French Fries

By Julia Moskin

Updated September 9, 2025

Media 1 of 2
Total Time
1 hour, plus soaking
Rating
4(979)
Comments
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French fries are one of almost everyone’s favorite foods, but many home cooks hesitate to take it on. However, with this cold-oil method for making French fries, it’s easy to pull off with just a deep heavy pot and an open window. If you’d like, you can cut potatoes into round slices, medium-size chunks or wedges for frying, or use whole baby potatoes, peeled. Any kind of vegetable oil will work for frying; add a chunk of fatty bacon or some lard to oil in the pot for extra savoriness.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 6 large Idaho potatoes

  • Vegetable oil, for frying

  • Salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

56 grams carbs; 672 calories; 35 grams monosaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 49 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 763 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Peel potatoes and cut them lengthwise into slices, ⅜ to ½ inch thick, keeping the slices together. Give the sliced potato a quarter turn and cut slices into strips. Soak in cold water at least 30 minutes or overnight.

  2. Step 2

    Drain potatoes and pat dry. Place them in a deep heavy pot and pour in vegetable oil to cover, plus an inch or two. Heat to a bare simmer and let potatoes cook slowly for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until very soft.

  3. Step 3

    Raise the heat to medium. Line a large bowl with paper towels. Let potatoes fry in bubbling oil until golden and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes more.

  4. Step 4

    Lift out potatoes and place in a paper towel-lined bowl. Shake to drain, remove paper towels, add salt, and shake again. Serve immediately!

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Ratings

4 out of 5
979 user ratings
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Comments

Mike in Asheville

Soaking the potatoes leaches excess starch; prevent/reduces fries from sticking together, AND, increases crispiness to the outside texture.

Max Neumeyer

Making french fries at home is deceivingly difficult. Let this be a warning to all non-expert home cooks: consider skipping this one!

philipj

Much preferred approach to putting cold potatoes into super hot oil. For those getting a soggy mass of potatoes during the initial simmer, it really is a bare simmer. Use a thermometer to make sure you don't go above 95 Celsius for this step, if you do your potatoes will start to fall apart. I have had good success with simmering at 90 C for 25-30 minutes, and then cranking the heat for the final fry (max heating on my old stove), an additional 5-10 minutes. Super crispy, delicious fries.

Terri

Agree with other reviewers. SKIP THIS. Also ended up with a pot of oily mashed potatoes.

Eric Anderson

Worked perfectly as written. I’ve tried variations of baking and pan frying and all have been hardly more than edible. These on the other hand were about on par with what I’ve been served at average Parisian cafés.

Norm in Brooklyn

Total disaster. Not sure how I could have followed the directions more closely, but I ended up with a pot of oily mashed potatoes. Oh well. Leave it to the pros like someone said below.

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