French fries
The dish known as
French fried potatoes,
French fries, or
fries in
North America and throughout the rest of the world as
chips,
pommes frites, or simply
fried potato, are long, narrow pieces of
potato that have been
deep fried.
Usage
In the regions where the word "chips" is in more common usage, the term "French fries" is usually also understood, but is reserved for the thinner American-style variant as opposed to the much thicker slices of potato found in "
fish and chips". In the
U.S. and
Canada except for Newfoundland, "chips" usually means
potato chips (called "crisps" in the
UK), which while also made of fried potato, are a completely different type of food. In
Australia,
New Zealand and
South Africa "chips" is used for both potato chips and French fries - the latter is qualified as "hot chips" if there is a chance of confusion (or
slap chips in South Africa - slap, pronounced 'slup', being Afrikaans for "soft").
Origin
One proposed explanation of the origin of the North American name of the dish is that it derives from potatoes that have been "fried in the French manner". The English verb
fry is ambiguous: it can refer to both to sautéing and to deep-fat frying, while the
French pommes frites or
patates frites ("fried potatoes") refers unambiguously to deep frying. Thomas Jefferson, famous for including (then relatively unknown in America) European, especially French, cuisine in his writings and recipes, referred to fried potatoes in this same manner. The
Japanese convention is the same as that of French, with the dish referred to as "fried potato".
A speculative theory is that the word "French" in "French fries" may refer to potatoes which are French-cut (julienned), with a later derived verb from this term, "to french," which means "to cut in thin lengthwise strips before cooking" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Ed.) . It is true that "to french" is defined as "to prepare, as a chop, by partially cutting the meat from the shank and leaving bare the bone so as to fit it for convenient handling" (Oxford English Dictionary). However, the verb "to french" did not start appearing until after "French fried potatoes" had appeared in the English-speaking world (see History).
Other accounts say that they were once called 'German fries' but the name was changed either for political reasons (
Germany was the enemy of the United States and Allied forces during
WWI and
WWII) or for simple historical reasons (a traditional theory poses that it was in France during
World War I that American soldiers first encountered the dish). This seems unlikely, as Germany was not as famous for its "French fries" as other European countries, in addition to the fact that German immigrants did not seem to bring the dish over to the United States.
The
Belgians are noted for claiming that French fries are Belgian in origin, but have presented no absolute evidence; the French have also been cited as possible creators of the dish, though most in France associate fries with Belgium, because the Belgians are the biggest consumers of French fries in the world. The Spanish claim that the dish was invented in Spain, the first European country in which the potato appeared via the
New World colonies, and then spread to Belgium which was then under Spanish rule. However, as Belgian immigrants lived in Spain at the time, it may have well been a 'Spanish' dish invented by a Belgian chef. Whether or not French fries were invented in Belgium or Spain, they have become Belgium's national dish, making belgians their "symbolic" creators, at least for the rest of Europe.
French fries have gained international prominence perhaps partly due to their pre-eminence in
fast-food menus, propagated by fast-food chains like
McDonald's and
Burger King (Hungry Jacks in
Australia). This came about through the introduction of the frozen French fry invented by the
J.R. Simplot Company in the early 1950's. Prior to the legendary handshake deal between Ray Kroc of McDonald's and Jack Simplot of the J.R. Simplot Company, fries were hand cut and peeled in the back of McDonald's stores, but the advent of the frozen product dovetailed with Kroc's need for quick prep products and expansion of his new franchise across America. In America, French fries are typically served with
hamburgers, a latter-day descendant of the French "steak-frites" combination. They are also often eaten with meat, fish, and vegetables or by themselves. They also make up half of the classic food combinations
fish and chips and "moules-frites", a popular Belgian dish consisting of steamed
mussels and French fries.
Many possible claims as to the origin of "French fries" exist.
Many attribute the dish to
France, and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson. "Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small slices" are noted in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson's hand (circa 1801) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien. In addition, from 1813 ("The French Cook" by Louis Ude) on recipes for what can be described as "French fries" occur in popular American cookbooks. Recipes for fried potatoes in French cookbooks date back at least to Menon's "Les soupers de la cour" (1755). The "Feeding America" Web site, a collection of historical American cookbooks, has recipes for "French fried potatoes" beginning in 1882, "Miss Parloa's New Cook Book." The Food Reference Web site gives as an early reference to the name
French fried potatoes as being in
1894 in
O. Henry's
Rolling Stones, where a comical French detective says "Our countries are great friends. We have given you
Lafayette and French fried potatoes."
