Chefs Jess Tom, Madison Cowan, and Jack Logue are used to serving fine cuisine; however, today on Epicurious we’ve asked them to give us their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent frozen fries found on supermarket shelves. Which fries pack the most bang for your budget, and which should you avoid at all costs?
Director: Jeffrey Kornberg
Director of Photography: Eric Brouse
Editor: Kristopher Knight
Talent: Jess Tom; Jack Logue; Madison Cowan
Director of Culinary Production: Kelly Janke
Creative Producer: Tyrice Hester
Culinary Producer: Mallary Santucci
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Amy Haskour
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Casting Producer: Nicole Ford
Camera Operator: Miguel Zamora
Audio Engineer: Rebecca O'Neill
Culinary Assistant: Biba Clark; Tony Ortiz
Researcher: Ryan Harrington
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Designer: Lea Kichler
Director: Jeffrey Kornberg
Director of Photography: Eric Brouse
Editor: Kristopher Knight
Talent: Jess Tom; Jack Logue; Madison Cowan
Director of Culinary Production: Kelly Janke
Creative Producer: Tyrice Hester
Culinary Producer: Mallary Santucci
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Amy Haskour
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Casting Producer: Nicole Ford
Camera Operator: Miguel Zamora
Audio Engineer: Rebecca O'Neill
Culinary Assistant: Biba Clark; Tony Ortiz
Researcher: Ryan Harrington
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Designer: Lea Kichler
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00We've gathered three professional chefs to blind taste test every frozen french fry brand
00:05We could get our hands on and see which ones meet their standards
00:11Or either golden fries
00:13These ones look a little thicker than what you typically see in a fast-food joint
00:18It's not that yellowish tint that you usually have with frozen french fries. They're a little bit softer not super crispy
00:24So what I'm looking for in a french fry is a crisp outside a crisp outside helps balance a nice pillory potato inside
00:31I want a french fry to have a rigid structure meaning that it won't droop when you pick it up
00:35I'm looking for fries to have a golden color shows that the fries have been caramelized and cooked at the proper temperature and at
00:40The end of the day, it's got to have real potato flavor
00:45You taste potato but honestly almost too much so but it is seasoned well, there's no crispiness to this and unfortunately
00:52There's no caramelization in the flavor. They are a little bendy
00:56Ideally you want like a little bit of a snap just kind of mushes in there
01:00No steam, which means that the interior is probably a little bit too wet
01:04Maybe the crust wasn't set as well as it could have been when these fries were manufactured
01:09We're actually a little bit dry because of that
01:11All you're getting is that dry potato inside it and none of that crispy coating. Is this a McCain's?
01:15McCain's? I think this is an Ore-Ida standard
01:20Ore-Ida
01:21Classic golden potato fry. This thing is as old as I am. Ore-Ida is a combination of Oregon and Idaho
01:27It says here there's an annatto in these you would think that they would be a little bit more yellow because of the annatto
01:32So that means that these really weren't cooked at a very hot temperature
01:34These are made with grade A potatoes, right? Grade A is the best
01:37It means that it has the least blemishes and bruises. It means it's consistent in size overall
01:41I think I'm pretty happy with these fries and I think it really sets the tone for all of the other fries to come
01:49Trader Joe's handsome cut potato fries. These are a bit more anemic looking
01:54But we do see skin that will add to both the flavor as well as some of the nutrients in the potatoes
02:00It has good potato flavor and it's good seasoning, but I would say it's pretty soft to me
02:04I'm getting more of like a hash brown vibe. It bends before it breaks. There's no sound. There's no crunch to it
02:09I personally like the Ore-Ida ones better because I thought the crust was a little thicker. It was a more caramelized
02:14It was more golden
02:15It tastes like a rustic potato and that probably has a lot to do with the skin being left on
02:20In the bites of the skin you almost get that juicy slightly acidic nature of a potato skin
02:25Which I think complements the saltier inside. Potato skins actually have a ton of nutrition
02:29They have a ton of vitamins and minerals and fiber
02:32And so there is a nutritional benefit to keeping the skins on your potato fry
02:37Maybe it's sort of like a more natural brand like
02:41Alexia
02:43Trader Joe's handsome cut potato fries. I guess they're cut by hand by a very good-looking person
02:49There's a little bit of an irony with it as these are not evenly cut in any way
02:53I think if they had a little bit more color that would go a long way
02:58McCain quick-cook straight cut French fried potatoes. This is a proper French fry, right? They're straight. They're a nice thickness
03:05It's got a proper golden yellowish tint to it more structure and rigidity than the last two
03:13This is better for me. It's potato flavor through and through finally
03:16There was a little bit of that crunch considering that they're not super crispy that actually has really great structure. It's a good crust
03:21It's a good potato flavor. There may be not quite as salty as I would like
03:26I think so far these are my favorite straight cut fries. I'm probably going to say McCain. Is this McCain's McCain classic cut?
