February 28th: French Fry Friday

French Fry Friday celebrates French fries. So here are 10 facts about chips.

1. French fries may actually have originated in Belgium. There is an ongoing dispute between France and Belgium as to which country they come from. One theory is that US soldiers in Belgium during World War I thought they were in France because French was widely spoken around them, and so attributed the snack to the French.
2. Belgium is the European nation which consumes the most French fries per person per year.
3. There are written references to French fries that pre-date World War I, though. US President Thomas Jefferson is said to have eaten "potatoes served in the French manner" at a White House dinner in 1802.
4. "French Fried Potatoes" first appeared in print in English in 1856 in a book called Cookery for Maids of All Work by E Warren. It says: "French Fried Potatoes. – Cut new Potatoes in thin slices, put them in boiling fat, and a little Salt; fry both sides of a light golden brown colour; drain."
5. Another theory as to the origin of the name is that it refers to the cooking term, "frenching" which means to cut into thin strips. However, this term wasn't used in cookery until 1895, almost 40 years after E. Warren wrote about it.
6. French fries are usually cooked twice - once to cook the potatoes and then again to make the outside crisp.
7. The average American eats between 16 and 30lbs of French fries a year.
8. More than a quarter of the total potato crop in America is turned into French Fries.
9. In its early days, McDonalds extensively studied how to produce consistently good French fries - they pretty much turned it into a science. One of the things they discovered was that potatoes needed to be cured for three weeks so that the right amount of sugar turned to starch and stopped the fries from turning brown when cooked.
10. In 2002, McDonalds fries were found to contain beef extract, and there were a number of lawsuits filed against the chain for labelling them as suitable for vegetarians. McDonalds donated $10 million to Hindu and vegetarian groups in compensation.