French Fry Factory Employee

I was inspired by some of the incorrect posts in the below linked thread. Im in management and know most of the processes at the factory I work at, but I am not an expert in everything. Ask me anything. Throwaway because it's about my current employer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/lfc6uz/til_that_french_fries_are_called_like_this/

Edit: Thanks for all the questions, I hope I satisfied some of your curiosity. I'm logging out soon, I'll maybe answer a couple more later.

Comments: 1211 • Responses: 63  • Date: 

camtarn3 karma

Which process is the most of a PITA to tune / goes wrong the most?

MechanicFun85947 karma

We transport potatoes around with flumes(waterslides as I like to think of them). Sometimes the pump loops can be hard to tune. We try to tune it once and forget, but life happens.

mynewme2 karma

Do you feel that factory made French fries are far inferior to hand cut fries (like at In N Out and Five Guys)?

MechanicFun85944 karma

No, there definitely is a texture difference. Neither is superior.

jwink31012 karma

Do you get frustrated when people wax poetic about In and Out Burger's fried that are obviously not factory made?

I personally think they taste really bad compared to just about every other place's french fries but I am no connoisseur

MechanicFun85942 karma

Never really hear talk about hand cut fries.

tingzhb1 karma

I hear that fries can be fried, cooked, chilled or frozen multiple times before leaving the factory. If so, what is the process like and what is each stage for?

MechanicFun85945 karma

We fry ours, and freeze ours only 1 time. Technically we have different stages of frying and freezing, but they are done consequetively

HobbitFoot1 karma

What cooking do you do with the potatoes to save restaurants time? I've heard that the best fries are usually cooked once before deep frying, do you do that in your factory?

MechanicFun85942 karma

Everything is fried, even tater tots, before being frozen then packaged.