It's the way they are cut.
Where "chips" is the common term, "French fries" usually refers to the thin variant (U.S. "shoe string potatoes"). In North America "chips" usually means potato chips (called "crisps" in the UK), which are deep-fried thin slices of potato. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, "chips" can mean either potato chips or French fries; French fries are also called "hot chips" or (in South Africa) "slap chips" (IPA [slup]; 'slup' is Afrikaans for "soft").
Many possible claims as to the origin of "French fries" exist.
[edit] Culinary origin of the term
The straightforward explanation of the term "French fried potatoes" is that it means "potatoes fried in the French manner": the verb fry can mean either sautéing or deep-fat frying, while French 'frire' unambiguously means deep frying. Thomas Jefferson, famous for serving French dishes, referred to fried potatoes in this way.[1]
It is sometimes suggested that the verb "to french" originally meant to julienne-cut.[2] But this term refers specifically to trimming the meat off the shanks of chops[3] and is not attested until after "French fried potatoes" had appeared.
[edit] Belgium
The Belgians are noted for claiming that French fries are Belgian in origin, but have presented no definitive evidence. Whether they were invented in Belgium or elsewhere, they quickly became Belgium's national dish, making Belgians at least their "symbolic" creators in Europe as well as their heaviest consumers,[citation needed] spending an average of €6.01 annually (2002, consumption in fast food restaurants not counted separately).[4]
Jo Gerard, a Belgian historian, recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680, in the area of "the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly 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."[5]
The name 'frite' lends itself to puns with the name 'Fritz'. In 1857, the newspaper "Courrier de Verviers" devotes an article to Fritz, a Belgian entrepreneur selling French fries at fairs, calling him "le roi des pommes de terre frites". In 1862 a fries shack (Frietkot, see below) called "Max en Fritz" was established near Het Steen in Antwerp.[6]
Another Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when English soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. The supposedly called them "French" because the official language of the Belgian army at that time was French.[7][8] This story is of course impossible since the term "French fried potatoes" was in common use long before the War.
[edit] France
Many attribute the dish to France—though in France they are often thought of as Belgian—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[9] 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). Eliza Warren's cookbook The economical cookery book for housewives, cooks, and maids-of-all-work, with hints to the mistress and servant used the term "French fried potatoes" in around 1856.[10]
It is true that eating potatoes was promoted in France by Parmentier, but he did not mention fried potatoes in particular. And the name of the dish in languages other than English does not refer to France; indeed, in French, they are simply called "pommes de terres frites" or, more commonly, simply "pomme frites" or "frites".
During the controversy over Freedom Fries, French people from around the world repeated the story that the food was actually Belgian, or at least, a Belgian speciality.
[edit] Spain
Some 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 the area that is now Belgium, which was then under Spanish rule.
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.[citation needed]
Prof. Paul Ilegems, curator of the Friet-museum in Antwerp, believes that Saint Teresa of Ávila fried the first chips, referring also to the tradition of frying in Mediterranean cuisine.[11]
[edit] United Kingdom
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.[dubious — see talk page]
[edit] United States' world-wide influence
French fries have been widely popularized world-wide by fast-food chains like McDonald's and Burger King. This came about through the introduction of the frozen French fry invented by the J.R. Simplot Company in the early 1950's. Before the handshake deal between Ray Kroc of McDonald's and Jack Simplot of the J.R. Simplot Company, potatoes were hand-cut and peeled in the restaurants, but the frozen product reduced preparation time and aided the expansion of the McDonald's franchise. One of the few fast-food chains which still prepares fresh potatoes on the premises is In-N-Out Burger.
[edit] Recent development
Big-brand fast-food restaurants are increasingly serving deep-fried lengths of extruded potato starch, instead of potato batons, as fries
No comments:
Post a Comment