the world of french fries

French fries are served hot, either soft or crispy, and are generally eaten as part of lunch or dinner or by themselves as a snack, and they commonly appear on the menus of diners, fast food restaurants, pubs, and bars. They are often salted and may be served with ketchup, vinegar, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, or other local specialities. Fries can be topped more heavily, as in the dishes of poutine, loaded fries or chili cheese fries. French fries can be made from sweet potatoes instead of potatoes. A baked variant, oven fries, uses less or no oil.

Shoestring fries are long and skinny, resembling the strings you use to tie your shoes. This yields a crispier french fry, and once they are tossed in salt, you achieve that oh-so-delicious ratio of crunchy to soft to salty. The next time you find yourself at the McDonald's drive-thru, Reader's Digest recommends going big and ordering a large serving of french fries. You will get more bang for your buck, not to mention the fact that there will be more fries to go around.

If you prefer your french fries to come with as much of that soft, pillowy interior as possible, be on the lookout for restaurants that serve steak fries. Imagine a thick, robust cut of your favorite steak. That is essentially the idea behind the design of steak fries — a larger surface area, and a thicker cut of potato. Because of the larger surface area, steak fries tend to be on the softer side all around than skinnier fries like shoestring or curly fries. Not everyone loves steak french fries, however, so if you are looking for a nice crunch, you will not find that here.

Potatoes get a bit of a bad rap for being a starch-laden vegetable, caught between having more carbs than we would like to admit and containing some beneficial nutrients as well (via Cleveland Clinic). While your garden variety russet potato should be eaten in moderation, in recent years health food fanatics have fallen head over heels in love with sweet potatoes. Packed with vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A (which is good for your eyesight), sweet potatoes are considered a superfood (per WebMD). So imagine everyone's delight when they found out that sweet potatoes make for a great plate of french fries.

Waffle fries are a bit trickier to make from scratch at home since you will need a tool specifically designed to cut your potatoes into a waffle shape. So, these may just be an elusive style that you will only find in restaurants or the freezer section. But they are a nice way to break up the monotonous structure of the everyday fry, providing a large bite of deep-fried potato with a generous amount of dipping sauce.

Ten years ago, not many people would have given truffles the time of day, despite their well-established history of being rare, pricey fungi. More recently, however, truffle flavor has spiked in popularity. Nowadays it is becoming more and more common to find truffle fries on the menu at your favorite local restaurant and even at some national chains. 

Truffle fries are more often than not a skinnier style of fry, like a shoestring cut, and are tossed in or sprinkled with rich, truffle-infused oil. They are commonly topped with parmesan and herbs and will usually be accompanied by some sort of aioli for dipping instead of ketchup. Basically, these are your basic fries fancied up big time. But if you have grown bored with standard fries over time, switch things up and give truffle fries a try. The elevated flavor profile may help you fall in love with the side dish all over again.

Head to any local state fair or theme park, and you may spot people walking around with what looks like a potato that has been either spiralized or sliced ultra-thin and stretched out on a long, thin stick. What you are marveling at is a tornado potato or tornado fries. It is believed that this particular street food actually has roots in South Korea, but over time it has become a global hit (via Tornado Potato Fries). Now, you would be hard-pressed to visit any sort of festival or fair without spotting at least one vendor serving them.

With a large surface area, these also serve as a great base for a variety of toppings and seasonings, possibly because it seems to fall in the middle between a potato and a french fry. Keep your eyes peeled next time you head to a fair, a festival, or anywhere that has a lineup of food vendors. You just may spot a tornado potato, and you will want to run — don't walk — over to try one for yourself. Or, make your own version of a plated tornado potato fry in your own kitchen using a sharp knife, a wooden skewer, and your favorite combination of toppings.

French fries can be defined by their shape, like shoestring versus waffle fries. They can also be categorized by their type — think regular versus sweet potato. Some styles of french fries, however, are defined by what comes served on top of them. Case in point, if your french fries are topped with brown gravy and cheese curds, they aren't just french fries, they are a dish called poutine.

