List of accompaniments to french fries facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

French fries are yummy potato sticks that are usually salted. People all over the world enjoy them with many different sauces and toppings. Some popular choices include ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and barbecue sauce. But in different countries, you'll find unique and exciting ways to eat your fries!

French Fries Around the World

Australia: Chips with Chicken Salt

In Australia, people call French fries "chips" or "hot chips." You can find them everywhere, from fast food places to cafes and pubs. Sometimes, you can even order them by how much money you want to spend, like "$10 worth of chips." Or you might ask for "the minimum chips," which is the smallest amount a shop will make.

Australians often put a special seasoning called chicken salt on their chips. It's a savory, salty powder that was invented in South Australia. If you don't want chicken salt, you can ask for plain salt or no salt at all. Chips are usually served with sauces like "tomato sauce" (which is what Australians call ketchup), barbecue sauce, or aioli. Sometimes, people pour gravy over their chips, or get it in a separate container.

A special dish called a halal snack pack (or HSP) is very popular. It's a mix of chips, doner kebab meat, grated cheddar cheese, and sauces like garlic, chili, or barbecue sauce. This dish became popular in the late 1900s. It mixes Middle-Eastern and European Australian foods.

Belgium: The Home of the Frietkot

French fries wrapped in a traditional paper cone, served with mayonnaise and curry ketchup, with a small plastic fork on top and a frikandel on the side.

An assortment of Belgian sauces

A typical assortment of meats offered at a Belgian friterie

Even the smallest town in Belgium has a frietkot, which means "fries shack." Traditionally, people would eat fries by hand from a paper cone while walking. By the 1970s and 1980s, small plastic forks and open boxes became popular. You can order different sizes of fries.

Fries with mayonnaise is a classic fast food in Belgium. People often eat them without anything else. Belgians also have many other special Belgian sauces to choose from. Before 1960, you could only get a few side dishes, like pickled herring or a meatball. Now, there are many deep-fried meats available, like chicken legs or different kinds of sausages.

One special dish is called mammoet speciaal (mammoth special). It's a large deep-fried sausage called a frikandel that's cut open. Chopped onions are put inside, and it's topped with mayonnaise and curry-ketchup. Belgians don't usually put vinegar on their fries. But they might eat them with cold mussels preserved in vinegar.

Bulgaria: Fries with Cheese

In Bulgaria, you can order fries with a topping of sirene. This is a white, grated brine cheese that tastes salty and delicious.

Canada: Poutine and More

In Canada, French fries are the main part of a famous dish called poutine. This dish has French fries, fresh cheese curds, and hot gravy poured over them. Poutine was invented in rural Quebec in the late 1950s. Now, it's popular all over Canada and in many fast-food restaurants.

In Newfoundland, people enjoy "chips, dressing and gravy." This means French fries topped with "dressing" (like turkey stuffing made with summer savory) and gravy. Another version has ground beef, hot dogs, dressing, and cheese, all covered with gravy.

In Prince Edward Island, "fries with the works" is a popular choice. It includes French fries, fried hamburger, fried onions, gravy, and peas. Sometimes, people add mushrooms, green onions, tomatoes, carrots, sour cream, or grated cheese.

In the Ottawa Valley, you can buy fries from special trucks called "chip wagons." Here, fries are often topped with melted butter. Servers also let you add your own salt, pepper, and vinegar while your container is being filled.

Finland: Sausage Potatoes

Finnish makkaraperunat is topped with mustard, ketchup, chopped onions, cucumber pickle relish and sometimes a mayonnaise-based sauce.

In Finland, French fries are called ranskalaiset perunat, or just ranskalaiset for short. A traditional way to eat fries from a food cart is makkaraperunat. This means "sausage potatoes." It's a dish with deep-fried sausage slices and crinkle-cut fries mixed together. It's usually served in a paper or foam tray. This dish likely started in the early 1960s. Today, makkaraperunat is mostly a late-night snack.

At fast food places, ketchup is always given with fries. Some places also offer mustard or a special barbecue rub called grillimauste. In kebab shops, fries are often covered in tomato or yogurt-based kebab sauces and döner kebab meat. Fries are also served with hamburgers, steaks, and other deep-fried meats in restaurants.

France: Steak Frites and More

In France, a common meal is fries and a steak. French fries are also popular as a side dish with kebabs, roasted chicken, and hamburgers. People often eat them with ketchup, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, or a sauce called "sauce pommes frites." This sauce is similar to Béarnaise sauce and can be found at McDonald's or in bottles at supermarkets.

Iceland: Special Seasonings

In Iceland, French fries are served salted or with a special spice blend. This blend includes salt, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and other seasonings. It's sold as French Fry Mix. Fries are usually eaten with cocktail sauce or ketchup. The first mention of French fries in Iceland was in a cookbook from 1945. It called them Potatoes boiled in lard.

Ireland: Just "Chips"

In Ireland, French fries are generally known as "chips." The sauces and toppings are very similar to those in the United Kingdom.

