Pommes soufflées facts for kids
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| Main ingredients | Potatoes |
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Pommes soufflées are a special kind of French fried potato. They are light and puffy, almost like little potato balloons! These tasty treats are made by frying thin slices of potato not once, but twice.
How Are Pommes Soufflées Made?
First, potato slices are fried at about 150 degrees Celsius (300°F). This cooks them partway. After they cool down, they are fried a second time at a hotter temperature, around 190 degrees Celsius (375°F). During this second fry, the potato slices puff up. They turn golden brown and become wonderfully airy inside.
The Legend of Their Discovery
There's a famous story about how pommes soufflées were first made by accident. It happened on August 24, 1837. Queen Marie-Amélie and other important guests were going to have a meal at a place called the Pavillon Henri IV. This restaurant was in Yvelines, France.
The guests were late because they were celebrating the opening of the first passenger train in Paris. The chef, Jean-Louis Françoise-Collinet, had already started frying the potatoes. When he realized the royal party was delayed, he took the half-cooked potatoes out of the hot oil.
Later, when the guests finally arrived, he put the potatoes back into the hot oil to finish cooking them. To his surprise, the potato slices puffed up like magic! This is how the famous pommes soufflées were supposedly discovered. While it's a fun story, some people think it might not be entirely true.
See also
In Spanish: Pommes soufflées para niños
