The Origins of Fry Sauce
My friend Barry (originally from Detroit) asked me what is unique about Utah and what he should do to experience the state to its fullest. The first thought that came to mind was that he should try fry sauce, a combination of ketchup, mayonaisse and sometimes additional ingredients used as a dipping sauce for french fries.
See if you can follow this. Last week I met Laurel’s maternal grandmother’s former husband’s oldest son, Ron Taylor. (Laurel’s grandmother passed away a few years ago.) He claims (and I believe him) to have invented fry sauce. How cool is that!? His father is Stan, who used to own Stan’s Diner on 900 East in Provo, Utah. He said it came about as a natural evolution of combining ketchup and mayonaisse as a burger condiment, and it just grew in popularity. He said someone from Arctic Circle (a Utah-based burger chain) later asked his permission to use the recipe. Arctic Circle and other chains have popularized it across the intermountain west.
Apparently controversy surrounds this topic. Arctic Circle (the former management long gone) now claims to have invented fry sauce on their Web site. It’s hard to know who is the true originator. Maybe they both can claim it. I believe Ron first introduced the basic combination of ketchup and mayo and that Arctic Circle later perfected it by adding additional ingredients (which they say are part of a secret recipe).
The articles listed at the bottom of this post mention some interesting tidbits. For example, the Deseret News article claims more fry sauce is now consumed in Oregon than in Utah. (So maybe Barry, who now lives near Portland, won’t have to travel so far to get his fill.)
If you have any additional insight, please post a comment here and let us know. I think we should spread the word and honor Ron for this invention that changed the world for the better. 
- Deseret Morning News article about fry sauce
- Wikipedia article
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