Often thought of as the national food of our neighbors to the north, poutine was invented in Quebec as a Canadian delicacy. The dish has grown and evolved over the years to include all sorts of different toppings. Still, the gravy and cheese curds are the signature components of any good poutine. Another quintessential characteristic of poutine is the mess. The sloppier, the better, and its name actually hails from a Quebecian slang term that translates to 'mess.' While french fries and gravy are rather simple ingredients to make yourself, cheese curds are not the easiest food to recreate at home. As they are the key ingredient to perfect poutine, you might want to look for pre-made cheese curds at your local supermarket or specialty store. 

If you have ever visited New Orleans, you may have spotted a menu item that you do not typically see anywhere else. Step aside french fries, because pommes soufflés, also known as potato puffs, have entered the chat. This style of french fries is triple-fried, giving them a unique puffy texture. Another distinction that separates pommes soufflés from other french fries is that they are not deep-fried, but instead, they are pan-fried.

The fanciness is only matched by the difficulty in making them, as they require an ultra-hot pan and the added step of blanching them to achieve that perfect puffy texture. Personally, we'll leave it up to the pros to whip up a tasty batch of these puffy potatoes the next time we are in New Orleans.

We have one frozen food giant to thank when it comes to making sure our home freezers are always stocked with crinkle-cut french fries. This specific cut ranks highly among the Ore-Ida french fry options sold in grocery stores, and for good reason. There is something magnificent about the simple crinkle-cut french fry that is difficult to top, and even celebrity chef Duff Goldman is a crinkle-cut fanatic. The rigid shape of this particular style of fry gives it a little extra "oomph" over your regular garden-variety rectangular prism-shaped french fry. The signature ridges also act as a great way to hold onto every last drop of your favorite dipping sauce.

Fans have plenty of love to share with crinkle-cut fries, specifically the kind that have been sold by Ore-Ida for years. They are perhaps the quickest and most efficient way to serve crispy fries at home. As many reviews on Target's website point out, they are a simple yet yummy side dish to throw in the oven or air fryer to round out your meal.

If you were to imagine a shoestring french fry being wrapped in a curling wand, it would result in the basic shape and structure of curly fries. These coil-shaped fries are a favorite amongst fans, and not just for the shape. There seems to be a distinguishable flavor to curly fries that other styles don't seem to emulate. This is largely due to the fact that most of the curly fries you find at fast food chains and even many restaurants come from similar recipes. Many manufacturers coat them with a comparable combination of flour and seasonings like paprika and garlic. So, we suppose if you have tried one curly fry, you have tried them all.

If you want to make curly fries at home, your life will be made much easier if you have a spiralizer. If you don't, you can use a knife to carefully cut spirals into the classic twisty shape as you rotate the spud. The key is to use as long of a potato as possible to yield the longest, curliest fry possible.

Every other french fry style out there leads to the mac daddy of them all — the loaded fries. No matter what shape, size, or texture your french fries have, nothing takes them to the next level like dumping a whole ton of toppings on them. From melted cheese and a variety of proteins to guacamole, loaded fries are the ultimate comfort food that makes your eyes widen and your stomach growl.

This dish is so popular that even fast food chains are offering loaded fries to get in on the craze. This gives you a convenient way to enjoy this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-style food. Simply put, if you have spent all of these years only dipping your french fries in ketchup, you might be missing out big time. There's an entire world of sauces and toppings that can elevate fries from a simple side dish to a full-on meal. From chili cheese fries to animal-style fries at In-N-Out Burger, the loaded french fry frenzy is far-reaching and the perfect satisfying treat.

Add vinegar, water and potato strips to a pot, cover, and heat to boiling. Boil for 10 minutes.

Why vinegar? The acidity of the vinegar holds the potatoes together so they don’t get mushy and fall apart while boiling.

Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape. Vinegar increases the acid pH levels of water which further helps the potato just like when you add a little salt to the water while boiling eggs. 

Double frying helps with that evaporation process. By letting the potatoes rest and cool between the dips in the oil, additional water evaporates from the skin. When you put it back in to finish frying, the rest of the water evaporates, which allows the skin to brown and crisp quickly before the potatoes overcook. 

