How It's Made - Frozen French Fries

French fries are thought to have originated in Belgium.  During WW1 they were popular with American soldiers in French speaking areas which is likely where the name came from.  Fresh cut homemade French fries are quite easy to make and yet many turn to higher priced, store bought frozen French fries.  Have you ever wondered how frozen French fries are made? 

The best potatoes for making French fries, fresh or frozen, are russets.  Russet potatoes have an elongated shape that give a longer potato string when cut and they are lower in sugar content so stay white longer.  Once the harvested potatoes arrive at the processing factory they are loaded onto rollers to remove debris like large clumps of dirt and stone.  They travel to the washing station where mud is remove any dirt then to the sizing machine for sorting.   The sorted potatoes travel to the steamer to soften their skins then onto the peeler where special brushes remove the skin.  The peeled potatoes travel through a manual inspection check to remove an potatoes with green spots or skin left on.   The inspected potatoes pass onto the slicing station where they are crinkle or straight cut then into the separating station to remove any small pieces.  The larger pieces move on to be blanched which firms the flesh and enhances the flavour then they are off to the fryer for 2 minutes in non-hydrogenated oil.  The fried potatoes are drained then travel to the freezing area where they are quick frozen then packaged for the store.  Here is a video I found showing the process to make frozen French fries.