The Humble Potato

The simple chip can be served thick or thin, curly or crinkly. And no pie, battered hake, burger – or steak – is complete without it. If that fillet could speak, it would say: “You complete me”.

Like macaroni and cheese, bacon and eggs; so too steak and chips…

The potato is the world’s fourth largest food crop, and the Incas were the first to farm potatoes even before baby Jesus was born. True story. Well, the potato one at least.  Modern day French fries were introduced to the US when President Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House. Apparently.

The secret to make great chips?

• Choose the right potatoes:   Go for Russets or baking potatoes (not waxy potatoes such as new potatoes).
  
• Soak ‘em: removes starch, keeps your ‘taters from sticking together, and eliminates the sugars that prevent the potatoes from achieving maximum crispness.
  
• Use the best oil: peanut oil is the best for deep frying, with its high smoking point.
  
• Right temperature: the colder the potatoes, the more the starches will convert into sugars. Not good.
  
• Fresh:    The best fries are made from fresh-cut potatoes and double-fried, which adds crispness.
  

What Kind?

The Common Fry
Perfectly straight, perfectly crispy - these straight-cut beauties are the commonest of fries, thanks to just about every fast-food restaurant in the world.

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Crinkle-Cut
A delicate tweak on the common fry. The undulating shape increases the surface area for frying, allowing it to be crispier. Result? Truly divine crunchy/soft awesomeness.

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Shoestring Potato
This thin variation can be difficult to get the right balance of crunch vs fluff. But get it right – and you have a winner.

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Steak Fries
A bit longer than the standard chip, and about twice as wide.

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Potato Wedges
Basically a deep-fried baked potato. Soft fluffy middle, with crispy well-seasoned outsides. Eight wedges in a potato – no more, no less.

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Waffle Fries
A woven masterpiece, the waffle fry offers a crunchy outside with a fluffy middle consistency of mashed potatoes. Sadly, these beauties are even rarer than a curly fry….

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Curly Fries
As rare as a brass monkey's bollocks, the curly fry offers a bold twist. No two curly fries are alike - some are long, and glorious; others shaped like some hipsters’ earrings.

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The Proper Chip
Of British origin, this fry is short and stumpy. More soft and fluffy; less crisp. Innit.

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