National French Fry Day is on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Estimates say Americans eat around 30 pounds of French fries per person each year.
Belgians call dibs on the origins of French fries, claiming it to be an invention of their people. According to a manuscript by Joseph Gerard, the residents of the Meuse Valley, located near Dinant in Belgium, consumed a lot of fish, since they lived near the river. During winters, when the rivers would freeze and fishing would become difficult, the idea to slice potatoes like fish fillets and fry them in hot fat was born.
But all credit does go to the French for popularizing frying foods and selling them in public on street carts called ‘frites,’ in the mid-1700s. Eventually, potatoes were cut in all sorts of shapes and fried. As to how French fries arrived in America, there are two versions of that story, too. The more popular and accepted fact is that Thomas Jefferson brought the dish to the U.S.A. While serving time as an ambassador, Jefferson spent a lot of time in France and went on to serve “potatoes served in the French manner” at a White House dinner in 1802.
The other theory is that World War I soldiers who were stationed around Dinant in Belgium took a liking to the local finger food known as ‘pommes frites’ and took the idea back with them. This is when French fries really took off and became mainstream in the U.S.
McDonald’s is giving everyone a reason to celebrate with a free order of Large Fries, no purchase necessary exclusively in the McDonald’s app on July 13.
Here’s the schedule for Fry Week at Wendy’s:
- Monday, 7/11: Free medium fry with any Frosty mobile order purchase
- Tuesday, 7/12: Free medium fry with any Salad mobile order purchase
- Wednesday, 7/13: Free any size fry with any mobile order purchase
- Thursday, 7/14: Free small breakfast seasoned potatoes (aka Breakfast Fry Day) with any mobile order purchase
- Friday, 7/15: Free medium fry with any size fry mobile order purchase
Penn Station East Coast Subs is also gettin in on the free fry action:
Enjoy a FREE Order of Fresh-Cut Fries* on Wednesday, July 13th!Valid In Store or Online. One per customer per order.
Hardee’s give its rewards program members free small fries with any purchase made through the app on July 13, that purchase is also going to ensure you get free fries for the rest of 2022. There will be a free small fry with purchase mobile offer in your rewards account that can be redeemed one time every day. That’s a lot of free fries, but make sure to order some on July 13 to get it.
Burger King is shaking things up by offering chicken fries instead of french fries for free on July 13. Just order at least $3 of other stuff through the app, and you’ll get the chicken nugget-like dippers for free. If you’re a member of the chain’s rewards program, you also get free fries once per week all year long.
