What are the Best Chips in the World?

If any chips were to be described as being the best chips in the world, they would of course need to satisfy an absolute minimum of criteria. They would have to look fantastic, they would have to be crisp on the outside and deliciously soft and fluffy on the inside and they would have to taste wonderful as well. That would probably be about the minimum number of qualities which the best chips in the world would need to satisfy.

I well remember as a child that my Gran used to deep fry the chips twice in beef dripping. The first fry would essentially cook the chips. They would then be allowed to cool before being put in to fry again and crisp up. For a number of years, I have approached making chips from a different perspective, by first of all boiling the cut potatoes to soften them and then drying them and frying them in sunflower oil.

It was not, however, until I quite literally by accident came across an online article by Heston Blumenthal, writing in The Times Online, that I found that both of these practices can be combined to essentially cook the chips three times and produce even better results.

This page provides the detailed results of my endeavour in this respect to make the best chips in the world.

The ingredients which we need here are obviously very few in number. We need simply some potatoes, some water, some salt and some sunflower oil. The chips can later be served with almost any accompaniment of our choice.

It is important of course to use a brand of potatoes which are suited to deep frying and this will vary dependant upon geographical location. These are King Edwards. I simply peeled them, sliced them, chopped them in to chips and simmered them in boiling, salted water for fifteen minutes until they were moderately soft. I then allowed them to cool before placing them in to a tupperware container and in to the fridge for an hour.

When the chips have been refrigerated for an hour, enough sunflower oil to fill a frying pan to a depth of around one and a half inches should be brought up to a moderate heat. If using a deep fat fryer, around 130C or equivalent. The chips should then be added to the oil and fried for around four or five minutes, but not to the stage of where they begin to brown. If they show signs of browning, either reduce the heat or remove them from the oil. Once again, they should be drained and allowed to cool before being refrigerated for around an hour.

The third and final stage of producing what I certainly believe are the best chips in the world is to fry them for a second time, at a higher temperature of around 170 to 180C. The chips should be fried this time for only two to three minutes, until they turn a delightful golden brown.

The final stage is to drain the chips, shake them in some salt and serve them with your chosen accompaniment.