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When I was a fry cook we made fresh fries and kept them in a bucket of water to keep them from turning brown (not sure if that's oxidation or what), will oil inhibit the same chemical reaction?

I plan on coating the potato wedges in (canola) oil and seasonings, then broiling them, that's why I was thinking pre-marinating might be advantageous.

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On a completely personal, not-site-policy level, I really wish people wouldn't offer fictional "extra points" - unless they plan to follow through on that offer with a bounty. – Aaronut♦ Feb 26 '11 at 21:41
@Aaron yeah I guess its akin to greetings and "sorry if..." and "I'm blah blah (nothing to do with question ). Unless one had an anonymous account solely for those extra votes. Anyway, revised – mfg Feb 26 '11 at 21:57
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@Aaronut It's a figure of speech. Meaning you don't have to answer but it would be a nice bonus. But I can see how it would be confusing on a Stack Overflow site. – Brian Ortiz Feb 27 '11 at 8:14

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Yes, it's oxidation, so yes, oil will stop it happening. However, broiling the potatoes straight from the oil will not yield very good results. You are much better off par-boiling them for 3 or 4 minutes, draining them, leaving them to steam and dry out for a few minutes, then coating them in oil and seasoning, and baking them for 30-45 mins. This will yield a nice, crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside result.

So, if you're boiling them you might as well put them straight in the water you're going to use to do that.

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Par-boiling the wedges or the potatoes whole? – mfg Feb 26 '11 at 19:43
par-boiling the wedges, saves a step on the back end. You can also freeze them between the par and cook stages to increase the fluffiness. – sarge_smith Feb 27 '11 at 6:09
Yes, the wedges. For extra crispy skin, drain, steam, then put the lid on the pan and shake it for a few seconds. This breaks up the edges of the wedges and makes them crisp more in the oil. – ElendilTheTall Feb 27 '11 at 9:32
I find that blanching your wedges/chips in oil at around 150*C and not water makes the potato less watery. Remove allow to cool, make a coating then bring temp up to about 180*C and fry to crispy. You might use a thermometer but after a couple of tries you call get use to the temp needed on both. – Burdon on society Feb 27 '11 at 15:37
Kenji Lopez-Alt (no link handy, google his name for his column) maintains that water blanching provides a superior product. In fact, it's what McDonald's does to make their fries so perfect. – daniel Feb 28 '11 at 1:02
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