French fries, of course! Who doesn’t love digging into a plate of delicious, crisp, golden French fries, served with your favorite sauce and topped off with a cold beverage. Often, people end up ordering fries from a restaurant, or buying pre-cut frozen fries, but these are full off added starch, added sugar, and a whole list of other unhealthy additives. But once you start cutting and frying these chips on your own at home, you’ll realize just how cost-effective ad healthier this option is! People are often scared off by the amount of labor that goes into peeling, cutting, and frying potatoes to make French fries, and they often sacrifice their wallets and their health in favor of convenience. But once you learn how easy cutting your French fries at home is, you’ll never go back to store-bought frozen fries again.

 
Buying the Right Potatoes:
When buying potatoes, look for ones that are firm to the touch and aren’t soft or squishy, because that can be the first sign that a potato has gone bad. Opt for those with clean, smooth, and unblemished skin. If a potato has a cut in it, avoid purchasing it because bacteria can enter the vegetable through that opening and make it unsafe to eat. Do not buy sprouting potatoes unless you are going to eat them immediately. If a potato starts to sprout after you have bought it, you can either cut that part off or plant it. 

Storing Potatoes:
Potatoes should be kept in a well-ventilated area, perhaps in a basket or container that allows for air-circulation. The area should be cool, dry and away from direct sunlight. Raw potatoes should not be kept in the fridge, because cold temperatures can cause their starch to turn to sugar which makes them taste sweeter. They also don’t do well in the freezer as they turn brown very quickly after taking them out and don’t taste good. You can store cut, raw potato in a bowl of water for up to an hour to prevent them from turning brown, but you should cook or fry them soon enough to prevent them from going bad. Once cooked, potatoes can last for up to two days in the fridge.

Cutting French Fries:

Step 1: Holding the potato firmly with one hand, begin peeling with the other.

Step 2: Cut off the edges on both sides and discard.

Step 3: Begin slicing the potato into slabs.

Step 4: Neatly stack the slabs on top of each other. 

Step 5: Holding down the stack with one hand, with the other, cut the potatoes into batons. You can choose the thickness of your fries according to your preference.

Step 6: Keep fries in cold water until ready to cook. This keeps them crispy.

Step 7: Lay them out on a tray lined with a paper towel, and press down another paper towel on top to absorb excess water.

Step 8: Once they are completely dry, they are ready to fry!