobreak
thefriesfromthatbatch,meaningthatit
wasalmost.4NstrongerthanBatch1.
ThefriesfromBatch3showedtobethe
strongestofthefriestakinganaverageof
1.25Ntobreak.
Theseresultsshowusthatthe
higherthetemperatureinwhichthe
potatoiscookedit,thestrongeritiswhen
pulledbythespringscale.Thiswas
surprisingasourhypothesisstated
thatthecrispierthefrenchfry,theweaker
itwouldbe.Thishypothesiswasbased
offofthefactthatfryingisadehydration

reaction,whichremovesthewater
moleculesfromthepotatoandleaves
behindholes.Thisweakensthestructure
ofthepotatointheory.Webelievethat
therewaserrorinourresultsbasedoffof
thefirstbatchsmeasurements.
Becauseitwouldnotbreak,itcan
beinferredthatittakesanextremelyhigh
amountofforcetoactuallysnapthe
potatoinhalf.Theflawwhichstandsout
themostisbasedaroundtheconditionof
thefriesduringtheactualtastetest.
Whenwetastedourfriesjustafterthey
werecookeditwasveryclearwhichhad
beenundercooked,overcookedorjust
right.
Duetothetimingofthetastetest
andthetimethefrieswerecooked,
severaldayspassedbeforetheywere
consumed.Forthisreasonitwas
necessarytoreheattheminamicrowave
aswellaskeeptheminarefrigerator.
Thisallowedwatermoleculesto
reintroducethemselvesintothepotato.
Thisaccountsforthecrispyratingsthat
weregiventoeachbatch.Onlythefries
fromBatch3wereobviouslycrispy,even
consideredburned.Tofixthiserror,we
couldhavemadethefrenchfriesright
before,orevenduring,thetastetest.
Mostfrenchfriesthatweeatarefried
withintenminutesofconsumption.
Ourresultsweresignificant
becausefriesseemtocookdifferently
thanotherfoods.Innormalfoods,the
longeryoucooksomethingthesofterit
becomes.

However,whenyoucookafrenchfryata
highertemperaturethancalledfor,thefry
becomeshardertobreak.
Theresultsofourqualitativedata
alsohadseveralerrorswhichaffectedthe
accuracyofthedatacollected.Usingthe
surveyweaskedtwoquestionsforeach
ofthefrenchfrybatches.Theresults
showedthatourtestsubjectsenjoyed
batch1justasmuchasbatch2.Our
resultsalsoshowthatthoughtthat
neitherbatch1norbatch2were
consideredcrispy.Thismadeusconsider
whaterrorscouldhaveoccurredduring
ourtestingprocess.
Theflawwhichstandsoutthemostis
basedaroundtheconditionofthefries
duringtheactualtastetest.

Whenwetastedourfriesjustafterthey
werecookeditwasveryclearwhichhad
beenundercooked,overcookedorjust
right.
Regardlessofhowourfrieswere
cookeditwasclearthattherearemany
differentopinionsabouthowaproper
frenchfryshouldbecooked.Ourstudy
cannotadequatelyconcludewhatmakes
aperfectfrenchfry,butonethingis
perfectlyclearfryingtemperatureand
moisturecontentofthepotatoplayakey
roleinwhatmakesthefrenchfrythe
delicioustreatthatitis.Thehigherthe
temperatureoftheoil,thecrispierthefry
isgoingtobe,butitisuptotheconsumer
todecidewhatkindoffriedpotatoesthey
aregoingtoenjoywiththeirnextBig
Mac.

Figure1:ColorComparisonofFrenchFries

Table1:ForceRequiredtoBreakFrenchFriesinNewtons

Batch1

Batch2

Batch3

Trial1(N)

0.1

0.5

1.25

Trial2(N)

0.1

0.6

1.35

Trial3(N)

0.2

0.5

1.2

Trial4(N)

0.09

0.5

1.2

Trial5(N)

0.1

0.4

1.25

Figure2:ComparingtheForceRequiredtoBreakFrenchFries

Figure3:Batch1SurveyResults

Figure4:Batch2SurveyResults

Figure5:Batch3SurveyResults

References:

(1)
"WhattheAverageAmericanConsumesinaYear."FoodDemocracy.N.p.,19June
2011.Web.03May2016.

(2)Sloam,Natalia."ThingsYouDidn'tKnowaboutFrenchFries."FoxNews.FOXNews
Network,18July2014.Web.03May2016.

(3)Stoller,Debbie."TheSecretHistoryofFrenchFries."TheSecretHistoryofFrench
Fries.N.p.,n.d.Web.05May2016.

(4)"ChefJohn'sFrenchFriesRecipe."Allrecipes.N.p.,n.d.Web.10May2016.