Description
French fries or simply fries or chips, are pieces of potato that have been deep-fried. In areas where "chips" is the common term, "French fries" usually refers to the thinner variant found in US-influenced fast food restaurants, or to the even thinner "shoestring potatoes. These are deep-fried, very thin, salted slices of potato that are usually served at room temperature. French fries have numerous variants, from thick-cut to shoestring, crinkle, curly and many other names.

First the peeled and lengthwise crisscross cut potatoes are 'pre-fried' Some home cooks who prepare French fries from scratch cook them a single time in a generous amount of oil pre-heated to a temperature until they are golden and slightly crisp. Care should be taken, not to burn with brown patches at this stage. Then they are taken out, tossed to avoid clumping, and served. The crispier, the tastier. French Fries are quick to prepare and are a low food cost. They're popular all year round, any time of day or night. Not all potatoes will produce good French fries. For good fries potatoes need a high solids content to ensure a distinct, mealy texture and hearty flavor. The low moisture content means less shrinkage for improved yield and extended plate coverage. Nowadays its available in frozen section in prepackaged form, All u have to do if deep fry and relish it

How to Select
They are readily available at restaurants or Mac Donald outlets. Very quick and easy to make at home. So, you can either relish the home made or at outside.

Culinary Uses
· Add a little zest to French fries by coating them with breading and spices, which include garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and salt.
· These can be enjoyed at any given time of the day.
· Mostly relished with tomato ketchup. It also tastes good with chilli sauce, salsa or mayonnaise or a cheesy dip.

How to Store
Once fried, should be served immediately as it may loose its crispiness. Soggy French fries is usually avoided. Hence, no storage should be ideally done. Even if you have to pre fry and then store for few hours and can be refried again.

Health Benefits
· Most people, of course, realize that something this sublimely delicious can't be very nutritious. We've known for years that soaking potatoes in hot oil can spike levels of artery-clogging cholesterol - and all that salt isn't healthy either, especially for those with high blood pressure.
· However, it isn't much of a nutritional powerhouse otherwise, especially when you fry it in oil.
· The real problem, though, is that virtually all fast-food fries are made using hydrogenated vegetable oils, which contain trans-fatty acids. These trans fats promote heart disease by boosting levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol, and lowering HDL, or good, cholesterol. Also, if the fast-food fries aren't made with hydrogenated oils, the frying may still convert the oil to trans-fatty acids.
· French fries may be tasty, but doctors have long warned against consuming them too often because of their hefty doses of both sodium and saturated fats.
· For dieters, French fries have long been a forbidden thing.
All these combined studies suggest that potatoes and French fries in particular may not be a good nutritional choice, and should be eaten sparingly.