AUG 9 WHO INVENTED FRENCH FRIES?

AUG 9  WHO INVENTED FRENCH FRIES?

Here's an item you might have missed: Last Tuesday was International Fries Day in Belgium. Although not a public holiday...Belgians don't get the day off work...it's a chance for the whole nation to celebrate something they truly love: Fries. At the Gran Place in the capital Brussels, vendors take over the massive square selling tons of kilos of spuds. With over 4,000 licensed fry stands in the nation, it's easy to see their popularity. In fact, Belgium is the birthplace of the French Fry!

Here's the story: Way back in the year 1680, a bitter winter storm battered the Low Countries. It was so cold that the River Meuse froze over. This meant that people of Namur couldn't fish and therefore couldn't eat their favorite dish: Fried Fish. Still hungry, chefs decided they would fry potatoes in the shape of fish instead. Called "Pommes Frites" they caught on and became a local specialty. They remained a regional side-dish until World War One. That's when American soldiers arrived and fell in love with fries. Since Namur is in the French-speaking part of Belgium, they erroneously named them FRENCH fries.

Not so fast! French food historian Pierre Leclercq begs to differ on the matter. In a recent article penned in Le Figaro newspaper (curiously published the same day as the Belgian holiday), he tried to set the record straight. "No, French Fries Are Not Belgian" screamed the headline. Leclercq conducted research and determined the potato, a New World food, didn't arrive in Central Belgium until 1735--a good fifty years after the winter of 1680. He also noted a lack of fried foods from the regional cuisine as well.

So who invented the French Fry? The French, of course! Declercq researched and found a different conclusion. When the potato arrived in Paris, vendors wanted to come up with an appetizing way to serve the inexpensive tuber. So they sliced them into smaller shapes and fried them in vegetable oil. Leclercq found records of them being sold to opera attendees on Pont Neuf in the year 1700. So when American GIs came to Paris, they ate French Fries and took the recipes back to America...and then the world!

Sadly...until someone invents a time machine...humankind will never know who really invented the French Fry. This recent tiff between Belgium and France completely coincides with their recent battle on the soccer pitch at the World Cup. It was the semi-finals! Anyhow, tiny Belgium always feels bullied by big, tough France, and this Fry Spat is just another chapter. Quipped Bernard Lefevre from Antwerp: "Nobody invented water, but somebody invented the spa. Potatoes do not come from France or Belgium, they come from Peru. But Belgians made frites an art and a perfect product."