Are French Fries Actually ... Belgian Fries?

France has become so thoroughly associated with cuisine, from Julia Child to "Ratatouille," that it's easy to forget that a lot of what we consider "French" foods aren't actually French. Croissants? They were originally made in Vienna. French toast, hopefully cooked in butter and not oil? That's an ancient Roman recipe. French crullers? More like Dutch crullers. 

You might be saying right now, "Why, for crying out loud!" (We don't know you, so we're just assuming you talk like Jimmy Stewart.) "Next you'll tell me French fries aren't really French." Well, you might want to sit down for this next part.

French fries, those delectable slices of fried potato (preferably russets) perfect for dipping in ketchup or mayonnaise, were (according to some) created in Belgium. That's right — not content with giving the world waffles, Brussels sprouts, and "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commence, 1080 Bruxelles," Belgium brought us one of the most popular foods in the world. So why do we call them French fries? Depending on who you ask, it's either because of American soldiers in World War I, or because — plot twist — they really are French.

The story supposedly starts with Namur, a Belgian town on the River Meuse. The people of Namur loved nothing more than indulging in delicious fried fish (too bad they didn't have any club soda to make the batter light). But one winter, the Meuse froze over, making fishing impossible. Not having many other options, they sliced up the one food they had in abundance, potatoes, and fried them up instead. Thus the fry was born, and over the years became a popular street food (if a rather decadent one).

As for why they're called French fries, the answer (again, according to some) lies in the inability of American soldiers during World War I to tell the difference between France and Belgium. Those who were stationed in areas of Belgium where fries were served called them "French fries", because the people who made them spoke French. It's a neat story, although considering that the phrases "French fries" and "French fried potatoes" started appearing in recipes well before World War I, it's likely not altogether true.

Although Belgium has successfully lobbied UNESCO into recognizing fries as a part of their cultural heritage, others have thrown cold water onto the idea that Belgians invented the dish, cute little story and all. A food historian named Eric Leclercq argued that potatoes weren't introduced to Belgium until the 1700s, so if the story about the frozen river happened at all, it would have taken place over fifty years after the stated date. 

On top of that, fat would have been much too valuable for the peasants of Namur to fry — they would have been more likely to eat the calorie-rich fat spread on a piece of bread to get through the winter. Leclercq suggested instead that the dish originated in a street food sold on the Pont-Neuf, a famous bridge in Paris. (Hilariously, Leclercq is himself Belgian, and has no doubt earned a few dirty looks at some food historian convention or another in Brussels.)

Tracing the history of a food is difficult even with extensive written records, which, as a street food, French fries didn't have until recently. It's likely we never know who exactly invented the French fry — but we'll be happy to munch on them all the same while France and Belgium bicker over the matter.