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There are four main factors which influence how a chipped potato turns out when fried. The first is the amount of starch in the potato, then there is the amount of 'waxiness' followed by the moisture content and finally the sugar content.
What you really want is a potato which contains a decent amount of starch. The starch contributes to a fluffy interior of a chip. But too much starch and too little 'waxiness' will result in the potato falling apart when cooked
The sugar content of the potato principally affects the how quickly the potato turns brown. Too much sugar and the chips will turn brown before the exterior crisps up, too little and the chips will appear pale and anemic.
Too much starch in a potato will also cause chips to appear over brown. This is why most recipes (our recommended one as well) specifies that after slicing potatoes into chip shape, the uncooked chips are well rinsed in water before cooking, this removes much of the starch.
When frying chips at home for eating immediately you have a large advantage over your local chip shop. When a chip shop sells you a portion of chips they have to allow for the fact that you may well take the chips home and consume them 15 minutes or so later.
This is not always the case but chip shops cater for this and cook their chips accordingly. Often the chips are also wrapped in paper (to retain heat) which will lock in moisture around the chips, this leads to the chips being soggier than is ideal.
The ideal chip should be crisp on the outside with no sogginess. The best restaurants know this and they expect their chips to be eaten very soon after cooking.
So, what variety of potato can you easily grow as an amateur gardener to produce the perfect chip for eating in you own home?
Cooking method aside, two of the the best potato varieties for the very best chips are King Edward or Maris Piper. They are floury maincrop varieties but not so floury that they fall apart when fried. Other close contenders are Golden Wonder and Desiree.
One surprise entrant to the best variety for chips is Kestrel. Surprising because it is not a Maincrop but a Second Early.
For the very best, crunchiest and fluffy chips we recommend the three times cooked method. It can be found here, and you will end up with the best chips - see the picture below. The article goes into the best oil to use, cooking times and more.
Crunchy Chips
We add at this point, that air fryers will never give you anywhere near a perfect chip. They may well be more healthy for you because of the tiny amount of oil used, but let's face it, a healthier but very lacklustre portion of chips is missing the point of eating delicious food.
You don't cook chips at home often, so when you do, cook the best not some soggy imposter. Read this article by Jay Rayner - we totally agree with it.
BEST VARIETIES FOR EARLY POTATO CROP
BEST POTAT0 VARIETIES FOR ROASTING
BEST POTATO VARIETIES FOR CHIPS
BEST VARIETIES FOR MASHED POTATOES
OTHER POTATO PAGES
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