Thomas Jefferson—possibly the first American foodie—is generally credited with introducing the French fry to America. Thomas Jefferson loved the foods of his native Virginia. He also travels to Europe and his service as minister to France opened his eyes to a new culinary world.
In 1785, Jefferson was appointed the United States Minister to France. Sailing with Jefferson was his daughter, and a nineteen-year-old enslaved house servant named James Hemings, whom Jefferson referred to in his early records and correspondence as “Jame.” Jefferson’s intent to have James master the French “art of cookery” and then bring French recipes and cooking styles back to Monticello when Jefferson’s foreign assignment was up. Monticello was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson,
During his stay in France, he had collected about 150 recipes. Among these are such current all-American favorites as vanilla ice cream, macaroni and cheese, and fried potatoes, which Jefferson originally knew as pommes de terre frites à cru en petites tranches (potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings).
Thomas Jefferson was served French fries in Monticello in the early 1800s, but it was not until the early twentieth century, when American soldiers back from serving in Europe in World War I demanded them, that the fried potato became popular in the United States.
In 1802, Thomas Jefferson, at that time he was the third President of the United States, famously served fries at a White House dinner. Jefferson requested potatoes to be fried “in the French manner”.
French fries do not seem to have caught on with the general public until the 1870s and only became truly popular in the 1900s.
Thomas Jefferson and French fries
Food History is a resource for anybody interested in food history. Articles exploring various issues of food history will be featured regularly. Learning food history means that cultural study which involves multidisciplinary approaches from economics, sociology and demography, and even literature.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
THE MOST POPULAR POSTS
-
Pancakes are ancient food. The word pancakes appears in print as early as 1430. Pancakes may have been around since Neolithic humans domest...
-
History of Appetizers and Hors d’oeuvre Appetizers and hors of d’oeuvre the latter literally meaning “outside of the work”- assume a wide v...
-
5000 B.C. Wheat flour, believed to originate in the Middle East, serves as the basis of the first “noodles.” Chinese ate pasta as early as 5...
-
Falafel is an ancient dish that has been popular in Egypt and now the rest of the Middle East. The history of falafel goes back to the days ...
-
Maggi is owned by Nestlé: seasonings are their main products. Maggi really grew on its dehydrated soups-an instant food at the start of the ...
-
The advent of agriculture changed the lives of the people. The Nomads started to settle, built villages and kept cattle. But even in the adv...
-
History of Milk The Holstein breed outnumbers all others used in the United States for the production of milk. Jersey and Guernsey breeds...
-
Food History The Cro-Magnon were highly skilled and inventive hunters, who varied their techniques according the season and prey. Probably t...