Deep Fried/Chips: Why haven't Americans learned how to eat French Fries?

Subject: Why haven't Americans learned how to eat French Fries?
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: rory_ca2 at yahoo.com (Rory)
Date: 17 Sep 2003 11:54:56 -0700
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Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise. Why is it that Americans, who are normally a progressive and curious people, are in this case so obsterperous and backward?

Of course, I reject the presumption of certain of my American cousins who claim that one of their own invented French Fries out of thin air, and who might therefore claim that the custom of serving fries with vinegar or mayonnaise is culinarily corrupt. Karen Hess, in her article on the history of French Fries in Petits Propos Culinaires, has removed any doubt about this question. Americans who insist not only on the right to unilaterally change the name of French Fries, just because they are miffed at M. Chirac, but who also claim paternity, are invited to read her authoritative words, kindly reproduced by Petits Propos Culinaires on its website:
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/lane/kal69/ppc68.htm#French%20fries
From: travis (travist34removethis at hotmail.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:03:21 -0400
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Rory left Mt Vesuvius in a state of jealous awe as he began spewing from the mouth thusly:

>Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
>they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a
>minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise. Why
>is it that Americans, who are normally a progressive and curious
>people, are in this case so obsterperous and backward?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm American and I love malt vinegar on my fries, and would prefer mayonnaise on them over ketchup any day of the week. I guess you must not know what you're talking about. :-)
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 17 Sep 2003 19:18:44 GMT
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Rory writes:
>Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
>they just don't get it.

The origin is not French.

french fries
Potatoes that have been cut into thick to thin strips, soaked in cold water, blotted dry, then DEEP-FRIED until crisp and golden brown. They are called pommes frites in France and chips in Britain.

The name does not come from the fact that their origin is French, but because the potatoes are "frenched" - cut into lengthwise strips.

Other versions of french-fried potatoes are shoestring potatoes (matchstick-wide) and steak fries (very thick strips).

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
From: Rusty Unger (rngri4 at sccoast.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:59:19 -0400
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Rory wrote:
>Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
>they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a
>minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise. Why
>is it that Americans, who are normally a progressive and curious
>people, are in this case so obsterperous and backward?

Ever heard of boardwalk fries? They are usually sold at beach areas, and in shopping malls etc. There is even a franchise now called Boardwalk Fries. These are usually best IMO with the supplied vinegar that all these places have. So yes, some Americans do eat fries with vinegar. To, me it depends on the type of fries, Boardwalk Fries always have vinegar for me, and the fast food type, ie, McDonalds etc. always go better with ketchup. It is up to the individual's like......so before you say that American's are backwards again, you better study up and make sure you know what you are talking about. Go to the boardwalk in NJ or somewhere else and you will see tons of people eating fries with vinegar.
From: wardna at aol.com (WardNA)
Date: 17 Sep 2003 20:46:05 GMT
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>So yes, some Americans do eat fries with
>vinegar.

. . . and what is ketchup but a vinegar delivery system?
From: Gary (schooley at vcn.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 18:03:36 -0600
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WardNA wrote:
> . . . and what is ketchup but a vinegar delivery system?

I used to eat fries with mayo. Just put a blob on the plate and dip them like Catsup.
From: Vilco \(out\) (novilliber at tinspam.it)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 09:25:04 +0200
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Gary ha scritto:
> I used to eat fries with mayo. Just put a blob on the plate and dip them
> like Catsup.

Hey, go to Amsterdam and see how many friggin' ways to have fruies they have found: the last I saw, this Feb, was a pinch of finely grated fresh white onion on top of a mayo topping.
Delicious!
BTW, theyr fries portions are a dozen, from the microscopic 5 fries packet to the huge 1.5 liter bowl. Dutch must love fries!
From: Jack Schidt® (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 10:33:56 GMT
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Vilco wrote:
> Hey, go to Amsterdam and see how many friggin' ways to have
> fruies they have found: the last I saw, this Feb, was a pinch of
> finely grated fresh white onion on top of a mayo topping.

