Don’t seal the fate of your take-out orders of French fries, with containers, that trap the hot steam of the potatoes coming right out of the fryer. Potatoes start out with about 80% water and the frying draws out a lot of the moisture, which is replaced with oil. But the fries still have water and will release steam.

A Styrofoam clam box is not a good solution for hot fries headed out the door. There are no vents. A waxed cup may look great and work for small servings of fries, but when a customer orders a large ounce container, only the top third will have crispy fries. Work your way thru the rest of the cup and about half way down you’ll find nothing but soggy fries. Cones work a little better with a large surface area on top to disperse the steam. The QSR and Fast Food chains often have worked out the best solution with the pop up heavy stock paper containers. These have built in vents and just a little bit can really help. The boats may let the fries get cool a little faster, but provide a nice area to add in a squeeze of ketchup. While every container has plus and minus attributes, placing the fries in one of these containers and putting in a paper bag is much better for the quality than the Styrofoam non-vented alternative.