FavorFlavs #41

We all have them: favorite flavors, ingredients, and kitchen tools. FavorFlavs we always reach for (again). These are ours.

Fries

It had to happen eventually. After all, when your heart is full of something, your mouth can’t stop talking about it: fries. Or chips, as some of our editors stubbornly insist on calling them. (We won’t name names.)

Fries, chips, or pommes frites—what’s the difference? When we’re not eating them, we want to eat them. And when we’ve just eaten them, we’re already thinking about the next time. And about the sauces we’re going to dip the golden potato sticks into.

We prefer to cut and fry the fries ourselves.

Of course, we’d prefer to cut and fry the fries ourselves. Using the right potatoes (Frieslander or Agria, depending on the season), in the right oil (peanut) or the right fat (Ossewit), at the right temperature (first fry at 150, second at 180 °C), and with the perfect balance of fluffy interior and crispy crust.

Fortunately, there are more and more good fry shops serving carefully and expertly cut and fried fries. From wafer-thin shoestrings to tree-trunk-thick varieties, from waffle fries to lazy-woman fries with the skin still on. The latter are currently a favorite at the hip eateries.

It’s a shame that they look so surprised at fine-dining restaurants when you order a portion of fries on the side. Don’t they know that everything tastes better with fries?