The difference between a frozen fry that crisps like a restaurant fry and one that comes out soggy and flat usually has nothing to do with how you cook it. It has everything to do with how it was processed before it reached your freezer. Blanching, the heat treatment applied to potatoes before freezing, is the step that determines whether a fry has a chance at genuine crispiness or is working against itself from the moment it hits a hot pan. Roots Farm Fresh uses steam blanching instead of the water blanching that dominates conventional frozen fry production, and the difference in the finished product is measurable. Available at Sprouts, Erewhon, Natural Grocers, Harris Teeter, Kroger banner stores, and online at rootsfarmfresh.com with free shipping.
What Blanching Actually Does and Why It Matters
Blanching is not a cooking step. It is a preservation step. Fresh potatoes contain naturally occurring enzymes, primarily peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase, that remain active even at freezer temperatures. Without deactivation, these enzymes continue breaking down the potato's color, flavor, and texture during frozen storage. Every frozen fry on the market goes through some form of blanching before freezing. The question is not whether to blanch, it is how.
Why Water Blanching Produces an Inferior Frozen Fry
Water blanching is the dominant method in conventional frozen fry production because it is fast and inexpensive at industrial scale. When a cut potato is submerged in hot water, the enzymes are deactivated — which is the goal — but the potato's cell walls are also saturated with water. Boiling can destroy up to 50% of vitamin C and 60% of B vitamins in vegetables. The starch matrix inside the potato cell walls, which is what creates a crispy crust during cooking, is weakened by water absorption. The potato arrives at the freezer already softened from the inside out.
A water-blanched fry has to work against that moisture and that weakened starch structure to achieve crispiness during cooking. Conventional manufacturers compensate with additives: modified starches to restore texture, dextrose to support browning, sodium acid pyrophosphate to control discoloration. Every additive on a conventional frozen fry's ingredient list exists partly because water blanching created a problem that required a chemical fix downstream.
How Steam Blanching Works and Why It Produces Better Results
Steam blanching exposes the potato's surface to heat and moisture without submerging it, achieving the same enzyme deactivation without the water saturation. Cut potatoes pass through a chamber of saturated steam at approximately 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The surface temperature rises quickly enough to permanently inactivate the enzymes. But because the potato is never submerged in liquid, the cell walls do not absorb water, the starch matrix stays structurally intact, and the water-soluble nutrients stay in the potato.
The result is a potato that arrives at the freezer in a fundamentally different condition than a water-blanched one. When you cook a steam-blanched fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit in an air fryer, the exterior can develop a genuine crispy crust because the interior is starting from a lower-moisture, structurally intact state.
Steam blanching also retains significantly more nutrients than water blanching. Harvard Medical School recommends steaming as a cooking method for a healthy diet, and steaming is the superior method for preserving vitamins and nutrients compared to boiling, precisely because the food never comes into direct contact with water.
The Additive Consequence of Choosing Water Over Steam
The choice of blanching method has a direct effect on how many ingredients a frozen fry needs. This is causal, not coincidental.
Water blanching softens the starch matrix, so modified starches are added to compensate. Water blanching leaches natural flavor compounds from the potato, so dextrose and natural flavor additives are used to restore what was removed. Water blanching increases moisture content in ways that affect browning during cooking, so sodium acid pyrophosphate and disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate are added to manage the color.
Steam blanching eliminates the root cause of most of these downstream problems. When Roots Farm Fresh white potato fries contain only two ingredients, organic upcycled potatoes and organic avocado oil, it is because steam blanching eliminated the need for the additives that water blanching makes necessary.
Steam Blanching and Sustainable Processing
Steam blanching also uses significantly less water than water blanching at production scale. Conventional hot water blanching systems require large tanks of heated water that must be continuously refreshed, generating high-biological-oxygen-demand wastewater requiring treatment before discharge. Steam blanching produces a fraction of that wastewater because the potato is never submerged. For a brand built around upcycled sourcing, organic certification, and reduced food waste, the water efficiency of steam blanching is consistent with the same principles that drive every other production decision Roots makes.
How to Cook Roots Fries for Maximum Crispiness
Air fryer (best results):
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
- Spread fries in a single layer, do not stack or overlap.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes.
