Looking for commercial applicance with "no frying" for fries

[krhunter]

Hi! I'm new to the forum. I am looking for recommendations on applicances that could be used to cook french fries that taste as good as fried but are cooked in a healthier way. Is there such an appliance that makes the food taste great and is really fast? I am considering starting a business that would be able to be a side walk vendor type (or a drive to the workplace site) and offering fast, fresh food that tastes great but isn't fried and I would like to include french fries. Any suggestions?

[quicksilver]

Good morning, and welcome, krh.

I am no expert on what you are asking, but hang on.
As people wake and log on, I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback.

As far as fries go though, it's my understanding, from watching food shows, they dip potatoes in very high heat fryer to "seal" the potato, raise it out, then dip it again to "cook" the inside. This keeps them "healthy" because the oil isn't absorbed into the potato.
Another tip is, they don't put so many in at a time, so
as to NOT lower the temp of the oil too much.

I make sweet potato fries on the stove, in cast iron skillet, with about an inch of peanut oil, on as high a heat as my electric stove gets, and make sure the outside of the potato is DRY before putting in oil, so they don't splatter. I do batches, and then remove them to cookie sheet, to a warm oven, til all are done, kosher salting as they come out.

Good luck with your quest.

[krhunter]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have found some stoves made by Whirlpool and GE that say they are speedcook and use quartz lighting and convection. It says they cook food really, really fast and can crisp food. I don't how well that works, but I am looking for something like that as a commercial oven that support fast, fresh and really tasty food that can be served quickly to waiting customers, including fries that have no grease. DOes that sound like a tall enough order? I am kind of looking for a specialty oven I think that is portable (can be used if there is no electricity available) and provides just the right type of cooking for fresh and delicious "fast" food.

[Michael in FtW]

Well - good news, and bad news. Yes, there are hot air fryers that can cook up a batch (1-1.5 lbs) of fries in 3-4 minutes. The bad news is that they require electricity.

I don't think the battery powerd street vendor push carts will have enough power to run one - they usually run low power things like refrigeration units, lights, etc. I've never seen one with enough power to run an appliance without being plugged into an outlet.

Now, if you want to go with the bigger "Roach Coach" based on a pickup truck (usually limited to selling pre-cooked/prepared foods) or a larger one based on a delivery van (that you can equip with a small kitchen and drive to a site and cook to order) ... you can get an electric generator (gas, deisel or propane) that would handle the power requirements.

Good luck in your venture.

[stassie]

I remember buying fries from a place in Perth, Australia, once, which were not fried. I'm not a lot of help, since I can't remember the name of the place, or how they cooked them, but I do remember that they tasted as good as the real thing.

They were indoors, though - they may have been using a system like Michael mentioned above.

Edited to add that google being my friend and all, I found the name of the store - Midland Gate : Fit Chips. Obviously, from this link, they do use the air-frying technique mentioned.

[Corey123]

I found this one through Google. There are many more websites listed there under the category of convectiion ovens.

Try here; Convection Ovens Countertop - Home & Garden - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review .

There are a whole slew of convection ovens there that might be perfect for you.