Chef says you've been cooking frozen chips all wrong
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Frozen chips are the unsung heroes of British kitchens, always on standby in the freezer for a swift and delicious side dish or a straightforward savoury nibble. They're also much quicker to whip up than homemade chips.
However, one common snag with frozen chips is their propensity to turn soggy in the oven, which is far from ideal when you're craving a crispy, golden finish. There's one blunder that can lead to limp chips without you even realising.
Chef David Nayfield from Che Fico suggests that frozen chips can taste as good as restaurant quality every time you cook them, provided you do it correctly.
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This means avoiding overcrowding your oven trays or air fryer baskets, which he describes as the 'biggest mistake' you can make when cooking fries at home, reports the Express.
To achieve the perfect crunch, your chips need enough room to crisp up. Placing too many too close together will cause them to steam rather than bake, reports Nottinghamshire Live.
David also emphasised the importance of pre-heating your appliance before cooking. Putting them straight into a cold oven or air fryer is likely to result in soggy or unevenly cooked chips.
A handy guideline is to heat your appliance to around 200C before cooking the chips, to achieve that perfect golden texture.
And when it comes to the debate between using an air fryer or a traditional oven to cook your chips, chefs have a clear favourite.
New York City's famed chef, George Duran, has asserted that using an air fryer for your chips is akin to 'giving them a fast-track to crispy heaven'.
This method is not only often faster than oven cooking, letting you enjoy those scrumptious crispy fries sooner, but it also removes the risk of injuries from dealing with hot cooking oil, making it a much safer alternative.
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