Chips in Greece?

[21TonyK]

Many years ago as a kid I got dragged off to the Greek islands for a few holidays and fondly remember the taste of the chips.

Would I be mad in assuming thats because they were cooked in either olive or a blend of olive and vegetable oils?

Not tried it yet but happy to fill my fryer with olive oil to try if no-one can confirm.

[gifdy]

My missus ( Greek descent & still has family in Crete ) shallow fries them in olive oil and they taste great. She frequently makes chips like this and then puts them in an omelette ! I don’t know how common it is though.

[evilmunkey]

Her indoors is greek too and always does chips in olive oil , dont use extra virgin it will burn but just regular maes the chips tast brilliant .

[stef1808]

Probably sunflower oil as it's less expensive. It's probably so tasty because they reuse the oil thousands of times

[Tye Green]

Vegetable oil has nothing to do with vegetables. The best stuff for making chips is lard .

Never ceases to amaze me when you go to a steak restaurant (you’re essentially ordering steak and chips!) and waiter asks how you want your steak done, yet if you ask waiter how they do the chips you get a blank stare.

Spoiler alert! ~ 90% of places give you frozen ste cooked in the crappest cheapest oil they can find and they’ve been using for 3 weeks.

I love good chips!

[21TonyK]

Just tried it with a commercial pomace and sunflower oil blend designed for frying... kind of similar taste.

I think the idea of pure sunflower might be correct. Olive oil is too delicate for deep frying commercially.

Oh well, I'll pick up some sunflower tomorrow and try that.

[Dromedary66]

When I've been to Kos all inclusives they have done lovely chips with some green sprigs of something on - very tasty - no idea what it is.

[FiF]

Greek chips, pah

Black Country Orange chips

[andyA700]

I always use Maris Piper for my oven cooked chips and always use olive oil. My missus prefers them to a lot of the chippy chips.

[RC1807]

I suspect it's a mixture of oils, but I'd always thought olive oil, in particular, isn't good for high temperature cooking?

gifdy said:

My missus ( Greek descent & still has family in Crete ) shallow fries them in olive oil and they taste great. She frequently makes chips like this and then puts them in an omelette ! I don’t know how common it is though.

A Greek / Spanish Omelette? Dunno!

[Morvan]

Bog standard olive oil, sometimes mixed with sunflower. I spend three months a year in Cyprus and my Greek Cypriot friends cook with pure olive oil or a blend. Cyprus have a great advantage with their fantastic Cypriot potatoes, sweet yet savoury, the best potatoes in the world, the best chips ever. I'm going over on Monday for eight weeks I can't wait, sun, sea and chips in olive oil. Oh and large plates of sheftalia

[Whoozit]

Morvan said:

Oh and large plates of sheftalia

Oh yes, my perfect beachside taverna food. Drowned in lemon, pitta under/around to catch the juices, chips on the side.

[Morvan]

Whoozit said:

Oh yes, my perfect beachside taverna food. Drowned in lemon, pitta under/around to catch the juices, chips on the side.

Monday evening!!

[interstellar]

I’ve often thought the same about french frites.

Years ago they were amazing. Was it the same oil as the Greek chips?

[Alxxx]

Morvan said:

Cyprus have a great advantage with their fantastic Cypriot potatoes, sweet yet savoury, the best potatoes in the world, the best chips ever. I'm going over on Monday for eight weeks I can't wait, sun, sea and chips in olive oil. Oh and large plates of sheftalia

I agree on the best potatoes in the world and the best chips ever. I have been looking at going to visit my Aunt in October, if Boris comes through scrapping the need to test on return I will be off! Sheftalies, lahmacun, cold beer and some sunshine, heaven.

[Percypercy]

FiF said:

Greek chips, pah

Black Country Orange chips

Is the correct choice

[ApOrbital]

Oh they look very nice.

[Bacon Is Proof]

Tye Green said:

Vegetable oil has nothing to do with vegetables. The best stuff for making chips is lard .

Never ceases to amaze me when you go to a steak restaurant (you’re essentially ordering steak and chips!) and waiter asks how you want your steak done, yet if you ask waiter how they do the chips you get a blank stare.

Spoiler alert! ~ 90% of places give you frozen ste cooked in the crappest cheapest oil they can find and they’ve been using for 3 weeks.

I love good chips!

The problem with using lard commercially is that you'd need an extra fryer as your chips are no longer vegetarian. Maybe less of an issue in a steak restaurant (though I'd never go out to eat something as basic as steak) but for everywhere else it is added equipment and space needed.
I've served fresh hand cut chips before and the amount of time it takes should not be underestimated!
The number of £3.50 bowls of chips my current place bangs out it would require an extra member of staff to prep them if fresh, and considering how many months it took us to get our one chef it's not something we'll currently consider. We're just a boozer though, serving actually unpretentious grub.
Pork schnitzel and mash, fried egg on top, that sort of stuff.
Three week old oil would render anything cooked in it inedible, it would come out black!

[21TonyK]

Bacon Is Proof said:

Tye Green said:

Vegetable oil has nothing to do with vegetables. The best stuff for making chips is lard .

Never ceases to amaze me when you go to a steak restaurant (you’re essentially ordering steak and chips!) and waiter asks how you want your steak done, yet if you ask waiter how they do the chips you get a blank stare.

Spoiler alert! ~ 90% of places give you frozen ste cooked in the crappest cheapest oil they can find and they’ve been using for 3 weeks.

I love good chips!

The problem with using lard commercially is that you'd need an extra fryer as your chips are no longer vegetarian. Maybe less of an issue in a steak restaurant (though I'd never go out to eat something as basic as steak) but for everywhere else it is added equipment and space needed.
I've served fresh hand cut chips before and the amount of time it takes should not be underestimated!
The number of £3.50 bowls of chips my current place bangs out it would require an extra member of staff to prep them if fresh, and considering how many months it took us to get our one chef it's not something we'll currently consider. We're just a boozer though, serving actually unpretentious grub.
Pork schnitzel and mash, fried egg on top, that sort of stuff.
Three week old oil would render anything cooked in it inedible, it would come out black!

The other issue with animal fats (my fav. being dripping) is they burn very easily compared to oil. Lard/dripping max temp is about 170, maybe 190 if you buy the more expensive refined fats but (as an example) the olive/sunflower blend I tried is 230-240. Frying in animal is fraught with do's and don'ts. I know a couple of places that cook in dripping and you need to really want to use them in a commercial setting to take the extra care and time.

I'm going to try pure olive oil at some point but as much as anything it could be the potato. Just something to pass the time when I'm bored!

[cherryowen]

FiF said:

Greek chips, pah

Black Country Orange chips

Gopping things.

Greek chips, though?

Mrs. O & I have been together for 18 years, and we've been to various Greek islands 10 times. Whether its been served in a Gyros pita or with souvlaki, the chips have always been salted and sprinkled with dried oregano if from a corner grill. Restaurants will usually roast them in an oven, the chips being seasoned with lots of olive oil and lemon juice.