Food scientists attempting to re-engineer the humble French fry have come up with some sugary applications, finds Angus Kidman.

Published in The Bulletin, November 12 2002

Can technology re-engineer the humble potato chip? Perhaps not. The biggest fry innovation came in 1958 when McDonald's executive Louis Martino made a discovery that radically changed how the fast-food chain produced fried potato chips, then as now one of its most popular menu items. Martino, who was seeking to automate the process of preparing fries, found that the fries were always perfectly cooked when the oil they were plunged into had risen in temperature by 3°F from the low point it reached when the raw potato slices were added.

That simple discovery was the first in a series of breakthroughs -- ranging from changing the frying compound to developing new methods to handle frozen fries -- that converted "chip" production at McDonald's and other chains from a culinary art to a precise science. Not all such attempts have been equally successful. For instance, rival Burger King's introduction of a "stealth" fry in the mid-1990s met market indifference. The idea was to make a crunchier chip by coating the potato "core" with powdered potato before frying. Burger King spent tens of millions of dollars developing the stealth fry but in the end it wasn't good enough.

Almost half a century after Martino's discovery, food science continues to work on perfecting the potato chip. The results are often disturbing. Earlier this year, Ore-Ida, an American subsidiary of Heinz, introduced a range of flavoured frozen fries for home consumption. Available choices include chocolate, cinnamon sugar and sour cream.

Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation -- an illuminating exposé of the fast-food industry on multiple levels -- documents how far the creation of artificial flavour compounds has taken fries from a simple combination of potatoes, oil and salt. Genetic modification could result in even more radical changes to the potatoes themselves.

While fries remain popular -- McDonald's Australia alone uses more than 89 million kilograms of potatoes each year -- science has yet to come up with a way to make them healthier. Earlier this year, McDonald's US operations bowed to consumer pressure and replaced its frying oil with a "healthier" alternative said to contain much lower levels of saturated fats. The plan will eventually be adopted at the chain's restaurants worldwide but nutrition advocates maintain the company hasn't gone far enough.

Under those circumstances, chocolate fries are probably not going to hit the fast-food menu just yet. And, as always, the human palate remains the ultimate arbiter of success when it comes to re-engineering the fry.