One potato:
- Is just 110 calories.
- Has nearly half of the Daily Value for vitamin C.
- Is one of the best sources of potassium and fiber in the produce section.
- Is a great way to eat your veggies!
Other names
Country |
Name |
Pronounciation |
Favourite Condiments* |
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Albania |
Patati |
Pah-tah-tea |
Salt (often lukewarm w/ congealed grease) |
Australia |
Chips |
"chips" |
Tomato Sauce (Ketchup), Salt, Vinegar, Brown gravy |
Austria |
Pommes |
Paw-mess |
Ketchup |
Belgium (Walloon) |
Pommes Frites |
"Pawm Fritt"
"Fritt" |
Mayonnaisse |
Belgium (Flemish) |
Friet
Fritten |
"Fritt"
"Free-ten" |
Mayonnaisse |
Bulgaria |
Persiski Kartofi
(Persian potatoes) |
"Persiski Kartofi" |
a lot of Salt |
Bulgaria (2) |
"Parzheni Kartofi"
(we'll try to find the proper Cyrillic soon) |
" Parzheni Kartofi" |
Feta Cheese? |
Canada
Quebec ** |
Patates Frites |
Pahtaht Fritt |
Ketchup, (malt) vinegar |
Brazil |
Batatas Fritas |
"Bah-tah-tahs Free-tas" |
salt, sometimes ketchup |
Cameroon |
<Not available;
People may cook them at home but they're not found in restaurants> |
|
|
China (Mandarin)
China (Cantonese) |
炸薯條 |
"Suu Teaw"
"Sii Tiu" |
Ketchup |
Denmark |
Pommes Frites
Fritter |
Pahm Frihtr
Fritter |
Ketchup or Mayo (remoulade) |
Egypt |
بطاطس |
BAH-tah-tiss |
Salt & Pepper |
Finland |
Ranskalaiset Perunat
Ranskiset |
Rahn-skahl-ah-ee-set Peh-roo-naht
Rahn-ski-set |
Ketchup, salt, salt & pepper mix |
France |
Pommes Frites |
"Pawm Freet" |
Salt, sometimes Ketchup |
Germany |
Pommes [Frites] |
"Paw-mess" |
Ketchup, Mayo |
|
ΠΑΤΑΤΕΣ ΤΗΓΑΝΙΤΕΣ
πατάτες τηγανητές |
"Pah-tah-tess Tee-gah-nee-tess" |
Salt, oregano |
Iceland |
Franskar |
"Frahnskahr" |
Krydd (spiced salt), ketchup |
Iran |
سیب زمینی سرخ کرده |
"Sib Zamini Sorch Kærdeh***" |
Ketchup, mayo |
Iraq |
اصابع بطاطا |
"Finger Chips" |
Ketchup |
Ireland |
Chips |
"Chips" |
Ketchup (tomato sauce), Curry sauce, Garlic sauce |
Israel |
צ׳יפס |
"chips" |
Ketchup |
Italy |
Patate fritte
Patatine fritte |
Pah-tah-tay free-tay
Pah-tah-TEE-nay free-tay |
Salt, sometimes Ketchup or Mayo |
Japan |
フライド ポテト |
"Foo-rai-doh Poh-tay-toh" |
Ketchup, salt |
Latvia |
Kartupeïi Frî |
"KAHR-tu-pay-lyi FREE" |
Ketchup, Mayo
(often very greasy) |
Malaysia |
Kentang Goreng |
"Gern-tahng Go-reng" |
Ketchup, Chilli Sauce |
Mexico |
Papas a la Frances
Papas Fritas
Papitas Fritas |
Pah-pahss ah la Frahn-sayss
Pah-pahss Free-tahss
Pah-pee-tahss Free-tahss |
Ketchup, lemon, Hot sauce |
Namibia |
Slap Chips |
Slap Chips |
|
Netherlands |
Patates Frites
Patat
Friet |
"Pahtad Freet"
"Pahtad"
"Fritt" |
Ketchup, "mustardy" Mayo
Curry Sauce, Garlic Sauce
Barbeque Sauce, Salad Sauce
Pinda (peanut) sauce |
Nepal |
Tel Ma Pakaeko Aloo |
"Tel Ma Pakaeko Aloo" |
?? |
Netherlands |
Patates Frites
Patat
Friet/td>
| "Pahtad Freet"
"Pahtad"
"Fritt" |
Ketchup, "mustardy" Mayo, Curry Sauce, Garlic Sauce, Barbeque Sauce, Salad Sauce, Pinda (peanut) sauce |
Norway |
Pommes Frites
Fritter
Chips |
"Pohm Friht"
"Fritter"
"Chips" |
Ketchup, Mustard
Mayo (remoulade) |
Poland |
Fritki |
Friht-key |
Ketchup, mayo, salt |
Portugal |
Batatas Fritas |
Bah-tah-tass Free-tahss |
Ketchup, chili sauce |
Romania |
Cartofl Prestiche |
Car-tawffl Press-tea-shay |
Ketchup |
Russia |
Картофель фри |
Car-tawffl Free |
?? |
Spain |
Papas Fritas |
"Pahpahss FREEtas" |
Ketchup |
South Africa |
French Fries
(Slap) Chips |
French Fries
(Slap) Chips |
Ketchup
(Tomato Sauce) |
Sweden |
Pomfrit
Chips |
PAWM-fritt
Chips |
Ketchup |
Thailand |
no graphic yet |
man farang
(potato for foreigner) |
