# Vinegar on french fries: Delicious or Disgusting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573 "2010-02-11T18:53:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/41 "2010-02-11T20:43:45Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > If you’re going to the (rather minimal) trouble of making mayo, you’ve opened the door to lots of fun variants – remoulade, aioli, rouille, homemade ranch. What the mayo ends up as all depends what’s in my fridge/spice drawer at the moment! I don’t know why more people don’t make it, it’s the simplest thing in the world, and uses ingredients most people already keep in the house. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/42 "2010-02-11T20:48:24Z")
Only with Old Bay Seasoning. Otherwise they taste like those over-rated fries from Five Guys. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/43 "2010-02-11T20:54:36Z")
I don’t generally use it, but a little is good on fries. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/44 "2010-02-11T21:00:33Z")
Mayonnaise + ketchup is basically just Russian Dressing. It’s not that outlandish a suggestion. Put some pickle relish in it, and it becomes Thousand Island Dressing. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/45 "2010-02-11T21:10:04Z")
I personally wouldn’t eat it, but if you like it… Tell your stepdad to grow up. His antics are childish and immature. Life doesn’t revolve around his likes and dislikes. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/46 "2010-02-11T21:13:35Z")
Crazy delicious. There’s a Philly Cheese Steak type joint around the corner from me, and I ate there a few weeks ago. I asked for vinegar for my fries, and the woman behind the counter acted like I was certifiable. I can understand Joe Public not knowing about vinegar on fries, but how can someone who works at a Steak Sub place not know? It just seems to go with the territory… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/47 "2010-02-11T21:13:59Z")
Malt vinegar is best. I love ordering fries in a place that provides malt vinegar. But I’m decadent: I use vinegar **and** ketchup. :o ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/48 "2010-02-11T21:15:46Z")
Oh the humanity. If any of you have run across my posts in other food threads you won’t be surprised to know that I find this practice heinous beyond words. Shall I venture a guess at how many of you are Brits? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/49 "2010-02-11T21:16:53Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > My stepfather is extremely grossed out by the fact that I put vinegar on my fries. He says it’s unnatural and horrid. He won’t stay in the same room with me when I do it and even insisted (one time) at me sitting at a different table at a restaurant we were at simply because he didn’t want anyone sitting at his table eating “that putrid combination”. > What say you? Is vinegar on french fries something you find gross, delicious… or maybe somewhere in the middle where you find it odd but wouldn’t knock it until you try it? None of the above. It’s okay, especially with fish, but I prefer gravy. I don’t think I’d want to try fish gravy if there is such a thing. I got a funny look in a restaurant in St. Louis ordering fries and vinegar. They had to break some out of their broom closet. I guess they clean with food in St. Louis. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/50 "2010-02-11T21:17:45Z")
I like mine with honey mustard unless I get them from Wendy’s. Then they must be dipped in my Frosty. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/51 "2010-02-11T21:19:44Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I got a funny look in a restaurant in St. Louis ordering fries and vinegar. They had to break some out of their broom closet. I guess they clean with food in St. Louis. Really? Because I live in St. Louis, and I get it all the time - it’s the only thing my husband will put on fries. Plenty of restaurants have it on the table. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/52 "2010-02-11T21:28:49Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I guess they clean with food in St. Louis. People clean with vinegar all over. What a good soaking with vinegar or vinegar + baking soda can’t clean, isn’t worth having clean in the first place. There’s more than one reason they sell it in gallon jugs, and it’s not because everyone is as insane about eating their fries with vinegar as we are. But cleaning grease off my oven door with vinegar and watching the crap dissolve didn’t put me off vinegar. It made me want some more, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Staver808](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Staver808](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staver808)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/53 "2010-02-11T21:38:51Z")
