This Tangy Addition Gives Frozen French Fries New Life

When you're tired and hungry at 1 a.m., a bag of fries from the freezer — while they aren't hand-cut, gourmet double-fried fries — definitely beats a takeout or a midnight food run. But it being late at night doesn't mean you have to be content with munching on soggy, tasteless fries. As it turns out, if you have this unexpected ingredient in your pantry, it can help you turn a platter of sad, frozen fries into a masterpiece: canned, store-bought sauerkraut.

Look, we know it's not a pantry staple, but it can do wonders for your fries (along with many other dishes). The briny acidity cuts straight through the heaviness of fried potatoes and brings plenty of flavor to the snacking table. Drain it carefully (or it'll turn your fries soggy), warm it on a stovetop, then pile the sauerkraut onto your hot fries. Top with mayo or mustard if you're feeling fancy, and have a taste. For being "merely" fermented cabbage, the flavors it creates feel way fancier than the effort required.

Love the new trick and want to take things a notch further? Sauerkraut, once dehydrated and ground down, turns into a delicious seasoning powder. Simply sprinkle it on hot fries anytime you want a quick snack. The process is easy enough, the only tricky part's the tool. If you've invested in a food dehydrator, you're set. No dehydrator? An oven works too.

Squeeze out the liquid first — you want the cabbage bone dry before the dehydrator even gets involved. Spread it out on a tray, set your dehydrator to 120 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and let it run for five to six hours until everything's crispy. (No dehydrator? Oven works too — lowest heat, 30-minute bursts with the door open for roughly an hour.) Pulse it all in a food processor, and you've got concentrated fermented flavor in powder form.

Start small — a teaspoon or so — to feel it out before you go wild. If you fancy a more traditional seasoning blend, stir it with some salt. The powdered sauerkraut can stay potent for up to a year in a glass jar, and, outside of fries, you can use it on anything that needs a sour kick — a topping for pastrami sandwiches, roasted vegetables, whatever. It's a flavoring hack in a jar!