Question about those frozen air fryer french fry kits

Bought a bag of those 'just air fry' seasoned fries. Cost me like $8. Followed the box time. Came out soggy and weird tasting. Tried a second bag, same thing. Total waste of $16. Anyone have a good recipe for making fries from real potatoes instead?

3 comments

3 Comments

baker.simon5d ago

That "total waste of $16" feeling is the worst. I had a similar run-in with frozen onion rings that promised crispiness. Followed the directions to the letter and got a steamy, sad pile every time. It's enough to make you swear off the freezer aisle for good. I've found that with most air fryer frozen foods, you have to ignore the box time and go much longer. They seem to base it on a full, pre-heated basket, but if you're cooking a single serving, it never works. Shake them a lot, and add several extra minutes until they look right.

mitchell.wren5d ago

It's the same with a lot of product instructions now. They set you up to fail so you'll blame yourself, not the brand. You see it with cleaning products that never work as shown on the bottle, or software that needs a dozen online tutorials to function. The promise is always perfect, but the real work of figuring it out gets dumped on the customer. Makes you wonder if any of those box directions are actually tested in a real kitchen.

masonwood5d ago

You know, it might not even be about testing. I bet those times are made in a lab with a brand new machine, on a perfect voltage, with zero humidity. My ten year old oven at home with a dodgy element is a whole different world. It's like car mileage ratings. They get that number in a controlled test you can never match. So the box time is just a best case fantasy, not a real world guide.