In the current age, the potato is the most widely consumed vegetable in all of France, but this was not always the case. The potato was originally met with great resistance when the Spanish first introduced the veggie to Europe. As time went on, potato consumption increased in many countries due to the efforts from Frederick the Great of Prussia in promoting its cultivation. These efforts caught the eye of a French pharmacist who survived off of potatoes after being captured by the Prussians during the Seven Years War. After his captivity, he returned to France with a mission to promote the spud to combat famine and hunger after he, to his surprise, remained in good health with potatoes in his diet. While this was a long and difficult job, he eventually won over the royal families’ support which helped him promote the potato as a vegetable of great class and prestige. However, the potato still didn’t gain a foothold until the revolution when society finally started to realize the potential benefits in part due to the scarcity of food encouraging cheaper substitutes and due to people discovering better ways to prepare potatoes in delectable fashions. This lead to increased cultivation throughout the country even after the government’s support subsided. Regardless, by 1803, France was full on board as potato production increased to 1.5 million tons a year and increased to over 10 million per year over the next half-century.
Even though Monsieur Parmentier is no longer around, potatoes are still an integral part of the French pallate as the average frenchmen consumes nearly 110 pounds of spud annually in various forms such as the globally popular “French” fries. However, it was actually the Belgians who pronounce themselves as the mastermind behind fries. This claim is supported by the fact that in WW1, Americans discovered the fries in southern Belgium, but mistakenly referred to them as “French” fries due to the language being the primary one spoken in the area. Regardless of where fries cam from, we are certainly all thankful for their existence, and the French are happy to finally be on board the potato hype train.
Delicious France 