In the oven

Cooking in the oven has many advantages: there are no smells in the kitchen and less supervision is needed. For those who are in favour of this method, the Dutch industry proposes oven‑made fries. In comparison with other fries, their preparation includes and additional phase. After blanching, the purpose of which is to reduce the exterior sugars, hot‑air dehydration takes place. This dehydration process only affects the surface layer of the potato strips. Thanks to this outer crust, no further moisture can escape from the fry during final cooking, and it remains crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. The consequence of this process of partial dehydration is that more oil is absorbed during precooking. Oven fries contain 9% of fatty matter, whereas other fries only contain 5 to 6%. Because of this, oven fries can be cooked without using any fat, so that in the end the oven fries contain less fat than the others.

Just as for deep‑frying, there is no need to defrost the precooked products. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes: electric oven at 428°F, gas oven at the maximum temperature. Put a sheet of aluminium foil on the baking tray and arrange the French fries, pommes noisettes, croquettes or pommes dauphines on it. Put the tray in the middle of the oven. Cook for 15 minutes without opening the oven. Then turn over the product and let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until it is crisp and golden brown. For cooking under the grill, it is advisable to preheat at the maximum temperature. Arrange the product on the griddle and cover with a sheet of aluminium foil. Put the griddle about 20 cm. below the source of heat and close the oven door. Turn over the products after 10 minutes cooking. Grill for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Precooked potatoes in their jackets and all simple preparations consisting of potatoes and meat can be placed directly into the oven, the micro‑oven, on or under the grill, or on the barbecue.