Ask Dr. Potato

In cooking school, after blanching our French fries, we left them in the refrigerator (or even the freezer) before the final fry. How does refrigerating a blanched French fry create a better final product?

Can I freeze the left over potato salad?

Can I charge for a twice baked potato on my menu? Right now I include them free as a choice of side dishes. What I want to do is take it off the menu and re-introduce it.  Willing to go a little upscale if needed.

Any ideas on how to make my potato salad have a little zip or extra zing?

What was the first nationally marketed retail frozen French fry?

Does soaking potato chips in different liquids before frying change the flavor of the chip? If so, what liquid would change the flavor the most?

Could an Idaho russet potato with high sugar content still have high solids?

I read somewhere that Idaho has some of the most advanced potato storage facilities in the world and that russets can be saved for a year or more. Is that true?

Can the USA ever run into the same issues with potato blight that Ireland did? I read that because Idaho only grows one variety, the Russet Burbank, that this could happen here. True or False?  

I used to work with a fellow who grew up in Idaho and at one time worked in a potato processing plant.  He told me that the potatoes were immersed in chemical(s), and this concerns me.  As I recall one of the reasons for using the chemical(s) was to inhibit the growth of the potato eye. Can you enlighten me as to how potatoes are processed and what chemical(s) are used before the potatoes are shipped to grocery stores?