Are French Fries Even French?

For something so simple, french fries sure seem to attract a lot of scrutiny. Fast food chains' reputations are largely staked on their french fry rankings, and everyone's got their own ideas about what size and shape makes for the ideal fry. One thing most people do seem to agree on, though, is that french fries aren't actually French. Although there's no firm proof of where or when french fries were invented, the most widely believed version of events states that the beloved snack originated in the nation of Belgium.

As legend has it, fries were invented for the sake of convenience by residents of the Belgian city of Namur. One of their staple dishes was fried fish, caught from the River Meuse. One unusually cold winter in 1680, the river froze completely, so no fish could be caught and the people had to search for another food to fry. They turned to potatoes, and became so enamored with the taste of fried spuds that they became a local specialty.

Fast forward to World War I. American troops stationed in Namur got a taste of fried potatoes and fell in love. Since Namur is in the French-speaking part of Belgium, the Americans dubbed the local treat "french fries". France is well-known for many fancy potato side dishes, so it's no surprise Americans back home believed fries were yet another French invention. However, while this might be the most common version of the French fry origin story, it isn't without its challengers.

There is one glaring flaw in the aforementioned history of the french fry. It could not have been invented by the people of Namur in the winter of 1680 because potatoes, which are native to the Americas, were not introduced to that region until the 1730s. It's conceivable that the happy invention came about during a different, unseasonably cold winter, but it might just be that the Belgian origin story is untrue. It's impossible to say for sure, but there is a chance that french fries actually are French after all, or were at least popularized by the French.

Another theory places the fry's origin in late-1700s France. Around that time, fried potatoes became a popular street food, sold by vendors along the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. The snack was initially known as "pomme Pont Neuf," or "Pont Neuf potato." French fries continue to be a very popular side dish in France as well as Belgium, although of course, French speakers don't call them that. In both of these possible origin countries, fries are known as "frites," as in the popular dish, steak frites. The fact that this dish is a signature of both France and Belgium only adds to the mystery of the french fry's history.