03:34Hey, I was right McCain's quick-cook straight cut French fry. Very interesting
03:39So these are made in half the time and it says you don't have to flip them and if that is the case
03:44They are even in color on all sides
03:46So it is pretty impressive that they are able to do that
03:48Normally you would flip the French fry in the oven because you aren't even cooking fries are usually par cook
03:54Typically in a to fry process
03:56there's the first fry which sort of cooks it through and then the second fry to
04:01Crisp it up quick-cook fries are par cooked even further along
04:05So there's less for you to do at home. If you can have better fries in half the time
04:10Like why wouldn't you do that?
04:13365 by Whole Foods Market steak cut fries. They're very very yellow. Not really a caramelized color though
04:19That's pretty characteristic of a steak fry
04:22They are so thick and they have more moisture because there's more potato in there
04:29Hmm I think I need some water with that
04:32It's more of a baked potato flavor in the sense that it's just dry potato more than a bit
04:37You can actually choke a donkey. These are definitely under seasoned. I actually wonder if these are low-sodium fries
04:44There's not really any crunchy exterior. All of the moisture in the potato is
04:49Sogging up any crust that would ever form on this fry
04:53The fluffiness factor is pretty good and that's something that steak fries definitely have going for them because they are cut so thick
04:59They do have a lot of potato starch potato starch when it comes into contact with
05:06water and heat they swell and expand and they release steam and that releasing of steam creates the
05:13Fluffiness inside the French fry the coloring of the interior. It's not really as white as I would expect it
05:18It might not be it from an Idaho potato and it's not really as puffy as an Idaho potato typically would be. Oh
05:24Man
05:25Whole Foods organic steak cut fries. No salt added
05:29I would really love it if whole foods made things that were healthy and delicious at the same time
05:36It doesn't say what kind of potato it is possible that these are actually a more waxy potato
05:41Which would it contribute to some of the color and the flavor that we were tasting these fries are organic
05:46I can't honestly say organic or not organic really has any bearing on the flavor at all
05:52It can connote put more care into our ingredients and aren't into our preparation, but that's not always the case
06:00Red Robin seasoned steak fries structure. We're very much there
06:07Hmm Wow, I could never had these before they're big they have a lot of potato mass
06:12They have a lot of moisture but in contrast to the other steak fries that we had still does have that crust not to the
06:18Touch, but they actually crunch in your mouth and a lot fluffier. I'm not so sure that it's natural to the potato
06:25I think there is some sort of boosting starch in there pepper paprika
06:29Maybe a touch of cayenne
06:30Maybe a touch of chili powder your tongue and your brain and your your mouth and your powder
06:35Going a lot of different directions. You can kind of be fooled into thinking that it's more golden than it really is
06:40I do think that there is some nice
06:43Caramelization on this fry the interior is perfectly cooked pillowy soft and you can snap it open like this. No floppiness
06:50I wonder if this comes from a restaurant that this is their signature seasoning Sonic Red Robin, but I'm not sure
06:56I'm gonna say these are Red Robin steak fries
06:59Red Robin, I'm really proud of myself
07:01Well a place like Red Robin is going to get all of the french fries
07:05Shipped to them frozen from corporate being frozen actually is a good thing for the french fry the freezing process will also maintain
07:11That french fries
07:12So if you do everything at the peak of that potatoes life
07:15Then it will stay at that peak life up until you fry it overall. I really like these fries. I think the flavor is
07:21Very particular so you kind of have to be in the mood for this certain fry
07:28McCain five-minute fries shoestring cut potatoes. They're a thin cut some of these fries look to be a little
07:35wrinkled
07:36I'm not getting a ton of potato flavor just because they're so thin
07:40There's something kind of missing for me. No added flavor from you know that caramelization
07:43I would rate the crispiness of these very inconsistent the thinner you cut a french fry the crispier it becomes
07:49I don't know what happened here. It's definitely drooping. I think these might be alright a shoestring or alright a fast-food fries
