Potato chips three ways

Method

1. Choose firm potatoes with no sprouts or green areas. In Germany, buy a dry mehligkochend or vorwiegend festkochend potato. Agria is a useful widely sold all-purpose example. Do not use refrigerated potatoes, which may contain more reducing sugar and brown too quickly.
2. Scrub or peel, then use a guarded mandoline to cut exact 1.5 mm rounds. Keep the guard between hand and blade. Rinse until the water is mostly clear, then soak in 1.5 litres cold water for 20 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse. Spin in a salad spinner, then press between clean towels until completely dry. Water left on the slices prevents oven crisping and causes violent splashing in hot oil.
4. Choose one cooking method below. Mix one complete seasoning while the chips cook. Grind dried herbs and coarse powders in a spice mill, then pass lumpy blends through a fine sieve.

Air-fryer method

1. Heat the air fryer to 170°C. Toss all the dry slices with 10 ml oil. Load no more than 150 g raw potato per batch in a loose layer. A little overlap is acceptable only if the slices separate when shaken.
2. Air-fry for 14 to 20 minutes. Shake and separate the slices every 4 minutes, removing finished small chips after 12 minutes. Do not leave the machine unattended near the end.
3. The chips are ready when gold yellow, dry, and rigid. Cool one test chip for 30 seconds and check that it snaps. Transfer immediately to a wide bowl and season while hot. If powder does not adhere, mist with no more than 1 ml oil before tossing.

Oven method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C. Toss the slices with 15 ml oil. Arrange no more than 250 g raw potato on each lined 33 by 46 cm sheet pan in one layer with no overlap.
2. Bake for 10 minutes, turn every slice, rotate the pans, and continue for 8 to 16 minutes. Remove smaller chips as soon as they are gold yellow and dry. Avoid dark brown edges.
3. Move the hot chips to a wide bowl and season immediately. If using two pans, season each half with half the chosen blend as it leaves the oven.

Deep-frying method

1. Put 1.5 litres neutral high-heat oil in a dry, heavy 4 litre pot. The cold oil must sit below the halfway mark. Keep the matching metal lid nearby, set a frying thermometer in the oil, and keep water, children, and pets away. Never leave hot oil unattended.
2. Heat the oil to 175°C. Lower no more than 100 g fully dry slices with a wire skimmer. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring gently to separate, until gold yellow and bubbling has nearly stopped. Keep the oil at 170 to 175°C and let it recover to 175°C between batches.
3. Drain on a rack over a tray for 30 seconds, then season while the surface oil is still hot. Never add seasoning above the fryer.
4. Turn off the heat after the final batch. Let the oil cool for about 2 hours. Strain reusable oil into a sealed light-proof container and refrigerate. Discard cloudy, foaming, or foul-smelling oil in a sealed container or through a local oil-recycling service. Never pour it into the sink.
5. If oil ignites, turn off the heat only if safe, cover the pot with the metal lid, and use a suitable kitchen fire extinguisher. Never use water and never carry the burning pot.

Seasoning blends

Every formula below seasons chips made from 500 g raw potato. Use one complete blend, not all ten. For air-fried or oven-baked chips, toss the powder with the chips immediately after cooking and use a 1 ml oil mist only if needed. For deep-fried chips, season after 30 seconds of draining while the residual oil still binds powder. Fully dry, dairy-free blends keep airtight in a cool dark cupboard for 1 month. Label the jar with its allergens and keep every spoon dry.

Fine sea salt

Grind 4 g fine sea salt for 10 seconds so it falls evenly. Toss with the hot chips in two additions. There are no priority allergens, but check flavoured salt labels for cross-contact.

Salt and vinegar

Whisk 6 g vinegar powder, 4 g fine sea salt, and 1 g sugar, then sieve. Apply immediately after cooking. The dry blend stores for 1 month. For immediate serving only, simmer 30 ml malt or white-wine vinegar to 10 ml, cool for 2 minutes, mist it over hot chips, then add 4 g salt. This wet route softens in storage and is not pantry-stable. Malt vinegar contains gluten unless certified otherwise.

