They make waffle fries by slicing potatoes with a crinkle-cut blade, rotating the potato between slices to create the “grid” shape, then blanching and frying them until crispy.

What waffle fries are

Waffle fries are regular potatoes cut into a criss-cross, lattice shape that gives lots of surface area for crisp edges and dips.

Most fast-food versions use starchy russet potatoes because they stay fluffy inside and crisp outside after frying.

How the waffle shape is cut

To get the pattern, the potato is run across a mandoline or slicer fitted with a ridged (crinkle) blade.

After each slice, the potato is rotated about 90 degrees (or a quarter turn), so the ridges cross each other and form the waffle holes on the next cut.

Industrial vs home methods

In factories (like for fast-food chains), machines wash, sort, and trim potatoes, then high-speed crinkle cutters slice them with that same rotate- and-slice principle to keep every fry uniform.

At home, people copy this by using a handheld mandoline or specialty slicer, rotating the potato between passes until all slices have the characteristic lattice shape.

Cooking process

After cutting, fries are usually soaked or blanched in hot water to remove excess surface starch and help them fry up golden instead of too dark.

They are then dried and deep-fried in hot oil (around typical french fry temperatures) until crisp, drained of excess oil, and seasoned with salt while still hot.

Why waffle fries are so crispy

The waffle pattern increases the surface area, which means more edges and ridges get exposed directly to the hot oil.

That extra surface gives a lot of crunchy texture while the interior stays tender, which is why many people see waffle fries as a kind of “maxed out” fry for dips and sauces.

In short: crinkle blade + rotate between slices + soak/blanch + fry = waffle fries.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.