What is FRENCH ONION?

I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".

Is it made from onions imported from France?
Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?

On 02/04/2015 12:19 pm, wrote:
> What is FRENCH ONION?
>
> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>
> Is it made from onions imported from France?
> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>
>
"French Fries" were in fact invented by the Belgians!

"Swiss Roll" is Roulade which is French, not Swiss!

On 02/04/2015 12:47 pm, Jon wrote:
> On 02/04/2015 12:19 pm, wrote:
>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>
>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>
>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>
>>
> "French Fries" were in fact invented by the Belgians!

The term is seldom use in Europe, it comes from "Frenching" which is a
thin cut, also known as a "Julien" cut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julienning
>
> "Swiss Roll" is Roulade which is French, not Swiss!

Oh and "English" Muffins originated in Wales, not England...

On 4/2/15 7:19 AM, wrote:
> What is FRENCH ONION?
>
> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>
> Is it made from onions imported from France?
> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?

Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it therefor became
referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup, from France -- not soup
made from French onions.

Pommes frites originated in Belgium. They are called "French fries" in
the US because most Americans are too dumb to distinguish anything
French from anything Belgian -- actually, they don't even know the
relative geography of France and the Benelux countries. And they spell
the word "frys."

There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.

Anyone who knows anything about food knows these things.

-- Larry

On 4/2/15 8:03 AM, Jon wrote:

> The term is seldom use in Europe, it comes from "Frenching" which is a
> thin cut, also known as a "Julien" cut
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julienning

It's "julienne."

-- Larry

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 05:19:52 -0600, wrote:

> What is FRENCH ONION?
>
> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>
> Is it made from onions imported from France?
> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?

You sound clueless. It's made with a packet of dry onion soup mix.

> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>
Who cares? French onion soup or French Fries, like anything else
"French", is American and you can leave it at that. We have French
doors and French windows too. We also have Dutch doors. Another way
of saying it is: In the style of ___.

OB food: we have

English peas
Frenched green beans
French bread
Italian bread
Irish soda bread
cheese Danish
Polish sausage
Swiss cheese
Dutch baby (breakfast souffle)
Canadian bacon
Jamaican jerk chicken
Cuban sandwiches
Hungarian goulash
Irish Stew
Swedish meatballs
Mexican chocolate
German chocolate cake
French dressing (salad)
Russian dressing (salad)
Italian dressing(salad)
Greek salad
German potato salad
and
English muffins

What a country!

--

sf

On 4/2/2015 8:44 AM, wrote:

> Correct. I always tend to mentally think of Spanish onions as
> 'French' onions simply because in the fall in Portsmouth, England the
> French onion men used to come round house to house selling them.
>
> Three or four dozen all braided together, decorative to look at
> hanging in the pantry and always great onions. They used to cross on
> the ferry with masses of these onions, they would set out on their
> bikes with the onions hanging over the handlebars once in Portsmouth.
> I always purchased a couple, fresher you couldn't wish for, from farm
> to house. Here's a link to pics of French Onion Men.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/qxc2fdz
>
Ing'n Johnnies.
They used to come to my Gran's house in Edinburgh - the bicycle was
nearly invisible under all the onions!

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 23:07:01 +1100, Bruce > wrote:

>On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:47:20 +0100, Jon > wrote:
>
>>On 02/04/2015 12:19 pm, wrote:
>>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>>
>>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>>
>>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>>
>>>
>>"French Fries" were in fact invented by the Belgians!
>
>Is it a McDonaldism to call them French fries or is it a more general
>American misconception?
>
>Belgians and Dutch don't call them French fries because there's
>nothing foreign about them.

Of course they're foreign to the Euros, potatoes are a New World
vegetable. There's nothing French about French Toast either. Truth
is there is no such thing as French cookery, all the methods bearing
their name are stolen from others. Most dishes bearing a country's
name were hijacked.

On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 8:21:58 AM UTC-4, pltrgyst wrote:

> There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.

Sort of. The French onion dip to which the OP refers is
a mixture of cultured sour cream and packaged French onion
soup mix. Wikipedia has an unexpectedly large article
about it:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_onion_dip>

And like everything in the U.S. that is too difficult to
make (combining a packet with a tub), it's also available
readymade.

