Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Cafeteria lunches at my elementary school in Oregon often included jojos, a style of fried potato that I didn't realize at the time were a regional specialty. Jo-jos were often served in restaurants that also made a type of chicken which requires a special type of deep-fat fryer. As for how the potatoes became known as Jojos, it’s rumored that the name derived from the idea of “junk” because the parts of the potatoes were considered scraps until entrepreneurs realized they could be pressure fried and turned into crispy, delicious gold. 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Firestone Jr. Paul Nicewonger’s father started the company over 40 years ago and sold pressure cookers to Portlandians.Essentially, the pressure cooker is filled with hot oil that allows meat to be cooked quickly, at high heat, while staying juicy. Thoroughly wash potatoes, cut in half, and slice into Notify me of follow-up comments by email. oregon calls them potato wedges. The jojo is intertwined with a technological wonder of the modern age: the pressure fryer. "There are a lot of places that will call anything a jojo," Nicewonger says. What do you mean?” Go straight to recipe. Rep. Earl Blumenauer Is All That Stands in the Way of an Applebee’s on Every Portland Corner, Oregon Governor Imposes Statewide “Freeze” to Curb COVID-19 Spread, Restricting Bars and Restaurants to Takeout Service, Prominent Anti-Vaccine Pediatrician Dr. Paul Thomas Has License Suspended by the Oregon Medical Board, Some Oregon Republicans Are Reluctant to Reveal Their Thanksgiving Dinner Plans, The 2022 Governor’s Race is Officially Underway: Dr. North Portlanders Want a Contaminated Beach Turned Into a Park. Pressure frying is the only reason fast-food fried chicken exists at all: Colonel Sanders had been experimenting with the process as early as the '40s, when it was a dangerous and improvised method involving the occasional hot-oil explosion. Government Officials Propose to Bury the Toxic Waste Onsite. He called them Jojos. Ask a Portlander about jojos, and a lot of them will tell you the same story: It's just a funny name people in the Northwest call a potato wedge. Jojos are a staple of old-school truck stops and bars all over Oregon and Washington, a word most locals will apply to any old potato cut lengthwise into wedges. 8 years ago. They may be seasoned with salt, pepper and spices prior to cooking, to give a crispy flavored ‘skin’. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce. Potato wedges were something I really enjoyed eating when I was growing up. 2 years ago. Allow a few minutes for your IP to come to pressure. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Terry says that it took his dad and Walter a few tries before turning the potatoes into crispy, mouthwatering perfection in 1963. Jojo potatoes are thick wedges, coated in a vaguely Cajun spice mix and usually served with ranch dressing. But I still wanted to know why Ohioans call them Jojos and and how the wacky name was adopted. The need for strong, independent local journalism is more urgent than ever. Jojo enthusiasts claim a distinction. As their name suggests, they are wedges of potatoes, often large and unpeeled, that are either baked or fried. ", Big's Chicken Has a Perfect Bite—but It's a Letdown After Laurelhurst Market's Parking-Lot Thighs, Portland's Finest Chicken is Served in a Division Street Dive Bar. A variation in spelling and pronunciation is mojos, particularly in Western Canada, the Western United States and Canada's Yukon. For now, just remember that it's not unique to the Northwest, and that if it's not breaded and pressure-fried, it's not a jojo. Then it is time to coat the potatoes with the seasoning blend that gives them the flavor reminiscent of Jojo potatoes. I don’t know about you, but I find these Jojo potato wedges so hard to resist. I rated 4 stars because I made some changes - we boiled the The potatoes are perfectly crisp on the outside, and tender and moist on the inside. The brand-name has become genericized today. Please support the city we loveby joining Friends of Willamette Week. Jojo's aren't just potato wedges. We'll send you a newsletter with what you need to know every week. Fiesta Pizza and Chicken claims to have introduced Jojos to the 330. “They weren’t done in the middle. Brings back memories. It's what he told me—he just said it's what came into his head.". The name. They're battered & broasted potato wedges. Jillian Holness is a recent graduate of Kent State University’s School of Journalism. "We started selling them in 1962," says Echtenkamp. Flavor-Crisp reps reportedly sold those jojos in Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northeast Ohio, upstate New York and the Pacific Northwest—Echtenkamp says the company even had a trademark on jojos. Essentially, it's a pressure cooker filled with hot oil that allows meat to be cooked quickly, at high heat, while still staying juicy. However, the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 continues to makethis a very challenging time. After spending some time at pizza shops and bars, I learned that Jojos are potato wedges. Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, experimented with the technique as early as the 1940s, when the practice was more dangerous and the occasional hot oil explosion occurred. Alongside Henny Penny, the Broaster Company of Beloit, Wisc., was the one of the first to make a reliable pressure fryer, and so "broasting" became synonymous with the machines. We'll get more into the local lore as Jojo Month rolls on. Dredge each potato wedge into the panko mixture making sure to press gently to adhere, then carefully transfer to a clean plate; repeat with the remaining wedges. As for how the potatoes became known as Jojos, it’s rumored that the name derived from the idea of “junk” because the parts of the potatoes were considered scraps until entrepreneurs realized they could be pressure fried and turned into crispy, delicious gold. For the most part, the seasonings don't effect reheating, although some, like Parmesan, may make the wedges burn faster. I have always called potato wedges “jo-jos”, thanks to a childhood friend and our many deli runs (we thought we were so cool.) The jojo is intertwined with a technological wonder of the modern age. As its name suggests, they are large, often unpeeled wedges of potatoes that are either baked or fried. Flavor-Crisp salesman across the country sold the idea of jojos with their pressure fryers. This patchwork of jojo states allowed any place where jojos were sold to believe they invented the word themselves—Nicewonger told us that perhaps only people in the Northwest used the term. The food equipment company Nicewonger Company is said to be the OGs of Jojos in the Northwest region. For 40 years, the company Paul's father started, Nicewonger Co., flooded the Portland area with pressure fryers used to make chicken and jojos. Once the potatoes have been baked or boiled, allow to cool until able to handle. Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 2 minutes on HIGH pressure. In some regions of the United States, potato wedges are known as jojos. Its website states that best friends Alfred Ajamie and Walter Abood founded Fiesta Pizza and Chicken in 1963. Drain jo jo potato wedges on paper towels. Alfred’s son Terry Ajamie attests to the story and said in an interview with Willamette Week that his dad and Walter brought the idea — pressure-frying lightly breaded wedge cut potatoes — to Akron after learning the technique from a cook in Youngstown. People started grabbing 'em and they wanted to know what they were. Yes, jojos are cut into thick pickle-shaped spears and seasoned, but it’s in the frying technique where jojos break from the potato wedge pack. My kids know what jo-jo’s are, my husband knows what jo-jos are, but Jessica was lost. "A potato will clean up the oil real nice," says Nicewonger. "We'd tell people, you cut the potato into quarters, it takes the same time to cook as a two-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half pound chicken—you can cook a complete fried meal at the same time.". "The guy that actually started the jojo by accident was Ed Nelson—that was back in 1961," Echtenkamp tells WW. Transfer seasoned potato wedges onto trivet in IP. He called them jojos. Years ago I worked at a … According to Nicewonger, his father was at a restaurant trade show demonstrating the marvels of pressure-frying chicken, and just so happened to be next to some guys from Idaho who were hawking potatoes. Your email address will not be published. I've lived in the Northwest just about my whole life. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper. Except in Echtenkamp's version, the guy who said "jojo" was a Flavor-Crisp salesman from the Midwest. It seems that not only Oregonians grew up with them: jojos have been spotted in Ohio, Montana, Washington, and very … Since the internet doesn’t have all the answers and time machines don’t exist, there’s no 100-percent factual proof of who the inventor of Jojos is. WW NEEDS YOU. Our local A&W stand would serve them with the cheeseburgers and root beer straight from the keg. Their vision was to establish the first restaurant in Akron where patrons could satisfy their cravings for pizza and chicken at one place. Nobody knows exactly what happened at that Chicago trade show. Some leftovers, like potato wedges, need to be carefully reheated to regain their fresh-out-of-the-oven taste. Jojos are potato wedges … Paul says his father was at a trade show in 1958 demonstrating the wonders of pressure frying and happened to be right next to some guys from Idaho who were selling potatoes. The roots of the jojo go deep into the country's industrial midsection. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 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