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The origin of the name French fries

Many of us know that French fries are called "Chips" in English, and Americans call them "French Fries". In fact, their real origin is Belgium. As early as 1680, Belgians began to make this kind of French fries. Food cut into strips and then fried is one of the most common fast food and popular all over the world.

During World War I, American soldiers ate these French fries in Belgium and found them particularly delicious, which made them popular. But they took it for granted and called it "French" because the common language in the Belgian army at that time was French, so they thought it was "French French fries."

Extended information:

History of French fries:

1. Origin

According to literature, the earliest record of French fries appeared in The Pont Neuf district of Paris in 1789. French fries were most likely invented in the 18th century in the Southern Netherlands, where Belgium is now.

2. Entering commercialization

In the 1930s, White Castle was looking for snacks to go with hamburgers, and French fries entered the commercial horizon. McDonald's and In-N-Out founded in the 1940s and Burger King in the 1950s also continued to use this combination.

3. Standardized production

McDonald’s French fries are fried using a formula of 93% animal oil and 7% vegetable oil. McDonald's fries became a huge success and became the fast food industry standard. Before 1960, most restaurants used vegetable oils, which were hydrogenated to extend their shelf life. McDonald's partner Interstate Foods couldn't afford hydrogenation equipment, so the company's founders decided to add a lot of butter. The difference it brought was obvious: the fries were crispier.

During the period of McDonald's expansion, suppliers only supplied Russet varieties of potatoes. Despite indiscriminate soaking and rough processing procedures, the quality was still unstable. After millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of hours of experimentation, McDonald's confirmed for the first time that potatoes need to be stored for three weeks before the sugar will be converted into enough starch.

The next standardization issues need to cover raw French fries and restaurant oil temperature control. McDonald's found that when the oil temperature is controlled at the lowest point plus three degrees, the frying effect is best. Therefore, stores began to be equipped with electrical sensors to ensure the stability of this "plus three degrees". This technology was later used in the production of Chicken McNuggets and Fish McNuggets.

In the 1960s, McDonald's French fries had more new technologies. The company's in-house food scientist Ken Strong and research scholar Edwin Traisman applied for a U.S. national patent (US3397993A) for McDonald's quick-frozen French fries processing technology. This is a method of initially frying raw potato chips to create a crispy skin, then quickly freezing them, and then shipping them to The store is waiting for final frying. It can obtain as much and standard high-quality ingredients as possible during the potato harvest season, while greatly improving store efficiency and laying an important standard for French fries processing.

In the 1970s, McDonald's potato suppliers were still upgrading their technology. Steam peelers, potato cutting systems, and automatic defective removal equipment made every chain of food processing more efficient. standardized processing.

4. Formula adjustment

Before 1990, McDonald's had long used butter-based frying oil. In 1966, Phil Sokolof founded the National Heart Savers Association and began to face up to the problems of cholesterol and saturated fat, and McDonald's French fries were one of the association's main concerns. McDonald's finally announced in 1990 that it would abandon butter and use 100% mixed vegetable oil.

Until 2004, the proportion of trans fat in French fries in the US market was still as high as 21%. In 2007, McDonald's officially announced version 3.0 of French fries, which were also fried in vegetable oil, but no longer contained trans fat. formula fat.

Baidu Encyclopedia - French fries