Cindy Hamilton

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:44:08 -0300, wrote:

>On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 08:21:55 -0400, pltrgyst > wrote:
>
>>On 4/2/15 7:19 AM, wrote:
>>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>>
>>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>>
>>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>
>>Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it therefor became
>>referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup, from France -- not soup
>>made from French onions.
>>
>>Pommes frites originated in Belgium. They are called "French fries" in
>>the US because most Americans are too dumb to distinguish anything
>>French from anything Belgian -- actually, they don't even know the
>>relative geography of France and the Benelux countries. And they spell
>>the word "frys."
>>
>>There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.
>>
>>Anyone who knows anything about food knows these things.
>>
>>-- Larry
>
>Correct. I always tend to mentally think of Spanish onions as
>'French' onions simply because in the fall in Portsmouth, England the
>French onion men used to come round house to house selling them.
>
>Three or four dozen all braided together, decorative to look at
>hanging in the pantry and always great onions. They used to cross on
>the ferry with masses of these onions, they would set out on their
>bikes with the onions hanging over the handlebars once in Portsmouth.
>I always purchased a couple, fresher you couldn't wish for, from farm
>to house. Here's a link to pics of French Onion Men.
>
>http://tinyurl.com/qxc2fdz


There's nothing particularly French about braiding onions, people all
over the planet have braided onions for millenia.
http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegeta...ory-of-onions/

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 05:32:03 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 05:19:52 -0600, wrote:
>
>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>
>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>
>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>
>You sound clueless. It's made with a packet of dry onion soup mix.
>
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>
>Who cares? French onion soup or French Fries, like anything else
>"French", is American and you can leave it at that. We have French
>doors and French windows too. We also have Dutch doors. Another way
>of saying it is: In the style of ___.
>
>OB food: we have
>
>English peas
>Frenched green beans
>French bread
>Italian bread
>Irish soda bread
>cheese Danish
>Polish sausage
>Swiss cheese
>Dutch baby (breakfast souffle)
>Canadian bacon
>Jamaican jerk chicken
>Cuban sandwiches
>Hungarian goulash
>Irish Stew
>Swedish meatballs
>Mexican chocolate
>German chocolate cake
>French dressing (salad)
>Russian dressing (salad)
>Italian dressing(salad)
>Greek salad
>German potato salad
>and
>English muffins
>
>What a country!

Yeah... don't all potatoes come from Idaho and Lung Guyland?

wrote in
:

> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
> American thing more than anything,

Actually they are Belgian in origin.

--
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor " --
Desmond Tutu

Jon > wrote in :

> The term is seldom use in Europe, it comes from "Frenching"
> which is a thin cut, also known as a "Julien" cut

The cut's name is julienne, the feminine form, not julien (although
you might mistakenly pronounce it the same).

--

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor " --
Desmond Tutu

pltrgyst > wrote in
:

> Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it
> therefor became referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup,
> from France -- not soup made from French onions.

Although, strictly speaking, French onion soup was made with French
onions...:-)

--

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor " --
Desmond Tutu

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:57:50 -0500, Michel Boucher
> wrote:

> wrote in
> :
>
> > For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
> > American thing more than anything,
>
> Actually they are Belgian in origin.

Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
popularized them.

--

sf

On 4/2/2015 10:57 AM, Michel Boucher wrote:
> wrote in
> :
>
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
>> American thing more than anything,
>
> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>
Dickens mentions them as something that the poor in Paris were reduced
to eating as their only food during revolutionary times in "The Tale of
Two Cities".

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On 4/2/2015 12:20 PM, James Silverton wrote:
> On 4/2/2015 10:57 AM, Michel Boucher wrote:
>> wrote in
>> :
>>
>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
>>> American thing more than anything,
>>
>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>>
> Dickens mentions them as something that the poor in Paris were reduced
> to eating as their only food during revolutionary times in "The Tale of
> Two Cities".
>
I think this is the quote:
"Hunger was shred into atomics in every farthing porringer of husky
chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil."

Book 1, Chapter 5:


--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On 2015-04-02 11:04 AM, sf wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:57:50 -0500, Michel Boucher
> > wrote:
>
>> wrote in
>> :
>>
>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
>>> American thing more than anything,
>>
>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>
> Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
> popularized them.
>


Of course. Everything good started in the US. Isn't it amazing how an
American just a happened upon such an obscure dish and popularized it.

On 4/2/2015 1:03 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2015-04-02 11:04 AM, sf wrote:
>> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:57:50 -0500, Michel Boucher
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> wrote in
>>> :
>>>
>>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
>>>> American thing more than anything,
>>>
>>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>>
>> Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
>> popularized them.
>>
>
>
> Of course. Everything good started in the US. Isn't it amazing how an
> American just a happened upon such an obscure dish and popularized it.

