The French Fries Connoisseur

This week we bring you something that’s sure to set your tongue ablaze - a recipe for some fiery oven baked fries.

What You’ll Need:

Baking sheet (a cookie sheet will be fine)

Mixing bowl

Wooden Spoon

Cooking Spray

4 large potatoes

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 teaspoons tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

black pepper

Recipe Directions

1: Mince the garlic cloves and chop the potatoes to fine strips (1/4 inch long is usually good)

2: Preheat the oven to 375F

3: Spray the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray

4: Mix the olive oil and garlic in the mixing bowl

5: Add the potatoes to the mixing bowl and toss

6: Add in the vinegar and tabasco sauce and toss again. Make sure that the potatoes are well coated and that everything is well mixed.

7: Spread the coated potatoes onto the baking sheet

8: Grind black pepper over the potatoes to your liking

9: Bake the fries for about 10 minutes

10: Remove the fries from the oven and flip them over on the tray

11: Bake for another 10 minutes

12: Remove the fries and flip them once again

13: Bake for another 10 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. If after 10 minutes this doesn’t happen, leave the fries in the oven until they look good. Make sure to check on them regularly.

14: Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from one I found in The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon.

The french fry is an iconic food around the world. With something so popular, you’d think its inventor would have a marble statue around somewhere. But alas, this is not the case. French fries’ origin is to this very day a modern mystery, one that actually causes quite a good deal of contention in certain circles. Certain theories bear a bit more credibility than others, though.

It Was The French, Of Course!

Most people when asked, ‘Who invented french fries’ would immediately say, ‘The French, of course!’ But is this true? There is certainly some evidence for and against this claim. Thomas Jefferson has in his own hand an account of french fries recipes coming from France. “Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches,” he wrote, which for you non-French speakers out there means (”Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings.” Certainly sounds like a classic description of french fries to me. And who could argue with a man of Jefferson’s stature?

The Case for Belgium

It turns out that there’s a good deal of evidence to point to Belgium as the origin of french fries. The Flemish do hold the french fry as a national trasure, after all. Historian Jo Gerard claims evidence that the poor in Belgium were frying potatoes as early as 1680, but only as an act of desperation. As hard as it may be to believe now, eating potatoes back in the day was looked down upon.  So how could a Belgian delicacy be confused with the French? Well, in Jefferson’s time the lands which are today Belgium were actually owned by France, and they’d stay that way until as late as 1815.

Spain Throws In Its Hat

There are some out there that credit the invention of fries with the Spanish. At the Friet museum in Antwerp, a professor has gone public with his theory that Saint Teresa de Avila was the first to fry potatoes in the way we know and love today. There was certainly a strong tradition of frying in Mediterranean culture. In addition, it was through Spanish colonies that the potato was introduced to Europe in the first place. And on a personal note, I’d certainly believe that french fries were invented by a saint.

A Modern Mystery

Whoever did invent the delectable treat we know and love today, we can all certainly appreciate the diverse cultures which combined together to make it all happen. Whether the French, Flemish, or Spanish started it, it’s a snack we can all enjoy together today. And that’s something we can all be grateful for.