Now I know why the folks who made Lay’s Potato Chips (and later those who bought them out) became bijillionaires… it takes less than 1/4 of a large potato to make a small bag of potato chips! In other words, it costs next to nothing and the profits can be spectacular! With so much hot fat gurgling in the kitchen, how could I resist trying some homemade chips? Peel a nice large potato (our local ones tend to be incredibly soft or is it waxy?) and pass it through a mandoline for even thin slices. I must have gotten a good 50+ slices from one potato… deep fry them in fat until just golden around the edges and drain and salt with good non-iodized salt. They were superb, hot and crisp, with more potato flavor than commercial chips. They did get a little chewy after several hours out in nearly 95% humidity… but that isn’t a surprise really. Excellent with a little mayonnaise or a spritz of vinegar!
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Potatoes are even better fried twice for a rewarding extra crispy. Initial frying bout until light brown let them cool completely then throw them back in the vat of hot oil for second and last round of frying. My dipping sauce of choice mayonnaise with wasabi.
wow! love potato chips, especially those that are home made. used to ask my mom to prepare them as snacks.
you did this with the deep fryer? cool!
i love potato chips with mayo as a dip and ice cream on the side… oohhhlala! talk about calories! I do love “Lay’s” though…even its a bit pricey.
Cool ah! :) Hehehe.. Fresh pa!
I wanted to say potatoes grown in the Philippines have more moisture content that’s why they go limp when fried. I mean when you slice pinoy spuds they squirt juices sometimes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that with western variety spuds. I wanted to be sure about that theory so I did some searching myself.
Glad to be right, according to this site I found high moisture potatoes turns the moisture into steam when fried thus making it limp.
The site also gives a bit of a guideline of what potatoes to use for different purposes. Now I know why my local grocer have one aisle dedicated for just potatoes alone with potatoes sometimes labeled for baking, mashing or frying.
As for dipped, it’s potato with mayonnaise with dash of salt and pepper for me.
Oh, almost forgot the site is https://www.potatoes.com/RecipesAndCooking.cfm?RecipeSub=SelectionAndCooking
Those look gorgeous … oil can get expensive though can it not? I would think you would have to change it pretty often (when changing the food being fried of course, but also when frying huge batches of the same thing), otherwise you’d end up with old/burnt tasting fried food … ?
Your pictures are good, sells to the heart. Lay’s, Fritos’ should hire you to snap theirs – it’ll boost sales. Mandolines are great gadgets and usable for a variety of items, from potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, zuccini, etc.
keeping your new “fried and joy” busy.
i love potato chips in my roast beef sandwiches – yummy crunchy :-)
MM, why non-iodized salt? Does it make a diff? (I remember the campaign to use iodized salt – FIDEL salt – during the Ramos administration!)
Lee, Hahaha on the pun!!! (You know, it was only recently that I realized that the Jollibee “Chicken Joy” name was a marriage of “chicken” and “enjoy”. Duh for me!!!)
Cecile J, you can definitely catch the TASTE of iodine in iodized salt in many dishes that you use it in. Iodine has a chemical aftertaste that well, I think I am sensitive to in the sense of knowing it is in a dish. I prefer organic sea salt. I bought several kilos of good sea salt in Ilocos last month and used that in the peanuts…delicious! Candygirl, I have never tried chips in my roast beef sandwiches… lee, wait till you see the PORK experiments. cc, thanks for the picture compliment, I am thrilled readers are noticing that I am spending more than the usual 4 seconds on a photo… now it is up to 10 seconds… :) wysgal, yes, the oil can get pricey, that is why you have to fry in large amounts to achieve economies of scale, think 5-10 kilos worth of bagnet in one go… :) connie, yup, our potatoes aren’t ideal for chips or fries… tings, yup, in a deep fryer.
If pinoy potatoes are not ideal for chips or fries, I’d reckon that kamote is a much better option. I appreciated your roasted duck and kamote pairing post very much – and I hope that local produce would be used more often for non-native recipes as an alternative. How about trying out saba banana chips? :)
Regarding recycling of cooking oil… when still doable (not terribly stained or infused with flavors), Consumer Reports long time ago suggested that used cooking oil be strained through a coffee filter to reduce the possibly carcinogenic (burnt) components and to clear it up.
