French Fries

[TagliatelliMonster]

Ow man. Earlier today in some post, I made a joke involving french fries. Nevermind the context.
But ever since then... Ow man, I gave myself a craving for delicious real belgian french fries from a proper french fries shed.... But I can't yet because of this corona business.

So I thought I'ld go for the next best thing: An ode to our national pride, the french frie!

To start with, it's not French! It's Belgian. ;-)
It's an urban legend off course. It's close to impossible to really find out where exactly the french fries originated. Most likely it wasn't an "overnight" invention either and more like a development of potato cooking.

However, when the name "french fries" started to circulate around the 1900's in the US and Brittain, almost instantly objections from belgians pop-up.

In any case, in Belgium, french fries are like a national pride. Every single village has a fries shed. And most have multiple. The village where I live, has 8 for little under 10.000 residents. So it's extremely present in our culture.

Such fries sheds are relatively unique in the world. It's a typical belgian thing.

Even mobile ones:

So, as Belgian I say to you: when this corona thingy is over and done with, and you happen to find yourself in Belgium for some reason... do yourself a favor and ask around for a good "frituur", just go get yourself a pack. You just have to. I think it should be crime to come to Belgium and not get a pack of fries in a genuine fries shed.

I'm so hungry

 

[exchemist]

Ow man. Earlier today in some post, I made a joke involving french fries. Nevermind the context.
But ever since then... Ow man, I gave myself a craving for delicious real belgian french fries from a proper french fries shed.... But I can't yet because of this corona business.

So I thought I'ld go for the next best thing: An ode to our national pride, the french frie!

To start with, it's not French! It's Belgian. ;-)
It's an urban legend off course. It's close to impossible to really find out where exactly the french fries originated. Most likely it wasn't an "overnight" invention either and more like a development of potato cooking.

However, when the name "french fries" started to circulate around the 1900's in the US and Brittain, almost instantly objections from belgians pop-up.

In any case, in Belgium, french fries are like a national pride. Every single village has a fries shed. And most have multiple. The village where I live, has 8 for little under 10.000 residents. So it's extremely present in our culture.

Such fries sheds are relatively unique in the world. It's a typical belgian thing.

So, as Belgian I say to you: when this corona thingy is over and done with, and you happen to find yourself in Belgium for some reason... do yourself a favor and ask around for a good "frituur", just go get yourself a pack. You just have to. I think it should be crime to come to Belgium and not get a pack of fries in a genuine fries shed.


I'm so hungry

I had no idea you were Belgian!

French fries is a term used only in N America, so far as I know. In Britain they are universally called "chips", not to be confused with what the French call "chips", which are what the English call "crisps". So it is an example of a faux ami.

I do agree the Belgians are the best at making frites, and I have picked up from them - or the people just up the road in the Netherlands - the idea of eating them with mayonnaise. We lived in The Hague for a few years and got the habit there, at the kibbeling stands.

 

[Brickjectivity]

So, as Belgian I say to you: when this corona thingy is over and done with, and you happen to find yourself in Belgium for some reason... do yourself a favor and ask around for a good "frituur", just go get yourself a pack. You just have to. I think it should be crime to come to Belgium and not get a pack of fries in a genuine fries shed.

Do Belgians have a sauce for the fries? I have stopped buying ketchup, because it contains high fructose corn syrup and instead use crushed tomato with a little shredded cheese. That works for me. What is the original fry sauce?

 

[Rival]

Do Belgians have a sauce for the fries? I have stopped buying ketchup, because it contains high fructose corn syrup and instead use crushed tomato with a little shredded cheese. That works for me. What is the original fry sauce?

I don't know about Belgium but this is common in France,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heinz-Pommes-Frites-Sauce-ORIGINAL/dp/B00685K3OE

 

[ChristineM]

Visited Bruges on a school trip, my abiding memory was the "chips"* or french fries with lashings of mayonnaise... delicious.

* Chips are the British word for French (Belgian) fries. Which caused me a lot of problems when we moved to France because what the French call chips we Brits call crisps.

