Pommes Frites

[Holly Moore]

In the US of A many restaurants serve shoestring potatoes (McDonald's cut) and call them Pommes Frites

What thickness cut is most common in France? 1 cm?

Do any respected bistros or restaurants serve a shoestring thickness pomees frite?

Edited July 17, 2008 by Holly Moore (log)

[Ptipois]

Frites may come in all thicknesses, from a thin 6-7 mm to an oversized 2-3 cm. They will always be called frites.

Historically the thin frites (4 to 7 mm) are called "pommes allumettes" and the larger frites "pommes pont-neuf". They are all frites.

The important thing is to proportion the thickness of the frites to the texture of the potatotes. Now that oversized, irregular-cut fries are the trend, I notice the frequent mistake of using mealy potatoes for that. In fact the finer the texture of the potato (charlotte, belle-de-fontenay, large ratte), the thicker the frite can be. Mealy potatoes like bintjes are meant for thin, crispy frites.

Edited July 18, 2008 by Ptipois (log)