France and other French-speaking countries
Where did French Fries originate?
French fries
In France and other French-speaking countries, fried potatoes are formally "pommes de terre frites", but more commonly "pommes frites", "patates frites", or simply "frites". The word ""aiguillettes"" or "allumettes" is used when the chips are very small and thin. 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. Eating potatoes was promoted in France by Parmentier, but he did not mention fried potatoes in particular. Many Americans attribute the dish to France and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. ""Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches"" ("Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings") in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson's hand (circa 1801–1809) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien. In addition, from 1813 on, recipes for what can be described as French fries occur in popular American cookbooks. By the late 1850s, one of these uses the term "French fried potatoes". "Frites" are the main ingredient in the Canadian dish of Québécois descent known in both Canadian English and French as poutine, consisting of fried potatoes covered with cheese curds and gravy, a dish with a growing number of variations.