Double Fry Method = Crisp exterior, fluffy interior – If you want the best homemade french fries, you really need to cook them twice. First at a lower temperature to make the interior soft like a baked potato, then a second time at a higher temperature to crisp the edges. 

A dip or dip sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, chopped raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, falafel, and sometimes even whole sandwiches in the case of jus. Unlike other sauces, instead of applying the sauce to the food, the food is typically placed or dipped into the sauce. 

Dips are commonly used for finger foods, appetizers, and other food types. Thick dips based on sour cream, crème fraîche, milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, soft cheese, or beans are a staple of American hors d'oeuvres and are thicker than spreads, which can be thinned to make dips.

Tomato ketchup is made from tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar, with seasonings and spices. The spices and flavors vary, but commonly include onions, allspice, coriander, cloves, cumin, garlic, and mustard, and sometimes include celery, cinnamon, or ginger.

Some versions of the sauce are closer to a garlic mayonnaise, incorporating egg yolks and lemon juice, whereas other versions lack egg yolk and contain more garlic. The latter gives the sauce a pastier texture, making it more laborious to produce as the emulsion is harder to stabilise. There are many variations, such as adding lemon juice or other seasonings. In France, it may include mustard.

This fry sauce is made with a 50/50 ratio of mayonnaise and ketchup with a few added ingredients for flavor: apple cider vinegar, mustard, pickle relish, hot sauce. There are other recipes for fry sauce with a different ratio of mayo and ketchup, and additional ingredients. 

Mix mayonnaise, Sriracha, lemon juice, and black pepper together in a bowl until well combined. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated. 

it's also a delicious as a topping for salmon or shrimp tacos or as a dip for roasted okra or potatoes. 

Alongside the pesto and mayo you’ll need lemon juice. The lemon juice cuts through the richness of the sauce and adds a gentle, but vibrant kick of flavour. Fresh lemon juice works best here, stay clear of any bottled stuff or it’ll throw off the flavor. 

Honey mustard mayo is simply mayonnaise mixed with mustard and honey to create a tangy, slightly sweet condiment that goes well with so many dishes.

It is made with only four simple ingredients and takes minutes to prepare. There is no need for this mayonnaise to rest before using, so you can whip up a batch quickly whenever you need it.

Adding spice to ketchup totally changes the flavor. The heat level is pretty intense, so start by adding a few drops of sriracha or your favorite hot sauce and go from there. 

Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. 

This nacho cheese starts with a roux made of equal parts butter and all-purpose flour. Milk: You'll need a cup of whole milk. Cheese: For this classic nacho cheese recipe, opt for sliced processed American cheese. Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the savory flavor of the nacho cheese. 

This DIY Fry Seasoning is not only great on homemade or frozen french fries, but it’s also great on roasted potatoes, homemade potato chips, and more! Ready in minutes, it’s a great seasoning mix to have on hand in your cupboard. 

It's similar to a seasoned salt. Yes, you could just use seasoned salt or buy a fry seasoning, but the seasoning mix is quick and easy to make at home. That way you can adjust the spices to your personal preference.

Like I mentioned, it’s not only delicious on homemade French fries, but you can use this seasoning on a wide range of other potato dishes or really in place of seasoned salt on a wide range of food.

From the choice of potatoes, the frying process, up to the secret ingredients that make the fries incredibly addictive, nothing is left unturned. Discover why McDonald's fries taste so distinctive, the careful balancing of salt, and even how to get a special batch of unsalted fries just for you. Don’t miss out on understanding the science and fine-tuning behind the fries that are loved by millions worldwide. 

Chef Frank Proto is back to help you achieve one of the home cook's holy grails: restaurant-style french fries. Watch as he demonstrates how to slice up and deep fry potatoes in your own kitchen that will rival any you'd find while eating out at a restaurant. 

Who doesn't love the crispy salty golden french fries? In this food history video, we dive into the origins of french fries, asking these questions: Who invented french fries? Where do french fries come from? Are french fries French?  This is the history of french fries, and everything you need to know about french fries origins.