During the controversy over
Freedom Fries, French people from around the world repeatedly clarified that the food was actually
Belgian. Belgium itself also lays claim as the "origin" of French Fries.
Jo Gerard, a famous Belgian historian, claims to have proof that this recipe for potatoes was already used in 1680, in the area of the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals. (Belgian Federal Portal) In 1861, a Belgian entrepreneur named Frits is said to have opened a stand selling this product. He is also said to have given it its own name, frites, which is the French name for the dish in Belgium. Even up to today every village in Belgium has several of these fries (friterie) stands selling fries as the main dish and, in case something extra is desired, a varied choice of fried meat products to go with it.
The Spanish claim for originating French fries claims the first appearance of the recipe to have been in
Galicia, where it was used as an accompaniment for fish dishes, and from which it spread to the rest of the country and then to Belgium.
The British also claim the "Chip" was invented in Yorkshire in the 1700s where it is believed that the potato was cut to the distinctive shape so that they may be lined up between two pieces of bread to make a
Chip Butty.
French fries have numerous variants, from "thick-cut" to "shoestring", "curly", and "waffle-cut". They can also be coated with
breading and
spices to create "seasoned fries", or cut thickly with the skin left on to create "potato wedges" or without the skin to create "steak fries" - essentially the American equivalent of the British "chip". Sometimes French fries are cooked in the oven as a final step in the preparation (having been coated with oil during preparation at the factory): these are often sold frozen, and are called "oven fries."
In France, the thick-cut fries are called "pommes Pont-Neuf", cut about 10mm square. Thinner variants are "pommes allumettes" (matchstick potatoes), 3-4mm square, "pommes pailles" (straw potatoes), somewhat thinner, and "pommes gaufrette" (waffle potatoes), cross cut. The two-bath technique is standard. (Bocuse)
In Australia, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and many other countries, the term
French fries is only used by fast-food restaurants serving narrow-cut (shoestring) fries prepared in the American style. Traditional
chips in the United Kingdom are usually cut much thicker, typically between 3/8 and 1/2 inches square in cross section and cooked twice (see Belgium below), making them less crunchy on the outside and fluffier on the inside. This results in a relatively healthier dish as the area saturated with oil is much less. Chips are part of the popular British takeaway dish
fish and chips. In the UK and Ireland, very few towns or villages are without a chip shop.
In another example of two nations being divided by their common language,
potato chips are called
crisps in
British English.
According to American culinary celebrity
Alton Brown, Belgian
pommes frites are usually fried in
horse fat. Others maintain that traditionally,
ox fat was used, although now nut oil is usually preferred for health reasons.
Belgian fries must be fried twice, and are thicker than French fries, but thinner than British chips.
Fries with Mayonnaise is a national dish of Belgium, often eaten without any side orders. Even the smallest Belgian town has a
frietkot (a Dutch word literally meaning 'fries shack' which has also been adopted by the French speaking part of the country in addition to the French
friterie; an alternate Dutch form is
frituur, from French
friture).
Boardwalk fries, are brine soaked fresh-cut
potatoes, that are quickly deep-fried in 100%
peanut oil, served in paper buckets, sprinkled lightly with
salt and malt
vinegar. Perhaps one of the most famous vendors of boardwalk fries is Thrasher's French Fries of
Ocean City, Maryland, founded in 1929 by J.T. Thrasher. The term "Boardwalk Fries" was registered as a trademark by a
franchising company in 1982. The Columbia, Maryland-based company was formed in 1980 by brothers Fran and Dave DiFerdinando. The Boardwalk Fries franchise has become a popular eatery at shopping malls throughout the country. In 2006, they opened two Boardwalk Fries locations in Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards baseball stadium.
