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Fries of the Future
- jwilk 7y agoArchived copy of the transcript (without GDPR nag screen): https://web.archive.org/web/20191121194422/https://www.npr.org/transcripts/772775254 https://web.archive.org/web/20191121194422/https://www.npr.o...
- TsiCClawOfLight 7y agoWhy the downvotes? Many US pages are increasingly annoying to read from the EU, this is genuinely helpful.
- madengr 7y agoI believe there was a pizza startup that cooked the pizza in a wheeled oven, as it was delivered. You could do the same with fries.
- op00to 7y agoI would love to see the gymnastics required to keep boiling hot oil safely transported by Uber drivers.
- dplgk 7y agoAir fryer?
- tingletech 7y agoin the article they said the self driving robot fry making cars would use air fryers
- wcip 7y agoWould seem simpler to just have a air fryer in the home at that point.
- ryannevius 7y agoThis is common practice in some parts of Vietnam and Thailand...minus the "safely" part.
- ripley12 7y agoThis is mentioned in the episode.
- wyxuan 7y agoZume pizza?
- azinman2 7y agoThis is mentioned at the end of the article.
- grogenaut 7y agoDominoes is doing this now
- momokoko 7y ago> If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
- a_c 7y agoCan someone be kind enough to provide a TL;DR
- kc0bfv 7y agoPlanet Money is a fantastic podcast that covers a huge variety of interesting topics, and only takes about 20 minutes. I highly recommend it as one of the most informative fun podcasts I've ever heard. But here goes... Fries don't stay delicious very long. You get a couple minutes then they're blech. They don't work great out of drive-throughs, where you might take them home before eating, and now we have food delivery services where fries might sit 40 minutes before being eaten! Double blech. This company made a coating for fries that makes them stay fresh for drive through service. That is old news. If you've had fries from fast food you've probably had these coated fries. People like them and don't know they're coated. But that just covers a couple minutes... Could that company make a coating that keeps fries good for 40 minutes? Awesome lady scientist says yes! Other people say no. Awesome lady scientist says, let's do it anyway! They succeed. NPR Journalist does the Pepsi challenge on them - the fries are good. They're in the process of selling them to companies now.
- Chris_Chambers 7y agoGreat, now we can get turbo double cancer from already carcinogenic fries cooked in carcinogenic oil now being coated in some brand new carcinogenic mystery substance that no one will know the dangers of for another 10 years. Thanks awesome lady scientist.
- khrbrt 7y agoPeople are downvoting but I appreciate this request because the transcript is very disorienting to read. Planet Money used to be a great source for learning about the economy but has recently become unlistenable. For example, I tried listening to their Halloween episode about recessions but gave up after ten minutes of bad jokes and audio "fluff".
- a_c 7y ago
- nlh 7y agoThis is super cool! I’d never considered literally changing the fry formula to keep them crispy - that’s clever. Years ago I daydreamed about this problem (it was never a serious endeavor but fun to think about). I’d thought the key would be to make a cheap container that optimized for crispness. Maybe something that absorbed moisture but had a reflective inner coating to insulate and keep the heat. Anyway, it’s always fun to read about more-serious folks who tackle the same problems and find good solutions!
- johnday 7y agoAren't you describing the "pocket" of a hot pocket?
- maxerickson 7y agoBy the time the moisture is available to the container, it's soaked the (formerly) crispy outside of the fry.
- riffraff 7y agonice, it would be nice if this could be applied to any sort of batter, so I could order fish & chips and have both of them crisp and non-soggy :)
- khrbrt 7y agoMalcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive. [0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-my-heart http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-my...
- astura 7y agoIf you need fries fried in beer tallow, Popeyes is a national chain that uses beer tallow to fry everything, including the fries. You'll find they are nothing special.
- webkike 7y agoThey definitely taste different than other fast food chains. I would consider their taste better. Back when I was in Illinois I remember Portillo’s fries had a particularly fatty and delicious taste, I wonder if they also fry in beef tallow?