Japan: Flavor Packets

In Japan, some restaurants, like First Kitchen, offer different flavor packets for French fries. These packets contain powdered flavoring and salt. You can shake them onto your fries for a tasty twist!

Malaysia and Singapore: Chili-Tomato Sauce

In Malaysia and Singapore, chips or fries are often served with Western food. They usually come with tomato ketchup and chili sauce. Sometimes, these two sauces are mixed together to make "Chilli-Tomato" Sauce.

Netherlands: Many Sauces to Choose From

Fries with "speciaal saus" is a popular combination in the Netherlands.

Fries with sauce, available in Amsterdam

In the Netherlands, fries are a popular fast food. They are served with mayonnaise or a lighter version called fritessaus (fries sauce). This combination is usually called patatje met (fries with sauce). If you want them plain, you ask for patatje zonder (fries without).

Other popular sauces include satésaus (a peanut sauce), curry ketchup, and speciaal (special). Speciaal is a mix of chopped raw onions, fritessaus, and curry ketchup. Another interesting mix is Patatje Oorlog (Dutch for French Fries War). This can mean fries with mayonnaise, sate sauce, and onions. But it can also mean fries with all the sauces available!

Dutch snack bars usually offer many different sauces for fries. A newer way to eat fries is the kapsalon (hair salon). This dish has fries, shoarma meat, lettuce, melted cheese, hot sauce, and garlic sauce. It's baked briefly in an oven. Another new sauce is Joppiesaus, a secret recipe mayonnaise-based sauce. Fries are often eaten with other deep-fried foods like the kroket and frikandel.

Philippines: Cheese and Banana Ketchup

Wasabi potato fries, Tokyo Tokyo

In the Philippines, fries are often sprinkled with powdered flavors. Popular choices include cheese, sour cream, or barbecue. Some fast food places top them with cheese sauce and minced bacon. They also serve fries with ketchup and sometimes gravy. Banana ketchup (ketchup made from bananas instead of tomatoes) is also a very popular topping for French fries in the Philippines.

Romania: Garlic Sauce and Cheese

In Romania, fried potatoes are sometimes served with mujdei. This is a popular garlic sauce. They can also be sprinkled with grated or crumbled brânză, which is a type of sheep milk cheese. Fries are a popular side dish with grilled steaks, schnitzels, and mititei. They are also often found in shawarmas.

South Africa: Slap Chips

In South Africa, French fries are generally called "chips." They are often made with potatoes that have been soaked in vinegar beforehand. This makes them soft and soggy, which is why they are known as "Slap Chips" ("slap" means soft in Afrikaans). After cooking, they are usually served with salt and vinegar.

Turkey: Special Fries Sauce

In Turkey, fries are popular as a side dish with hamburgers. In fast food restaurants, they are mostly served with ketchup, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard. But in traditional restaurants, especially seafood places, they are served with a special fries sauce. This sauce includes tomatoes, parsley, lemon, garlic, and olive oil. This special sauce is also used with mixed vegetable fries, which include potatoes, eggplant, green pepper, and zucchini.

Thailand: Man Farang Thot

In Thailand, French fries are called man farang thot, which means 'deep fried potato'. They are also commonly known as fren frai. Besides being available at Western fast food places, they are becoming popular at local Thai bars as a snack. French fries in Thailand are usually served with either tomato ketchup or chili sauce.

United Kingdom: Fish and Chips

Fish and chips, the original British fast food meal

In the United Kingdom, French fries are generally known as "chips." The classic British take-away meal is fish and chips. Traditionally, people add table salt and malt vinegar. However, many chip shops now offer a cheaper "non-brewed condiment" instead of real vinegar.

Other popular toppings include tomato ketchup (sometimes called "red sauce" or "tomato sauce"), brown sauce, and "chippy sauce" (brown sauce mixed with vinegar, popular around Edinburgh). You can also find barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, partially melted cheddar cheese (cheesy chips), mint sauce, mushy peas, baked beans, curry sauce, gravy, mayonnaise, salad cream, aioli, tartare sauce, mustard, and chilli sauce.

United States: Ketchup and Regional Favorites

Whole cut fries with a burger, served in an American diner

In the United States, people eat a lot of ketchup with their restaurant fries. But in different regions, other toppings are popular. Chili cheese fries, loaded fries, and cheese fries are common in many diners and fast food places.

For example, in Texas, you might find Texas cheese fries with melted cheddar and a side of ranch dressing for dipping. New Jersey has "disco fries" with brown gravy and mozzarella cheese. And in Utah, people love fry sauce, which is a mix of ketchup and mayonnaise.

"Steak fries" are thicker-cut fries, often with their skins still on. They might be coated with spices or marinated before cooking. They can be fried or baked.

Vietnam: Sweet and Buttery Fries

In Vietnam, some restaurants serve fries with sugar over a dollop of soft butter.