I wonder if anyone has a notion of the history of potato chips. They are
certainly popular in Britain and on the Continent. I've seen people
happily dipping into bags of chips covered with mayo in Holland but I
think France alone has slot machines dispensing hot Frites.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 08:21:55 -0400, pltrgyst > wrote:

>On 4/2/15 7:19 AM, wrote:
>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>
>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>
>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>
>Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it therefor became
>referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup, from France -- not soup
>made from French onions.
>
....
>There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.

Well it's a dip that sort of resembles the soup.

J.

On 2015-04-02, JRStern > wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 08:21:55 -0400, pltrgyst > wrote:

>>There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.

> Well it's a dip that sort of resembles the soup.

I found this recipe, which sounds terrific. In fact, I may hafta make
some fer myself:

http://iowagirleats.com/2013/03/26/b...nch-onion-dip/

nb

On 02/04/2015 6:21 AM, pltrgyst wrote:
> On 4/2/15 7:19 AM, wrote:
>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>
>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>
>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>
> Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it therefor became
> referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup, from France -- not soup
> made from French onions.
>
> Pommes frites originated in Belgium. They are called "French fries" in
> the US because most Americans are too dumb to distinguish anything
> French from anything Belgian -- actually, they don't even know the
> relative geography of France and the Benelux countries. And they spell
> the word "frys."
>
They are "chips" in the UK.

--
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping
meat fresh."

On 02/04/2015 6:44 AM, wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 08:21:55 -0400, pltrgyst > wrote:
>
Apparently, those from Brittany spoke Breton to the Welsh.
Of course we never saw them in Suffolk. Too rural and too many home
grown onions.
Graham
>


--
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping
meat fresh."

On 02/04/2015 6:32 AM, sf wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 05:19:52 -0600, wrote:
>
>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>
>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>
>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>
> You sound clueless. It's made with a packet of dry onion soup mix.
>
>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>
> Who cares? French onion soup or French Fries, like anything else
> "French", is American and you can leave it at that. We have French
> doors and French windows too. We also have Dutch doors. Another way
> of saying it is: In the style of ___.
>
> OB food: we have
>
> English peas
> Frenched green beans
> French bread
> Italian bread
> Irish soda bread
> cheese Danish
> Polish sausage
> Swiss cheese
> Dutch baby (breakfast souffle)
> Canadian bacon
> Jamaican jerk chicken
> Cuban sandwiches
> Hungarian goulash
> Irish Stew
> Swedish meatballs
> Mexican chocolate
> German chocolate cake
> French dressing (salad)
> Russian dressing (salad)
> Italian dressing(salad)
> Greek salad
> German potato salad
> and
> English muffins
>
and Repuglicans! :-)
>


--
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping
meat fresh."

pltrgyst wrote:
>
>There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.

French onion soup is preparation/serving method; Beef stock,
carmelelized onions, float a toasted bread raft, top with grated
cheese, and broil until cheese melts and browns... it's a combo soup
and gratin... none of the ingredients are necessarily French. A
French Onion Dip is French Faggot.

On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 5:21:02 AM UTC-5, wrote:
>
> What is FRENCH ONION?
>
> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>
>
It is a dish made exclusively by trolls.

On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 2:42:03 PM UTC-4, graham wrote:

> Well McDo also advertise "Filet of fish" when there is a perfectly good
> English word "Fillet" pronounced with the same rhythm and with the same
> hard ending as "bullet".

In the U.S., any boneless piece of fish is called a filet (pronounced
fillAY). A section of beef tenderloin is generally called filet mignon
(fillAY minYON).

It's just the way we are. We've had more than 200 years for our
use of the language to diverge from the mother tongue.

Incidentally, "French fries" is short for "French fried potatoes".

My buddy Wikipedia tells me:
The expression "French Fried Potatoes" first occurs in print in English in
the 1856 work Cookery for Maids of All Work by E Warren
The book was published in London.

So you can't really hang that one on us.

Cindy Hamilton

On 2015-04-02 4:30 PM, Bruce wrote:

>> Of course. Everything good started in the US. Isn't it amazing how an
>> American just a happened upon such an obscure dish and popularized it.
>
> SF will soon claim that Americans popularized eating in general.
>


They certainly popularized overeating. ;-)

On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 11:28:31 AM UTC-7, notbob wrote:
> On 2015-04-02, JRStern > wrote:
> > On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 08:21:55 -0400, pltrgyst > wrote:
>
> >>There is no such thing as "French onion dip" -- it's just a marketing term.
>
> > Well it's a dip that sort of resembles the soup.
>
> I found this recipe, which sounds terrific. In fact, I may hafta make
> some fer myself:
>
> http://iowagirleats.com/2013/03/26/b...nch-onion-dip/
>
> nb



Woohoo, how timely for me. Sunday night a neighbor couple and we are getting together to watch the beginning of the end of _Mad Men_ and, of course, 50's and 60's snacks are called for. I didn't want to make the onion dip with the onion soup because it is so darned salty so this is perfect! Thanks!