07:56McCain's five-minute fries, I think they would actually benefit from a bit more cooking we noticed with the quick-cook fry
08:02There was a really even coating and even coloring on all of them
08:05So they do have a difference between that coating that they have on those quick-cook fries and their regular fries
08:09I think of a shoestring french fry I'm thinking of something crispy something golden and something flavorful these I can't even get past one
08:19Lamb Western grown in Idaho super crispy shoestring fries this looks a lot better skin on potatoes once again
08:26We can see that there's a texture on them almost as if there was some sort of batter
08:29It takes a bit for me to like break that and I actually trained this morning
08:32So they have a nicer color, but I'm not really convinced that it's from the frying
08:36I think it might be from this batter on the outside
08:40Mmm, very tasty french fry skin on potato just has so much more flavor in a word
08:45Crispy compared to the crispiness of the previous shoestring fries
08:48These are significantly crispier batter really helps with that crispiness and ends up giving a much more enjoyable mouthfeel tossed in some sort of corn
08:55starch to give it
08:57Bulk and extra crunch factor when the fries are tossed in any sort of starch like this
09:02You're gonna get extra surface area creases the level of fried caramelized parts on the fry overall
09:09Structure is maintained throughout have a nice snap. They have a nice crust the outside doesn't add these competing flavors
09:16It's you're still getting at the potato flavor
09:19lamb, Western lamb Western grown in Idaho super crispy
09:23Shoestring fries use lamb Western for our preferred fries at the restaurant
09:27So it's a great fry to start with made with a hundred percent real Idaho potatoes
09:31You could say the best potatoes for french fries are Idaho or russet potatoes
09:36And that's because it's high starch when the starch comes in contact with water and heat. It's going to
09:43Expand and soften and create that soft fluffy interior russet potatoes are also low moisture and you want that because
09:51Moisture is the enemy of crispness and then last
09:55Russet potatoes are low sugar when sugar is cooked. It can over caramelize and you can get some sort of bitter acrid flavors
10:03So you want a potato that is low in sugar so you don't get that over caramelization
10:09I don't know as a sort of a unique soil
10:11It has a lot of a volcanic ash in their soil, which really helps for the flavoring of potatoes a much more savory potato
10:17It's a much drier potato. It doesn't have much of that sweetness and that's really helpful for making a proper french fry
10:24Nathan's famous jumbo crinkle cut french fries
10:27Then we have our first crinkle cut fry, but I can't say the look of these is very appealing
10:32You don't really want this black color on your fries
10:35So this is either part of the natural process of how these are made or these were cooked at a much higher temperature
10:40Or there's a little bit more sugar content in these fries, even though it does look really crisp on the outside
10:47They're actually pretty soft and squishy
10:50That's offensive. It's hard to call them tasty doesn't have a lot of flavor to it
10:55So the whole point of a crinkle cut fry is that you get more surface area for that golden caramelization
11:00But that's not the case when the crust is not crispy
11:03Well, that that's like an accordion
11:05I'll fry like this because it's so thick and thick cut the potato itself is gonna maintain a lot of the structure
11:10I'm seeing a lot of caramelization a lot of color
11:12I mean a little bit of too much color in some instances really more about an inconsistency between
11:17The potatoes in the batch and also with the ridges getting cooked before the actual interior of the potato
11:22I think the problem is that there is so much moisture in this potato. You're not getting that fluffiness. It's very dense
11:28I'm gonna go with Nathan's crinkle cut fries. Oh my gosh, Nathan's Nathan's a crinkle fry should have excellent
11:37Caramelization it should be extra crisp because of that extra texture and unfortunately these Nathan's fries are just not delivering on this
11:45Pretty straightforward potatoes vegetable oil. There's a little bit of sugar in there at some point
11:49It actually says zero grams trans fat and trans fats are very very unhealthy fats for you
11:56They lower your good cholesterol and they raise your bad cholesterol
12:01a lot of fries will market that they have zero trans fats and that just means that they're no longer using oil that has
12:07Trans fats. I have great childhood memories from Nathan's and unfortunately, these fries just didn't live up to them stick with the hot dogs, man
