Chips are very nice to eat—IF they are cooked properly. Alas, hardly any fast food joint knows how to cook chips.

In the Adelaide Hills, near the Army barracks, is the township of Woodside. In 1957 Mum bought wool etc from a shop in Woodside—we were living in the Slough of Despond known to some as Woodside Immigration Camp. To some others it was known as Hell. I remember our first “breakfast” 4 grey sausages standing in a teacup.

Not surprisingly—Mum was sick after that “lovely” first “breakfast.”

Fast forward 70+ years, the “immigration” camp was a military place again.But in the township of Woodside there is a cafe called “Providore.”

Oh gosh they made fucking delicious chips, with some aioli on the side. Such a simple dish but oh so gobsmackingly delicious!

Close to the Providore was a handcraft shop. Seeing it was open this one time I went in there with Mum. I told the astonished shop owner that Mum made some of her first ever purchases ever in Australia in that shop! Yup, Mum made a lot of our clothes from material bought from that shop.

The Sunday before Mum died I drove her to that Providore in Woodside, She ate a slice of lemon curd tart (must have been outside lunch hours) and a cup of coffee and enjoyed the ride home through the Adelaide Hills.\\

I had noticed with dismay that her dementia seemed to be galloping since the middle of 2021 but she was fine that Sunday. Next day her “buddy” took her away for some hours and she was fine on her return. Tuesday I took her  for a small drive deliberately going past the house where we lived in the late 1950s before Mum and Dad bought the house she lived in for the rest of her life. Again, she was fine. Early next Saturday morning she died.

I am so sorry that Providore in Woodside did not have chips available—that would have been a fitting “last lunch” for her.


Crisp, hot chips are really bloody nice—and very very rare!

There is no 'secret potion' to cooking chips.

Cleaner the oil, the better the cook.
Simple.
You want that burnt, fatty, oily chip look - go to a shop that hasn't changed the vat oil for 5 plus days.

Also, the 'potato' quality.
Currently the best quality of potato coming in is from Belgium. Jervis Bay orders Belgium 'Chips' in and they are doing well.

...but again. The 'cleaner' (1 day old) the oil, the 'better' the chip.

All else is really just sales gimmicks. You know, making it sound all complex to appear more sophisticated - when its really as simple as the chip itself is. 

Jovial Monk wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2024 at 8:22pm:


Two reasons you should FO then eh?

Sad, but nice story Monk.

Gotta love mums and chips   

greggerypeccary wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2024 at 8:35pm:


Yup.

With winter getting closer going to try making chips in my air fryer. Hope to get to the stage I can make lovely crisp chips.

Jovial Monk wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2024 at 8:38pm:


I haven't tried that yet.

Might give it a go this week.

Hope to master the art of making decent chips in the next few weeks.

Want to make Thai fish cakes—need to sort my spices/curry pastes. I have not been able to source Chinese pickled garlic. Oh well. Need to halve the recipe somehow.

Bobby. wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2024 at 10:20pm:



You spray it on:

https://thefoodiephysician.com/best-oils-for-the-air-fryer/


Air frying is all the rage now and for good reason! Not only is air frying a quick and easy way to cook food, it's also a healthy cooking technique that uses minimal oil.

My air fryer has become one of my most used kitchen appliances because it's just so convenient. It heats up and cooks food really quickly and requires minimal clean up.

I make everything from quesadillas to chicken legs to salmon teriyaki in my air fryer. It's even great for heating up leftovers like pizza or grilled cheese. Check out my Air Fryer recipe collection.

But did you know that there are certain types of oil that are better to use than others when it comes to air frying? The type of oil you use depends on a few factors including: what food you're cooking, what temperature you're cooking at, and the smoke point of the oil.