French fries
- This article is about chips, the food product. There is also a TV show CHiPs
French fries (called french fries in the United States, chips in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Commonwealth; frites (or pommes frites) in France and Belgium) are potatoes that have been cut and deep-fried (i.e., french-fried potatoes). The name is often shortened to just fries in the US. Usually, the "french" in french fries is not capitalized, since it does not refer to the nationality. French fries are distinct from potato chips (also called crisps).
Most authorities believe that french fries are Belgian in origin, but that they have gained international prominence due to their pre-eminence in American fast-food menus, propagated by fast-food chains like McDonald's and Burger King (Hungry Jacks in Australia). In America, french fries are typically served with hamburgers. They are also often eaten with meat, fish, and vegetables or by themselves. They also make up half of the classic food combination fish and chips.
The largest producer of french fries in the world is McCain Foods Limited, a Canadian company in Florenceville, New Brunswick. Such is the popularity of french fries that McCain Foods Limited can produce potato products at the rate of more than 1,000,000 lb/h (125 kg/s) in its 30 potato processing plants on six continents around the world.
Origin of the name
There are many theories about the origin of the American name of the dish. By one account, the fried potatoes are called french fries because they are commonly fried in the Belgo-French manner (that is to say frying them twice with a small pause in the middle). Other accounts say that they were once called German fries but the name was changed either for political reasons (Germany was once the enemy of the US) or simple historical reasons (The traditional theory poses that is was in France during World War I that American soldiers first encountered the dish. However, recent historical evidence indicates that North-American soldiers were actually first served the dish in the Belgian part of the trenches but mistakingly thought they were in France. This makes all together more sense, as fries were and still are the national dish of Belgium, and this also implies that the historically correct name for the dish really should be "Belgian Fries"). It is also possible that it is a misunderstanding of the archaic British usage of "French fried potatoes" to mean sauté potatoes, i.e. the French way of shallow frying potatoes that have been peeled, parboiled, allowed to cool and then sliced thinly; this is far more convenient than deep frying if frying other items as well, or if using previously prepared materials in a hurry (as in the English cooked breakfast). The simplest expanation of the origin of the name, however, is that the verb "to french" is a cooking term meaning "to cut into thin strings"; hence, they are potatoes that have been frenched, then fried.
History
Potatoes cut and fried in this manner are said to have first been served in the United States by Thomas Jefferson at his Monticello estate after his return from his ambassadorship to France.
According to the Food Reference Web site,
- The first reference to French fried potatoes was in 1894 in O. Henry's Rolling Stones, "Our countries are great friends. We have given you Lafayette and French fried potatoes."
Variants
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 (often with the skin left on) to create "steak fries".
In Britain, 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 these countries are usually cut much thicker and cooked for a shorter period of time than American-style french fries, 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 form one half of the popular British takeaway dish fish and chips. In another example of two nations being divided by their common language, potato chips are called crisps in British English.
According to culinary celebrity Alton Brown, Belgian pommes frites are usually fried in horse fat. However, he is mistaken, as 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 actually the national dish of Belgium and Belgians are very fussy about how their fries are served. Even the smallest Belgian town has its own "fritkot" (a Flemish word literally meaning "fries shag" which has also been adopted by the French speaking part of the country in addition to the French "Friture"), the Belgian equivalent of the British "Fish & Chips", only that its main dish is... fries with mayonnaise. Belgians actually have their "Frites met/avec Mayonnaise" as a main dish, without any side orders.
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.
Three basic ways to cook them
Most home cooks who prepare their own french fries from potatoes that they have cut cook them a single time in deep fat heated to a temperature around 375 until they are golden and slightly crisp. Many restaurants, especially those reputed to have excellent french fries, cook them in two batches: the first at a temperature that varies from chef to chef but that is generally around 350 degrees, until the fries are nearly cooked but still limp and pale-colored; the second, after the first batch has been removed from the oil and allowed to cool, at a higher temperature, generally around 375 degrees, 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 in a saucepan with enough cold oil in it to cover the potatoes, then cook them over high heat until golden, stirring occasionally.
Accompaniments
French fries are served with a variety of condiments, most notably ketchup, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, tartar sauce or vinegar (especially malt vinegar). In the Netherlands, peanut sauce is also popular (also called satay sauce, after the Indonesian meat sateh 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. In Quebec, french fries are the main component of a dish called poutine: a mixture of French fries with fresh cheddar cheese curds, covered with hot gravy. In the United States, fries are sometimes coated with melted cheese, called cheese fries. Often this is in combination with chili. Fries are often salted for enhanced flavor.
Health aspects
French fries may contain a large amount of fat (usually saturated) from frying and from some condiments or topping and may be bad for the health of those who consume them regularly. Some researchers have also 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 an epidemic of obesity. Frying french fries in beef tallow, the traditional McDonald's recipe, produces a very tasty but unhealthy product.
U.S. political controversy
On March 11, 2003 the cafeteria menus in the three U.S. 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 U.S. government's position on 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 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.
Chips in court
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.