Rightly so, fries now appear on all types of menus from fast food all the way up to fine dining restaurants. They range from the trusty old faithful thick cut chip, to now including crinkly, curly, shoestring, steak cut, wedge, waffled, seasoned, hand cut, double fried, skin on, duck fat and beer battered. The revolution continues - move over tomato sauce, there are new condiments in town. Introducing gravy, béarnaise, aioli, jalapeno cheese, bbq sauce, ranch, mustard, mayo, buffalo, sriracha, parmesan and chilli cheese.
Now I am not suggesting we eat more fries as moderation is important, but it should be about the quality of fries. Well-cooked fries should have the ever important balance between crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Using the right potato is key. It can’t be watery or too in high sugar. Our favourite is Agria. With its great golden colour and the right mix of sugar and starch, it will produce great fries every time. Fries should be cooked in fresh clean oil (no trans-fat), well drained, served hot and well-seasoned. Soggy, under cooked, cold or unseasoned are just not acceptable. You might roll your eyes thinking, “they are just fries” but I can tell you after years in the hospitality industry, fries have made up a significant part of my ‘staple’ diet; fries are a quick, convenient, carbo- loading fix. I have also seen the looks on people’s faces and read the body language when fries aren’t up to standard; there is nothing worse than being sold twice cooked chips that promise to be crispy but aren’t or you are desperate for your hangover cure and you are served soggy fries or your drive through chips are cold, hard and have no seasoning. Bad fries are like hard poached eggs on your benedict, it’s just not good enough.
So please, don’t accept it any more, stand up for your humble fries. They deserve more and they are certainly here to stay.
Check out these sites whose commitment to chip greatness is to be admired.
www.lordofthefries.com.au
www.belgianfries.com
