Difference between revisions of "French fries"
Jeremiah4-22 (Talk | contribs) m |
|||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
[[Category:Potato recipes]] | [[Category:Potato recipes]] | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
Revision as of 21:33, April 29, 2007
French fries are a food made from potatoes that have been cut into less-than-quarter-inch, stringy length-wise slices and deep-fat fried (twice in some recipes). They are very popular in America, where some add ketchup to them, and Belgium and France, where they are called frites and eaten with mayonnaise. In the United Kingdom they are referred to as 'chips', generally thicker than the American and European fries, and eaten with traditionally with salt or malt vinegar although gravy and curry sauce are more recent, and popular, accompaniments. Chips became a popular part of the British diet in the Victorian era when poor slum-dwellers in London often did not have the means to cook food at home. Chips were a cheap way of obtaining hot, filling food.
Freedom fries
Near the start of the Iraq War, a wave of anti-French sentiment briefly swept the United States over France's refusal to join or support the U.S.-led coalition. As a protest against France, for a while the Congressional cafeteria refused to use the name "French fries," serving them under the substitute name "Freedom fries".[1][2] Representatives Bob Ney (R-OH) and Walter Jones (R-NC) were responsible for declaring that all references to "French" in the United States House of Representatives' restaurants and snack bars be removed. Said Ney after personally changing the signs in the House cafeteria, Once again, our brave men and women in the American military are putting their lives on the line to ensure the freedom and security of others, and once again, France is sitting on the sidelines.
This was similar to other times when foods were renamed because they contained the name of a country with which we were at war. For example, during the first world war sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage and dachsunds liberty hounds. [3] Also, in Britain, German Shepherd dogs were renamed Alsatians.
The French responded only by pointing out that French fries originate in Belgium. A spokeswoman (Nathalie Loisau) said, "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes."
Capitol Hill, however, reverted to the "French" label in 2006.[4]