- Endy 7y agoIt isn't exactly special, but it tastes good and it doesn't make you feel like you just ate something that came entirely out of a factory.
- foob 7y agoInteresting, I had always assumed that they made the switch to be more vegetarian friendly, but it actually was because of the "fat scare." I googled around to learn more about it, and found an article called Why McDonald's French Fries Used to Taste Better [1] that's worth a read. [1] - https://blog.cheapism.com/why-mcdonalds-fries-used-to-be-better/ https://blog.cheapism.com/why-mcdonalds-fries-used-to-be-bet...
- testvox 7y agoYeah they are still made with animal products. "Natural beef flavor".
- coldpresent 7y agoText-only version: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254 https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254
- narag 7y agoI only see three lines of text, more than I saw coming from the nag screen (nothing).
- fma 7y agoDoes China not buy potatoes from the US? I don't understand why the executives wanted to wait... I'm sure we've all had soggy fries before in the US so its not a new problem isolated to fast food delivery...
- bobthepanda 7y agoChina is the largest producer of potatoes in the world, accounting for 26% of the world total. According to this, only Alaska is currently allowed to sell fresh potatoes to China. https://www.potatopro.com/news/2019/united-states-potato-industry-hopes-export-china https://www.potatopro.com/news/2019/united-states-potato-ind...
- SubiculumCode 7y agoJust fry them on the way to the customer. Just bake the pizza on the ride over to the customer. Self driving, potato fryin future.
- watersb 7y agoSpoiler: At the end of TFA, they actually reveal that they are already working on it.
- chiph 7y ago> DIHEL: So back then - almost 20, 25 years ago - Lamb Weston invented a coating called Stealth, which was their secret coating that you couldn't see and you couldn't tell was on the french fry, but it lasted - it was crispier longer, up to 12 to 15 minutes. Costco sells Ore-Ida "Fast Food" frozen fries that have a coating on them. I hate them. You drop them on the pan for baking and your fingers get oily. They are supposed to come out crispy, and the best I can say is that they don't come out limp & soggy. I'd much rather have fries au naturel. No coatings - just the sliced potatoes, deep-fried. And then a sprinkle of salt. Sam's Club sells a frozen waffle-cut fry that is pretty good. McDonalds fries are actually cooked twice. And have a coating. They're briefly fried at the factory to keep them crispy, and then of course fried again at the restaurant just prior to selling them to you. https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/mcdonalds-reveals-beloved-fries-made/story?id=28382592 https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/mcdonalds-reveals-beloved-f...
- jmvoodoo 7y agoThey're actually par boiled, then fried once at the factory, then frozen, then fried again. Strangely, following this exact process results in a fantastic french fry made at home. I started doing this after reading about it in the Food Lab book by Kenji Lopez-Alt. Highly recommend that book btw.
- paranoidrobot 7y agoI've experienced lots of limp-chip scenario in delivered food. I find it's worst with American McDonalds-style french fries - they're very thin, and steam themselves into a soggy mess very quickly, pretty much no-matter what happens. Australian/English style chips seem to have a better longevity if they're cooked properly (double-fried, and a more developed golden colour than pale/white). The best chips for delivery are battered (light tempura style), although it's rare to find them. They remain crisp and crunchy even long after they've gotten cold. Packaging is also a serious concern, too - plastics are right out, as steam will be trapped and condense on them much more rapidly - even if the packaging isn't closed tightly. Paper or cardboard are best. Foil can be okay as a backup option for a short period, if it's kept hot.
- Richard_East 7y agoYou can make french fries incredibly easily at home, using just a microwave. They taste a lot better than anything bought commercially. Just buy a big potatoe, cut it into thin strips. Place it on a regular dinner plate. Add seasoning. Microwave for 5 minutes. Take out, shuffle the strips around, add oil (regular olive oil works fine) and normal, non-processed cheese. Microwave for another 3 minutes. Its done when you can poke a fork through the fry without any resistance. Total prep time: about 10 minutes.