French Fries

My History

The Belgians are noted for claiming that French fries, although the name would point

 elsewhere, are actually Belgian in origin. However, there has not been any definite evidence presented to prove this outright. Whether or not they were created in this small European country, they quickly became the national dish of Belgium; making the Belgians at least the

 symbolic creator of the “French Fry”. They are also Europe’s heaviest consumers of the fried dish. Their origin story of the French fry goes something like this: according to one Belgian historian, French fries got their start in Belgium in the 1680’s when some poor inhabitants of

 the Meuse valley in Belgium, who had become accustomed to frying small fish as an

 accompaniment to their meals, had decided to cut potatoes length ways and fried them in oil when the river nearby had frozen over and they had no access to fish. There are also origin stories which point to France, England, and even Spain (the first European country to discover

 the potato) but Belgium’s claim has been accepted more over worldwide. Even the French give them credit.

No matter where they were first cooked, the art of frying potatoes has been passed on to our generation. When it comes to preparing and cooking French fries some home cooks who prepare them from scratch cook them only a single time in a generous amount of pre-heated oil at a temperature of around 375 degrees F until they are golden and have a nice crisp to them. They will taste good like this and this frying method usually does not take much longer than a minute. However, the method that seems to be recommended by most cook books and also perfected by restaurants with the “best fries” seems to involve two stages of cooking. First the potatoes are to be fried at a temperature of around 350 degrees F until the fries are nearly cooked but yet they still are somewhat limp and pale. This stage is used to soften the potatoes and to thoroughly cook the inside the potato but it does not brown them. The second stage involves removing the fries from the oil, allowing them to cool, and then at a temperature of 375 degrees F they are cooked again until they are crisp and golden brown. This usually takes not much longer than a minute and gives you the best tasting fries possible. The very best oil for making French fries seems to be fresh peanut oil (for healthy reasons). In terms of taste great, rendered beef suet can not be beaten. The best potatoes for making French fries seem to be baking or russet potatoes.

I didn't know that french fries were originated from Belgium, I thought they only manufacture great toothsome chocolate. I wonder whether Pn. Lee has been there before, meeting her long lost ancestors. Potatoes seem to be unfamous now, all those health hazards, all those saturated fat and oil in it, I wonder whether a person's artery will get clogged up if the person eats them everyday. Timothy says that after potato destoryed his garden, his garden would only grow potatoes, nothing else, but potatoes. Lol.