# Jojo fries **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802 "2010-05-17T19:36:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/21 "2010-05-17T23:27:19Z")
I’m probably the world’s current expert on the term “jojo” as applied to potatoes. Almost certainly they started out life as potato wedges. And, they almost certainly originate as “jojos” in the upper(probably) Midwest. I have a personal interest in that when I moved to Akron OH in 1971, I got some broasted chicken and jojos. Never had them or heard of them before living in Virginia and NC(1950-1970). I’ll come back when I’m through reading the board in about an hour and give you my info. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/22 "2010-05-17T23:27:37Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Grocery stores around San Francisco sell jojo potatos along with their deli fried chicken. They’re not just plain wedges - they’re battered and fried and spiced. I’ve rarely encountered a potato wedge that wasn’t battered, fried, and spiced. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/23 "2010-05-17T23:59:20Z")
Common usage in Montana for a fried savory potato wedge. Used to make them when I worked at Breen’s Exxon in Choteau, and they were for sale in Rex’s as well. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/24 "2010-05-18T00:43:39Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m probably the world’s current expert on the term “jojo” as applied to potatoes. Almost certainly they started out life as potato wedges. And, they almost certainly originate as “jojos” in the upper(probably) Midwest. I have a personal interest in that when I moved to Akron OH in 1971, I got some broasted chicken and jojos. Never had them or heard of them before living in Virginia and NC(1950-1970). > > I’ll come back when I’m through reading the board in about an hour and give you my info. I was going to go to bed early, now I’m going to wait to hear **samclem** ’s Story of the Jojo 🙂 I don’t know why people keep moving out of NE Ohio these days - it’s such a fascinating place! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/25 "2010-05-18T01:19:17Z")
Broaster chicken, which is really a pressure-fried chicken, is invented in the early 1950s. At that point, it is mostly distributed in the midwest. That’s a general term and encompasses everything from Iowa/Michigan/Ohio and other stragglers. The addidtion of “jo jo” potatoes only shows up as a term in the early 1960s. Again, only in the MId-West. Where the name comes from, I don’t know, but I’m still looking. Once a month in my newspaper databases. And, if I don’t know, probably no one does. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/26 "2010-05-18T01:20:11Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I was going to go to bed early, now I’m going to wait to hear **samclem** ’s Story of the Jojo 🙂 > > I don’t know why people keep moving out of NE Ohio these days - it’s such a fascinating place! Ah! You’re too easy. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/27 "2010-05-18T03:02:42Z")
There’s [this.](http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/jojos.html) > [@](#): > > at least in western Oregon, jo jos must be thick potato wedges, a) cut lengthwise, and b) covered with a light seasoned breading and c) served with ranch dressing or, if you must, ketchup. Jo jos are much bigger than French fries and usually bigger than steak fries, and unlike either, are cooked with their scrubbed skins on. > And, while some places sell jo jos that have been baked, deep fried or otherwise cooked, the best have been prepared in a pressure fryer. It’s a method that was popularized in the 1950s by the Broaster Company of Beloit, Wis … Where did they come from? Jo jos probably originated, along with other dishes like pommes frites and scalloped potatoes, in the French speaking regions of Europe. Maine farmers of Acadian descent, who migrated from Nova Scotia and other French-speaking areas of Canada, call big, seasoned potato wedges by the same name: jo jos. This explains why jo jos are served on many Cajun menus in the French Quarter of New Orleans, also a destination for many Acadian migrants. But why, then, are jo jos also popular in Ohio and Iowa? The American love of fried foods, it would appear, has no boundaries, and the people who populated the West brought the jo jo with them. > But no one seems to know how they got their name. The words could be rooted in any one of a number of languages, related to many but dependent on none. FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/28 "2010-05-18T03:15:17Z")
I grew up in Memphis and Mississippi–I remember seeing them in the 70s in Mississippi convenience stores called “jo-jos”. In fact, I just recently purchased, in deep south Texas, a seasoning called “JoJo Potato Seasoning” or “Assaisonnement pour Pomme de Terre de Jojo” (by the Spice Depot), [www.alwaysgrindfresh.com](http://www.alwaysgrindfresh.com) I put this on frozen steak fries (what can I say!). According to the ingredient list, it includes dehydrated garlic, paprika, salt, rosemary, black pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, and olive oil. So there you go! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/29 "2010-05-18T03:30:06Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > There’s [this.](http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/jojos.html)FWIW. For what it’s worth, I have spent a LOT of time in New Orleans, and eaten meals in some of the most upscale, gourmet bistros in town, as well as some of the seediest, funkiest dives around (and had some AMAZING meals in both extremes—It’s quite hard to find truly bad food anywhere in New Orleans, no matter how nondescript the joint you are in) and I have never seen anything even resembling jo-jo potato wedges on any menu on any of my many visits… In fact, rice of one type or another is MUCH more common as a side than any kind of potato dish is; potatoes are just not seemingly a big part of Southern Louisiana cuisine, from what I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/30 "2010-05-18T05:49:31Z")
