![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/louis-hansel-vi0kZuoe0-8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Many Names of the French Fry <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we get into french fries history, there\u2019s something that we need to get out of the way. Here in America, we might call our favorite little potato sticks French fries, but in France, they actually call them something entirely different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In France, French fries have always been known as pomme frites, <\/em>which simply translates to \u201cfried potatoes\u201d. Actually, there are a lot of different names for French fries around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some notable French fry monikers include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are plenty of fun stories about where French fries first popped into existence, but we actually do have a decent understanding of when they might have first burst onto the culinary scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an argument to be made that French fries might be of Chilean origin, with the first mention of anything resembling French fries being a passing note of \u201cpapas fritas\u201d by Chilean writer Francisco N\u00fa\u00f1ez de Pineda. But as we know, papas fritas <\/em>translates to fried potatoes, so this mention could be any sort of similar dish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is another possible birth place for French fries: Spain. One professor, and curator of French fry museum \u201cFritesmuseum\u201d in Bruges, Belgium, thinks that St. Teresa of Avila might have been the first person to fry up some frites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With that being said, the real two contenders for the inventors of French fries go to France and Belgium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a way, both locations are correct, if we\u2019re going by the most agreed upon point of origin. One early mention of the creation of French fries was in 1680s Belgium, but it was a part of Belgium that spoke French at the time. Chef, Albert Verdeyen, wh also justauthoredook on the history of the frenFh fry, said it best, <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n .\u201cAmericans call it a French fry, but it\u2019s not a French fry, it\u2019s a Francophone fry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If French fries aren\u2019t Belgian, then they probably popped up much later in history, during the 1800s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is proof for both of these claims, so let’s dive a little deeper into them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s little doubt that slivered potatoes were being fried and eaten in other parts of the world before 1680, but those fries weren\u2019t quite French fries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story of the first French fry starts in a Belgian town called Namur, which was part of Francophone Belgium. This means that instead of Dutch, they spoke French. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Namur was situated on the River Meuse, and it was from these waters where the villagers would often catch tiny fish and fry them. These fried fish were a large part of their diet, and something that the villagers were accustomed to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So when, during one particularly cold winter in 1680, the River Meuse froze over, the villagers were left without their favorite fried fish to enjoy. Instead, they looked for an alternative, and landed on potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cut thin and fried, the potatoes were an adequate replacement for the fish, and just like that, the French fry was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, they weren\u2019t called French fries just yet. The legend of the Belgian French fry <\/a>suggests that they gained their famous name when American soldiers entered the area during World War I. Even though they were in Belgium, the locals still spoke French, so the soldiers mistakenly named the frites French fries, and the name just stuck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Belgium’s claim, some food historians are still insistent that French fries are indeed French. One such person is culinary historian Pierre Leclercq, who argues that the Belgian origin story is simply not plausible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leclercq argues that fat was too expensive for most people back then, and this alone makes the Belgian theory impossible. Instead, he is sure the French fries originated in France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his insistence about the French origin, Leclercq doesn\u2019t think that there is some noble origin to the humble French fry. Instead, he thinks the fry was probably an invention of street vendors near the oldest bridge in Paris, Pont Neuf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If French fries really were invented by a street vendor in the 18th century, there\u2019s likely no way to ever track down the exact inventor. The identity of the first French fry chef might forever remain a mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another interesting fact about these salty little potato strips is that the first mention of them on American soil was actually a presidential shout out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n An early manuscript written by President Thomas Jerfferson recounts his experience eating a dish called \u2018Pommes de terre frites en petites tranches\u2019<\/em>, which translates to \u2018potatoes deep-fried raw, in small slices\u2019. Sounds an awful lot like a French fry, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter where the French fry comes from, the world has a seemingly never-ending affection for the salty snack. If there was ever any doubt of this, just remember this statistic: American\u2019s alone consume more than 4.5 million pounds of French fries every year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So while the history of the French fry might still be unknown, its popularity isn\u2019t mysterious at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Can Belgium claim ownership of the French fry?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
The Origin of French Fries <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Story of the First French Fry in Belgium<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The French Argument for the French Fry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
French Fries in America and Beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
References <\/h2>\n\n\n\n