12:17Alexia organic oven crinkles immediately I can see that they are cooked more evenly almost white in color
12:25They actually look crispier
12:27Tasty but it doesn't quite hit with the potato flavor
12:30It's got a flavor, but I can't tell you what it is on the outside
12:33They feel crispy, but then you can almost just mash it in your fingers like that
12:37The crinkles do add extra surface area, which I definitely appreciate the golden color is a bit inconsistent
12:43So paint looking in spots caramelized and other spots, but not enough to make up for any flavor aspects of it
12:48It's fluffier than the Nathan's ones for sure a pillowy softness a little sweetness in there. It's such a salt
12:53So these aren't completely unseasoned but not not much if any I'm gonna say
12:58Alexia one of these has got to be Alexia. So
13:01Yes, yeah, I was right oven crinkles with sea salt concentrated apple juice
13:07You know, we did note that there was a little bit of a sweetness to it
13:09Maybe the apple juice had something to do with that funky flavor that it had
13:15I don't I don't know and I think these are a lot better than the Nathan's fries
13:18I don't attribute that to them being organic or to having sea salt sea salt
13:23Is still salt they say that they use sea salt because it's perceived to be a higher and ingredient
13:28I love the idea of a crinkle cut
13:30But if you're looking for extra surface area, then I think there are different cuts of french fries that would serve that purpose better
13:38Or either microwavable extra crispy crinkles they look better than the last two we have two completely different colors in the same batch
13:46Oh
13:48There's kind of an odd taste in these I think it's a little under seasoned and there's something like a little funky about the potato
13:53That I can't quite put my finger on the potato inside is light enough. It almost dissolves in your mouth
13:58Oh, I don't want to put it like this, but it's not very good
14:00I know you want dry for a fluffy fry, but this is kind of wake the moisture out of your mouth
14:05type of dry
14:07Caramelization it's there but not much else. I would hope for more crispness, especially from a crinkle cut fry
14:13You do see that sort of bends back and forth like a spring almost
14:18Or ride a easy fries extra crispy crinkles. It seems that these were cooked in the microwave
14:24I would just hope that you have a little bit more than four minutes or five minutes and just get a better french fry whenever
14:29You want to crisp something?
14:31You never use the microwave foods in the microwave
14:35Tend to get soggy when you trap the fries in this container
14:39Fries are going to release steam and the steam is going to sog the fries and soften that crust
14:45Noting that they were cooked in the microwave
14:46I'll say that they're not as terrible of a product as I would have assumed I guess I guess I'm impressed
14:54Great value waffle cut french fried potatoes
14:57One thing that I love about waffle fries is you can get them really really crispy, but then still taste the potato inside
15:04I'm getting kind of an undercooked potato flavor
15:06I don't know if I'd even call them a fry at this point
15:08It's just kind of like a waffle potato and that's not very appetizing. These really aren't that crisp at all
15:13No caramelization either not blanched long enough
15:16They're definitely not fried long enough at the end a french fry shouldn't be able to wave in the wind like this
15:20It also feels like extra greasy to me
15:23So when we get the waffle shape is first we start with our mandolin
15:26We're gonna make two cuts the first cuts gonna be straight down in the next cut
15:29Oh 90 degrees go straight down again as you can see there our first cut
15:32We only had ridges on the one side and our second one has a beautiful waffle shape
15:37great value a
15:38Walmart brand ingredients include potatoes notice that they're a product of Belgium
15:43Which means that the potato is probably not a russet
15:45I do know that they're typically a little bit more waxy and their potato the waffle fry that we cut from an Idaho potato
15:51It's a lot more white than these ones that are cut from a Belgian potato in a french fry
15:56We typically want to go with that drier fluffier whiter potato because we don't want it to be creamy
16:01We want it to get be able to get crispy
16:04I'm Western grown in Idaho super crispy waffle fries immediately
16:08These are a lot lot nicer. They look very crispy. The caramelization is definitely there
16:15It's a really tasty fry. I'm getting a hint of salt more so than any fry that we've had today
