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I live in a country where there is no chemical engineering done on the plants, so everything is completly organic. But i noticed the biggest difference in the potatoes here vs. in America is that the ones here will never crisp. They become rubbery and very wiggly. That's very difficult to deal with when you're from America and you love french fries and hashbrowns.

I fry them the same way as i usually do, i deep fry them in a pan. The potatoes are different, the ones i used to use were dark brown idaho potatoes, the ones here are light colered with a very thin peel.

What's the reason behind this? I've heard theories of the potatoes being too starchy; is this true? And if so, is there a way to get them to crisp?

Nesreen t Alkam
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  • How are you *trying* to crisp them? Deep-frying? I'm assuming that from the french fries/hashbrowns reference but you don't exactly say. – Aaronut Jul 31 '12 at 22:59
  • yes, but the method dosent really matter since its the same way as i did in america, the question has more to do with why is it resulting differently – Nesreen t Alkam Jul 31 '12 at 23:36
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    Of course the method matters. Even the specific technique matters. Baking does not use the same mechanism as frying which in turn is slightly different from double-frying. In order for questions to get relevant answers, they need to present all of the available information, so please edit your question to explain how you're making them. The answer might also have to do with which kinds of potatoes you're selecting, so it wouldn't hurt to include that as well. – Aaronut Aug 01 '12 at 00:17
  • what type of potatoes are you getting? Beside the method, the starch:water ratio and the amylose:amylopectin ratio matters (mealy/hard potatoes). – rumtscho Aug 01 '12 at 04:17
  • related question: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/22307/how-can-one-determine-if-a-potato-is-suitable-for-french-fries – talon8 Aug 01 '12 at 15:13
  • related questions : [on hash browns / home fries](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/6667/) ; [french fries](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/8473/) ; [potato selection](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/575/) – Joe Aug 01 '12 at 22:03

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It's almost certanly a variety/potato age thing.

There are thousands of varieties of potato and different countries grow different ones based on climate and local taste. You can group potatoes in to two sets:

  • Thicker skinned potatoes that spend longer in the ground as they grow slowly. Varieties sold this way tend to be be a colder weather crop.
  • The other sort are thin skinned, waxier varieties which include 'new' potatoes. Varieties suited to this grow faster and tend to grow better than the other sort in warmer weather.

There are 'waxy' firm varieties of the first group but most would be termed 'floury'. These are dryer potatoes and make great mash and chips and roasts and fluffy baked potatoes.

Waxy potatoes are better for holding together in dishes and salads. These just don't crisp up as well. I assume you're just getting these varieties.

vwiggins
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