The french fry is one of Americas favorite foods, but how can you make great french fries at home?  To read more about the interesting history of the potato

http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/9.2/fries/fries-09.2.html

The Critical steps in making french fries.

1. Buy high quality potatoes.  Russet and Yukon gold are commonly used.
2. Buy potatoes in advance.  Potaoes stored below 45 degrees convert stach into sugar.  Give them several days in your home above 50 degrees to allow sugar to convert to starch.  ( increasing starch content reduces moisture )
3. Peel and cut your fries and store in water at room temperature overnight.  ( starch swells as it absorbs water…this is how we get the creamy center that we want)
4. Dry potoes the best you can with a towel and we are going pre-cook them at 325 degrees.  The time required is going to depend on the thickness of your fries.  Shoestring you can probably skip this step, regular cut probably 3-4 minutes, thick cut longer.  The idea is to drive off some of the moisture before the final fry.  Remove and drain on a rack or paper towels.
5. Finally fry at 365-375 degrees until crispy and brown.  I always recommend salting them immediately after removing from the oil.

There are many different ways to fry them, dutch oven, counter top fryer, etc.  Always keep in mind the amount of oil in relation to the fries, as adding anything to hot oil will lower its temperature.  If it gets to low the fries will come out greasy, so use a larger amount of oil or cook potatoes in small batches.  There are many types of oil/lard you can use I recommend using any type suitable for frying that suits your taste.

  I hope you find this informative and keep in mind many of these same principles apply equally well to making POTATO CHIPS!