My favorite “old school” device for dispensing the malt vinegar on the carnival fries were the old, tall, glass Dr. Pepper and Pepsi deposit bottles with a special liquid shaker cork or plug in the top. The shaker top was similar to a shower head or Flower Can Spout. They could fill the large pop bottles with malt vinegar and let them go for an hour or longer before refill, the shaker distributed the vinegar evenly and at the perfect flow rate.
A stainless steel shaker of salt. I think a finer salt is superior.
Only did a brief scan, I hope I’m not repeating something else another has said. Not sure about vinegar on fries, but might have to try it. Try Tom’s “Vinegar and Salt” chips if you like this kind of taste. First time I’ve ever considered myself possibly an addict on a particular food product. Introduced it to my mom, now she has the same problem. I live in a city of 100,000 population, and only one grocery chain carries it which is Albertson’s. Do yourself a favor and try a bag. I add just a little bit more salt to the bag, but are great the way they are. You do have to be careful, if you eat too many, even brushing your teeth afterwards, it still takes awhile before you get it all out of your mouth.
If you or anyone else gets to try it, tell me what you think.
As to Salt and Vinegar potato chips, I remember first having them circa 1969; they were marketed in Vancouver by Nalley’s under the name “Piccadilly”, and were an instant hit.
Vinegar on chips (fries) is vile vile vile. Yurgh. Blurgh. Argh. No, no, no, don’t even speak of it! NO! I lived in Ireland for 8 years and I never got used to it. Ew. I’d rather starve.
These will always be “Kiwanis Fries” in my mind… memories of the most popular food concession at the town Carnival of my Youth. The smells, the taste… lines 10 X 3 abreast. Every year the local Kiwanis club would run their French Fry Wagon at the Carnival and the tradition was malt vinegar… they had ketchup but it was nontraditional. They had a connection over the border and would have tons of sacks of Michigan potatoes for this 3 day carnival. Must have gone through hundreds of gallons of Malt Vinegar (Probably Heinz). They would push cut the whole, washed, skin on, Michigan potatoes through a fry press and fry them in Peanut Oil. Hot and lightly salted, sprinkle on the vinegar drom the repurposed pop bottles.
By the way, anybody ever seen or happen to know the name of the rubber cork vinegar flow dispensers for standard bottles that I am talking about? Haven’t seen them in over twenty years. The holes were numinous but restricted… it made for the perfect dispersion… you shook down a rain of vinegar in perfect proportion for the perfect Crispy brown Kiwanis fries.
Every once in a while, you will get a particularly vinegary fry or catch a whiff as the malt vinegar is evaporating off the hot fries and it will take your breath away, viscerally. Maybe that experience is what the Op’s father is reacting to so prejudicially?
I’ve tried the fries dipped in Frosty thing. Didn’t take. And I ain’t about to try mayo.
Does anybody else here soak their pre-fries in vinegar-salt water? A light vinegar flavor permeates the whole fry, plus the fries stay nice and white and un-oxidized until you cook 'em, even more so than salt water alone. Plus, if you’re like me and you love your fries so vinegary that your mouth is raw afterward but you don’t want to scoop out potato mush, you’ve got a head start!