Good Spanish fries, those churreria-type ones that are impossible to eat just one of, are the ultimate desired product in the United States. And all because presenter Oprah Winfrey has included in her Oprah’s Favorite Things list (the annual list of recommendations of her favorite things) one of the most popular brands here, Bonilla a la Vista from Coruña. They are also sold in bags but in undoubtedly the photogenic sailor-looking can, which was already popular after its cameo in the film parasites, the one that has unleashed the phenomenon again, exhausting in hours the stocks of this brand.
These addictive appetizers are the simplest, but also tastiest and most attractive accompaniment for children and not so children, for our anchovies in vinegar, cans of mussels, olives or gildas. So versatile that even Ferrán Adriá created a tortilla with potato chips that is made in five minutes and has become an iconic recipe a few years ago.
Many of the memories that we associate with them date back to those potato and rind fry shops, and even churros, which used to be found in every neighborhood and which are now scarce. When it comes to fries, we are very much our own, each community, each province, has its favorites. Some are like craft beers (they are only known in their surroundings), others like Bonilla a la Vista have reached the mainstream and they are found quite easily in stores gourmet.
Just in case you don’t have some fetish potatoes to indulge in when you haven’t managed to make up the day or when you need to transform a Monday into a Friday, here we leave you a list of brands of bagged potato chips that are worth it.
Pretty in sight
Before the famous presenter chose them among her favorites, they already rose to stardom because they appeared in the Oscar-winning film ‘Parasites’, although we have appreciated them here for a long time. They come from Galicia, specifically from A Coruña, a land famous for the quality of its potatoes – among other things – and they are the heirs of one of those traditional fry shops that, in addition to potatoes, offered quality churros since 1935.
Their secret is to choose the best raw materials; just potatoes, olive oil and sea salt. They are packaged in a can (also in a bag) that is already more than recognizable.
As they are not cheap – the 150 gram bag costs 3.75 euros and the 500 gram can costs 20 euros – it is best to enjoy them as they deserve, not putting them on birthdays and large parties. A very cold vermouth, with an orange peel and a few drops of gin and Bonilla a la Vista.
Saint Nicasius
The most popular in stores gourmet and they are found in practically the entire country. They are the ones we grab on the fly when we want to pay tribute to ourselves.
They arrive from Córdoba and their secret is also in the raw materials. They use sour variety potatoes, which experts say are best for frying, and are made at lower temperatures than usual to maintain texture and shine. They are thin and crunchy and have just the right amount of salt, in this case pink Himalayan salt.
Although they are great alone with a cold beer, they are perfect to accompany canned cockles previously seasoned with a lot of black pepper, a few drops of lemon and a few drops of vinegar. It may seem strange, but the flavor of the cockle and the potatoes go hand in hand.
And they are not cheap either: 2.45 euros for a 150-gram bag.
Almodovar
These are made in a small town in Toledo, Urda. You can get away with taking them because they maintain a good price, just over 3 euros for a 330 gram cartridge.
These large potatoes – what a pleasure it is when you put your hand in the bag and take out one of those beautiful, shiny potatoes –, they taste like old-fashioned French fries, with just the right amount of salt, and they crunch when you bite into them.
You can serve them on a large plate with some pickled anchovies and some manzanilla olives, the way they do in many traditional taverns in Madrid. And don’t forget a good splash of extra virgin olive oil.
Sarriegui Potatoes
Some potatoes are also very famous and awarded several years in the prestigious Great Taste Awards contest, but whose origin is in a small fry shop in the old part of Donostia where all the neighbors came for those delicious potatoes to accompany appetizers and parties.
No Himalayan salt in these, just potatoes, olive oil and sea salt. The right thickness, neither thin nor thin, and traditional flavor. On them you can put a good pickled fried mussel and water it with some of its own sauce. With vermouth or chacolí they are delicious. They cost 2.60 euros for a 150 gram bag.
Vallucas
Also in Cantabria they master the art of making French fries. These Vallucas come from there, which are advertised precisely as “the fried potato of Cantabria”, and which uses local potatoes, since those from this Valderredible locality are highly appreciated for their quality. In this case, fried with sunflower oil and salt.
The factory where they are made is very young, it began operating in 2018, but since then the brand has acquired a lot of notoriety for its quality and flavor.
Of course you can have them alone, but here is an appetizer suggestion to shine. Take the largest ones, put them on a plate and place a fried quail egg in still smoking olive oil on each one. And put a bowl with more potatoes to dip in the yolk. They cost 2.70 euros for a 140 gram bag.
Posh Potatoes
Special attention to the pepper and lemon ones. They are also a product of the new fried potato culture, created in 2016 in Murcia and with a powerful image on their bag that has made them unmistakable.
In addition to the pepper and lemon ones, they also have classic ones, with paprika or black olive, which makes them ideal to tune them up a little.
For example, those with peppers and lemon are very good as a base to accommodate some flakes of desalted cod marinated in olive oil. Drain it and put it on the potatoes. You can sprinkle black olive on top. And the paprika ones perfectly accept a small portion of octopus cooked with a few drops of olive oil and a minimum of spicy paprika.
They cost 1.29 euros for a 130 gram bag.
The potato you carry
Sevillians, they have the sight and aroma of the traditional fried potato and they themselves say that they are artisans “fried in a pot”, and that their desire is to recover the tradition of the traditional fried potato.
They are crispy and very thin, perfect to accompany a can of pickled mussels and then dip them in the leftover pickle. You can’t ask for more. The price: 1.1 euros for a 90-gram bag.
Organic Añavieja French Fries
They are Soria’s potato chips, made by a snack factory that also has its own organic farm to produce the raw materials with which it then makes its products.
The star of this factory are the organic potatoes, fried in extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. In addition to using olive oil, all their plastic and cardboard packaging is recycled.
They are crispy and golden, they go very well alone, but they are also very good if we use them to make a potato omelette chips, the recipe that Ferrán Adrián invented, but that today belongs to everyone. You just have to mix the barely beaten eggs with the bagged potato chips, let the potato soak in the egg for five minutes and then set it in olive oil for a minute on each side, or a little longer if you like it more soggy. With this you prepare a great Friday dinner.
A little more expensive than the previous ones, around 3 euros per 100 grams.
The Azucena
Since 1943 it has been running this typical frying shop of potatoes and other snacks making the people of Madrid happy. Their secret is to maintain the traditional recipe, choosing the potatoes (of the sour variety) directly from the producer and opting only for those of the perfect size. They fry in Spanish sunflower oil, but they also achieve the perfect crunch and golden brown and this is attested to by their thousands of followers. In addition to potatoes, they fry crusts and other snacks and make olives and pickles.
To taste these potatoes, there is nothing better than accompanying them with some of their olives and pickles and a well-drained Madrid beer.
Its price: 1.65 euros for a 100-gram bag.
The rooster
Extremadurans also have their favorite potatoes, those from El Gallo, which are made in Cáceres. Its artisanal recipe has not changed since its creation: the origin of this fry shop dates back to 1928 and since then they have continued to make it the same, always with Spanish potatoes, sunflower oil and salt. The pity is that it is difficult to find them outside of Extremadura. Its price: 1.80 euros for a 160-gram bag.
To enjoy them, let’s stick to the classic, accompanying them with Extremaduran sausages, a good Iberian chorizo and a patatera blood sausage.
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