Nellie

On 2015-04-02 4:42 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 2:42:03 PM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>
>> Well McDo also advertise "Filet of fish" when there is a perfectly good
>> English word "Fillet" pronounced with the same rhythm and with the same
>> hard ending as "bullet".
>
> In the U.S., any boneless piece of fish is called a filet (pronounced
> fillAY). A section of beef tenderloin is generally called filet mignon
> (fillAY minYON).

In Canada a boneless piece of fish is a fillet.... pronounced fillet,
and the piece of beef tenderloin is a filet, pronounced fillay.
>

On 2015-04-02 4:50 PM, Nellie wrote:

>> I found this recipe, which sounds terrific. In fact, I may hafta
>> make some fer myself:
>>
>> http://iowagirleats.com/2013/03/26/b...nch-onion-dip/
>>
>> nb
>
>
>
> Woohoo, how timely for me. Sunday night a neighbor couple and we are
> getting together to watch the beginning of the end of _Mad Men_ and,
> of course, 50's and 60's snacks are called for. I didn't want to
> make the onion dip with the onion soup because it is so darned salty
> so this is perfect! Thanks!
>


I love that show. I was mislead about when it was supposed to air. I
look forward to the next season, but am saddened that it is to be the
last. It is a good representation of the 60, harassing the secretaries,
smoking everywhere, being able to drink and drive, littering.....

On 4/2/2015 4:21 PM, Bruce wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:30:56 -0400, Brooklyn1
> > wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 23:07:01 +1100, Bruce > wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:47:20 +0100, Jon > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 02/04/2015 12:19 pm, wrote:
>>>>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>>>>
>>>>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>>>>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>>>>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>>>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>>>>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>>>>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>>>>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> "French Fries" were in fact invented by the Belgians!
>>>
>>> Is it a McDonaldism to call them French fries or is it a more general
>>> American misconception?
>>>
>>> Belgians and Dutch don't call them French fries because there's
>>> nothing foreign about them.
>>
>> Of course they're foreign to the Euros, potatoes are a New World
>> vegetable. There's nothing French about French Toast either. Truth
>> is there is no such thing as French cookery, all the methods bearing
>> their name are stolen from others. Most dishes bearing a country's
>> name were hijacked.
>
> True, pasta isn't Italian either. Thai chillies originated in
> South-America.
>
"French cooking" is supposed to have been invented by Maria de Medici's
Italian chef. Maria (1576-1642) was the second wife of Henry IV of France

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On 4/2/2015 4:21 PM, Bruce wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:30:56 -0400, Brooklyn1
> > wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 23:07:01 +1100, Bruce > wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:47:20 +0100, Jon > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 02/04/2015 12:19 pm, wrote:
>>>>> What is FRENCH ONION?
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm referring to the Chip Dip, and other stuff called "FRENCH ONION".
>>>>>
>>>>> Is it made from onions imported from France?
>>>>> Is there a special type of onion that is called a "French Onion"?
>>>>> Or, is it just a name given to the dip for no real reason?
>>>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an American
>>>>> thing more than anything, but somehow they got the name "French Fry",
>>>>> for no real reason.... Or maybe the guy who made the first French Fry
>>>>> was a Frenchman.... Does anyone know?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> "French Fries" were in fact invented by the Belgians!
>>>
>>> Is it a McDonaldism to call them French fries or is it a more general
>>> American misconception?
>>>
>>> Belgians and Dutch don't call them French fries because there's
>>> nothing foreign about them.
>>
>> Of course they're foreign to the Euros, potatoes are a New World
>> vegetable. There's nothing French about French Toast either. Truth
>> is there is no such thing as French cookery, all the methods bearing
>> their name are stolen from others. Most dishes bearing a country's
>> name were hijacked.
>
> True, pasta isn't Italian either. Thai chillies originated in
> South-America.
>
The Italians did have semolina pastes but they are not supposed to have
formed thin strips from them until Marco Polo brought noodles from
China. It's a pity that he did not introduce chopsticks, which are the
ideal implement for spaghetti.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

wrote in
:

>>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>>
>>Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
>>popularized them.

For themselves. They were already well known in northern Europe.
Brel sang quite emphatically about eating "des moules et des
frites".

