But when the River Meuse froze in 1680, potatoes were cut into the shape of fish, fried, and used as a substitute for their main staple. The poor inhabitants of the Meuse valley area subsisted mainly on fish. What we recognize today as Belgian frites or friets is thought to come from the region of Meuse in 1680. In fact, a Reuters headline read ‘Fry ban targets wrong country’ at the height of the French product boycott in the US following its stance against the war in Iraq.Īdvertisement The history of Belgian fries You wouldn’t be the only one to mistake the origin of French fries, though. Well, the word ‘french’ became synonymous with fries due to the fact that, in old English, to ‘french’ actually meant to ‘cut lengthwise’. So why are they so often mistaken as French in origin? Tourists and locals eating Belgian fries at a frietkot in Brussels

In fact, the humble chip or French fry put Belgium on the map even if they are patates kızartması in an Istanbul café, gamza teekim on the streets of Seoul, or ranskalaiset perunat on a bench in Helsinki. Turn any corner in one of Belgium’s beautiful towns or cities, and you are sure to stumble upon a frites stall ( frietkot).

Indeed, fries – or frites – permeate into every pore of Belgian culture, from pop art and comic strips to music and advertising. Well, you will make no mistake about the origin of so-called French fries once you visit Belgium. Choose your meals Where did the term ‘French fries’ come from?

Where does pommie frites come from