The Belgians love frites so much that they even came up with a mitraillette sandwich with them. Half a baguette is filled with potato slices, fried meat, fresh vegetables and sauce. Today this is almost the most.

French fries are a source of national pride in Belgium.

As you probably already understood, the Belgians love fries. It is not surprising that in the country there are about 2 thousand friterias and fritkots - this is what they call the establishments where frits are prepared and served. Per capita, this number is even higher than that of McDonald's restaurants in the United States.

But the Belgians would not be Belgians if they had not come up with something else extraordinary. Every year on February 17, the country celebrates French Fry Day, and at the end of autumn and beginning of winter, the Fritkot festival is widely celebrated for a whole week! During such events, many competitions are held, for example, for the best packaging design for frits or voting for the most delicious potatoes. The atmosphere is indescribable!

In 2008, the Belgians officially “perpetuated” their passion for French fries - they opened a museum dedicated to them in, which is the only such institution in the world. Here you can get acquainted with the history of the origin and spread of the dish, watch an interesting video about its preparation, see a collection of antique deep fryers, paintings and other exhibits, and most importantly, taste the famous delicacy in a cafe (for a fee). The entrance ticket costs 7€ for adults and 5€ for children (from 6 to 11 years old).

Where to try French fries in Brussels

Once in the capital of Belgium, you can taste delicious potatoes literally everywhere. But the best friteries in Brussels are:

• Maison Antoine on Place Jourdan. As many as three generations of one family run their successful business here. French fries and mitrayet sandwiches are specialties of the friteria.
• Fritland on Rue Henri Maus. This establishment offers excellent Belgian potatoes. The dish is so popular that the line for it almost never ends.
• Friterie Tabora on Rue de Tabora. There is also a queue here, but it moves quite quickly. The portions in this place are quite large; you are allowed to take food with you.

Many gourmets wince in disgust at the mere mention of French fries, and healthy eating specialists also shake their heads in disapproval because of the high fat content and acrylamide. However, children and adults love it - especially with ketchup or mayonnaise.

Legendary Origin

But despite the popularity of French fries, the exact place and time of their first appearance are unknown. In the US, where crispy potato sticks are called "French fry", there is obviously no doubt where the favorite delicacy came from. However, potatoes appeared in France only in the 18th century. By this time, the Belgians say, “fries” had long appeared on their tables. In support, they cite a manuscript from 1781. A certain Joseph Gerard says there that the inhabitants of Namur, Huy, Andenna and Dinant like to fry small fish in vegetable oil. When in the cold winter of 1680 all the rivers froze and it was impossible to fish, they began to cut fish out of potatoes and fry them in the same way. Over time, this “way out of the situation” became a favorite national dish.

The homeland of potatoes is the Andes Mountains of South America. It has been bred here since 900 BC. The conquistadors brought the "earth apple" to Europe, where it was first considered an ornamental plant with beautiful flowers. The use of potatoes as food spread slowly. But since French fries appeared, there are certainly no places in the world where these delicacies are unfamiliar.

• 1727: the first recipe for ketchup appeared in England - although without tomatoes, but with white wine, anchovies and various spices.
• 1756: The first mayonnaise is produced in Mahon, the capital of Menorca.
• 1904: The first hamburger is demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Saint-Louis.
• 1949: Berlin stall owner Hertha Haver invented currywurst, a fried sausage with curry sauce.

You don't have to go to a McDonald's fast food restaurant to treat yourself and your friends to a dish like French fries. It is quite easy to prepare it yourself, at home. Even if you don’t have special equipment (for example, a deep fryer), an ordinary pan will do for frying, and the result of your labor, so to speak, can exceed all expectations and turn out even tastier than in a fast food restaurant. Deep-fried potatoes are good as a delicacy for children and as a snack with a glass of beer for adults. You can also use it as a side dish for many meat and fish dishes of European cuisine.

The birthplace of French fries

Some countries - Belgium, France, Britain, the USA - previously fought for the right of primacy. According to European tradition, the birthplace of French fries is Belgium. And not the USA at all, as one might assume. According to the Belgian National Museum, crispy French fries have been around since 1700! In those years, Belgian fishermen fried a small fish whole in a frying pan and ate it. But when winters became harsh and the rivers froze, people could not go fishing. Then they cut out various fish figures from potatoes, fried them in oil and ate them. The museum also houses a collection of antique deep fryers collected by one of the dish's admirers, paintings depicting Belgian bistros, and photos of pink potato tubers from Peru used for frying.

Legend

What about “British” chips and “French” potatoes? Chefs from these countries fundamentally disagree with the “Belgian” version of origin and dispute it in every possible way. However, the Belgians have a spare one for this case, proving that the birthplace of French fries is their country. During World War I, American soldiers, while in French-speaking Wallonia (Belgium), tried this dish and mistakenly called it “French”.

Ancient recipe

So, the birthplace of French fries is Belgium. We will try, paying tribute to traditions, to prepare this dish according to the classic old Belgian recipe (as it was prepared in the bistro).

