I guess I'm old school too. Blanching is with water. Frying is frying, no matter how many times it is done.

IC - if flash frozen I can see it being done - we live in a world where everything has to be done last week. Not many places make them homemade - I'm glad I still do it that way. I bought a bag of frozen fries a while back - thought I could save time - but I just did not like the taste - almost as if they had a coating of some sort. Maybe they were flash frozen - who knows? I wonder about half the stuff out there they pawn off on unsuspecting victims (us).

CanMan - I'm with you - blanching is with water - frying is frying - whether shallow or deep frying. But then again - you have to blame the one in charge at a restaurant that is telling employees to "blanch" fries. It's apparent the one in charge doesn't know what they are talking about.

A while back there was a discussion here about cooking terms.

Today they do not know proper terms of how to prepare foods - and so many terms have been "lost" forever. I'm glad I know the terms.

A hundred years from now they may come out with "new"cooking terms - all the ones that are lost now.

I actually do blanch in water my potato strips, let them cool and dry before frying. Maybe that is what IC means too. It works every bit as well as pre-frying with a lot less fat being absorbed.

i didn't know french fries are blanched..i just do it on leafy veggies