Update: HopCat Cosmik French Fry Seasoning Answer

Last week on Grand Rapids Reddit, a debate began over the seasoning of the HopCat French Fries. The OG article is below.

However, one investigative person revealed the container holding the seasoning. It does list the ingredients used to flavor the fries. Klargon_From_Space posted,

"Do what you will with this information. These are the ingredients for the cosmik (formally known as crack) fries. Don't know the portions because as you can see they come in 40lb bags housed within this box."

 

Annotat3r commented,

"The term spice means any aromatic vegetable substance in the whole, broken, or ground form, except for those substances which have been traditionally regarded as foods, such as onions, garlic and celery; whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutritional; that is true to name; and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed.

I'm guessing "Spice" is black pepper, which meets USDA guidelines for being listed as simply "spice."

Goatuness added,

"It doesn’t have the quantities but you can do some deduction because the ingredients are listed from most used to least used."

GoHomeShoobies added some comedy,

"This can't be real. It doesn't say "crack" fries."

Glexarn said,

"salt, garlic, sugar, pepper, onion, paprika.

not surprising, that combination is practically cheat codes for making food taste good."

To get the full answer, we might need to place a call to Lebanon, Kentucky to R.L. Schreiber, purveyors of fine flavors.

Here is the original article about the HopCat French Fries:

Have you ever been to Hopcat and ordered fries (also known as Cosmik Fries)? What did you taste besides potato? There is a debate raging on Grand Rapids Reddit about what they use to flavor their French fries.

In the thread, the OG poster RoadDawg616 asked,

"Did we ever nail down the secret seasoning on Hopcat's fries?"

RoadDawg616 stated that one employee said it's just beer batter and garlic salt. He went on to say that another employee mentioned it was nary more than the Sysco or GFS version of Lawry's.

Biscuitfortune replied that they add sugar. OKSpartan agreed with the sugar ingredient and guessed,

"If I were guessing I'd say sugar + Lawry's-ish + garlic powder + small amount of msg or similar. Definitely sugar tho. Nothing crazy complex."

stephfulks added,

"There is definitely brown sugar in the seasoning mix! An old friend was so close to figuring out the recipe after many attempts."

flossorapture mentioned,

"It’s a seasoning not made in house with a bunch of ingredients. Mostly garlic salt and pepper."

scout-finch added a new ingredient to their guess,

"A little sugar for sure, and a friend of mine (no Hopcat affiliation) swears they use a little dill too."

TOKERFACE4207 came with this answer,

"hey guys i worked at the beltline location; they actually have the seasoning made specially for them by a local food service; on the box the seasoning comes in, it literally just says cosmic fry seasoning on the front. the problem is they are smart enough not to list the ingredients on the box, so it remains a mystery."

HopCat has nine locations including spaces in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Holland, Kalamazoo, Indianapolis, and Lincoln. The two restaurants located in Grand Rapids are downtown Grand Rapids at 25 Ionia Ave and at Knapp's Corner at 2183 E. Beltline Ave. What flavor do you taste in the HopCat fries?