In
Australia,
New Zealand and
South Africa, the word
chips is used for both forms of fried potato; although the phrase
hot chips unambiguously refers to
French fries or
chips.
 |
French fries cooking in the Joël Robuchon method |
 |
French fries draining after cooking |
Some home cooks who prepare French fries from scratch cook them a single time in a generous amount of oil pre-heated to a temperature around 375 °F (190 °C) until they are golden and slightly crisp. The method recommended by most cookbooks, and used by many restaurants, especially those reputed to have excellent French fries, cooks them in two stages: first at a temperature at around 350 °F (177 °C), until the fries are nearly cooked but still limp and pale; then, after they have been removed from the oil and allowed to cool, at a higher temperature, generally around 375 °F (190 °C), until they are golden and crisp, which normally takes less than a minute. A third method, invented by the celebrated French chef
Joël Robuchon for the home cook, is to put the sliced potatoes into a saucepan with just enough cold oil in it to cover the potatoes, then cook them over high heat until golden, stirring occasionally. Frozen French fries are widely available in supermarkets; it is not unheard of for them to be baked instead of fried.
The Belgian way of cooking frites is generally in two stages. First fries are 'pre-fried' ('voorgebakken' in Dutch) for about 6 or 7 minutes in oil preheated to about 130 °C (to get out most of the moisture), then they are generally taken out, tossed (to avoid clumping), and allowed to cool down. This intermediate product can be frozen for "instant" deep-frying later, or several batches of "pre-fried" fries prepared (e.g., when fries stands are opened for the day, or ahead of a large company of guests to the home) for rapid frying and serving later.
The second stage involves frying in oil preheated to 180-190 °C for about two minutes (generally the cook is guided more by the color of the product—a crisp golden brown usually being preferred—than by timing).
Many frozen French fries have been pre-fried, and can be prepared either by frying or by baking.
A number of outlets in Belgium use animal fat instead of vegetable oil when frying, this is quite appetising (tastes much like the roast potatoes cooked in the juice with a lamb roast).
French fries are almost always salted just after cooking. They are then served with a variety of condiments, most notably
ketchup,
tomato sauce,
barbeque sauce,
hot sauce,
mayonnaise,
tzatziki,
tartar sauce,
fry sauce,
Ranch dressing,
brown sauce,
vinegar (especially malt vinegar),
curry or
gravy.
|
Dutch Fries with Tartar Sauce, served in cone |
In the
Netherlands, (where fries are sold in
snackbars),
peanut sauce is also popular (also called
satay sauce, after the Malayan meat
sate on which the same sauce is used). The Dutch also use the word
mayonnaise to refer to
frietsaus (fries-sauce) a thicker, less acidic sauce made specially to accompany French fries (as made famous in the film
Pulp Fiction). Another interesting combination is
Patatje Oorlog (Dutch for:
French Fries War), which is French fries with a variety of sauces, a variety that differs from region to region, and even from one snackbar to another. While it sometimes means mayonnaise (or rather,
frietsaus), peanut sauce and chopped raw onions, in other places it means the fries are accompanied with all condiments available. Dutch snackbars typically offer at least 8 condiments or combinations of them (the condiments are never free in the Netherlands), but some serve up to 40 different styles. The Dutch eat their fries mostly with the famous Dutch snacks such as the
kroket and
frikadel.
In the
United Kingdom the traditional accompaniments are salt and malt vinegar. More recently, particularly in the North of
England and
Wales,
gravy and
curry sauce are available from some chip shops.
In
Australia,
chicken salt is widely used in preference to plain salt.
In
Germany, accompaniments are usually limited to ketchup and mayonnaise. These two are often combined, which is commonly called
Pommes rot-weiß ("fries red and white"). Although mustard may also be available at the same fast food stand to serve with
Bratwurst, it is never used to accompany fries. During
Gerhard Schröder's term, some Germans jokingly referred to a combination of salted French fries ("Pommes", or "Fritten") with ketchup and a large
Currywurst as
Kanzlerplatte (Chancellor's Dish) because Schröder was said to prefer this kind of fast food .
In
Denmark the traditional accompaniment to French fries is
remoulade sauce.
Kidd Valley, a small burger chain local to Seattle, began cooking garlic fries which became so popular they landed a lucrative deal to sell garlic fries at Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Mariners baseball club). Later, restaurant chain Gordon Biersch began to serve garlic fries at their brewery restaurants and at Dodger Stadium.
