As part of his MSci project Karim Bahsoon has been investigating the effects of varying blanching time on the properties of french fries. Jason Chang, who works with Karim, is involved in measuring surface starch content and crunchiness of the ready chips.
Potatoes were cut into fries and placed in boiling water for times varying from 0-12 minutes. These were then submerged in vegetable oil at 170C for 4 minutes and then fried again at a higher temperature of 190C for a further 2 minutes. The second fry is thought to help with crust formation and adds to the crunchiness of the fries.