Homemade Oven Baked French Fries

French Fries

Don't let the name fool you. French fries might not be exactly French. Who doesn't love a good side of french fries?

But forget everything you know about today's fries. The originals were more like fried potato chunks. Think home fries meet steak fries.

French Fries Origin

The origins of fries are still highly contested. There's still serious drama between Belgium and France over who can clean the feet as their own.

But before we get into the birth of fries, we can't forget the actual star of the show: potatoes.

Potatoes are an ancient crop first cultivated in Peru around 8,000 to 5,000 BC. It wasn't until the 1500s when some Spanish conquistadors discovered the greatness of potatoes and brought it back with them to Spain.

Once the potatoes landed in Spain, the vegetable eventually spread across Europe just waiting to be sliced, deep-fried, and devoured at 2:00 a.m. Now, here's where the fried debacle ignited.

On one side, many people claim french fries originated in Belgium. Back in the 1700s, villagers along the River Meuse would usually eat small fried fish. But when the winter got super cold and froze the river, they would turn to potatoes instead, slicing them up and frying them instead of fish.

When World War I was going on, American soldiers who were in Belgium stumbled upon the fried potatoes, but because people in southern Belgium speak French, the American soldiers called them french fries.

Way to complicate things!

Many people from France claim french fries really are French. Some say they were created by street vendors on the oldest bridge in Paris, the Pont Neuf in 1789. But how did they go from a European street treat to an American fast-food obsession?

Oddly enough, Thomas Jefferson might be responsible for introducing french fries to the U.S. Jefferson first encountered fries when he served as American Minister in France from 1784 to 1789. That's when he fell in love with the potatoes. During his time there, he collected about 150 recipes, and among these recipes, it includes one for potatoes deep-fried while raw in small cuttings.

He would serve his White House guests this fried potatoes recipe from France, thus french fries. For some reason, fries didn't really catch on with the public until the 1900s.

Soldiers who came back from World War I would ask for the fries that they had in northern France and Belgium.

The fries then really took off stateside. People started pairing them with hamburgers, and burgers and fries became a thing. Fast-food chains like McDonald's and Burger King helped make the combo popular and suddenly Burgers and Fries sort of became America's thing.

And since we can't truly confirm whether we go fries to Belgium or France, we salute them both for inventing the perfect side dish. or main depending on who you're asking.

How to make French Fries?

Nowadays, french fries are a beloved food all over the world in tons of different varieties, like shoestring, curly, waffle, crinkle, wedges, cheese fries, chili fries, or poutine. With endless condiments on the side, like ketchup, mayo, or both.