Many Americans (and others) falsely attribute fries to France. There isn’t much to question when faced with a delicious plate of homemade French fries, usually there’s just eating to be done! French fries are one of the most popular side dishes in the world. French fries are called chips in some places because in france when you cut something they call it chips. So when that method was applied to potatoes they were called "French Fried Potatoes." Now, directly, that translates to “fried apples.” This origin does not have a set date of labeling and just has a general colloquial evolution of the language. During the 1800s deep frying food was often called "Frying in the French Method" or "French Frying". Their true name is actually “pomme frites” (pronounced like “pawm freets”). Why are French fries called French fries? However, the general consensus is that they’re Belgian. In French, ‘frite’ is used to denote the process of deep frying a food, but in America when we say ‘fried’ it can mean anything from pan frying to sautéing or even full out deep frying. So therefore, they call french fries chips in some places. When it comes to dipping, fries often find themselves covered in ketchup, mayonnaise, or vinegar, but that seems to be where the universal preference ends. According to some sources, pomme frites (fried potatoes) first appeared in Paris in the 1840s and were immediately popular. However, the general consensus is that they’re Belgian. In Belgium, people prefer to eat French fries … Why are "French fries" called "French" fries instead of fried potato slices? French fries are one of the most popular side dishes in the world. Unfortunately, it is more considered as a Belgian Invention than the French. Re-dubbing french fries “freedom fries” because of France’s opposition to the Iraq war no doubt reaffirmed the attribution of french fries to France. Chips can be made from kumara or … Actually, nothing from the above is true. At the time, the Belgian Army spoke French. In Belgium, people prefer to eat French fries … The popularity -- and the dish -- spread to this country, where they were called (not surprisingly) "French fried potatoes," a name later shortened to "french fries." The thicker cut fries (or as some may know them as steak fries) are typically called chips, which are pan fried in a skillet like the photo above.