I used to spray my fries with olive oil - big mistake

For like 2 years I was spraying olive oil on my frozen fries before air frying, thinking I was being healthy. Then I tried tossing them in a bowl with a tablespoon of avocado oil instead, and man, the texture is so much better now. They actually get crispy in 12 minutes at 400 degrees instead of that soggy mess. Has anyone else made that switch or am I late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

leebrown13d agoTop Commenter

Heard a chef on a podcast talking about how olive oil has a lower smoke point than people realize, so it burns before it can crisp up anything properly. That stuck with me cause i used to wonder why my fries came out sad. Avocado oil is the way to go for high heat cooking, no question. Your fries went from that weird steamed texture to actually getting crunchy, which is a huge upgrade. Its wild how much the oil type matters even if it seems like a small detail. Glad you figured it out cause soggy fries are the worst.

king.dakota12d ago

Saw a video from a food scientist breaking down how olive oil burns at 375 degrees, which explains why it never crisps up right in the air fryer. @leebrown mentioned that podcast and its spot on, avocado oil really does change the game for crispy texture. I made the same switch after reading about smoke points and haven't looked back since.