I just returned from a neighbour foodcourt and began to muse about the number of different fast foods that are now available. Each country seems to have entered the fast-food market. Old standards such as hotdogs and hamburgers are now being challenged by new attractions such as sushi selections, shawarma, poke bowls, tacos, and souvlaki. My nomination for the most popular fast food is the iconic french fry. Is there anyone who will not snack on a french fry?
French fries made their first official appearance in the 17th century in Europe, but are now a recognized food in almost any country in the world. Whether they are called fries in North America, chips in Britain, frites in France, or finger chips in India, they are all basically deep-fried pieces of potato.
French fries are served hot, either soft or crispy, and are generally eaten as part of lunch or dinner or by themselves as a snack, and they commonly appear on the menus of diners, fast food restaurants, pubs, and bars. After canned baby food, the first real food that any baby samples, once they can chew, is a warm french fry. Next time you are in a restaurant, I can guarantee that some eight-month-old child will be gumming a french fry to death. Teenagers garnish almost any take out item with an order of fries and seniors will soften their fries with vinegar and/or ketchup and gum them up just like the wee ones do. Everyone loves them
French fries come in all shapes and sizes. You can order straight cut fries, crinkle fries, curly fries, spicy fries, and sweet potato fries. They can also be disguised as chips, tater tots, shoestring fries or ‘tato wedges. They can be plain, or salted, or dipped in a variety of garnishes such as vinegar, or ketchup or gravy or mayonnaise or other local specialties. Fries can be topped more heavily, as in the dishes of poutine or chili cheese fries. A baked variant, oven chips, uses less oil or no oil and has been designed for the more health-conscious diner.
The origin of the french fry is not really clear. One enduring origin story holds that french fries were invented by street vendors on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in 1789, just before the outbreak of the French Revolution. However, a reference exists in France from 1775 to "a few pieces of fried potato" and to "fried potatoes”.
The French origin has been disputed by Belgium where historians claim potatoes were being fried in the late-1600s. How they supposedly came up with the idea was that it was very common for the people to fry up small fish as a staple for their meals. However, when the rivers froze up thick enough, it tended to make it somewhat difficult to get fish. So instead of frying up fish in these times, they would cut up potatoes in long thin slices, and fry them up as they did the fish. This first indication that fish and chips were a regular menu item will probably not sit well with the folks of the British Isles who have elevated this food item to a national treasure.
Regardless of their origin, the french fry is without a doubt the King of Fast Foods. Do I hear any challenges?
1 comment:
The apple.
:)
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