Saratoga Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Slice the potatoes as thin as possible.
Soak the slices in a bowl of ice water for 2 to 3 hours.
Dry the potato slices using a clean coarse towel.
Fry
Heat the fat in a kettle to 400°F (200°C), ensuring it's at least 4 inches deep.
Fry the potatoes in the hot fat a few at a time, stirring to prevent sticking.
Remove them with a skimmer when they turn light yellow and drain on brown paper.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Starch and thin slices crisp into a light, crunchy texture when fried.
- Fat
- Carries heat into the slices so they cook quickly and brown evenly.
The step that matters
Drying the potato slices. Surface water turns to steam in hot fat, causing violent spattering and cooling the oil. Drying the slices well keeps the fat hot so the potatoes fry crisp rather than soggy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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