July 13, 2022 – French Fries

Happy National French Fry Day! French fries are indeed from France! They were first mentioned in a Parisian book in 1775, and the first recipe appeared in a French cookbook from 1795. They became a popular dish in Paris during the 19th century.
One story about why we call them “french fries” claims that when the American Expeditionary Forces arrived in Belgium during World War I, they assumed the food was French because the Belgian Army all spoke French. But the name actually existed long before that, it was already in use in the U.S. as early as 1899.
We have a Founding Father to thank for introducing fries to America. Thomas Jefferson is responsible for bring them here, after likely encountering them while he served as the American ambassador to France. He detailed a recipe in his writings in the early 1800s, which is one of the first known fry recipes, according to historians.
The J.R. Simplot company is credited with commercializing frozen French fries here in the U.S. They introduced them in the 1940s, and in 1967 Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s, contracted with the company to supply the chain with frozen fries. Today, McDonald’s sells more fries than any other company in the world. Around 7% of the potatoes grown in the U.S. become McDonald’s french fries, and they sell over 1/3 of of all fries eaten here.
With that information, you might think that Americans eat the most fries in the world. However, that honor goes to Belgium, where about 165 pounds of fried potatoes are eaten per person each year. Here in the U.S., the average person eats around 30 pounds of french fries a year.
The “French Fry Capital of the World” isn’t in Belgium or America, though. It’s in Canada, Florenceville-Bristol New Brunswick, to be exact. That’s where McCain Foods, the worlds largest manufacturer of frozen french fries, is headquartered.
If you’ve got cash to burn and want to try the world’s most expensive french fries, head on down to Serendipity 3 in New York City. Their Crème dela Crème Pommes Frites are $200, and are made with Dom Perignon Champagne, pure cage-free goose fat from France, truffle salt, truffle oil, truffle butter, shaved black summer truffles from Italy, and organic cream from grass fed Jersey Cows. And of course, they’re topped with 23k edible gold dust.
Learn more here.
 

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