French fries: France vs. Belgium
If you thought french fries were invented in France, join the club. Duh, it’s in the name, right? This goes double for all our readers who heard the story about Thomas Jefferson’s French chef who once made chipped potatoes he claimed were in the “French manner”.
However, both food historians and other food experts believe that even though they’re called French, these types of fries loved the world over are actually Belgian and were actually invented in Belgium in the 17th century.
We can’t be sure of the validity of the following story, but it;s a funny one so we thought we’d share it with you anyway! It is said that the name comes from the fact that a group of soldiers mistook the soil they were on when they had some fries, calling them French when, in fact, they were in Belgium all along!