This Is What They Call French Fries in France
It happens to all of us: You're in the shower or falling asleep when oddly specific questions come to mind. Sure, they might not make a ton of sense or impact your daily life, but once you start thinking about them, you just have to know the answer. Well, the next time your brain starts down that hazy train of thought, you'll be armed with the answer to at least one of those questions: what they call French fries in France.
What do French people call fries?
If you've ordered steak frites at a fancy restaurant, you're halfway there. In France, fries are "frites," or pommes frites, if you're being specific. (And if you happen to live in the New York area, you can get a taste for the term, and for Belgian-style fries, at the aptly named Pommes Frites restaurant.)
Of course, if you order fries at a French restaurant, servers used to American tourists will probably know what you're talking about, but you might get a few funny looks if you use the term "French fries" outside of the United States, especially in France.
Why do Americans call them French fries?
While the official origin of fries isn't totally clear, fries likely originated in Belgium, National Geographic reported. As legend has it, "French fries" got their nickname during World War I. American soldiers stationed in Belgium dubbed the tasty treat "French" because French was southern Belgium's dominant language, National Geographic explains.
If you find yourself in Belgium, though, you'll definitely want to call them "frites," or just fries. At least Belgian waffles are properly attributed to their country of origin?
Where can you get the best French fries?
If all this talk of fried potatoes is leaving you hungry, we've got you covered. Our Eat This, Not That! team taste-tested fries from some of the top fast-food chains in the country, and we found Shake Shake's fries were the best. The crunchy, salty crinkle-cut fries won many of our editors over.
Don't live near a Shake Shack location? The chain gets their fries delivered frozen—they actually tested out fresh fries a few years ago, only to find fans preferred the frozen option. So while it's not quite the same, grabbing a bag of frozen Ore-Ida or Nathan's fries will hit that crinkle-cut craving, too.
And if you're looking to whip up a batch of your own fries at home, you can't go wrong with this baked French fries recipe. Frites, fries, chips if you're British…whatever you call them, these spuds are unbeatable.
