Final answer:
Pre-cooking a basket of fries should take several minutes, with a suggested starting point of around 5 minutes. This time allows for energy application to be consistent, leading to a quality product.
Step-by-step explanation:
When pre-cooking a basket of fries, an approximate time mentioned in the reference material is several minutes. Taking into account that energy and the consistency of cooking are important, we can infer that the fries should be cooked sensibly for a little less than 2 minutes to maintain the quality without overcooking or undercooking, as suggested by the reference in needing to be roughly consistent with given data.
Moreover, if we consider the scenario provided in the reference material where a manager seeks a consistent serving size, the pre-cook time would also need to ensure each order of fries reaches a mean cooking quality. The precise pre-cooking time may variably depend on the amount of fries and the fryer used, but starting with about 5 minutes could be a good benchmark, carefully observing the fries for the desired texture and doneness, and adjusting the time accordingly for future batches.