Why yes, the forecast does say 83 degrees for Monday.
Yes. I do live in the land formerly known as the Frozen Tundra.
Yes. Frog Prince and I did what any good frozen-tundra dwelling resident would do on a day when temperatures topped out in the 60s. We grilled.
Brats, 40-minute whole wheat hotdog buns, pickles, & sweet potato fries. We pulled out all the stops. Even though it seemed incredibly strange to be doing so on our winter snowflake dishes.
When the average high at this time of year is barely 40, we’ll take it. And, by the looks of things, that soup I had planned for St. Patrick’s Day might be out of the question.
Since grilling season is apparently here, we did a side-by-side comparison of sweet potato fries made using parchment paper and a baking mat.
Sweet Potato Fry Baking Challenge
Sweet potatoes were cut using our julienned fry slicer (thanks to my sister for that awesome birthday gift). All fries were tossed into a large bowl, seasoned with olive oil and sea salt & pepper.
Thus, all fries were the same size/thickness, and were homogenized before parsing onto to separate baking trays:
Tray 1: Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper
Tray 2: Baking Sheet with Silicone Baking Mat
Fries were baked at 425 for 15 minutes, tossing once during cooking at the 7 minute mark.
Here’s a side-by-side visual comparison of our trays of fries:
 |  |
| Tray 1. Parchment Paper Lined Tray | Tray 2. Silicone Baking Mat Lined Tray |
Our verdict:
Fries baked on the Parchment paper were much crispier in the same amount of time, and had a better overall texture than those baked on the silicone baking mat.
While I really dislike wasting parchment paper, the results really were distinct. And, for the flavor and crunch difference, it’s worth it to us to make our fries this summer using parchment paper. We do re-use our parchment paper – we can get about 3-4 fry makings out of the same piece of parchment paper, so I guess that’s better than tossing it after each use.
The Bottom Line:
We’ll be making our sweet potato fries on parchment paper! And, we’ll be grilling our potato fries.
Linked to: Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday
I've noticed I prefer parchment paper over silicone for baking bread too.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try parchment the next time. Last time we made sweet potato fries, I pre-boiled the fries for just a few minutes. Best fries we ever made. If I combine that with the parchment to crisp them up, sounds like a winning combo!
ReplyDeleteOur forecast looks alot like yours and we're in GA. Looking forward to some sunshine. Grilling is a great idea! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's grilling season! Woohoo! The weather is awesome and I hope it continues through March here! (and beyond). Nice to know about the parchment with the sweet potato fries, I LOVE them, thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! It really is warm in your neck of the woods! I'm so glad you're enjoying it :)
ReplyDeleteGotta love this awesome weather in MN! We grilled out this past weekend and will this coming weekend too! Your meal looks so yummy!
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty cool ... I've got a pretty decent stock of parchment paper from Target on clearance from 2010 after holiday clearance ... I suppose I should stop being stingy with it and just use it! :) Thanks for the tip ... gonna try (as I'm trying to get away from the white fries!)
ReplyDeleteI reuse my parchment paper too! Fold and store in fridge or freezer for next time.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I've never even thought of using parchment for sweet potato fries! Duh! I will definitely try it next time. I usually just throw them right on a baking sheet that I've sprayed with a little non-stick spray. We love sweet potato "fries" around here! We season ours with cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, and a little bit of ground cayenne pepper. We have these often, at least once a week during grilling season!
ReplyDelete