Curly fries, or twisted fries are

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

cut into a spiral shape, typically seasoned with a distinct spice mix composed primarily of

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

onion powder Onion powder is Drying (food), dehydrated, ground onion used as a seasoning. It is a common ingredient in seasoned salt and spice mixes, such as beau monde seasoning. Some varieties are prepared using toasted onion. White, yellow, and red onions m ...

, and

garlic powder Garlic powder is a spice that is derived from dehydrated garlic and used in cooking for flavor enhancement. The process of making garlic powder includes drying and dehydrating the vegetable, then powdering it through machinery or home-based appli ...

. Though they are sometimes said to have been invented by the Arby’s restaurant chain, their actual origins are more complex.

Origins

The creation date of the curly fry has not been pinpointed, but its existence can be traced back to the 19th century.

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

's Dolores Restaurant and Inn served curly fries as "Suzi-Q potatoes" in 1938. In the 1980s,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

company TaterBoy had the debut of the industrial "Curley Fries". The first company to produce curly fries in mass quantities is Simplot, which used the specific blend of spices that became popular.

Arby's Arby's is an American fast-food restaurant, fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-ca ...

is well known for curly fries, but they did not introduce them until 1988. However, Arby's may have been the first company to utilize Cajun-style seasoning on their "Curly-Q Fries".

Preparation

ConAgra Foods Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

, the company which produces Arby's curly fries, uses powerful industrial machinery such as spiralisers to turn whole potatoes into the curly fry shape. The curly fry shape can also be produced with spiral scissors. For the spiralisers, the potatoes are cleaned, then are propelled through a set of pipes at 60 miles per hour by water. In the pipes, the potatoes are held in place and sliced by rotating blades, producing a spiral that has been found to go over two and a half feet long when stretched out. The fries are then blanched, dried, battered with a mixture with the seasoning inside, fried, frozen, and refried at the restaurant.

References

French fries American cuisine {{Improve categories, date=July 2023 Fast food