Saturday, August 16, 2014

Kitchen Intuition: Do you want fries with that?

You know you shouldn't. But you do.

There aren't many things as yummy as a french fry. But they're so unhealthy, right? Not necessarily.


You’ve probably heard all the negative stuff about french fries: bad fats, bad carbohydrates and trans fats. Fries win the trifecta of making us gain weight and feel terrible. And that’s just the fries! That doesn’t even take into account all the stuff we put on them, which is usually tons of salt and ketchup, adding a good bit of sugar and even more sodium to your already-toxic side dish.
But the fact is, you don’t have to give up french fries. As Marion Nestle points out in the sidebar, it’s not the potato that’s evil. It’s the preparation method that makes deep-fried potatoes unhealthy (well, that and the portion sizes). To reclaim the french fry, all you have to do is take over the processing, and it’s one of the easiest preps you’ll find in home cooking. Compared to making frozen fries from the grocery store, the cooking time is the same. The only difference is that instead of opening a plastic bag, you’re going to wash, cut and then toss a potato. The cleanup (washing the baking sheet) is the same. And your homemade fries will not only be far superior but also dramatically cheaper!

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