- Shake the basket halfway through.
- Serve immediately for maximum crunch.
Oven (alternative method):
- Preheat oven to 425°F with an empty sheet pan inside.
- After 2 minutes, carefully remove the hot pan and spread fries in a single layer.
- Cook for 18-22 minutes until golden and crispy.
Certified Clean at Every Level
Roots Farm Fresh products carry independent third-party certifications across every claim on the packaging. The products are certified USDA Organic, Allergen-Free (Big 9), Gluten-Free, Vegan, Halal, Kosher, and Upcycled Certified. The production facility holds BRC AA certification, the highest possible Global Food Safety Initiative score, and is permanently and exclusively certified gluten-free, allergen-free, vegan, halal, and kosher. Gluten and allergens never enter the building.
Roots Donates to Feeding America and Local Food Banks
Roots donates fresh potatoes to Feeding America and other local food banks helping stamp out food insecurity.
Where to Find Roots Farm Fresh
In stores: Sprouts Farmers Market, Erewhon, Natural Grocers, Marianos, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, and other Kroger banner stores nationwide. Use the Grocery Store Finder to locate the nearest retailer.
Online: Shop directly at the Roots Farm Fresh shop for free shipping on every order.
Same-day delivery: Order through Instacart.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is steam blanching and why does it produce better frozen fries? Steam blanching deactivates the enzymes in cut potatoes that cause browning and texture degradation during frozen storage, without submerging the potato in water. Water blanching saturates the potato's cell walls, leaches water-soluble nutrients and flavor compounds, and creates a softened interior that resists crisping during cooking. Steam-blanched fries start from a structurally intact, lower-moisture state, which means they can develop a genuine crispy crust.
Why do most frozen fries use water blanching instead of steam? Water blanching is faster and less expensive to operate at industrial scale. Most conventional frozen fry manufacturers choose water blanching because the downstream additive costs of compensating for its effects are cheaper than switching processing methods.
Why do Roots fries have so few ingredients compared to conventional frozen fries? The short ingredient list is a direct consequence of the processing choices made upstream. Steam blanching preserves the potato's natural starch structure, flavor compounds, and lower moisture content, which means modified starches, dextrose, natural flavor additives, and browning agents are not needed to compensate for what water blanching removes. Roots Farm Fresh white potato fries contain two ingredients: organic upcycled potatoes and organic avocado oil.
Does steam blanching retain more nutrients than water blanching? Yes. Because the potato is never submerged in liquid, water-soluble vitamins including vitamin C and B-complex vitamins are not leached into the blanching water. Boiling can destroy up to 50% of vitamin C and 60% of B vitamins, while steaming is the superior method for preserving vitamins and nutrients precisely because food avoids direct water contact.
Are Roots fries certified gluten-free and allergen-free? Yes. Every Roots Farm Fresh product is certified Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free for all Big 9 allergens. The production facility is permanently and exclusively certified gluten-free, allergen-free, vegan, halal, and kosher. Gluten and allergens never enter the building at any point. The facility holds BRC AA certification, the highest possible Global Food Safety Initiative score.
What are upcycled organic potatoes? Upcycled potatoes are certified organic potatoes rejected by grocery supply chains for cosmetic reasons only: irregular shape, size variation, or minor surface markings. They are nutritionally identical to cosmetically perfect potatoes. Roots Farm Fresh is certified Upcycled by the Upcycled Food Association. The EPA has identified upcycling as one of the most environmentally preferable pathways for reducing wasted food.
The Full Roots Farm Fresh Line
All products are made with certified organic upcycled potatoes and organic avocado oil, seed oil-free, allergen-free, and gluten-free across the board.
White potato: Classic Cut Fries, Crinkle Cut Fries, Crispy Waffle Fries, Crispy Potato Wedges, Crispy Potato Tots, Crispy Hash Browns
Sweet potato: Sweet Potato Fries, Crinkle Cut Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Potato Waffle Fries, Sweet Potato Tots, Sweet Potato Hash Browns, Sweet Potato Toast, Sweet Potato Croutons
Available in 15oz bags in stores and online. Subscribe at rootsfarmfresh.com for monthly delivery with free shipping, flexible quantity, and no contract.
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