Of course, you could do either, and many pleasant culinary discoveries are made by trial-and-error! However, I’d recommend immediately immersing the freshly-cut ribbon fries in chilled water with a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar (about a teaspoon per gallon) to minimize discoloration. This will also serve to rinse off some of the surface starch; which, if left as-is may make the fries stick together in clumps in the fryer.