Ketchup |
Tunesia |
البطاطس المقلية
Pommes Frites |
Bah-ta-tah Mokliyah
Pawm Freet****
| Ketchup, mayonnaise |
UK |
Chips |
Chips |
Malt Vinegar, Brown Sauce, Gravy |
USA |
Fries |
Fries |
Ketchup, sometimes Mayo, Barbeque sauce, gravy |
USA |
Fries |
Fries |
Ketchup, sometimes Mayo, Barbeque sauce, gravy |
Wales |
Sglodion |
SKLOHD-eeon |
Salt, malt vinegar |
Trivia
- Nobody is sure what to call them. Americans say "French Fries," but they're not really French.
But are French Fries are really Belgian? better to ask the official french fry web site
- The French call them "Pommes Frites, (pawm-fritt)" but that means "apples, fried."
- "Pomme _de terre_" is French for "potato." A "pomme (pawm)" is an apple. A "pomme-de-terre (pawm-doo-tair)" is an "apple of the dirt."
- Germans call French Fries "pommes (paw-mess)" and spell it "pommes frites" like the French.
- "Apfel (ahp-fell)" is German for "Apple."
- Germans call a potato a "Kartoffel," except some in the north and west who call it an "Erd-apfel (aird-ahp-fel)," which is "dirt-apple," which is what the French call potatoes, too.
- In America, French Fries are usually eaten with the fingers; in Europe, they are usually eaten with a miniature, two-tine fork usually made of wood.
- French Fries are vegetables. So is ketchup, because it's made of tomatoes (or fruit, close enough).
- When you smother French Fries with ketchup and eat it all, you've probably eaten two servings of vegetables, about one-third of the US Recommended Daily (nutritional) Allowance. Probably.
- One small order of French Fries is never enough.
- French Fries are the number two "drunk food" – what people eat when they've had too much to drink. Pizza is number one.
- Frozen French Fries which you buy in a store have already been partially cooked. You still have to cook them some more at home.
- French Fries are a more American food than apple pie and hot dogs, which are both German.
- Even though they call French Fries "chips" in England, if you ask for French Fries, they'll know what you're talking about. Probably.
- You won't get your French Fries served in old newspapers in England anymore. They made a law against it.
The story of Fries
A heck of a history of French Fries here
Migration and Movement:
- Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes in about 200 BC.
- In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, became aware of the potato, and carried them to Europe.
- Before the end of the sixteenth century, families of Basque sailors began to cultivate potatoes along the Biscay coast of northern Spain.
- Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 near Cork on the 40,000 acres of land given to him by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581.
- Potatoes arrived in the Colonies in 1621 when the Governor of Bermuda, Nathaniel Butler, sent two large cedar chests containing potatoes and other vegetables to Governor Francis Wyatt of Virginia at Jamestown.
- The first permanent potato patches in North America were established in 1719, most likely near Londonderry (Derry), NH.
- Antoine-Auguste Parmentier, an economist and French army officer who ate many potatoes during his imprisonment in Hamburg during the Seven Year's War, helped King Louis XIV popularize the potato in France in the 18th century. Parmentier created a feast with only potato dishes, a concept he realized was possible while being imprisoned in Germany and fed only potatoes. Benjamin Franklin, ambassador to France, was in attendance of Parmentier's feast in 1767.
- Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XV, was known to wear potato blossoms as a hair decoration.
- French fries were introduced to the U.S. when Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House during his Presidency of 1801-1809.
- Over the years of cultivation in Ireland, the potato had become the major food source to the Irish population. In 1845-46, a fungus destroyed the potato crops causing the Irish Potato Famine.
- In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space colonies.
Potatoes As Currency:
- During the Alaskan Klondike gold rush, (1897-1898) potatoes were practically worth their weight in gold. Potatoes were so valued for their vitamin C content that miners traded gold for potatoes.
Unusual Beliefs About Potatoes:
- Because the potato was unknown to them, Europeans initially considered potatoes poisonous or evil due to their similarities to the nightshade family. Some members of the nightshade family include Mandrake and Belladonna, which are used for medicinal purposes. Germany's King Frederick William realized that potatoes were a good food source and ordered peasants to plant and eat potatoes or their noses would be cut off.
Interesting Uses of Potatoes:
The Incas had many uses for potatoes other than dinner:
- Raw slices placed on broken bones to promote healing.
- Carried to prevent rheumatism.
- Eaten with other foods to prevent indigestion.
- Measured time: by correlating units of time by how long it took for potatoes to cook.
Various folk remedies recommend using potatoes to:
- Treat facial blemishes by washing you face daily with cool potato juice.
- Treat frostbite or sunburn by applying raw grated potato or potato juice to the affected area.
- Help a toothache by carrying a potato in your pocket.
- Ease a sore throat by putting a slice of baked potato in a stocking and tying it around your throat.
- Ease aches and pains by rubbing the affected area with the water potatoes have been boiled in.
Some of the most famous potato dishes we enjoy today were created by mistake. Collinet, chef for French King Louis Phillipe (reign 1830-1848) unintentionally created soufflés (or puffed) potatoes by plunging already fried potatoes into extremely hot oil to reheat them when the King arrived late for dinner one night. To the chef's surprise and the king's delight, the potatoes puffed up like little balloons.
In 1853 railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen at a fashionable resort in Saratoga Springs, NY. To spite his haughty guest, Chef George Crum sliced some potatoes paper thin, fried them in hot oil, salted and served them. To everyone's surprise, Vanderbilt loved his "Saratoga Crunch Chips," and potato chips have been popular ever since.
Source: U.S. Potato Board Website (www.healthypotato.com)
Potatoes in Canada – Facts & Figures
- Potatoes have always been an important part of Canadians' diets. In fact, they're our favourite vegetable.
- Potato production is a key segment of Canada's agriculture industry. In 2003, Canadian potato growers produced a record crop of 5.3 million tonnes worth $882.6 million.
- In 2003, each Canadian consumed on average 113 kilograms of vegetables. About 30% of this consumption was potatoes.
- About half of Canada's potato production goes to the fresh market and half to making processed foods such as fries and hash browns, potato chips and other potato products such as potato starch.
- Enough fresh potatoes to serve a family of four every night for a week for supper, whether baked, boiled, scalloped or whipped can often be purchased for less than $5.00.
Source: Statistics Canada, Vista on the Agri-Food Industry and Farm Community, Potatoes: changing production, changing consumption, Catalogue no. 21-004-XIE, June 2005, Pages 1-8.
Throughout Canada, white vinegar is a popular condiment for French fries. No other country is known to so enjoy white vinegar (as opposed to malt or other vinegars) on its fries (although it is served as an accompaniment for Fish and Chips in Australia). Most major Canadian fast-food outlets provide white vinegar packets next to their ketchup packets in their stores, and many restaurants keep white vinegar on their tables. That is not to say that the use of malt vinegar is not common – particularly amongst those of English heritage. In most traditional 'fish & chips' shops in Canada, malt vinegar is more prevalent. However, ketchup and vinegar remain the most popular condiments used on French fries in Canada. In Newfoundland, "chips, dressing and gravy" (sometimes referred to by outsiders as "Newfie fries") comprise French fries topped with "dressing" (turkey stuffing made with summer savoury) and gravy. Another variation consists of topping the French Fries with either ground beef, hot dogs, dressing and cheese and topped with gravy. Here at Fritz we have an array of dips guaranteed to suit all tastes.
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