Why Are French Fries Not Gluten-free?

Ever been in a situation where someone is offered some French fries and they say “No, thanks, I want to steer clear of gluten” or “No, I’ve got celiac”? Of course, you may wonder, “What the heck has gluten got to do with french fries?”

Most tubers like potatoes are gluten-free but your potato isn’t french fries until it is soaked in some key ingredients that make them irresistible, and that’s why you munch your french fries with great relish but sadly they may contain some gluten.

The question is, is it possible to get French fries that aren’t baptized in gluten? Well, you are just about to find out about that. 

Why are French fries not gluten-free?

Let’s start by knowing what gluten is right? Gluten belongs to a family of storage proteins. These storage proteins are technically known as prolamins. Prolamins are found in grains like wheat, barley, rye, and many other grains. Gluten acts like “glue” that puts the wheat, barley, and a host of other grains in shape. Are you getting to see the relationship gluten’s got with your fries?

Potatoes are gluten-free but in the process of turning them into french fries, they may become gluten-filled during the preparation process. Most of the ingredients used in preparing french fries contain gluten. So, there you go! That’s a major reason why french fries aren’t gluten-free

Also, many restaurants do not make french fries alone, they sell a lot of fries like doughnuts, which are made with flour (a gluten-carrier). These fries have one thing in common: they need oil to get fried. Oftentimes, restaurants make use of the same oil for frying and in the process of frying, the oil absorbs gluten, thereby making the oil gluten-filled. This is transferred to the french fries if used with the gluten-filled oil, and oops! That’s how you end up getting served with served gluten french fries. 

Fried potato isn’t the same as French fries. Many restaurants use preservatives, extra flavorings, and ingredients to make french fries more crispy. 

You should know what some of these ingredients are.

Ingredients	Gluten status	Purpose
Potato	Gluten-free	Main ingredient
Vegetable oil	Gluten-free	To fry
Seasoning	Gluten filled	To sweeten
Salt	Gluten-free	To sweeten
Batter	Gluten filled	For crispiness
Mayonnaise	Depends on the brand	For serving
Ketchup	Depends on brand- some brand use grain to produce ketchup	For serving

Procedures for making French fries 

Step 1- Peel, rinse and cut the potato into sticks. The thinner they are, the crispier. After this, put the cut potatoes in a large bowl filled with cool water. Leave it to soak for 20 minutes or an hour. Doing this will help to get rid of excess starch and will make your fries more crispy.

Step 2- Once you are done cooling, drain the potatoes and clean them with a kitchen towel. Once you are done with this, carefully arrange them on a baking sheet to air-dry them.

Step 3- Heat vegetable oil for some minutes. Once it gets hot, fry for 3 to 5 minutes. It’s best to work in batches if you are making a lot of potatoes. Adding too many fries at a time will bring down the temperature of the oil and cause soggy fries. Fry until the potatoes are a little bit cooked. They should look as pale as they are when you placed them in the oil at first.

Step 4- The next step is to drain and the half-done fries. Carefully lift out of the oil and place on a cooling rack. Leave it to cool for about 30 minutes or some hours. You can also also keep it for some hours in a freezer and fry them the next day.

Step 5- Fry the potatoes again. Continue to fry until it turns crispy. Don’t allow the potatoes to turn brown, rather golden. 

Step 6- Once you are done frying, remove the fries from the oil and drain them. Sprinkle fries with this pure ocean sea salt while still hot.

Step 7- You can serve your french fries in a bowl and use any dipping sauces of your choice. 

Do all French Fries contain gluten?

Given the explanation of the cooking process of French fries, it can be said that not all French fries contain gluten. Having gluten-free French fries means you must be certain your delectable fries have not come in contact with any gluten ingredients added to them before or during the frying process. 

The best thing is to make sure that the french fries are cooked in a different fryer from other foods that might contain gluten. Examples of such foods are ones made with wheat, barley. So, relax there is a huge possibility of having some crispy French fries without needing to bother about some gluten if you follow these rules.

Tips to help avoid French fries containing gluten

French fries is one delicacy we have put in the hands of restaurants who are experts and make them so well, but how can you be sure that they can serve you gluten-free french fries? Here are some of the things you could do.

Pay attention to details before you order

Many restaurants always explicitly state the gluten status in their French fries. You’d probably see cases where they add “While there’s some food that’s gluten-free alone, cross-contamination is likely”. 

Ask questions 

You never go wrong by asking the right questions. So you can ask the chef serving you if their French fries are gluten-free or not, you can ask if they prepare their fries with other meals. They are ethically obligated to tell you the truth. 

Make your French fries at home

If you can, you should make your French fries at home. This way you have control over gluten; meaning you can avoid gluten in your French fries. You can follow the procedure above leaving out the ingredients that have gluten. Just make sure you have to get your french fries cutter and french fries machine ahead

Choose a special restaurant

You can have a special restaurant where your concerns will be treated with the utmost respect and desire to serve you. 

Where can I get French fries without gluten?

Are you wondering if any restaurants sell gluten-free French fries? Of course, some restaurants make crispy, tasty gluten-free French fries.  You can make a stop by and order your yummy French fries. Let’s take a tour of the restaurants. 

Arby’s 

Arby’s is known for their “We have the meats”. So, you can try stopping for some French fries with them. 

Five Guys

Five guys offer a wide range of gluten-free foods including fries. You could check through here

In And Out Burger

In and out Burger makes the list especially because they are popular for considering both Atkins and gluten-free devotees. Their fries are gluten-free but you can ask them to be double sure.