Here's How Long You Should Soak Your Potatoes For French Fries

If you want to make flawless french fries, soaking the sliced potatoes may just help you achieve the perfect crispy texture for your fries. As fries cook in the oven or fry in oil, the heat can draw moisture out, which evaporates and contributes to the resulting crispy texture. But potatoes are full of starch, which can block the moisture from leaving the potatoes. 

As the potatoes soak in cold water, starch is drawn out of the potato and into the water. Then, when potatoes are cooked or fried, more of that moisture will be successfully removed. But how long should your potatoes soak to achieve this result?

If you're pressed for time, the slightly sticky, cut potatoes should be soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes. However, a longer soak time may allow more starch to be removed. So, if you can prep the fries ahead of time, a few hours of soaking can help make them even crispier.

Depending on what style of french fries you're making, there is a limit to how long soaking will be beneficial. When making thicker-cut fries, the potatoes shouldn't soak for more than 24 hours — or 12 if you're prepping super-thin shoestring fries. After too long, the potatoes may start to absorb water, which could result in mushy fries. So, while an overnight soak may be beneficial for steak-cut french fries, you might want to allot only a few hours at most when it comes to thinner varieties.

If you do keep the sliced spuds soaking for a while, though, you may want to utilize your refrigerator. The low air temperature can help keep the potato water cold, which is essential for soaking your sliced potatoes. While cold water will draw the starch out of the potatoes, any added heat might activate it. This can create a sticky texture that will cling to the outside of the spuds, which can lead to uneven cooking or unpleasant textures.

If you suspect your spuds may have developed a starchy outer coating, simply swirl them around in the cold water to loosen it. Then, rinse the potatoes with fresh water and pat them dry. You can even use your salad spinner to give them a quick rinse and aid in drying.

Additionally, if you plan to soak your fries for an extended period of time, you may want to swap out the water. If your potatoes remain sitting in the starchy water for too long, it may be more difficult for extra starch to seep out. But if you swap out the cloudy-looking, starchy water in favor of fresh, cold water after the spuds soak for a few hours, you may yield better — and crispier — results.

The next time you're planning on making some homemade french fries, pay attention to the size of the fries. For the crispiest results, you'll want to soak your thicker fries a little longer to draw out more starch.