16:20It's actually crunching underneath my teeth and I'm getting a fluffy proper potato flavor on the inside
16:26So that caramelization is confirmed. These have a great rigid structure. You see there's no droopage
16:30I mean you really feel like you're eating a potato
16:33Cooked really nicely just because I like them. Maybe it's like I made in Idaho
16:39Idaho lamb Weston super crispy waffle fries that skin-on potato adds to the flavor
16:44This is what a waffle fry should be the second lamb Weston product that we've had so far
16:50Once again, the flavor reigns supreme. This one seems like pretty unadulterated. There's no extra starch on it
16:55I think that this is the best tasting fry that we've had so far
16:58Arby's seasoned curly fries. I really love curly fries. I feel like a little kid. It looks to be loads of seasoning
17:06I don't think I've ever seen a
17:08Non-seasoned curly fry these to me immediately look like Arby's fries since this is so tight
17:14It's kind of soft, but you know what? I don't really care
17:19So that's like your quintessential curly fry flavor
17:21It's off the chain as far as texture
17:23You do get a little bit of a crunch factor because of this sort of starchy seasoned outside
17:29They could be a bit more crispy and have a bit more structure
17:32You got like a little bit of potato flavor at the end
17:35But it's mostly the taste of the seasoning onion powder garlic powder paprika this time. Maybe some black pepper
17:40I'm actually getting more seasoning than I am getting potato flavor, but I don't mind that a batter in that flavor
17:46It tastes good
17:47Whether it's crispy or soggy honestly curly fries even taste good when they're when they've lost some of their heat the color and the caramelization
17:53Is spot-on let's try this one, which is like the last curled one
18:00You get even more variance in here because here you have this like plush
18:04Inside of the potato and then here it tapers off
18:06So it gets a little crunchy see squiggle hybrids have stayed the crispiest by far
18:11Piggytail ones don't really have that so much. There are so many different textures in here
18:16That is just very appealing to me. I think this is Arby's the Arby's of my childhood
18:21Let's go the classic Arby's curly fries
18:25True nostalgia of the curly fry here. I have never been to
18:29Arby's a day in my life, but I would definitely buy these these are actually produced by lamb Weston
18:35They are using lamb Weston potatoes more restaurants than you probably think
18:39Use frozen french fries from large suppliers a lot of times. I'll be getting them in you know frozen
18:45They'll typically deep fry them in a canola oil or a neutral oil and especially for a curly fry like this with the seasoned batter
18:51the less additional flavoring the better you want the batter that they put on air to be the one that sings the most I
18:56Loved Arby's french fries when I was a kid, and I still love them now
19:02Czechoslovakia's famous seasoned fries I can see every
19:06Granule of spice and seasoning on these so clearly there's some sort of coating on them
19:11The batter has found a you know good caramelization point and crispy point
19:15These are
19:16Tasty, although they're very very very highly seasoned black pepper and a hint of salt even though the Arby's fries are very highly seasoned
19:23I find that a little bit more neutral and more versatile potato flavor is there
19:28But it's really overpowered by the seasoning and does have some crispiness to it caramelization is great
19:34It has like really nice golden color
19:36Structurally it looks the part
19:38But then once I actually put hands on it's just it almost collapses since it has that starchy coating it has that extra surface
19:44Area to give it that extra crunch all those bubbles and micro ridges. It's possibly checkers french fries
19:51It's like trying to be something fancy or something
19:55Checkers rallies famous seasoned fries, okay
19:58It's not a super fancy brand listen the black pepper and the salt they work with the french fries
20:02Maybe you should just call them black pepper and salt
20:04I'm a fan of seasoned fries, but I think these are just like a little bit too much for me
20:10Okay
20:12McCain craft beer battered potatoes. These are probably the best-looking shoestring french fries of the lot
20:18That takes a bit of doing that's crispy
20:21best
20:22Shoestring french fry of the day that was a nice crispy crunchy bite you still get the potato on the inside
20:27But you get the crisp and the crunch from the outside take your flavor through and through
20:31Caramelization is decent