There's a fella from Belgium who sells fries in a New Haven barroom with a couple dozen sauces? toppings? whatever you want to call them, from plain mayo or plain ketchup to things like wasabi mayo. Me? My favorite is brown gravy ladled on top.

Jack Fried
From: travis (travist34removethis at hotmail.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 06:45:14 -0400
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Jack Schidt® left Mt Vesuvius in a state of jealous awe as he began spewing from the mouth thusly:

>There's a fella from Belgium who sells fries in a New Haven barroom with a
>couple dozen sauces? toppings? whatever you want to call them, from plain
>mayo or plain ketchup to things like wasabi mayo. Me? My favorite is brown
>gravy ladled on top.

I prefer chili and grated cheddar cheese with mustard, or grated cheddar cheese with crumbled bacon bits and ranch dressing on mine.
From: Jack Schidt® (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 11:28:35 GMT
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travis wrote:
> I prefer chili and grated cheddar cheese with mustard, or grated
> cheddar cheese with crumbled bacon bits and ranch dressing on mine.

Yeah, I hear you like sweet clam chowder too. ;-P

Jack Busta
From: travis (travist34removethis at hotmail.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 07:55:47 -0400
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Jack Schidt® wrote:
>Yeah, I hear you like sweet clam chowder too. ;-P

heh heh
Word gets around fast on this newsgroup. :-)
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at mail.monmouth.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 09:58:08 -0400
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Jack Schidt® wrote:
> There's a fella from Belgium who sells fries in a New Haven barroom with a
> couple dozen sauces? toppings? whatever you want to call them, from plain
> mayo or plain ketchup to things like wasabi mayo. Me? My favorite is brown
> gravy ladled on top.

I wouldn't like gravy, but what a great idea, a french fries bar. Haven't had fries in a really long time, but I used to like them in a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. Hmmm, too bad, I think the place where I'm going for lunch today doesn't have regular fries.
From: Jack Schidt® (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 14:23:41 GMT
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Nancy Young wrote:
> I wouldn't like gravy, but what a great idea, a french fries bar.
> Haven't had fries in a really long time, but I used to like them in
> a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. Hmmm, too bad, I think the place
> where I'm going for lunch today doesn't have regular fries.

His are really good, I mean the fries themselves. He's doing really well and when he opened, we joked that everyone was going to gain 10 lbs, thereby allowing less people in to drink there. Anyway, good stuff going on there.

Jack Frites
From: Evander (evanclements at NOSPAMsbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 20:42:31 GMT
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Nancy Young wrote:
> I wouldn't like gravy, but what a great idea, a french fries bar.
> Haven't had fries in a really long time, but I used to like them in
> a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. Hmmm, too bad, I think the place
> where I'm going for lunch today doesn't have regular fries.

There used to be a place up at Universal Citywalk called Frites it served only fries and had a few dozen dipping sauces. I loved the place but I think I was the only one it went out of business after a year. Oh well.
From: modom (modom at koyote.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 16:26:36 -0500
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Nancy Young wrote:
>I wouldn't like gravy, but what a great idea, a french fries bar.
>Haven't had fries in a really long time, but I used to like them in
>a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. Hmmm, too bad, I think the place
>where I'm going for lunch today doesn't have regular fries.

There was a place here in Cow Hill that fried their taters twice. Once for doneness, a second time for crunch. They had good burgers, too. Unfortunately they were lax enough with their tax records that the gov shut them down. Pity. Excellent fries.
From: Rusty Unger (rngri4 at sccoast.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 21:22:50 -0400
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WardNA wrote:
>. . . and what is ketchup but a vinegar delivery system?

You are exactly right, as I take my foot out of my mouth!
From: Cyndi (rnchackett at insightbb.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 20:13:31 GMT
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Rory wrote:
: Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
: they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a
: minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise.

