Why you should eat extra fries right now (this is serious)
Because of the closure of the hospitality industry, Dutch potato farmers are left with a huge mountain of potatoes for making fries that they can’t get rid of at any price. Altogether, it amounts to – don’t panic – a billion kilos of potatoes. And if they aren’t eaten in the coming months, they’ll rot in the barns. So: eat fries for a good cause!
Potato farmers are watching it all with dismay. Their barns are full of crates of potatoes. Part of the 2019 harvest was sold recently, when everything was still normal. But there’s still plenty left. About a billion kilos are waiting in barns – converted, that’s about sixty kilos per Dutch person. These are special potatoes for fries, which aren’t actually that tasty in a mashed-potato dish or simply boiled until floury. So, to save the potatoes, we all need to start eating fries en masse.
Do it! Eat fries!
Sixty kilos of fries per person is inhumane. But you can do your best. So: eat fries. Preferably the kind made by artisanal fry shops from real potatoes, right in front of you. Where can you find the tastiest ones? We’re recommending a few favorites.
Par Hasard, Amsterdam
Sharon: “The best fries are without a doubt the ones from Par Hasard. You’ll find this friterie with Limburg roots in Amsterdam (Ceintuurbaan + Hoofddorpplein), Alkmaar and Scheveningen. Besides the fact that the fries are unbelievably delicious (in other words: the right thickness, supremely crispy, and seasoned with just enough salt), the friterie opens into a café with a bar, so you can drink fries with a glass of champagne in incredibly stylish surroundings. And believe me: it’s a fantastic combination!”
Van Ree, Hoorn
Sabina: “A household name in Hoorn: Van Ree. They already had a little shack near the station when I was in secondary school, and whenever we had PE in sixth and seventh periods, half the class would sit in front of that wobbly hut poking at fries – sorry, Mr Kamphuis. Luckily, they’re still around, now with four branches, each neighborhood of Hoorn having the warm atmosphere of a slaughterhouse (white tiles, fluorescent lights), plus a fry cart at the Saturday market. No fuss, just fries made from potatoes, perfectly fried, an enormous dollop of mayo on the side and, as a bonus: those small crispy pieces waiting for you at the bottom of the carton.”
Hap Wat, Amsterdam-Noord
Delilah: “Snackbar Hap Wat, on the NDSM site. I wouldn’t eat off the floor here (for some inexplicable reason, there’s carpet too), but the fries are real—not from frozen bags, but made from potatoes they peel themselves—so this is where some of those millions of kilos should go.”
Preferably not
Steffi: “I don’t like fries. Can’t they turn them into vodka?”
