Why do they call 'em french fries?!
Frites spread to America where they were called French fried potatoes. You asked how they got their name--pretty obvious, I'd say: they came from France, and they were fried potatoes, so they were called "French fried potatoes." The name was shortened to "french fries" in the 1930s.
The verb "to french" in cooking has come to mean to cut in long, slender strips, and some people insist that "french fries" come from that term.
Answers: In the 1840s, pomme frites ("fried potatoes") first appeared in Paris. But they were immediately popular, and were sold on the streets of Paris by push-cart vendors.
Frites spread to America where they were called French fried potatoes. You asked how they got their name--pretty obvious, I'd say: they came from France, and they were fried potatoes, so they were called "French fried potatoes." The name was shortened to "french fries" in the 1930s.
The verb "to french" in cooking has come to mean to cut in long, slender strips, and some people insist that "french fries" come from that term.
They are not actually French - it is based on the cut of the potato and the cut, in fact, originates from Belgium!
It is a bit like 'steak cut' fries - they are thickly cut.
because french people always surrender the way your heart will if you eat too many french fries.
because somebody felt calling them freedom fries would be stupid.