What's in a Name- A brief history of Frites


“         Belgian Fries” vs “French Fries”.  What’s in a Name?

Belgian Fries are part of Belgian culinary and cultural heritage. Even if they are
sometimes referred to as “French” fries there is nothing French about them. Apparently
the name originated due to a linguistic misunderstanding, because in old English ‘to
French’ meant   ‘to cut into sticks’.

According to the Belgian historian Jo Gerard, fried potatoes appeared on the dining
tables  in Belgian towns such as Namur, Ardenne, and Dinant in the latter half of the 17th
century. Poorer inhabitants in these towns used to fry tiny fish. When the river froze in the
winter the fish were replaced by sticks of potatoes cut to the same small size of the fish.

The difference between what Americans are accustomed to calling “French fries” and
Belgian Fries is not readily apparent. They look the same - but that’s where the similarity
ends. The difference between them is a result of the way in which they are prepared.  And
this difference in preparation yields surprising differences in taste, texture and quality.

“French” fries are prepared in a matter of minutes. Potatoes are simply cut into strips  
and fried until they are done. In all, this process takes only a few minutes. You’ve probably
seen this done in several “fast food” restaurants that boast that they use fresh potatoes
for their fries. The potatoes are cut before your eyes and immediately immersed in hot
oil. The result is usually an oily, flavorless, limp potato stick that has to be heavily salted
and dipped in ketchup to make it palatable. Because "French fries" are fried all in one
step, the oil is able to completely penetrate the potato.

The reason for this is simple. Potatoes are made up of roughly 80% water. When first
immersed in hot oil this water escapes as steam and prevents the oil from penetrating
the potato. The steam is usually exhausted within the first minute or two of frying – not
long enough to produce a “golden” fry, so the frying continues until the potato is a nice
golden brown color. Once the steam is exhausted however, the oil is free to completely
saturate  the potato. So, the result is the flavor and texture of the potato is lost and is
replaced by the flavor and texture of the oil in which it was fried. It is for this reason that
completely frying  the potatoes in one step is not a good idea. And, this is one of the
main reasons our Belgian Frites are not prepared in this way.

In contrast to the French fries normally served as a side dish in restaurants and “fast
food” establishments, our Belgian Fries take several hours, not several minutes, to
prepare. In all, it takes roughly 12 hours from start to finish to produce the frites you enjoy
when you visit our store. The final result of our proprietary method is pure fried potato
perfection!

Because our method of producing the frites we serve follows the traditional Belgian
recipe rather than the method commonly used to make French fries our motto is: "we
take the 'French" out of fries."

Come and enjoy our Belgian frites. We look forward to serving you!