The Great French Fry thread!

[Dinner]

This seems like a pretty straight forward question but let's go over a few of the different options.



Shoestring cut french fries - probably the most traditional type of french fries which I am sure we are all familiar with.



Curley fries - The potato is cut to make one long curley fry instead of the traditional straight cut/shoestring fries. Often these are spiced. Tornado fries are curley fries taken to the extreme.



Wedge Cut fries (sometimes called potato logs) - The potato is cut into wedge or arc shaped pieces then fried.



Crinkle cut fries - The fries are cut so that there are ridges and valleys on them. Some people claim that helps to hold ketchup or other condiments better.



Waffle fries (also called criss cut fries) - These are larger than normal fris and are cut with grooves 90 degrees apart on each side.



Home fries - The potato is sliced in circular shaped pieces along the minor axis.



Tater Tots - Technically not a french fry but it is made from grated potatoes and is often sold as a french fry substitute.

I think I got all the major french fry types listed though we haven't even gotten into the topic of what people's favorite condiment on fries is; there are a lot of options: Ketchup, mayo, aioli, mustard, hot sauce, brown sauce, ranch dressing, gravy, malt vinegar... The list goes on and on plus there are dozens of choices as toppings so many I won't even get into that. Heck, then people can discuss which types of potatoes work best as things like starch and protein content (not to mention water content) vary by type of potato used and lastly there are at least a half dozen different cook methods. So it looks like there are a lot of decisions to be made when making a seemingly humble french fry.

[Boris Godunov]

Sweet potato fries with ketchup FTW.

[Tuberski]

If FTW means "For The Wussies", then you are correct.

ACK!

[onodera]

I prefer pan fried potato slices.

[Colonâ„¢]

WTF are those abominations you call fries?

[Colonâ„¢]

This is what fries are supposed to look like:

[Dinner]

To see how extreme french fry toppings can get here is a picture of a San Diego favorite (it's sold at virtually every taco shop) called Carne Asada Fries.



It's kind of a regional food which takes french fries to the extreme and turns them into a whole meal in themselves. They take regular french fries then top them with carne asada (marinated beef flank steak chopped into small strips), pico de gallo, massive quantities of shredded cheddar cheese, a squeeze of lime, sour cream, guacamole, and the optional addition of the hot sauce of your choice. As poutine to Canuckastan so carne asada fries are to southern California.

[Dinner]

Canada's preferred method of consuming french fries. Smoothered in cheese curds and brown gravy.

[regexcellent]

The ones they have at any average fast food place like burger king.

[Dinner]

I prefer pan fried potato slices.

In the US they call that Home Fries though they can be cooked in either a pan or dropped into a deep frier.

[Dinner]

The ones they have at any average fast food place like burger king.

Last week I tried Burger Kings new low fat french fries. They were ok but not great. I also noticed they seemed to put twice as much salt on their fries to make up for the fact that they're low in fat and so not as tasty. Believe it or not McD's french fries are the best in the fast food catagory; it's the only thing I like at McD's. What's odd is McD's fries are the most processed of all as they're powdered potato starch mixed with water then poured into a mold but I guess their twice fried method of cooking makes up for their terrible ingredients.

[giblets]

Waffle fries or curly fries. Anything with MAXIMUM SURFACE AREA.

[giblets]

To see how extreme french fry toppings can get here is a picture of a San Diego favorite (it's sold at virtually every taco shop) called Carne Asada Fries.



It's kind of a regional food which takes french fries to the extreme and turns them into a whole meal in themselves. They take regular french fries then top them with carne asada (marinated beef flank steak chopped into small strips), pico de gallo, massive quantities of shredded cheddar cheese, a squeeze of lime, sour cream, guacamole, and the optional addition of the hot sauce of your choice. As poutine to Canuckastan so carne asada fries are to southern California.

Hipsters even ruined french fries?

[Dinner]

Carne Asada fries predate hipsters by several decades. I admit they're a regional thing specific to San Diego and surrounding areas. I have noticed that taco shops as far north as Santa Barbara now carry them on the menu though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carne_asada_fries

[Tuberski]

We have a place here in San Antonio that makes them. Big suprise, it's Roberto's.

ACK!