Rory, Rory, Rory... be careful with those blanket statements! I've been eating fries with Malt Vinegar for years. I've tried the mayonnaise thing - *whatever*. Now I do like to dip dill pickles in mayonnaise... but not the fries.
From: Jack Schidt® (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 21:36:11 GMT
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Cyndi wrote:
> Rory, Rory, Rory... be careful with those blanket statements!
> I've been eating fries with Malt Vinegar for years. I've tried
> the mayonnaise thing - *whatever*. Now I do like to dip dill
> pickles in mayonnaise... but not the fries.

But wouldn't those pickles be mo betta with Miracle Whip?? (sorry, last time.....couldn't resist....must....use ....powers....)

Jack Gas
From: Cyndi (rnchackett at insightbb.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 23:34:41 GMT
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Jack Schidt® wrote:
: But wouldn't those pickles be mo betta with Miracle Whip?? (sorry, last
: time.....couldn't resist....must....use ....powers....)

Hmmm, I dunno. I'll have to experiment... I'm thinking the answer could be YES!

Cyndi Mayowhip
From: MareCat (Nittany_Lion_in_Houston at NoSpam.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 20:20:40 -0500
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Cyndi wrote:
>Rory, Rory, Rory... be careful with those blanket statements!
>I've been eating fries with Malt Vinegar for years.

Ditto here. That's the way I prefer my fries. If vinegar isn't available, I dip 'em in BBQ sauce or mustard. Never ketchup.
From: Jeff Bienstadt (jeff at seattlefare.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 11:49:34 -0700
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MareCat wrote:
> Ditto here. That's the way I prefer my fries. If vinegar isn't
> available, I dip 'em in BBQ sauce or mustard. Never ketchup.

Back in high school, I had a friend who would order a side of chicken gravy to dip his fries into.
From: newsreader at SPAMBLOCKmyrealbox.com (j*ni)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 19:32:40 GMT
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Hark! I heard Jeff Bienstadt say:
> MareCat wrote:
> > Ditto here. That's the way I prefer my fries. If vinegar isn't
> > available, I dip 'em in BBQ sauce or mustard. Never ketchup.
>
> Back in high school, I had a friend who would order a side of chicken gravy
> to dip his fries into.

Depending on the restaurant, I get tarter sauce or a mixture of ketchup and mayo. When in Canada, I go for vinegar...
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at mail.monmouth.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 15:41:23 -0400
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j*ni wrote:
> Depending on the restaurant, I get tarter sauce or a mixture of ketchup
> and mayo.

YOU TOO!? (smile) Comes out like what, Russian dressing? Also, not tartar sauce is safe if I'm in possession of fries.

nancy (ran over a branch that landed about a foot in front of my car, yikes it's windy)
From: newsreader at SPAMBLOCKmyrealbox.com (j*ni)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 15:52:19 GMT
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Hark! I heard qwerty at mail.monmouth.com say:
> j*ni wrote:

> > Depending on the restaurant, I get tarter sauce or a mixture of ketchup
> > and mayo.
>
> YOU TOO!? (smile) Comes out like what, Russian dressing? Also,
> not tartar sauce is safe if I'm in possession of fries.

Hooray, I'm not alone! :-)

> nancy (ran over a branch that landed about a foot in front of my
> car, yikes it's windy)

I don't envy you at all -- is it winding down yet?
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at mail.monmouth.com)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:04:30 -0400
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j*ni wrote:
> I don't envy you at all -- is it winding down yet?

I'm lucky it wasn't a bigger branch, I was going about 40 mph. Funny, this morning it was bright and sunny, you would only be able to tell what happened by the number of branches and leaves all over my property and the street. It's getting pretty windy again, but all in all, we escaped the wrath of Isabel. No complaints.
From: Jack Schidt® (jack.schidt at snet.net)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 18:00:59 GMT
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Nancy Young wrote:
> I'm lucky it wasn't a bigger branch, I was going about 40 mph.
> Funny, this morning it was bright and sunny, you would only be able
> to tell what happened by the number of branches and leaves all over
> my property and the street. It's getting pretty windy again, but
> all in all, we escaped the wrath of Isabel. No complaints.

