Subject: Fries (WAS: Re: Potato Pancakes Latkes)
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

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From: Jill McQuown
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 09:22:48 -0500
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Grandma wrote:
> On the other hand, french fries served German style with mayo instead of
> ketchup are remarkably wonderful.

Don't know about what German's dip their fries in, but french fries are allegedly a Belgian creation. Twice fried to ensure crispness, once at a fairly low heat to cook the potatoes through, then removed and drained (sometimes floured), then fried again at high heat to crisp them. They don't need anything but a bit of salt and pepper.

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From: Grandma (krmwb at earthlink.com)
Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 22:07:37 GMT
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Back when I lived in Germany near Frankfurt just about every street corner had a food stand that sold fantastic french fries in paper cones served with mayo (cooked just as you describe starting with fresh not frozen potatoes) and/or brats/sausages of various sorts.

The food was always wonderful, filling and cheap and most of those stands always had a line in front of them. NOTHING so wonderful as really fresh french fries. Never been able to stomach the McDonald's variety since.

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From: MH (bastzine at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 03:32:17 GMT
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And not allegedly, pommes frites are a Belgian creation. They are not called "french fries" in Europe.

Pommes frites in Europe can come with a variety of dipping sauces, depending upon what country you are in. It can be American-style ketchup, or a more orangy variety, plain mayo or an herbed and spiced type or curry sauce. I had curry sauce with my pommes frites in the Netherlands, a strange orangy ketchup in Germany and Remolaid sauce in Denmark. All good.

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From: anne.charlet at bull.net (aec)
Date: 7 Sep 2001 05:52:11 -0700
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Grandma wrote:
> Back when I lived in Germany near Frankfurt just about every street corner

Germany near Frankfurt, eh?
Me too! Kronberg in Taunus - heard of it? Small town, known for its strawberries and wealth, nestled in the hills. Beautiful, especially for that area. Were you stationed there? (I've just met lots of Americans who lived in Germany through the army).
I loved the food there too. (Bit too much, in fact...)

Did you ever eat Kartoffeln in Gruene Sosse?

Frankfurter Grüne Soße, Frankfurt green sauce. This piquant sauce was already well-known in Goethe's time. It is usually eaten in Springtime. A true "Frankfurt green sauce" contains at least nine herbs (the herbs must also be fresh):
Sorrel -- (Sauerampfer - Oseille - Rumex scutatus)
Borage - (Borretsch Borago officinalis)
Lovage -- "sea parsley" (Liebstoeckel Levisticum officinalis)
Chervil (Kerbel -- Cerfeuil - Antriscus cerefolium)
Parsley (Peterrsilie)
Burnet (Pimpinelle Potericum sanguisorba)
Chives (Schnittlauch)
Dill
Sage (Salbei) - only a small quantity

Sorrel is the main flavor in the sauce: the younger and fresher the better it tastes. Of course one can make up one's own combination of herbs, however it should not be done without the Sorrel.

Peel three hard-boiled eggs and put the egg yolks into a dish.
Add 125g of mayonnaise and 250g of sour cream and mix well, creating a sauce.
Add 1 Tbs of vinegar to the sauce.
Sort and wash the herbs. Finely chop 5 tbs of herbs into the dish let it sit for a while.
(The recipe suggests this is best with home-made mayonnaise...)

In many areas of Hessen this sauce is eaten on "Gründonnerstag" (Holy Thursday -- the night before Jesus' death, remembering the Last Supper) with roast or boiled potatoes.

It can also be put on eggs...
Another recipe:
Eier in gruener Sosse = Eggs in Green Sauce (German)
(posted by: tant.eva at telia.com)

1/2 cup (125 ml) sour cream
1/2 cup (125 ml) yogurt
1/4 cup (60 ml) mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
9 to 13 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1+1/2 cups (375 ml) finely chopped fresh herbs (any combination of parsley, tarragon, chives, dill, sorrel or fennel greens, etc)
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine the sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Finely chop one of the eggs and stir it into the mixture, along with the herbs, sugar, salt, and pepper. Spoon the sauce onto a serving platter or individual plates. Slice the remaining eggs in half and arrange them on the sauce. Serves 4 to 6. This cold dish originated in Frankfurt and was reportedly one of the favorites of Goethe. It is frequently served with boiled potatoes, which are dipped into the sauce.

I love it - the kids hate it ("mayonnaise with grass in it!")

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From: Grandma (krmwb at earthlink.com)
Date: Sat, 08 Sep 2001 04:09:25 GMT
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Anne wrote:
> Me too! Kronberg in Taunus - heard of it? Small town, known for its

Oh yes I have been to Kronberg! Kirchgoens, near Giessen and Butzbach, lived in Grossen Linden - beyond tiny. Yes, we were there courtesy of the US Army not long after Elvis left (and where he was most fondly remembered), where my ex was the platoon sargent of the very first TOW platoon outside the US. He was gone nearly all the time either off on manouevers or showing off the new toy and I was the only person in town that spoke English other than my landlady's 7 year old grandson, who was forbidden to speak a single English word because his German was suffering. So I learned German (much forgotten after more than 20 years with little or no practice) and dear Lydia taught me to bake all of her specialties - wonderful cakes and pastries. At Christmas we made literally thousands of cookies. I'll send you a couple of recipes when I dig them out closer to Christmas.

No, I've never tried Frankfurter Grüne Soße, but you can be sure that come spring I will.