French fry maker strives to lengthen crispiness

A french fry that has been delivered to your home is often cold, soggy and limp.

Lamb Weston, the country’s biggest manufacturer of those potato delicacies, wants better fast food.

Its customers, such as McDonald’s and Yum Brands, the owner of KFC, are increasingly teaming up with on-demand delivery services. But travel is brutal for french fries, especially when they’re squeezed next to a cold drink and a warm burger in a paper bag.

“If you put a french fry next to a shake, neither of them benefit,” said Deb Dihel, Lamb Weston’s vice president of innovation.

The company’s basic french fries will stay crunchy for about five minutes. It has recently introduced a new variety with a special batter that can remain crispy for close to an hour — even after being microwaved at home.

Spun out from the food giant ConAgra in 2016, Lamb Weston’s business is all about potatoes. Last year, it sold more than $3.1 billion in Tater Tots, hash browns and fries of all types. Some end up at global fastfood chains or local diners. The company also makes the Arby’s and Nathan’s frozen products that are sold in grocery stores.

A new type of fry starts in the ground.

At its farm in Paterson, Washington, Lamb Weston grows half a dozen potato varieties on 20,000 irrigated acres, tracking even the most minute differences in hydration, temperature and other environmental factors. Potatoes with less water make for crispier fries. Too much water can make them limp.

“Water is really the enemy,” Dihel said. “That’s what we’re trying to protect the french fry from.”

Workers monitor the fields from the Pentagon of potatoes, a room filled with computers that monitor soil conditions, crop maturity and irrigation. The plants are tested every week to measure their nutrients, a sort of blood test for plants. Using those results, workers can adjust how much water they give the crops.

Lamb Weston started testing a longer-lasting fry two years ago. Employees on a visit to China noticed dozens of delivery scooters outside a McDonald’s. They figured the trend would go global and wanted to be ready.