🍟 Where French fries actually came from

There is debate between Belgium and France, but most evidence supports Belgium as the birthplace.

🇧🇪 Belgian origin (most widely accepted)

• Belgians claim they were frying thin pieces of potato in the late 1600s.
  
  

• According to local stories from the Meuse Valley, villagers used to fry small fish from the river.
  In winter, when the river froze and fish were unavailable, they sliced potatoes into fish-shaped strips and fried those instead.
  
  

• Documents from the late 1600s and early 1700s mention fried potatoes in this region.
  
  

🇫🇷 French origin claim

• France argues that fries originated in Paris in the late 1700s, becoming popular as street food.
  
  

• Vendors sold fried potatoes along the Pont Neuf (a famous bridge) around 1780–1790, just before the French Revolution.
  
  

Conclusion:
Belgium probably invented them first, but France helped popularize the version we know today.

🍟 When the term “French fries” appeared

• The name “French fries” became common in English in the late 1800s.
  
  

• In the U.S., soldiers in World War I (1917–1918) encountered fries in Belgium and called them French fries because French was the local language used in the Belgian army.
  
  

🍔 How French fries became a global food

Early 1900s – U.S. adoption

• Fries spread through American diners, lunch counters, and early fast-food stands.
  
  

• The first major fast-food chains (like White Castle in the 1920s) made fries a standard side.
  
  

1950s – Fast food boom

• McDonald’s standardized thin-cut fries and made them world-famous.
  
  

• Their consistent recipe and mass production techniques turned fries into a global staple.
  
  

Today

French fries are one of the most widely consumed foods on Earth, with variations like:

• Shoestring fries
  
  

• Steak fries
  
  

• Curly fries
  
  

• Waffle fries
  
  

• Belgian “frites” with mayonnaise
  
  

• Poutine (Canada)