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As a Belgian, I was looking in horror at that recipe. Why would people put sugar on their fries?! So I'm glad you like the Belgian fries. What I've always lear

As a Belgian, I was looking in horror at that recipe. Why would people put sugar on their fries?! So I'm glad you like the Belgian fries. What I've always learned to be key is that we fry our cut potatoes twice: once at 140°C, wait for them to cool down, and once at 175-180°C. Then you add salt, that's it. And the mayo: I don't think many people like it like that when they eat fries at home, but it's easy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

linux2647 6y ago
In the United States, everything[1] has sugar added to it; if not sugar then high fructose corn syrup. [1]: gross overgeneralization
- tartoran 6y ago
  As an European transplant I confirm that. And American sweets are absolutely loaded with sugar, it overwhelms all other flavors and tastes. My naive pet theory is that in order to cover up the use of lower quality ingredients or substitutes they’re flooded with sugar. That also creates an addictive effect so sales jump up
  - wmil 6y ago
    That's probably part of it, but there's also some history. The southern US used to produce a lot of sugar. Before refrigeration it was heavily used as a preservative. So there's a big market that expects things to have a lot of sugar in them.
    - mywittyname 6y ago
      It's also cheap in the US (in the form of HFCS) and smashes that dopamine receptor with a fucking wrecking ball. Europeans would absolutely eat sugar in the same volumes if it were as cheap there as it is in America. As with most of the cultural differences between the regions, a lot of it comes down to economics: if gas were cheap in Europe, they'd also drive big SUVs; if land were as cheap in Europe, they'd have McMansions; etc.
      - Symbiote 6y ago
        Sugar (in the form of sugar) is cheaper in Europe than sugar or HFCS in the USA. £0.65/kg in Tesco in the UK, 7.5kr/kg ($1.20) in Føtex in Denmark, but $1.80/kg at Walmart. Corn syrup at Walmart is more expensive, $2 a pint, but presumably cheaper in bulk packaging. (Last time I was in the USA, I saw an entire freight train of tank cars full of HFCS.) (You'll also note that plenty of rich Europeans prefer large "normal" cars, like Audis, BMWs, Mercedes etc, and a nice apartment in the middle of a city.)
delfinom 6y ago
>Why would people put sugar on their fries?! Murica. Everything has sugar in it. I have unfortunately bought Mozzarella cheese in it that had sugar added that I didn't realize until I ruined good pizza dough with it.
- Spivak 6y ago
  That's super reductionist. Balancing salty and umami with sweet is so common that you should be surprised that it took so long to realize that adding it directly to the fries makes sense. BBQ sauce is full of sugar. Ketchup too. People dip their fries in ice cream. Chocolate dipped pretzels work on the same principle. As does candied bacon and apple grilled cheese. Your Thanksgiving Honeybaked Ham is glazed in a sweet sauce. Turkey and cranberry sauce are a match made in heaven. Bacon and maple syrup were practically made for each other.
  - fnord123 6y ago
    > Murica. Everything has sugar in it. > That's super reductionist... [list of American foods (or foods that aren't american but are extremely popular there, as in ketchup) with sugar added to it] You didn't do much to dispell the idea that this is an American thing. Maybe salted caramel pralines. But sour and sweet is a common flavour trope in much of the world. e.g. lemon + sugar e.g. in cannoli; tamarind and cane sugar in SE Asia and Mexican recipes; Chinotto.
    - phonypc 6y ago
      Prosciutto e melone, brie en croute, fruit and cheese/cured meat in general, duck a l'orange, pad thai. Sweet + salty/savoury foods are definitely not uncommon throughout the world.
    - buckminster 6y ago
      Sure, you can find this flavour combination anywhere, but I don't know of another country that uses sugar to the extent America does. I ordered a fried breakfast in an American hotel and they put icing sugar on the sausages! It's bizarre.
vbsteven 6y ago
There is something very weird with mayo from a Belgian "frituur". I love it, I usually order mine with mayo on top, wrap them with paper and let it soak in on the drive home. Makes the fries delicous. And I order an extra packet of mayo on the side because they usually don't put enough on top. But, in any other situation if mayo is involved I'm grossed out to the point of puking. Even when I just smell the mayo (from the same brand) someone is putting on their plate of vegetables or whatever.
kuu 6y ago
do you remove them from oil when raising temperature? What kind of oil do you use?
- jimbauwens 6y ago
  Yes, you remove them completely from the oil and let them rest a bit. Mostly the fries are baked in 'fat' rather than oil though. Besides this, the type of potato that is used is pretty important too, as its consistency will impact a great deal too. The potatoes we use at home are called 'bintjes', they are a bit 'flowery'.
- porknubbins 6y ago
  Yes, when double frying you remove fries from the oil and allow moisture near the surface to evaporate so it becomes tacky. For oil any common oil works but saturated fats get fries crispier. Even oven roasted potatoes in ghee and can almost get a french fry crunch. Duck fat is next level. Obviously much slower than frying.
phonypc 6y ago
>Why would people put sugar on their fries?! FWIW, they're brined in a solution containing sugar, it's not like there's sugar sprinkled on them. Very little of it makes it into the final product and in my experience brined fries aren't perceptibly sweet in an obvious way. It assists with browning and a crunchy exterior.
klodolph 6y ago
Some years ago a different “MacDonalds french fries” recipe was posted, I think it did the rounds on HN, and it was much more like the recipe you describe: fried twice and cooled between, no sugar, add salt. There are some other variations, like blanching the potatoes with vinegar, or freezing the potatoes overnight between frying. The idea is to make them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