We will need: potatoes - one kilogram, beef fat - 200 grams, salt. As a deep fryer, if you don’t have one at hand in the kitchen, you can use a large frying pan with a thick bottom and high sides or a saucepan.

French fries (photo on the right) are peeled and cut into “straws” (or you can, as in the old days, cut out fish figures from tubers). Next, melt the beef fat in a deep fryer over medium heat until it actually comes to a boil. Fry the pieces in fat until golden brown, turning them constantly. Then we take it out with a special spatula and set it aside for ten to fifteen minutes. Then we perform a secondary frying of the product for a few minutes. French fries (photo below) according to an old Belgian recipe are ready. A characteristic feature of this dish is that the product is fried twice in beef fat. In addition, fish figurines carved from tubers add a special piquancy to the dish. In the country where French fries were invented, you can still try a dish prepared this way in the old-fashioned way in bistros.

Deep fried

Modern French fries are, of course, not cooked in pure beef fat. For such frying, deep fat is used (from the French word “frying”). The cooking method, by the way, is called similarly - deep-fried. Typically, a mixture of vegetable and animal fats is used.

The cooking method itself is quite old. Similar dishes were also known in China. The prepared product is, as it were, boiled in a mixture that should completely cover it. The total mass of fat should exceed the mass of potatoes by about four times. Potatoes for deep frying should be cut into strips, no more than one centimeter thick (preferably thinner). When frying, potato pieces should move freely in the container (deep fryer or pan that replaces it).

Blend recipes

Here are several recipes for preparing mixtures for deep-frying potatoes:

• 50 percent vegetable oil, 50 percent rendered beef fat;
• 40 percent vegetable oil, 30 percent pork, 30 percent beef fat;
• 50 percent vegetable oil, 50 percent cooking oil.

Butter (sometimes, however, melted butter is used for donuts) and margarine are not suitable for mixtures.

Modern recipe at home

In a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the mixture for deep frying (use the recipes given above). It should almost boil. Peel the potatoes and cut into strips. Salt and let dry. Some cooks dry the pieces with a cotton towel. In any case, there should be no water on the potatoes, since when they come into contact with the deep fat, they will create “fireworks”! When the mixture boils, lower the straw into it so that the deep fat covers the product completely. Fry for three to five minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon. Let the oil drain from the potatoes. Serve hot, traditionally with ketchup.

Ketchup recipe

You can make your own sauce for French fries at home. In any case, it will be much tastier than store bought.

We will need: a kilogram of tomatoes, two large spoons of sugar, salt, garlic, spices - to taste, fresh chopped herbs, ground pepper, a little table vinegar (you can use lemon juice).

Cut the tomatoes finely. Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Delicious ketchup for French fries is ready! Bon appetit everyone!

Many gourmets wince in disgust at the mere mention of French fries, and healthy eating specialists also shake their heads in disapproval because of the high fat content and acrylamide. However, children and adults love it - especially with ketchup or mayonnaise.

Legendary Origin

The history of French fries has several versions. For example, in English-speaking countries this dish is called French potatoes or “French Fries”. However, French fries were not invented in France. It is believed that such potatoes were first prepared in Belgium at the end of the 17th century.

According to the inhabitants of Belgium, French fries, or as they call them “frits,” which is one of the favorite dishes of their national cuisine, were first prepared in the Meuse valley, near the town of Liege. The inhabitants of this valley often fried fish that they caught in the local river. Moreover, it was first cut into thin bars and then fried in a large amount of oil. However, in winter, when the river froze and there was no fish, the residents of the valley had to give up their favorite dish. And then the Belgians came up with the idea of ​​using potatoes instead of fish! The name frites came from an enterprising Belgian resident named Frite. It was he who first began selling potato slices fried in oil in 1861.

"Second chance"

The story of French fries doesn't end there. Fate gave potatoes a second chance in the middle of the last century, bringing them together with the railway. The train carrying an important political figure to Paris was delayed, and the cooks serving the official dinner had to fry the potato slices a second time. The result spoke for itself: the potatoes became crispier and tastier. The most sophisticated way to prepare potatoes is to double fry them in olive oil.

An important question that everyone asked themselves

Are French fries good for the human body?

French fries allow you to quickly get rid of hunger. But it is impossible to talk about its benefits, because everyone knows that it only causes harm to the body. But, despite this, fries themselves are not so scary, because the product contains many macro- and microelements, such as magnesium, iodine, iron and potassium. Potatoes contain vitamin B and ascorbic acid, which are almost completely destroyed during heat treatment.

A potato dish contains carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, pectins, citric, malic and oxalic acid. Potatoes themselves contain iron, iodine, magnesium, sodium and potassium. Vitamins B1, B2 and C contained in potatoes lose their properties when fried.

However, French fries can only be beneficial in one case, if you remove harmful substances from them, such as chemicals, trans fats, oil, which has been used for several days.

The material was prepared by Daria Shamatulskaya, 1st year student of DGN-1