Dish

French Fries

Roasted, Grilled and Fried Dishes

French fries, also called fries or chips, are batonnet or julienne cut potatoes that are deep fried, most often prepared from potatoes cut into strips, dried and fried in a deep fryer, with pre cut, blanched and frozen russet potatoes now common in commercial kitchens. Their exact origin is disputed. They are served hot, salted, and often with ketchup, vinegar, mayonnaise or other sauces, appearing on the menus of diners, fast food restaurants, pubs and bars, and are sometimes topped more heavily, as in poutine, loaded fries or chili cheese fries, or made from sweet potatoes instead. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Classification

Course

Side Dish 1

Course

Snack or Street Food 1

Origin Period, From (Year)

from 1950 2

Origin Region

Belgium 3

FAQs

Are French fries actually French?

France and Belgium both claim them; a Belgian tale dates them to 1680 in Namur.

The origin is disputed. Tasting Table reports that France and Belgium both lay claim to the invention of fried potatoes. According to lore, the dish was born in Belgium in the winter of 1680, when the people of Namur, who loved fried fish, substituted potatoes cut in long segments after the local river froze over. The same article notes that some historians have questioned the authenticity of this tale, while Belgium has stood firm in its stance that it created french fries.

Connections