Does shape matter?

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
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I thought about this when my on-line delivery substituted crinkle cut oven chips (fries in the US) for my normal straight cut. I really don't like crinkle cut chips nor do I like crinkle cut crisps (chips in the US). I'm not sure why I dislike them so much. I mean, after all its the same product but just a different shape. 🤷‍♀️

Are there foods that you like or dislike when they are cut in a certain shape?
 
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There must be, but I can’t think of any right now.

With respect to fries/chips, they come in a variety of configurations here, and I like them all, but at any given time, I prefer one style over another, or it may be that I want a particular style to go with the main dish.
 
My understanding (and asking Mr Google seems to confirm) is that crinkle cut absorb more oil because they have a larger surface area than an equivalent strait chip, so are less healthy.

The internet suggests that generally the thicker the chip the healthier because the surface area to volume ratio is smaller, fries are the worst.

I prefer a thick cut chip with a steak, but fries with a burger.
 
Crispy surface area to the ratio of soft potato can make a difference in mouth feel, taste etc. regular cut, shoestring, crinkle and thrice cooked wedges. Personally I'm not a fan of pre blanched frozen and not a fan of vegetable oils for deep frying. For fish and chips and steak I like thrice cooked wedges and for most everything else I like regular cut and all fries cooked in beef tallow. Cheers
 
I find that crinkle cut fries taste different, which makes no sense, but I don't like them. Now, it could be because the fries were baked instead of fried. I believe one of the reasons crinkle cut fries were developed was for baking on a flat tray. The crinkles allow some hot air flow around the fries.

CD
 
Salads - that’s a good point. My wife, due to difficulty chewing (there’s that stroke again), prefers a chopped salad, so radishes, cukes, etc. are more uniformly diced.

Pasta - yes, I suppose I do consider the dish when choosing pasta. Luckily, recipes usually say, “Use this or that pasta shape for this recipe.” - there are also shapes I don’t like at all and I avoid those.
 
Morning Glory said:
...and then there is pasta. The shapes are supposed to be chosen for specific sauces depending on the way they will hold the sauce. Do any of us really choose pasta shapes for that reason?
Click to expand...
Yes, sure do. Not only how a sauce might react to a shape but the taste of the pasta varies depending on it's shape as well.
 
Following on from "impressed"...
A lot of modern chefs use shape to decorate their dishes.
Look at this one , from one of my favourite "artistic" chefs:
1652822979053.png
 
karadekoolaid said:
Following on from "impressed"...
A lot of modern chefs use shape to decorate their dishes.
Look at this one , from one of my favourite "artistic" chefs:
View attachment 85446
Click to expand...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes and it's certainly a beautiful take on a shrimp skewer, but for me, the food is too manipulated and handled and begins to look less appetizing and awkward to actually consume and a dressing or a sauce that spilled onto the plate and visually seeing some seasoning like salt, pepper and possibly sliced chili would have helped, in my opinion of course. cheers. I suspect this plate was composed with a photo op in mind though.
 
I hand cut and twice fry my chips but I have frozen crinkle cut for quick meals mid week. I prefer mine but use both .
Salad, my granddaughter loves mine that I put squares of cheese in it. Noone else's.

Russ
 
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