Top 10 Potato Forms (Undebatable)
I mean it when I say that I’ve had a multitude of conversations surrounding potatoes. It may be one of my favorite topics and definitely one of my favorite foods. Other than being really, really good, they are easily one of the foods that come in the most forms. I could go on for DAYS about them. But I’m going to keep it reasonable for you here and not write my Harry Potter series length on it (though how cool would that be if I wrote 7 books about different potato forms?). One thing you should know going into this is ALL FRIES WERE NOT CREATED EQUAL. I mean crinkle cut fries are an abomination to the french fry name. There, I said it. So here’s a list of the top 10 potato forms.
10. Regular Fries: Not any fancy cut. I’m not talking steak or shoestring or curly. Just your standard fry. You really can’t go wrong here. Where things do start to go wrong is when people try and get fancy. I’m looking at you, poutine.
9. Latkes: In case you don’t know what these are, they’re “potato pancakes”. Think like a hashbrown patty. Now, I don't particularly love hashbrowns and it has nothing to do with them as much as it has to do with how they’re prepared. I find them too often to be served with only a crisp top and underneath to be sort of soggy. Because latkes are more of a patty shape they’re crisp all around which I really love. And they’re often served with a good dip.
8. Scalloped potatoes: This is probably the form on here I have the least but anytime I do they are absolutely bomb. I feel like I’ve never met a person who would turn down a side of scalloped potatoes.
7. Breakfast Potatoes: I couldn’t really figure out another way to refer to these and I don’t know if they have another name besides this but if you order breakfast and it comes with a side of potato it’s normally this. Now I do have a size preference with this one, I prefer the smaller cubes. Tend to be crisper (apparently a theme) and less hard on the inside (because potatoes take a long time to cook through and most people are lazy. Topped with a little ketchup, a perfect side to any breakfast.
6. Potato Salad: TREAD LIGHTLY. A poorly made potato salad could get you hit, but a well-made one could get you a new best friend. I do make a pretty mean potato salad if I do say so myself. In fact, it was the only thing my mom asked me for her birthday. But this is easily the item on the list with the most offenders because some of y’all get wild with the things you add in here.
5. Mashed Potatoes: Outside of the baked potato, this may be the most classic preparation. A great side to any meal, especially garlicy. Love when they’re creamy but not tacky. Some can get a really yammy texture so you gotta be careful. I also love a little chunk in mine, that’s me.
4. Gnocchi: I feel like a lot of people forget this is made with potatoes. It’s served most traditionally like pasta even though it’s more of a dumpling. But since it’s served most often like pasta, this has a lot of varieties as well. The way I use it the most at home is in soup because it holds up really well.
3. Tater Tots: The most superior breakfast potato variation. And honestly, it’s the crisp-factor for me. I love that nice little crunch. I also love anything I can eat with my hands. (random side: as good as tater tots are, it's REALLY hard finding an appealing picture of them).
2. Pierogi: My mouth is watering just thinking of these. If you don’t know what they are, they’re Polish and they’re sort of like a potsticker but filled with mashed potatoes and cheese (fillings vary but this is the most common). So mashed potato filled pasta. Like potato ravioli. Often eaten with sour cream. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
1. Waffle Fries: The SISTINE CHAPEL OF POTATOES. Is it a coincidence that my favorite combines two of my favorite foods (waffles&fries)? Getting to this point was really hard. It’s such a huge title to have. But I thought, if someone told me I could only have one potato form for the rest of my life, what would it be? And this took the cake. (Though that would be terrible and I hope no one ever says that to me). If I could eat waffle fries every day I would. Crisp. Great for dipping. Not too dense on the inside. You get a little break in there. These are, by my definition, perfection. The only thing wrong with them is that I don’t get to eat them more often.
Two things you might be surprised about, I don’t particularly care for baked potatoes or potato chips. Though, similar to fries, all chips were not created equal and there are some variations I like more than others. Also, this is the best potato recipe of all time but don’t tell Luke S. because I don’t want him to know he was right.
Here you have it. Not just my definitive potato list but the definitive potato list. I will not be taking questions at this time.
