Posted on 08/02/2006 3:54:25 PM PDT by proud_yank
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. House Republicans have dropped their snub of France by renaming french fries "freedom fries" at House cafeterias.
As well, "freedom toast" has been renamed french toast on menus, but nobody wanted to explain the name changes to The Washington Times.
Neither Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, nor Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who led the renaming campaign three years ago would comment, nor would cafeteria staff, the newspaper said.
Ney announced the name changes at the height of anti-French sentiment in March 2003, when Paris refused to take part in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and called it premature.
"Now that they've changed the name of the french fries back, maybe they will admit their other foreign policy mistakes were wrong, too," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Minority leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
They're just fries to me.
They were originally named Paris Fries for Paris, TX, and a reporter botched it, as usual. When it comes right down to it's about as American as it gets.
I never knew that.
I figured it would have been us cowering to French culteral superiority. /sarc
Why do our elected representatives engage in such trivial matters as what to call a potato the has been sliced and fried? They could be holding hearings on such weighty matters as nightime flatulence. Perhaps looking for an explanation for why it has been too hot for me to go see Al Gore's movie on global warming. Afterall, it has never been hot in August.
"One proposed explanation of the origin of the North American name of the dish is that it derives from potatoes that have been "fried in the French manner". The English verb fry is ambiguous: it can refer to both to sautéing and to deep-fat frying, while the French pommes frites or patates frites ("fried potatoes") refers unambiguously to deep frying. Thomas Jefferson, famous for including (then relatively unknown in America) European, especially French, cuisine in his writings and recipes, referred to fried potatoes in this same manner. The Japanese convention is the same as that of French, with the dish referred to as "fried potato".
A speculative theory is that the word "French" in "French fries" may refer to potatoes which are French-cut (julienned), with a later derived verb from this term, "to French," which means "to cut in thin lengthwise strips before cooking" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Ed.) . It is true that "to French" is defined as "to prepare, as a chop, by partially cutting the meat from the shank and leaving bare the bone so as to fit it for convenient handling" (Oxford English Dictionary). However, the verb "to French" did not start appearing until after "French fried potatoes" had appeared in the English-speaking world (see History).
Other accounts say that they were once called 'German fries' but the name was changed either for political reasons (Germany was the enemy of the United States and Allied forces during WWI and WWII) or for simple historical reasons (a traditional theory poses that it was in France during World War I that American soldiers first encountered the dish). This seems unlikely, as Germany was not as famous for its "French fries" as other European countries, in addition to the fact that German immigrants did not seem to bring the dish over to the United States."
They will go back to Freedom Fries before the Lebanese War is finished!
LLS
It's been three years and I'm still embarassed for these two Republicans. What a disgrace.
They'll always be Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast to me.
French culture is tainted with Eurabianism. (And wasn't ever much to begin with.)
What I would call in the real world "fighting the wrong fight." No win in it and you give the opposition negotiating points.
I can still call it a "Freedom Kiss," can't I?
Sure beats a 'Surrender Kiss'!
Texas, of course, claims that it invented the hamburger, sometime back in the 1880's. A historical marker in the town of Athens, about 60 miles southeast of Dallas, marks the spot where Fletcher Davis, the owner of a local cafe, first served fried patties between two slices of bread, garnished with a slice of Bermuda onion, pickles, mustard and mayonnaise. Local lore has it that Old Dave, as Mr. Davis was known, backed by a consortium of local businessmen, took his sandwich to the 1904 world's fair in St. Louis, where he set up a concession on the midway, called Old Dave's Hamburger Stand, and presented America with one of its most enduring culinary classics...
The legend may be fact. A photograph of the stand exists, and a reporter from The New York Tribune wrote enthusiastically about the new sandwich, although he neglected to mention Old Dave. Making matters worse, he misinterpreted Old Dave's explanation of the fried potatoes that came with the burger. Mr. Davis said that he had learned to cook the fries from a friend in Paris, meaning Paris, Tex. The reporter filed a story saying that the hamburgers were being served with ''French fried potatoes.''
Now thats a Texas tall tale if I ever heard it.
Yet when I did a tour in Germany and went to the local Gastaette for dinner, nothing but nothing was served without a side of `pommes frites'. Stranger yet, these fries were lighter and less deepfried than our familiar Mickey D's version.
BTW, what we call `fries' originated in Belgium, not France, and the recipe was brought back by doughboys after WWI, was it not?
"They were originally named Paris Fries for Paris, TX,..."
That's not true ... pom frits ... (fried potatoes) Because it is a French name, "french fries" came from that, certainly not Paris, TX. Gimme a break, do we (USA, USA, USA) have to invent everything?
I dont like belgium fries..the mayo part is good though.
What we call fries was brought by Thomas Jefferson from a trip to France.
Darn, I was hoping Congress would get to such important legislation as making it mandatory to refer to kissing with tongue as Freedom Kissing </sarc>
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.