The Unexpected Condiment The Dutch Swear By For Their French Fries

Few foods transcend borders and evoke allegiances like the humble french fry. Served in every nook and cranny of the globe, beloved by young and old, and best served hot from the fryer with a bit of salt, fried potatoes have the power to create loyalties that are hard to break. Ask anyone — they will likely have thoughts on where to get the best ones, and perhaps even boast their own ranking when it comes to fast food fries. Couple the french fry with its sidekick of a dipping sauce, and you start to create some serious opinions amongst fans.

In the Netherlands, the go-to sauce move is fritessaus, which is a lighter, slightly sweet version of mayonnaise that is seasoned with mustard and spices. On any given Dutch street, you will likely smell the intoxicating aroma of a paper cone of freshly fried potatoes topped with fritessaus. This sauce varies slightly from sauce andalouse, which is popular in neighboring Belgium and also mayonnaise-based but studded with onions or peppers and a bit of tomato paste.

American fast food juggernaut McDonald's perhaps helped create the country-specific sauce movement, as its menu famously offers different sauce concoctions in different locales. In the Netherlands, a variation of fritessaus called fritessaus American can be traced to that hyper-specific marketing. Fritessaus American has slightly pickle-forward notes, as it inflects its spiced mayonnaise base with a bit of dill.

Fritessaus American can also be found in shops in the Netherlands with packaging emblazoned with the American flag. This imagery is particularly ironic and a bit confusing to Americans, as regularly serving french fries with mayonnaise is not really an American tradition. Let alone a mayonnaise version with dill, which is not a hugely common flavor profile in the United States, either. Next time you are in the Netherlands, consider dipping your french fries in some fritessaus. Once you've given yourself over to the mayonnaise side, you may never go back to basic ketchup.