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In my recent post on lazy Goyslop tater chips, https://poal.co/s/Goyslop/786322 made some suggestions on how to roll my own.

Today I did. Happy with the results.

Starch wash vs. no wash, the little container is the tallow, RT stands for "Rindertalg" The thing on the right is the slicer I used, notice the "Made in Germany" :)

Frying

1st batch, partly a little too dark, still had timing/heat issues.

Too much heat makes for quick color but you end up being stressed taking them out of the pan before they get too dark.

I ended up putting only like 25 into the pan at any one time and removing single ones when they looked right, shaking off excess fat as I went. Tedious work but I had time. I'll use some kind of tweezers next time, not my fingers. Had a little bowl of cold water to cool them off, don't laugh.

Didn't notice a huge difference between the starch washed ones and the ones without the wash. Washed ones were a little crunchier maybe.

I used salt and freshly ground pepper for three out of four batches and 'Fried potato spice mix' from a butcher shop for one. Salt and pepper is still my favorite.

Some of the ones from batch two to four were still a little 'not really crispy'. Fifteen minutes at 110°C in my little Panasonic convection oven cleared that right up.

Wife's verdict: Those are good eating.

Only had the little container of tallow that you see in the first picture and still have maybe half left over, not a bit of contamination in it. Next time I'll get two of those containers, it'll be just more convenient to maintain that liquid fat level in the frying pan that way.

This is by no means an optimized process but the result is good and you learn a little each time.

In my recent post on lazy Goyslop tater chips, https://poal.co/s/Goyslop/786322 @level_101 made some suggestions on how to roll my own. Today I did. Happy with the results. Starch wash vs. no wash, the little container is the tallow, RT stands for "Rindertalg" The thing on the right is the slicer I used, notice the "Made in Germany" :) [embed](/static/images/9c98d7e3d9d9ace6.jpg) Frying [embed](/static/images/6fa5f1f3f3e1e4cf.jpg) 1st batch, partly a little too dark, still had timing/heat issues. [embed](/static/images/8613216964455923.jpg) Too much heat makes for quick color but you end up being stressed taking them out of the pan before they get too dark. I ended up putting only like 25 into the pan at any one time and removing single ones when they looked right, shaking off excess fat as I went. Tedious work but I had time. I'll use some kind of tweezers next time, not my fingers. Had a little bowl of cold water to cool them off, don't laugh. Didn't notice a huge difference between the starch washed ones and the ones without the wash. Washed ones were a little crunchier maybe. I used salt and freshly ground pepper for three out of four batches and 'Fried potato spice mix' from a butcher shop for one. Salt and pepper is still my favorite. Some of the ones from batch two to four were still a little 'not really crispy'. Fifteen minutes at 110°C in my little Panasonic convection oven cleared that right up. Wife's verdict: Those are good eating. Only had the little container of tallow that you see in the first picture and still have maybe half left over, not a bit of contamination in it. Next time I'll get two of those containers, it'll be just more convenient to maintain that liquid fat level in the frying pan that way. This is by no means an optimized process but the result is good and you learn a little each time.
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[–] • 2 pts

The chips turned brown during frying because there's too much starch and sugars near the surface. The sugars burn and darken and the starch gives it a weird texture as it crisps up and traps moisture inside. There is a multi-step process to fix it that involves par-blanching, shock cooling and par-frying before final frying. It adds a lot of time to the prep, but it improves the chips overall. The biggest issue though is using the wrong varietal of potatoes when making chips. The varietals that are available to regular people are just too starchy or sugary to work well. You can't easily get the kind that work best though. Same goes for popcorn.

[–] • 3 pts (edited )

We get ours from Thomas Schmoll (Son of Otto Schmoll, my wife's local potato dealer). No idea what kind they are, I only know she got all the same ones this time, no hard cooking, partially hard cooking or soft cooking kinds. At least that's what we call them over here: 'festkochend', 'teilweise festkochend' and 'weichkochend'. I guess the soft cooking ones are the ones with the least starch?

My lazy ass went down to the basement and took a pic, just in case you think I'm yanking your chain. ! Looks like these are the 'Festkochend' salad potato kind. Easier to slice once they're cooked, don't crumble as easily.

Seriously, thanks for all those tips. Cooking is chemistry and material science. I guess I should finally read that book by Thomas Vilgis that I own for over ten years. It's called 'The Molecular Kitchen" (Die Molekül-Küche). After I got married, my cooking ventures really took a back seat. No English edition, AFAIK.

Any literature recommendations? I'm always looking for more books to put on the still-have-to-read-this pile. Not kidding either.

[–] • 2 pts

Any literature recommendations? I'm always looking for more books to put on the still-have-to-read-this pile. Not kidding either.

I don't have any recommendations off the top of my head, but I know there are some more "molecular cooking" videos out there. I'll link one of the better ones below.

Alex French Guy Cooking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=504iV6_BCRE

[–] • 1 pt

Good video, thanks!