There used to be a fish and chip shed on Fleetwood docks (long since redeveloped into a shopping park) where they sold fish fresh from the trawler and fried in beer batter and the most wonderful chips that were as close as i have ever found to Belgian fries.

 

[Polymath257]

Dang, I was in Belgium last summer. I had some wonderful mussels and some amazing beef stew, but I don't recall the fries. I guess I will have to go back and have some.

I don't do ketchup or mayonnaise.....salt only please. Or, perhaps some rosemary.

 

[ChristineM]

Do Belgians have a sauce for the fries? I have stopped buying ketchup, because it contains high fructose corn syrup and instead use crushed tomato with a little shredded cheese. That works for me. What is the original fry sauce?

Mayonnaise goes well

Or salt and malt vinegar

Edit : also you could try a topping of grated cheese

Edit 2 : or mushy peas or perhaps the pièce de résistance, chip shop curry sauce with raisins in it (i kid you not)

 

[SalixIncendium]

Now I want poutine.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Also, this makes me wonder if they French are lying about toast.

What do they call French toast in France?

...or Chinese food in China?

 

[sun rise]

STOP. Now I want some. Not the crap that is served in here but the real thing.

 

[ChristineM]

Also, this makes me wonder if they French are lying about toast.

What do they call French toast in France?

...or Chinese food in China?

French toast is "pain perdu" or lost bread because it's made using stale that would be thrown away. Its served as a desert.

And Chinese food is called food in China ;-)

 

[John53]

They're chips!

 

[Secret Chief]

Permission to add to the confusion.
Here in Blighty we have both chips (fat chips) and French fries (thin chips).
Just this evening we had burger for tea. My partner had chips (from the frozen chips bag) and I had French fries (from the frozen.... you get the picture).

 

[ChristineM]

They're chips!

Yup,. All these funny foreign names for the humble British chip is so confusing

 

[Polymath257]

Yup,. All these funny foreign names for the humble British chip is so confusing

Don't forget the 'freedom fries' from the Gulf War times.

 

[ChristineM]

Don't forget the 'freedom fries' from the Gulf War times.

One of the things that made america a laughing stock across the world.

Then damn french wont wont our war games so we will rake french fries away from them...

 

[Polymath257]

One of the things that made america a laughing stock across the world.

Then damn french wont wont our war games so we will rake french fries away from them...

Let's just say some Americans were embarrassed. As we are for other reasons today.

Would you like to endorse an immigrant couple?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Dang, I was in Belgium last summer. I had some wonderful mussels and some amazing beef stew, but I don't recall the fries. I guess I will have to go back and have some.

I don't do ketchup or mayonnaise.....salt only please. Or, perhaps some rosemary.

OR if you get to Paris, try the moules-frites (mussels and fries) in several spots in Montmartre.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I don't know about Belgium but this is common in France,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heinz-Pommes-Frites-Sauce-ORIGINAL/dp/B00685K3OE

Amazon says "Currently unavailable for delivery to your region due to high demand. We are working to resume delivery as soon as possible."

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

I had no idea you were Belgian!

French fries is a term used only in N America, so far as I know. In Britain they are universally called "chips", not to be confused with what the French call "chips", which are what the English call "crisps". So it is an example of a faux ami.

I do agree the Belgians are the best at making frites, and I have picked up from them - or the people just up the road in the Netherlands - the idea of eating them with mayonnaise. We lived in The Hague for a few years and got the habit there, at the kibbeling stands.

Ha, yeah ... I hear americans in particular, tend to raise an eyebrow or two when you tell them that in the benelux it is common to eat mayonaise with fries.

I'ld dare say that it's the most common use of mayonaise in beligum: the combo with fries.
So much so that it is the other way round here. In a restaurant, if you have a dish with fries, the mayo will be included almost automatically. if you tell them you don't want it on your plate, it's them that will raise an eyebrow, lol.


And the belgian "secret" of making fries is the fact that they are fried twice.
In france, and i think traditionally in the netherlands as well, they don't do that.