Many years ago I was living in Wisconsin, and I had a roommate from Utah. We were eating French fries, and I watched as my roommate took a glob of mayonnaise and a squirt of ketchup, and then began mixing them together on his plate. I asked him what he was doing.

Okay, what I actually said was “what on earth is wrong with you?!!”

Whats Wrong With You GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

He told me that he was making "fry sauce". Something I had never heard of before, and I thought maybe he was just raised in a weird family.  Well he wasn’t, he was just raised in Utah.

Flag of Utah (GIF) - All Waving Flags

I have to admit at first, I thought the concept of fry sauce was gross. But after living in Utah for sometime, I’ve warmed up to the condiment and I’ve come to realize that it’s not just a pink sauce, IT’S A THOUSAND ANGELS HUGGING MY TASTEBUDS ALL AT ONCE. 

But wait, isn’t fry sauce just ketchup and mayonnaise?Best Nogging Head GIFs | Gfycat

Turns out it’s not. There’s more to it, and to explore the origin story of this Utah original, we need to go back to Pioneer Day, 1924.

A young entrepreneur by the name of Don Carlos Edwards set up a tiny little refreshment stand at a pioneer day celebration in Salt Lake City Utah.

Bow before your Condiment King. Don Carlos Edwards (acburger.com)
Bow before your Condiment King. Don Carlos Edwards (acburger.com)
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He did this every year for a while, honing his skills and putting in his 10,000 hours so to speak.

acburger.com
acburger.com
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That simple refreshment stand gained him enough notoriety and experience to branch out and open his first brick and mortar restaurant, Don Carlos Arctic Circle, BBQ in Salt Lake City.

University of Utah
University of Utah
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It was here through experimentation that Don Carlos first created his signature secret white sauce. What was in the secret white sauce? We’re not sure. If we did know, then it wouldn’t be secret anymore duh doi.

Best タダ GIFs | Gfycat

But what happened from the secret white sauce base, was later experimented upon by other franchisees, mixing ketchup and other ingredients to create the perfect kick. The Deseret News did an impressive story on this topic, and if you have extra time I would highly suggest you giving it a read.

madscientist | Skulls in the Stars

But long story short, fry sauce was started in Utah, perfected in Utah, and took off like a rocket right here in Utah thanks to the efforts of Don Carlos Edwards.

Don Carlos Edwards. Legend. Entrepreneur, Lady Magnet. (Facebook/Don Carlos Arctic Circle)
Don Carlos' Milkshakes brought all the girls to the yard. (Facebook/Don Carlos Arctic Circle)
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Today, the little burger stand that birthed a Utah claim to fame, Arctic Circle is a franchise with over 70 locations in 7 states.

The Condiment Of The Gods (acburger.com)
The Condiment Of The Gods (acburger.com)
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This author feels so strongly about Fry Sauce, it got a bit personal.

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LOOK: Food history from the year you were born

From product innovations to major recalls, Stacker researched what happened in food history every year since 1921, according to news and government sources.
 

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