It's "Izzy" now ;-P

Glad to hear you didn't meet her face to face.

Jack Clear
From: blake murphy (blakem at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:46:15 GMT
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j*ni wrote:
>Depending on the restaurant, I get tarter sauce or a mixture of ketchup
>and mayo. When in Canada, I go for vinegar...

wontan hussy.
From: newsreader at SPAMBLOCKmyrealbox.com (j*ni)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 15:52:18 GMT
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Hark! I heard blake murphy say:
> wontan hussy.

I suppose that's better than being a wonton hussy...
From: Jeff Bienstadt (jeff at seattlefare.com)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 10:48:18 -0700
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j*ni wrote:
> I suppose that's better than being a wonton hussy...

Not necessarily. Both have their appeal...
From: yinya at webtv.net (Linda)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 17:52:06 -0500 (CDT)
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I prefer my fries dipped into a mixture of simple yellow mustard and mayonaise. Nothing else will do.
From: travis (travist34removethis at hotmail.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 19:32:17 -0400
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Linda left Mt Vesuvius in a state of jealous awe as he began spewing from the mouth thusly:

>I prefer my fries dipped into a mixture of simple yellow mustard and
>mayonaise. Nothing else will do.

I like my fries like I like my women. With big tits. :-P
From: yinya at webtv.net (Linda)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 19:12:02 -0500 (CDT)
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hummmmmmm........big tits? this is certainly an interesting news group. Think food not tits.
From: Pan Ohco (ohco at hotmail.com)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 10:04:17 -0500
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Linda wrote:
>hummmmmmm........big tits? this is certainly an interesting news group.
>Think food not tits.

Have I been missing something on my fries?
From: Craig Welch (craig at pacific.net.sg)
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:58:04 +1000
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Linda wrote:
>I prefer my fries dipped into a mixture of simple yellow mustard and
>mayonaise. Nothing else will do.

Well it must be hot English mustard, but I agree with you. To the extent that my wife and I keep a jar of it in each of our cars. That way, if we have chips at a pub, for example, we can duck out and get the mustard that they likely as not don't carry.
From: Gloria Puester (puester at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 01:22:49 GMT
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Rory wrote:
> Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
> they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a
> minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise. Why
> is it that Americans, who are normally a progressive and curious
> people, are in this case so obsterperous and backward?

I'll agree with you about vinegar, but mayonnaise??? Yuccch! Being of the Boomer-pre-fast-food generation, we learned to love fries with vinegar as fish and chips. The first fast food place (A&W Root Beer drive in) in my home town served fries with your choice of vinegar or ketchup.
From: rory_ca2 at yahoo.com (Rory)
Date: 18 Sep 2003 06:30:35 -0700
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What I find interesting is that in the Commonwealth fries are commonly eaten with vinegar and that in the US it is uncommon. This suggests that in the English speaking world, the introduction of french fries post-dates the war of independence. Or maybe there's some other reason for the difference in custom.
From: tomkanpa at aol.comic (TOM KAN PA)
Date: 20 Sep 2003 19:34:09 GMT
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French fries are like the French Army. They both go down quite easily with a shake.
From: Ranee Mueller (raneemdonot at spamharbornet.com)
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 09:37:26 -0700
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Rory wrote:
> Normally, Americans catch on quick, but when it comes to French Fries
> they just don't get it. Fries go with vinegar, the white kind at a
> minimum and preferably malt, or, alternatively, with mayonnaise. Why
> is it that Americans, who are normally a progressive and curious
> people, are in this case so obsterperous and backward?

Because, as you suspected Americans are idiots just waiting to be told the right way to do things by kind people like you. On behalf of my brethren, I thank you.