linux2647 6y ago

In the United States, everything[1] has sugar added to it; if not sugar then high fructose corn syrup. [1]: gross overgeneralization

tartoran 6y ago
As an European transplant I confirm that. And American sweets are absolutely loaded with sugar, it overwhelms all other flavors and tastes. My naive pet theory is that in order to cover up the use of lower quality ingredients or substitutes they’re flooded with sugar. That also creates an addictive effect so sales jump up
- wmil 6y ago
  That's probably part of it, but there's also some history. The southern US used to produce a lot of sugar. Before refrigeration it was heavily used as a preservative. So there's a big market that expects things to have a lot of sugar in them.
  - mywittyname 6y ago
    It's also cheap in the US (in the form of HFCS) and smashes that dopamine receptor with a fucking wrecking ball. Europeans would absolutely eat sugar in the same volumes if it were as cheap there as it is in America. As with most of the cultural differences between the regions, a lot of it comes down to economics: if gas were cheap in Europe, they'd also drive big SUVs; if land were as cheap in Europe, they'd have McMansions; etc.
    - Symbiote 6y ago
      Sugar (in the form of sugar) is cheaper in Europe than sugar or HFCS in the USA. £0.65/kg in Tesco in the UK, 7.5kr/kg ($1.20) in Føtex in Denmark, but $1.80/kg at Walmart. Corn syrup at Walmart is more expensive, $2 a pint, but presumably cheaper in bulk packaging. (Last time I was in the USA, I saw an entire freight train of tank cars full of HFCS.) (You'll also note that plenty of rich Europeans prefer large "normal" cars, like Audis, BMWs, Mercedes etc, and a nice apartment in the middle of a city.)

delfinom 6y ago

>Why would people put sugar on their fries?! Murica. Everything has sugar in it. I have unfortunately bought Mozzarella cheese in it that had sugar added that I didn't realize until I ruined good pizza dough with it.

Spivak 6y ago
That's super reductionist. Balancing salty and umami with sweet is so common that you should be surprised that it took so long to realize that adding it directly to the fries makes sense. BBQ sauce is full of sugar. Ketchup too. People dip their fries in ice cream. Chocolate dipped pretzels work on the same principle. As does candied bacon and apple grilled cheese. Your Thanksgiving Honeybaked Ham is glazed in a sweet sauce. Turkey and cranberry sauce are a match made in heaven. Bacon and maple syrup were practically made for each other.
- fnord123 6y ago
  > Murica. Everything has sugar in it. > That's super reductionist... [list of American foods (or foods that aren't american but are extremely popular there, as in ketchup) with sugar added to it] You didn't do much to dispell the idea that this is an American thing. Maybe salted caramel pralines. But sour and sweet is a common flavour trope in much of the world. e.g. lemon + sugar e.g. in cannoli; tamarind and cane sugar in SE Asia and Mexican recipes; Chinotto.
  - phonypc 6y ago
    Prosciutto e melone, brie en croute, fruit and cheese/cured meat in general, duck a l'orange, pad thai. Sweet + salty/savoury foods are definitely not uncommon throughout the world.
  - buckminster 6y ago
    Sure, you can find this flavour combination anywhere, but I don't know of another country that uses sugar to the extent America does. I ordered a fried breakfast in an American hotel and they put icing sugar on the sausages! It's bizarre.

vbsteven 6y ago

There is something very weird with mayo from a Belgian "frituur". I love it, I usually order mine with mayo on top, wrap them with paper and let it soak in on the drive home. Makes the fries delicous. And I order an extra packet of mayo on the side because they usually don't put enough on top. But, in any other situation if mayo is involved I'm grossed out to the point of puking. Even when I just smell the mayo (from the same brand) someone is putting on their plate of vegetables or whatever.

kuu 6y ago

do you remove them from oil when raising temperature? What kind of oil do you use?

jimbauwens 6y ago
Yes, you remove them completely from the oil and let them rest a bit. Mostly the fries are baked in 'fat' rather than oil though. Besides this, the type of potato that is used is pretty important too, as its consistency will impact a great deal too. The potatoes we use at home are called 'bintjes', they are a bit 'flowery'.
porknubbins 6y ago
Yes, when double frying you remove fries from the oil and allow moisture near the surface to evaporate so it becomes tacky. For oil any common oil works but saturated fats get fries crispier. Even oven roasted potatoes in ghee and can almost get a french fry crunch. Duck fat is next level. Obviously much slower than frying.

phonypc 6y ago

>Why would people put sugar on their fries?! FWIW, they're brined in a solution containing sugar, it's not like there's sugar sprinkled on them. Very little of it makes it into the final product and in my experience brined fries aren't perceptibly sweet in an obvious way. It assists with browning and a crunchy exterior.

klodolph 6y ago

Some years ago a different “MacDonalds french fries” recipe was posted, I think it did the rounds on HN, and it was much more like the recipe you describe: fried twice and cooled between, no sugar, add salt. There are some other variations, like blanching the potatoes with vinegar, or freezing the potatoes overnight between frying. The idea is to make them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.