There's a lot that goes into making perfect French fries at home. You have to start with the right type of potato, cut them uniformly, and use a neutral oil with a high smoke point; all of these factors influence the final result, but if your homemade fries are still lacking in crispness, you're probably not following this one crucial step.

After your potatoes have been cut and rinsed, they should be soaked in a bowl of cold water overnight. The long soak gets rid of extra starch that can prevent the fries from crisping up and can make them stick together in the fryer, and while this step does require a bit of extra planning, it requires almost no extra active work in the kitchen.

Serious Eats recommends taking the prep step even further and partially cooking your fries in water before putting them in the fryer, which helps the potatoes to keep their shape and promotes browning. Allegedly, this par-cooking method is used by McDonald's cooks to create the chain's famously light and crisp fries.