In
Utah, and the surrounding area, French fries are often served with
fry sauce, a mixture of spices, mayonnaise, and ketchup. In the
Pacific Northwest, especially the
Seattle area, fries are often served with tartar sauce, which may be sometimes be mixed with
mustard. In the
Canadian provinces of
Quebec and
New Brunswick, French fries are the main component of a dish called
poutine: a mixture of French fries with fresh
cheese curds, covered with a hot
gravy, optionally with browned ground beef and/or a vegetable such as green peas mixed in. A simillar variant,
Disco fries is found in several
New England cities. In Newfoundland, Canada 'Newfie Fries' are comprised of French fries topped with turkey stuffing, peas, cheese and gravy. In the United States, fries are sometimes coated with melted cheese, called
cheese fries. Often this is in combination with
chili. Cheese fries are a staple of
New Jersey diners. Variations of cheese fries include fries covered with melted cheese, usually
Cheez Whiz,
mozzarella,
Swiss cheese, or
garlic and cheese fries (cheese with garlic mayonnaise).
Mid-Atlantic States often put
Old Bay Seasoning on fries. These are sometimes referred to as "beach fries."
[[http://www.thesunsetgrille.com/appetize.asp Sunset Grille Menu> Sunset Grille (accessed June 27, 2006)] The American fast-food restaurants
Checkers and
Rallys serve "fully loaded fries"; seasoned fried covered in melted American cheese, ranch dressing and bacon bits. In the north of the United Kingdom including northern England and Scotland, Chips, Cheese and Gravy is a popular dish.
In the
Philippines they are often served with a sprinkling of cheese powder.
In
Vietnam, restaurants are usually found serving fries with sugar over a dollop of soft butter.
French fries may contain a large amount of
fat (usually
saturated) from frying and from some condiments or topping. Some researchers have suggested that the high temperatures used for frying such dishes may have results harmful to health (see
acrylamides). In the United States about 1/4 of
vegetables consumed are prepared as French fries and are believed to contribute to widespread
obesity when trans fats are present. Frying French fries in
beef tallow, the traditional but recently discarded McDonald's recipe, adds saturated fat to the diet. Replacing tallow with tropical oils such as
palm oil simply substitutes one saturated fat for another. Replacing tallow with partially hydrogenated oil reduces
cholesterol but adds
trans fat. [
1]
On
March 11,
2003, the cafeteria menus in the three
United States House of Representatives office buildings changed the name of
French fries to
freedom fries in a symbolic culinary rebuke of France stemming from anger over that country's opposition to the United States government's invasion of Iraq. (
French toast was also changed to
freedom toast.) In response, the French embassy noted that French fries are Belgian. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman.
Even though the name change started with a few private restaurants across the country and was later picked up by the House of Representatives, many French people considered the quick and highly visible reporting of the name change needlessly spiteful, and a media-driven attempt to direct Americans' attention away from the serious reasons for French opposition. See
media manipulation and
anti-French sentiment in the United States.
In June
2004, the
United States Department of Agriculture, with the advisement of a federal district judge from
Beaumont, Texas, classified batter-coated French fries as a
vegetable under the
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. Although this move was mostly for trade reasons (French fries do not meet the standard to be listed as a "
processed food"), this received significant media attention partially due to the documentary
Super Size Me.
On
August 2,
2006, they are back on the menu in the United States House of Representatives.
[[2]]In 1994, the well-known owner of
Stringfellows nightclub in
London,
Peter Stringfellow, took exception to
McCain Foods' use of the name "Stringfellows" for a brand of long thin French fries and took them to court. He lost the case (
Stringfellows v McCain Food (GB) Ltd (1984)) on the basis that there was no connection in the public mind between the two uses of the name, and therefore McCain's product would not have caused the nightclub to lose any sales [
3] [
4].
*
Freedom fries}}}
* Paul Bocuse,
La Cuisine du marché, Paris, 1992.
*
Authentic fry recipe*
Straight Dope Staff Report: What's the origin of French fries?French fry manufacturers
*
Simplot Foods*
Ore-Ida Division of Heinz Foods*
McCain Foods
