French Fries Around the World: 9 Ways Different Countries Eat Them

In Brussels, they come in a paper cone with a big spoon of mayonnaise. In London, they are sprinkled with vinegar and wrapped with fish. In Dar es Salaam, they are cooked into an omelette in a hot pan on a street corner. One simple food, a hundred different personalities. Let us take a trip around the world, one plate at a time.

1. Tanzania: chipsi mayai

Chips cooked into an egg omelette in a hot pan, served with kachumbari and pilipili. Quick, cheap and loved across the country. Recipe: how to make chipsi mayai.

2. Kenya and East Africa: masala chips

Chips tossed in a spicy, tangy tomato and chilli sauce, popular in Kenya and along the coast. Try our masala seasoning.

3. Belgium: frites with mayonnaise

Belgium claims to be the home of fries. Thick-cut frites are traditionally double-fried and served in a paper cone with mayonnaise or other sauces. Read about the debate on Wikipedia's french fries page.

4. United Kingdom: fish and chips

Thick chips with battered fried fish, seasoned with salt and malt vinegar. A national dish since the 19th century.

5. Canada: poutine

Fries topped with fresh cheese curds and hot gravy, from Quebec. See poutine, and our gravy-and-cheese version in 7 loaded fries recipes.

6. Netherlands: patatje oorlog

The name means "fries at war": fries topped with mayonnaise, peanut satay sauce and chopped raw onion. Rich, sweet, salty and crunchy all at once.

7. Peru: salchipapas

Street food of fries mixed with sliced fried sausages and sauces like ketchup, mayo and chilli. A close cousin of Tanzania's sausage-and-chips plates.

8. France: steak frites

A bistro classic: a pan-fried steak with a pile of thin, crisp fries.

9. Greece: fries with feta and oregano

Fries sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese, dried oregano and sometimes a squeeze of lemon. Simple and delicious.

Travel the world from your kitchen Supa Fries Premium Frozen Fries, 2 kg

Straight-cut fries that work in every style, from chipsi mayai to poutine. Ready in about 3 minutes from frozen.

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Which style should you try first?

Pair any of them with our 10 dipping sauces. Want to know which cut each country prefers? See 9 types of fry cuts.

Where did french fries come from?

Nobody knows for sure. Belgian stories say villagers in the Meuse valley fried thin slices of potato when the river froze and they could not catch small fish, sometime in the 1600s or 1700s, though historians debate this. France points to Paris street vendors selling fried potatoes in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The name "french fries" became popular in English in the 20th century, and one popular story says American soldiers in Belgium during the First World War called them "French" because the local language was French. What is certain is that fried potatoes spread across Europe in the 1800s and then around the world.

How did chips become so popular in East Africa?

Potatoes spread to East Africa during the colonial period and became an important highland crop. In cities, chips grew from a café and hotel side into the base of a whole street food culture, with dishes that are now proudly local: chipsi mayai in Tanzania, masala chips in Kenya, and chips with grilled meat across the region. Today chips are among the most popular fast foods in Tanzania. Read Irish potatoes in Tanzania and 7 Tanzanian dishes made with fries.

What are other regional fry styles?

• South Africa: "slap chips", soft, vinegary chips, often in a "gatsby" sandwich in Cape Town.
• United States: chili cheese fries, and carne asada fries in southern California.
• Germany: pommes with ketchup and mayonnaise, often with currywurst.
• India: masala fries sprinkled with chaat masala.
• Japan: fries with seaweed salt (nori shio) or seasoned powders.

How do you host a "fries around the world" night?

1. Cook plenty of fries in batches: about 150 g per person per style you serve.
2. Pick four styles: chipsi mayai (Tanzania), Belgian frites with mayo, Greek fries with feta, and poutine-style fries with gravy.
3. Set up toppings in bowls and label each with the country.
4. Let guests build their own and vote for a favourite.

Recipes for sauces: 10 dipping sauces. Gravy and loaded ideas: 7 loaded fries recipes. Seasonings: 8 seasoning ideas.

What is the favourite fries sauce in each country?

What makes Tanzanian chips special?

Tanzania turned a simple side dish into meals with their own identity. Chipsi mayai is cheap, filling and made in one pan, which is why it is sold on almost every corner. Add fresh kachumbari, a fiery pilipili sauce and a cold soda, and you have a plate that visitors remember. Compare it with its weekend rival in chipsi mayai vs chips kuku, and learn how the potatoes behind it are grown in frozen fries made in Tanzania. For the wider history of the dish, see chipsi mayai on Wikipedia.

Which fry cuts do different countries prefer?

Thickness changes from place to place as much as toppings do. Belgian frites are usually thick, about 10 to 13 mm, and fried twice for a crisp shell and soft middle. British chip shop chips are thicker still, often chunky and soft, built to soak up vinegar. American fast food popularised thin fries, which are very crunchy but cool quickly. In France, bistro frites for steak are often thin and crisp. In Tanzania and much of East Africa, a medium straight cut is the everyday chip, because it holds together in a pan of eggs for chipsi mayai and stands up to chicken and sauces. Read 9 types of fry cuts for sizes and cooking times.

How do frozen fries make world styles easy at home?

Most of these styles need the same base: hot, crisp fries. Making fresh-cut chips for four different toppings in one evening means a lot of peeling, cutting and double frying. Frozen fries remove that work. Cook a batch from frozen in about 3 minutes at 175°C, or 12 to 15 minutes in an air fryer at 200°C, then change only the toppings. That makes a "fries around the world" night realistic on a weekday, not just a weekend project.

One fry, every style Supa Fries Premium Frozen Fries, 2 kg

Supa Fries are a straight cut of 10 to 12 mm, ready for chipsi mayai, poutine-style gravy or Belgian mayo.

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Why is ketchup the world's favourite fries partner?

Ketchup balances everything a fry is: sweet against salty, tangy against rich, cool against hot. It is cheap, keeps well and children love it, which made it the default sauce for fries in many countries. But local favourites tell a richer story, from mayonnaise in Belgium to vinegar in Britain and pilipili in Tanzania.

From a paper cone in Brussels to a hot pan of chipsi mayai on a Dar es Salaam street corner, fries show how one simple food can take on the flavour of every place it travels. Try a new style this week; you might find a new family favourite.

In short

Almost every country has its own way of eating fries. Belgians serve them in a paper cone with mayonnaise, the British eat chips with fish and vinegar, Canadians cover them in gravy and cheese curds (poutine), the Dutch add peanut satay sauce and onions, Peruvians mix them with sausages (salchipapas), and Tanzanians cook them into an omelette: chipsi mayai. Here are nine famous styles, and how to try each at home.

• Almost every country has its own fries style, from chipsi mayai to poutine.
• The origin of fries is still debated between Belgium and France.
• Toppings and sauces define each style more than the fry itself.
• A medium straight cut works for nearly every style.
• Frozen fries make it easy to try several styles in one meal.

Frequently asked questions