# Homemade crisps



## otuatail (Jun 9, 2018)

Thought this would be as simple as slicing a potato on a mandolin and putting it in a chip pan. All I got was soggy slices of oily potato. How should I have done this?


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## CraigC (Jun 9, 2018)

otuatail said:


> Thought this would be as simple as slicing a potato on a mandolin and putting it in a chip pan. All I got was soggy slices of oily potato. How should I have done this?



Did you soak them in ice water after slicing? What was your oil temperature?


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## otuatail (Jun 9, 2018)

Didn't soak in ice water. But oil and water doesn't mix. Why would this make a difference?


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## GotGarlic (Jun 9, 2018)

otuatail said:


> Didn't soak in ice water. But oil and water doesn't mix. Why would this make a difference?


Soaking them in ice water removes excess starch from the surface, which improves the crispness. Dry them with kitchen towels before frying and make sure the temperature of the oil is 365F/185C. If the temperature is too low, they won't cook fast enough and will get greasy. Have a sheet pan covered with kitchen paper ready to put the cooked crisps on and salt them as soon as they come out of the oil.


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## msmofet (Jun 9, 2018)

I used to scrub my potatoes really well (I didn't peel skin just cut off anything that looked bad) then used my potato peeler to get super thin slices. It took seconds to cook in the hot oil.


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## Rascal (Jun 13, 2018)

What got garlic said, you will be surprised hope much starch there is. I do this method also for twice fried chips.

Russ


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## medtran49 (Jun 13, 2018)

In my quest to find a better chip, I've discovered that soaking them in hot salted water for at least 30 minutes, then rinsing at least twice with cool tap water, laying out on paper towels to dry, then frying works best.


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## Caslon (Jun 13, 2018)

I haven't made fried potato chips, but I like this discussion.  There are millionaires now who got the idea to make them.


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## Linda0818 (Jul 20, 2019)

"The History of Potato Chips" is an interesting read. Potato chips were actually a 'happy accident' which started as somewhat of a joke by a frustrated chef when a customer kept sending back his potatoes, saying they were too thick. After the dish came back a couple of times, the chef went into "you want thin potatoes? I'll give you thin potatoes" mode, assuming the customer would probably send those back as well. But the customer ended up loving them, hence the potato chip was born, 1853, New York, USA.


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## taxlady (Jul 20, 2019)

Linda0818 said:


> "The History of Potato Chips" is an interesting read. Potato chips were actually a 'happy accident' which started as somewhat of a joke by a frustrated chef when a customer kept sending back his potatoes, saying they were too thick. After the dish came back a couple of times, the chef went into "you want thin potatoes? I'll give you thin potatoes" mode, assuming the customer would probably send those back as well. But the customer ended up loving them, hence the potato chip was born, 1853, New York, USA.



I remember reading something similar about shoestring potato chips. In that case the customer was complaining about French fries (chips) being too thick.

According to Wikipedia, the first printed recipe for potato chips was in the UK in 1822 and one in the US in 1824.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip#Origins


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## Linda0818 (Jul 20, 2019)

taxlady said:


> I remember reading something similar about shoestring potato chips. In that case the customer was complaining about French fries (chips) being too thick.
> 
> According to Wikipedia, the first printed recipe for potato chips was in the UK in 1822 and one in the US in 1824.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip#Origins



Yes, that was in the UK.


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## Roll_Bones (Jul 21, 2019)

When I make homemade french fries I par fry them first.  Drain, allow to cool on paper towels, then fry once more.  Always crispy and even my granddaughter says they are great.
I have never had any luck doing a one fry method.
I tried once blanching them and then drying and then frying.  Better, but par frying works the best. 
But a first fry and then a second fry always produces wonderful results.
I even told my neighborhood home cooking restaurant they were doing it wrong.....LOL

Today store bought chips and frozen fries rule.  I only make homemade fries when I do not have Ore-Ida straight cut fries.  They are great.  Better than homemade.

I would guess this method would work very well with potato chips.


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