I’ve had these from various convenience store delis, but they were always called potato wedges. Recently we got some chicken from the deli at Ingles in Carrollton, Ga, and my husband said “Oo, we have to get some of the Jojo’s potatoes, too!” I had never heard the term before, and though that Jojo was the name of the Ingles’ deli lady, or perhaps some member of the Ingles family like Laura Lynn. My husband now tells me he was familiar with the term already. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/31 "2010-05-18T12:06:59Z")
I can’t speak for Rex’s, but at the gas station, they were indeed pressure fried (as was the chicken, the pizza pockets, the corn dogs, and damn near everything else). ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/32 "2010-05-18T12:15:17Z")
Jojos is the only name that I have heard for potato wedges. As a kid my mom would go to the local tavern (the 2121 in Tacoma) and bring home chicken and jojos for dinner. Included was a sour cream and chive dip for the jojos. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/33 "2010-05-18T12:35:02Z")
Grew up in MD have lived in NC and FL. Never heard of Jojos in my life. Only heard them called potato wedges. I could go for some right now, though. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/34 "2010-05-18T13:14:37Z")
I used to make jojo’s at my deli job back in high school. Unpeeled potato wedges, dredged twice in a mix of flour, pepper, and Lowry’s Seasoning Salt, and deep fried. Fresh, with dill dip, serious comfort food. No idea why they were called jojo’s, though. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/35 "2010-05-18T13:50:12Z")
Down here in North Florida, we call those tater logs. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/36 "2010-05-18T22:45:19Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > There’s [this.](http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/jojos.html)FWIW. > [@](#): > > And, while some places sell jo jos that have been baked, deep fried or otherwise cooked, the best have been prepared in a pressure fryer. It’s a method that was popularized in the 1950s by the Broaster Company of Beloit, Wis … Where did they come from? Jo jos probably originated, along with other dishes like pommes frites and scalloped potatoes, in the French speaking regions of Europe. Maine farmers of Acadian descent, who migrated from Nova Scotia and other French-speaking areas of Canada, call big, seasoned potato wedges by the same name: jo jos. This explains why jo jos are served on many Cajun menus in the French Quarter of New Orleans, also a destination for many Acadian migrants. But why, then, are jo jos also popular in Ohio and Iowa? The American love of fried foods, it would appear, has no boundaries, and the people who populated the West brought the jo jo with them. > But no one seems to know how they got their name. The words could be rooted in any one of a number of languages, related to many but dependent on none. This is complete nonsense. There is no evidence that the term “jo jo” originated in Europe. Plenty of evidence that it didn’t. If “Maine farmers of Acadian descent call big, seasoned potato wedges by the same name: jo jos,” then they’re farmers who discovered them by buying broasted chicken in the 1960s or later. I don’t have all my files around right now, but I’ll look tomorrow night. Jo Jo potatoes have their origin in the US, in the late 1950s/early 1960s in the general MidWest. ---
**Author:** ![Dataman99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@Dataman99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dataman99)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/37 "2010-06-08T19:18:17Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Yeah, good luck with trying to convince people who live in a large city where everyone calls them “Jojos” that they should change what they call them because you’re not familiar with the name. You may meet with resistance. While you’re at it, you should also try to convince them that they’re pronouncing “geoduck” and “Puyallup” wrong. Also, “Seattle” should really be called “Sealth”. Actually, Chief ‘Seattle’s’ Lushootseed name was Seeatch. > **[Chief Seattle](http://www.chiefseattle.com/history/chiefseattle/chief.htm)** and the native american name for Seattle was “Little crossing over place”. > **[University of Washington Press](https://uwapress.uw.edu/)** > > The University of Washington Press is the oldest and largest publisher of scholarly and general interest books in the Pacific Northwest. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/38 "2010-06-08T19:25:41Z")
I;ve seen JoJo used here in New England occasionally, mostly potato wedges or steak fries. All the same though. I like real french fries (as opposed to the engineered versions), but the big chunks of potato, spiced or not, are very good too. And if you don’t have a deep fryer, baked versions turn out well also. ---
**Author:** ![Dataman99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@Dataman99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dataman99)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/39 "2010-06-08T19:28:32Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Grocery stores around San Francisco sell jojo potatos along with their deli fried chicken. They’re not just plain wedges - they’re battered and fried and spiced. I just back to the Bay Area from several years in Seattle and Portland, where JoJo’s are ubiquitous and quite tasty. I asked the deli-worker in SF for some of their JoJo’s and she looked at me and said, “Not from around here, are-ya”. Cracked me up.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802/40 "2010-06-08T19:46:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [Shakey’s](http://www.shakeys.com/) calls them Mojo potatoes. [Letterman]Mojo, Jojo, Mojo, Jojo[/letterman] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jojo-fries/539802.md?page=1)