I have a large aluminum funnel over a huge heat proof glass bottle (spaghetti sauce, canning bottle) lined by 1-2 coffee filters to strain our used cooking oil. It works out quite nicely.
Dear MM, I read somewhere sometime that to get more crispy French fries, you let them soak in cold (ice?) water first for say, half an hour. I suppose this would work, too, for potato chips? Ah but beware the horrendous explosion when the moisture hits the hot oil!! Activate forcefield :-) Or have you become an expert in dodging the hot projectiles?! Once hit, thrice agile :-)
I love home-made potato chips! Whenever my dad buys the grocery, although i only put down 2-3 pieces of potaotes on my list, he always manage to buy the whole bag which i think about 5lbs, i never really bother to look! hehehe. He always say that it’s cheaper to buy in bulk! Although it might not be the right potato for frying, we’d go ahead, peel them, slice them through our trusted mandoline(thank God for that), heat up some oil, and it’ll no time at all like what you said, quick, economical and healthy snack for the family to share! Well, i guess the mayo and ketchup combination to dip it with, you don’t really consider that heathy i guess! :)
Candygirl, when a co-worker started placing chips in her tuna sandwhich at work, I thought she was weird. Actually, she wasn’t the only one, two more co-workers said they do that too. Tried it myself, and yes it does add some texture and crunchiness to the sandwhich. I usually like Fritos corn chips with tuna or egg sandwhich but never tried potato chips in roast beef sandwhich. When you think about it, it’s the same principle, and since I like some crunchiness in my sandwhich, so hey, yes, I’ll try potato chips next time.
and here I am paying around P120 on Kettle Chips. I could’ve used all that money on a fryer myself.
I always add potato chips in my tuna or chicken sandwiches. I also dip chips in spicy vinegar… How about taro chips? I bought a few packs in an Ilocos Empanada stall once, and I really enjoyed them. The purple ones would look nice!
i like eating plain salted potato chips with thick, ice cold chocolate milk. it’s pretty good, believe me.
i live in the katipunan, qc area and have seen this food stall at the Rustan’s supermarket there called Chips R’ Fries (lone branch) several times before i finally tried it last weekend. pretty good home-made style potato chips. they just need to salt a bit more after frying. but i would say i could substitute it for the kettle chips/hardbites at P60 for the biggest bag. comes with several dips including vinegar, aioli, jalapeno cheese, etc… but i like mine plain and salty. there are still crumbs left on my car seat.
i bought a BOTO wasabi flavored potato chips at south supermarket last week, went back for more, unfortunately it was sold out in the branch near our place. i will try making it myself now :)
yum! i just love homemade potato chips! i like mine with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
when i’m sick, i always have my bag of lay’s. i can even finish the big bag in one sitting, despite the headaches or dizziness or nausea. yum. stroke. heart attack. haha.
In September are goiing to a benefit in PA at soneone’s “manor” built with a fortune made recently with kettle fried potato chips… Your picture is very good.
By the way, when do you know when to throw out the used oil? What is the right way of disposing it?
I luuuv some good ole fashion potato chips. I’m not a big fan of those chips out there in the grocery but homemade chips are always good. I make a dip with cream cheese, garlic powder and grated sweet white onion.
what about baking potato chips? i heard it once on tv. whether pinoy or foreign, they dry out the potatoes first on a cloth and then place them on a sheet pan for baking. they supposedly remain crisp longer. has anyone tried this out?
Have you tried E-Aji’s potato chips? They’re pretty good for commercially-available potato chips (with the promise of no msg!) One pasalubong from Ilocos that my family never forgets to remind me about is Namnama’s Garlic Flavored Camote Chips. It’s addicting (even if it’s oily & seems MSG-laden!). My cousins wolf down one whole pack in one sitting! I get them straight from the source in Paoay, cheaper than the palengke… One has to pass through a small driveway in the middle of corn/camote fields! A healthier (less oily, less MSG-tasting) alternative is the taro chips I buy from Saramsam Cafe (Angel-something?) i cannot remember the name!).
Potato chips is s great snack… but why is that i connot find a standard moisture content of potato chips… is there none????
Traditional British “chips” are fried in beef lard/suet. The British tend to dry the chips in a towel before immersing them in the deep fryer.
Instead of Mayonnaise perhaps people can try ali-oli as a dip – it goes so well with roast meats.