Sour cream and onion

Grind 8 g sour-cream powder, 3 g onion powder, 1 g garlic powder, 2 g dried chives, and 3 g salt. Toss with the hottest chips so the dairy powder adheres. Contains milk. Store the dry blend airtight according to the dairy powder’s shorter label date, for no longer than 1 month.

Barbecue

Sieve 6 g smoked paprika, 4 g brown sugar, 2 g onion powder, 1 g garlic powder, 1 g mustard powder, 3 g salt, and 0.5 g cayenne. Toss promptly, because the sugar binds best to a hot surface. Contains mustard. Store airtight for 1 month.

Dill pickle

Grind 5 g vinegar powder, 3 g dried dill, 2 g onion powder, 1 g garlic powder, 3 g salt, and 0.5 g sugar until fine. Toss with hot chips in two additions. The fully dry blend stores airtight for 1 month; fresh dill or pickle brine is not a storage-stable substitute.

Cheddar

For cheddar, sieve 12 g cheddar-cheese powder, 2 g onion powder, 2 g salt, and 1 g paprika. Contains milk. For the dairy-free alternative, omit cheddar powder and instead use 10 g nutritional yeast, 1 g mustard powder, 0.5 g citric acid, 2 g onion powder, 2 g salt, and 1 g paprika. The alternative contains mustard and is dairy-free only if every label confirms it. Toss either blend with hot chips. Store to the shortest ingredient label date, for no longer than 1 month.

Canadian ketchup

Sieve 10 g tomato powder, 4 g vinegar powder, 4 g sugar, 2 g onion powder, 1 g garlic powder, 1 g paprika, 3 g salt, and 0.2 g allspice. Toss in two additions. Tomato and vinegar powders clump easily, so store airtight for 1 month with a food-safe desiccant sachet if available.

Garlic and Parmesan

Mix 20 g microplaned Parmesan, 2 g garlic powder, 2 g salt, and 0.5 g black pepper. Toss with the chips as soon as they leave the heat. Contains milk. Because this uses fresh grated cheese rather than dried cheese powder, make only what you need and discard leftover blend. Eat the seasoned chips the same day.

Chilli and lime

Sieve 4 g mild chilli powder, 3 g fully dried lime powder, 3 g salt, and 1 g sugar. Toss with the hot chips. Store the dry blend airtight for 1 month. Fresh zest or juice is an immediate-serving variation only and will soften the chips.

Rosemary and black pepper

Grind 2 g dried rosemary, 2 g black pepper, and 3 g salt to a fine powder. Toss with the hot chips in two additions. Store airtight for 1 month. Fresh rosemary is too coarse and moist for a shelf-stable chip powder.

Notes

• Cool chips uncovered in one layer for 10 minutes before packing. Store airtight at room temperature and eat within 2 days. Do not refrigerate or freeze.
• All three methods need small batches. Doubling the ingredient quantity means cooking more batches, not loading the basket, pan, or fryer more deeply.
• Cook potato products gold yellow rather than dark brown. EFSA advises avoiding excessive browning and notes that frying above 175°C can sharply increase acrylamide formation.
• Base chips are vegan and free of gluten, dairy, nuts, and sesame when cooked in uncontaminated oil. Individual blends change the allergen profile. Sour cream, cheddar, and Parmesan contain milk; barbecue and dairy-free cheddar alternative contain mustard; malt vinegar can contain gluten; peanut oil introduces peanut risk.
• Dry seasoning powder can travel without an ice pack. Garlic and Parmesan chips should be eaten the day they are made and not kept warm in a sealed container.

Sources consulted

• USDA FSIS: Deep fat frying and food safety
• EFSA: Acrylamide in food
• BZfE: German potato cooking types and varieties

From Christoph Mayer

Enjoyed this? Buy us a coffee ☕