Without Salt, There Are No Fries

Star chef Sergio Herman is opening a series of chip shops under the name Frites Atelier Amsterdam (read about it here). For this, he developed his own sauces, trays and forks. He also sprinkles his own salt with Zeeland sea lavender. Salt expert and former chef Jeroen van Wieren of De Zoutkamer in Amsterdam on the perfect salt for fries. For when you want to play Sergio at home.

Jeroen van Wieren: “Chip-shop salt – Sergio Herman probably calls it fry salt – needs to have a very fine grain in order to stick to the potato sticks. It should also be sprinkled on as quickly as possible after frying. Wait ten seconds too long and no salt will stick anymore.”

Salt for Fries

“That’s why I developed my own very fine-grained salt for fries last year. A blend of natural, unprocessed sea salts and rock salts from different countries. It sticks and tastes perfect.”

“Sergio fries the skin along with the potato for more potato flavor. That does create some additional sticking problems. If you serve the fries in a cone-shaped paper bag, all the salt immediately slides down to the tip. He must have thought about that, as he thinks about everything. I suspect that’s one of his reasons for choosing a fry tray.”

Salt for fries needs to have a very fine grain in order to stick.

“If you prefer coarser salt to fine salt, I recommend dipping the fry in the sauce first and then briefly dipping it in the salt. That immediately creates a completely different, surprising taste experience.”

Salt Gardens

“A beautiful salt for this is Sal Martins from the so-called salt gardens of Mondego near Figueira da Foz in Portugal. The coarsest table salt you can get. If you want it slightly finer, choose fleur de sel from those same salt gardens.”

“If you like an extra flavor, you could try paprika-chili salt made with salt from the Himalayas. Delicious on fries, but also on fried potatoes, for example.”

Crispy Salt

“And as an alternative to the salt developed by Sergio himself with Zeeland seaweed, you can use the algae salt from Le Paludier in Guérande, France. It also adds a crispy, subtly briny sea flavor.”

De Zoutkamer is a webshop with more than 80 varieties of wild salt and a shop at Spaarndammerstraat 34, Amsterdam.

Image: Marjan Ippel