Golden and crispy french fries are a favorite delicacy of many people. But have you ever wondered how bags of quick-frozen french fries in supermarkets are produced? Today, let’s go into the factory together to reveal the production process of frozen french fries and explore the mysteries behind each step.
Step 1: Raw material selection and cleaning
The quality of frozen french fries depends first on the selection of potatoes. The factory will select special varieties with high starch content and low reducing sugar content. These potatoes are strictly screened to remove unqualified ones such as rotten, sprouted, and green skin to ensure the quality of raw materials. Cleaning is a key step to remove soil, impurities and some microorganisms on the surface of potatoes. The factory uses drum or spray cleaning machines to use water impact and friction to clean the potatoes and prepare them for subsequent processing.
Step 2: Peeling and trimming
After washing, the potatoes enter the peeling stage. Factories usually use steam peeling or mechanical peeling. Steam peeling uses high-temperature steam to ripen the potato skin, and then removes the skin by friction with a brush or rubber roller. It is highly efficient and has low loss. Mechanical peeling uses a high-speed rotating brush to remove the skin, which is suitable for potatoes of different shapes. Peeled potatoes need to be trimmed to remove defects such as buds and black spots.
Step 3: Cutting and blanching
The potatoes are fed into the strip cutter and cut into uniform strips. The size and shape of the strips can be adjusted according to market demand. The cut French fries need to be blanched, which is one of the key steps in the production of quick-frozen French fries. Blanching uses high-temperature hot water or steam to gelatinize the starch on the surface of the French fries and inactivate enzyme activity to prevent the French fries from changing color and deteriorating.
Step 4: Drying and frying
After blanching, the surface of the french fries will have residual moisture, so they need to be dried. The factory usually uses hot air drying to remove the surface moisture, making it easier for the French fries to absorb oil and get a crispier taste. The dried French fries enter the frying stage. Frying can quickly dehydrate the French fries, forming a golden and crispy crust on the surface of the French fries, while giving the French fries a unique flavor. The factory will strictly control the oil temperature and frying time to ensure that the taste and color of the French fries are in the best state.
Step 5: Quick freezing and packaging
Fried french fries need to be cooled quickly to prevent residual heat from causing the fries to become soft and deteriorate. The factory uses quick freezing technology to reduce the core temperature of the fries to below -18°C in a very short time, locking in the moisture, nutrients and flavor of the fries. The quick-frozen fries are sent to the packaging workshop and weighed and packaged according to specifications. The packaging material needs to have good barrier properties and low temperature resistance to prevent the fries from getting damp, oxidized and tainted.
From fresh potatoes to frozen french fries, every step is condensed with technology. Modern french fry production equipment not only improves production efficiency, but also ensures food safety and quality.