To the OP: I also love vinegar with my fries. Although I’ve never tried regular Vinegar with it. Is it the smell that bathers him, or just the thought of vinegar and fries? Vinegar goes with anything fried since it not only taste good, but seems to help cut the oilyness of the fried food. Does your FIL not eat vinegar with other things like fish? > [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Malt vinegar on fries is awesome. Regular vinegar on fries is not so much. Salt and vinegar potato chips/crisps are often barely edible. > > Basalmic vinegar on fries is even more awesome. 😉 > > ETA: Mayonnaise on fries is fabulous, especially with a little mustard mixed in for taste!!! 😃 My mouth is watering just thinking of Balsamic vinegar with fries. I can’t believe it never occured to me since I do like fries and vinegar. Thanks for the great idea! Vinegar isn’t available as a common condiment here so usually I have to throw on Tabasco. > [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve seen olive oil and balsamic used as a bread dip in many, many restaurants. I prefer just the olive oil with some salt and pepper, but it’s good with the vinegar, as well. > > Cider vinegar added to deviled eggs makes the dish. > > Malt vinegar on fish and chips is terrific, but I do prefer mayo with my fries. Is cider vinegar sweet? I’ve seen it in the stores, but don’t know what to dowith it so I’ve never bought it to taste. Just curious. As for the bread dip with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, I think it might be an Italian thing. At least I’ve only noticed it in Hawaii at Italian restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/54 "2010-02-11T21:41:37Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > Really? Because I live in St. Louis, and I get it all the time - it’s the only thing my husband will put on fries. Plenty of restaurants have it on the table. This was at a truck stop, some time in 1997. I will admit a sample of 1 is not much of a basis for a theory, but I did get a funny look and closet vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/55 "2010-02-11T21:57:51Z")
Not delicious. Just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/56 "2010-02-11T22:26:50Z")
I live in St. Louis, too and have never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/57 "2010-02-11T23:12:46Z")
Absolutely, but only if they’re _good_ fries. Just the things you get from McDonald’s, or whatever? Ketchup. But if you go to one of those places that has whole potatoes, and slices one up and fries it on the spot when you order? Salt and vinegar, all the way. And I don’t understand the folks talking about using “plain vinegar” (which I assume means white) for this purpose. _Plain_ vinegar is a cleaning agent or reagent for chemistry experiments, not a foodstuff. There are too many good vinegar flavors out there to ever bother with white. > [@](#): > > Is cider vinegar sweet? I’ve seen it in the stores, but don’t know what to dowith it so I’ve never bought it to taste. Just curious. It’s my personal favorite, mostly because it’s what my gramma (from whom I learned most of what I know about cooking) always used. Think of the flavor of good apple cider. Now think of everything in that flavor _except_ for the sweetness, and then add the sourness of vinegar to it. That’s what cider vinegar tastes like. You can use it in any recipe that uses vinegar, but I’d recommend it especially in things associated with bacon or other meats (homemade BBQ sauce, say). And bacon and cider vinegar, plus some sugar, makes a wonderful salad dressing for robust greens like dandelion. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/58 "2010-02-11T23:38:26Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > My stepfather is extremely grossed out by the fact that I put vinegar on my fries. He says it’s unnatural and horrid. He won’t stay in the same room with me when I do it and even insisted (one time) at me sitting at a different table at a restaurant we were at simply because he didn’t want anyone sitting at his table eating “that putrid combination”.. . Heck, I HOPE he was sort of having a joke. Otherwise stepfather is a sad demented man\* :eek: Vinegar wins! Tell him the Straight Dope said so: I’m sure that will sound really convincing. 🙂 \*Of course, it might sometimes be useful to know a nice simple way to be banished to another room. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/59 "2010-02-11T23:44:13Z")
I dig malt vinegar on fries; lots of things go great with fries - cheese, gravy, mayo, ketchup, steak sauce - it’s all good to me. I have a kinda left field notion of why your SF has an aversion to it (other than just not liking vinegar); back in the day, women used vinegar in their douches, and maybe he makes that association with it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573/60 "2010-02-11T23:52:24Z")
Another vote for “delicious.” Vinegar and salt are the way fries should be eaten. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vinegar-on-french-fries-delicious-or-disgusting/528573.md?page=4)