Why Are They Called French Fries?
Are French Fries even French? Probably not and it turns out the origin of its name in the United States is a bit more complicated with a few different stories on how the name came to be.
A common story goes back to World War I with American soldiers stationed in Belgium who ate the delicious dish there and, since the language spoken in the location at the time was French, they incorrectly called them “French” fries.
That’s a believable story but “French fries” were already a thing in the United States by the time World War I came around. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the term appeared in a cookbook entitled “Cookery for Maids of All Work” back in 1856.
Another story attributes the name to Thomas Jefferson who, having been the U.S. ambassador to France in the late 1700s, was a huge fan of a plate of fries. According to the story, when he returned to the states he often requested his chef make the dish in the “French” manner. He then would introduce friends to the sliced potatoes by calling them “French fried” potatoes.
“The answer is always, ‘yes I will take fries with that!’”
To add to the confusion we’re not even really sure where the dish actually originated. You may think it comes from France but Belgium has made claims they were the originator of it.
Back when Belgium was part of the Spanish Netherlands in the 16th/17th century, locals would often eat fried fish, but when the river froze, they resorted to cutting potatoes into small sizes and frying them.
As for France, it would be hard for them to claim to be the originators of the dish since potatoes weren’t really a thing till the early/mid-18th century, and even then they were thought to be poisonous.
But does any of this help us figure out where the term “French fries” comes from? Not really since French fries didn’t take off in the United States till the early 20th century which means maybe both stories are true and it was just a name no one thought too much of… until now.
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“I don’t care what you call them just get me more!”
Quick Facts
There’s a French fry museum! Called the “Frietmuseum” it’s located in Bruges, Belgium, and is the only French fry museum in the world.
French fries led to the invention of potato chips by American chef George Crum when an unruly guest felt French fries were cut too thick. After several attempts of appeasement, Crum thought he would get back at him by cutting the potato extremely thin but the patron loved the now crispy potato slices and the rest is history.
