Americans love French fries.  Few foods are more satisfying than a hot, crispy, golden french fry.  With a low cost and easy preparation, operators love them.  Don’t make the mistake of buying the cheapest french fry assuming the lowest cost yields the lowest cost per serving.

Following is information that will help you deliver a higher quality french fry.  Many factors affect profitiability, but having a high quality product is a key.  The factors affecting quality are potato solids, grade, cut size, shape and length.  These factors affect the quality of the product as well as the yield.

For the highest quality french fries (the ones that will keep your customers coming back) look for high solids.  The best quality french fries have at least 21% solids.  Look for A grade; they are uniform in size and symmetry and practically free of defects.  Cut size affects preparation time, plate coverage and heat retention.  Cuts like waffle and curly take up more room on the plate, looking like a larger portion.  The thinner the cut, the more volume in the serving.  French fries are graded by length also.  Consistently long fries yield more servings per pound and provide better plate coverage – so look for extra long or long.

You may have heard of line flow.  There is no USDA regulation regarding line flow.  Line flow is ungraded and doesn’t meet any formal specification.  You might find these at a good price, but you can expect more inconsistencies in color, length and defects (chips, slivers, etc.).

Some french fries have coatings.  Coatings were developed to enhance heat retention and maintain crispiness.  They are more expensive, but if you’re holding french fries it might be worth it.

You can’t go wrong with buying a value-added product.  Customers remember quality and they don’t forget when they receive an inferior product.  Higher quality products also translate into selling for higher prices.  Don;t take chances with your business.

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