20:32But it is kind of irregular which leads me to believe that there's something different about these fries some sort of batter
20:39It says either or right around McCain's again, but I really don't know
20:43McCain's craft beer battered potatoes. Okay, so that explains a lot. I don't get the beer battered flavor
20:51but
20:52They are good when you put beer and any sort of batter that you deep fry what you're doing is you're adding flavor
20:58And then you're also adding lightness because it is
21:01Carbonated and those air bubbles are going to add lightness to the batter and now that I know that it's a beer battered fry
21:07It's easier for me to accept that. It's something different McCain
21:10All right, you kind of redeemed yourself for the last time not bad at all. Not bad
21:16365 my whole foods market crinkle-cut sweet potato fries when you crack through them. They're so wet
21:21It's almost like a sweet potato pie in there. Oh
21:24Okay, so they're unseasoned sweet potato fries not the most pleasant bite of food
21:29I've had all day for sure. It's like a big sweet potato. It's very very very so
21:33I mean look how it smushes under my fingers like this
21:35Even though it's cooked to mush still has some tooth to it. So there's almost a raw sweet potato flavor
21:40There's a high sugar content obviously, but not much texture at all
21:44Sweet potatoes are very difficult to make into the proper fry. They also have a higher water content
21:49That's also gonna make it difficult to fry up
21:51I mean you've got a slight bit of crust here, especially towards the end
21:54Crinkle cut will add that texture and rigidity, but this just it's it's not there
22:00There is like a little bit of golden color
22:02But I just think that the sweet potatoes just way too moist the sweetness of the sweet potato definitely comes through and then if that's
22:08What you're going for you definitely get that healthier feel that healthier taste if some salt was used it would come through even more
22:14I wonder if this is also like a great value or something like that
22:19Okay, whole foods 365 crinkle-cut sweet potato fries. We have a consistency with the whole foods brands
22:26They were both very unseasoned cornstarch rice flour. So they're coated
22:30That's a bit deceiving because you would think for a battered french fry. They have a lot more texture in cane sugar
22:36It's interesting that they're adding even more sweetness to the sweet potato
22:39It does have a very good wholesome sweet potato flavor, but that's just not what you're looking for in a sweet potato fry
22:47Alexia sweet potato fries
22:50Structurally, they're a bit more sound you can see that they're dry. They're just not very golden
22:56These definitely get a lot closer, I think they have a good fried sweet potato flavor
23:00You know
23:01There's a hint of salt and maybe with a bit more that would counteract the sweetness and you know
23:05Those two sweet and salty going together at once. There is a little bit of a crust. The inside is nice and fluffy
23:11It's not sogging
23:12I think you have to grade sweet potato fries on a slightly different rubric just because they're totally different plants and they're gonna react
23:18Totally different when they're fried
23:21Alexia okay, it says it has a hint of sea salt and they actually say sweet and savory
23:27And it's certainly not savory at all. Honestly, it says to bake for only 10 to 12 minutes at 425
23:32I think you need really need to double that. They're not nearly baked enough
23:36Let's see
23:36Which products our chefs like the most and the least the winners of today for me were the two fries
23:43Made by grown in Idaho a really good showcase for everything that Idaho has to offer
23:49I think both of the lamb Wesson products really stood out from a flavor standpoint crunchy or exterior
23:54So really quality potato there as well for me Red Robin was number one my absolute favorite. They were flavorful
23:59They were a good size good cut the seasoning was spot-on. My other favorite were the Arby's curly fries
24:06They were very potatoey. They were highly seasoned every flavor just stood out. It's what a seasoned french fry should be
24:13I really didn't care for the 365 steak cut fry. There was no seasoning on it really light in color
24:18No texture the Nathan's that they were they were really disappointing. No crisp. No texture. No flavor
24:25I really didn't care for either of the sweet potato fries
24:28I thought that they were under seasoned and definitely didn't hold up to the cooking at the end of the day
24:32French fries at home are sort of tricky. There's a tons of great options out there. You just got to find your favorites and stick to them