--

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor " --
Desmond Tutu

On Fri, 03 Apr 2015 07:30:32 +1100, Bruce > wrote:

> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 13:03:42 -0400, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
> >On 2015-04-02 11:04 AM, sf wrote:
> >> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:57:50 -0500, Michel Boucher
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >>> wrote in
> >>> :
> >>>
> >>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
> >>>> American thing more than anything,
> >>>
> >>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
> >>
> >> Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
> >> popularized them.
> >>
> >
> >
> >Of course. Everything good started in the US. Isn't it amazing how an
> >American just a happened upon such an obscure dish and popularized it.
>
> SF will soon claim that Americans popularized eating in general.

It's as American as apple pie!

--

sf

James Silverton > wrote in
:

>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
>>
> Dickens mentions them as something that the poor in Paris were
> reduced to eating as their only food during revolutionary
> times in "The Tale of Two Cities".

And Dickens is a historian of cuisine? The potato as a food crop
arrived at a time of famine and saved many lives (q.v. below).

The poor ate potatoes once they were introduced from South
America, but the wealthy thought them to be poisonous (and not
without cause as they are members of the nightshade family along
with aubergines). It wasn't until a French agronomer by the name
of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier promoted the potato as a cheap
source of food for the poor (instead of merely hog food; oddly
enough until recently they considered corn to be hog food as
well) that they started eating it and later there were the famous
dinners "à quarante sauces" to convince the high and mighty that
the potato was important and should be recommended.

"Thanks largely to Parmentier's efforts, the Paris Faculty of
Medicine declared potatoes edible in 1772. Still, resistance
continued, and Parmentier was prevented from using his test
garden at the Invalides hospital, where he was pharmacist, by the
religious community that owned the land, whose complaints
resulted in the suppression of Parmentier's post at the
Invalides.

"Parmentier therefore began a series of publicity stunts for
which he remains notable today, hosting dinners at which potato
dishes featured prominently and guests included luminaries such
as Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier, giving bouquets of
potato blossoms to the King and Queen, and surrounding his potato
patch at Sablons with armed guards to suggest valuable goods —
then instructing them to accept any and all bribes from civilians
and withdrawing them at night so the greedy crowd could "steal"
the potatoes. (These 54 arpents of impoverished ground near
Neuilly, west of Paris, had been allotted him by order of Louis
XVI in 1787.)

"The first step in the acceptance of the potato in French society
was a year of bad harvests, 1785, when the scorned potatoes
staved off famine in the north of France."

He is buried in Père Lachaise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine...tin_Parmentier

--

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice,
you have chosen the side of the oppressor " --
Desmond Tutu

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 16:38:44 -0500, Michel Boucher
> wrote:

> wrote in
> :
>
> >>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
> >>
> >>Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
> >>popularized them.
>
> For themselves. They were already well known in northern Europe.
> Brel sang quite emphatically about eating "des moules et des
> frites".

Do we care? No.

--

sf

On Fri, 03 Apr 2015 08:55:39 +1100, Bruce > wrote:

> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 14:43:25 -0700, sf > wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 03 Apr 2015 07:30:32 +1100, Bruce > wrote:
> >
> >> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 13:03:42 -0400, Dave Smith
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >> >On 2015-04-02 11:04 AM, sf wrote:
> >> >> On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:57:50 -0500, Michel Boucher
> >> >> > wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> wrote in
> >> >>> :
> >> >>>
> >> >>>> For example "French Frys". Everyone knows they are really an
> >> >>>> American thing more than anything,
> >> >>>
> >> >>> Actually they are Belgian in origin.
> >> >>
> >> >> Obviously, he doesn't care where they originated. Americans
> >> >> popularized them.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >Of course. Everything good started in the US. Isn't it amazing how an
> >> >American just a happened upon such an obscure dish and popularized it.
> >>
> >> SF will soon claim that Americans popularized eating in general.
> >
> >It's as American as apple pie!
>
> What? Apples come from Asia

Asians don't eat apple pie unless they're American.

--

sf

On 2 Apr 2015 18:28:26 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>http://iowagirleats.com/2013/03/26/b...nch-onion-dip/

Sounds very good. Yogurt plus low-fat cream cheese? That's seriously
different from sour cream? LOL.

I can see variations on this, mushrooms browned like the onions but
separately (much faster), paprika, habeneros, beets, even avocado. So
we could have it in red, white, and green. Maybe some finely grated
carrots would turn it orange. Blue ... that's tough, without food
coloring. Wait, maybe some blue curacao - onion/orange flavor, yeah
OK the coloring is in the curacao but even so.

J.

On 4/2/2015 9:00 AM, Michel Boucher wrote:
> pltrgyst > wrote in
> :
>
>> Classical onion soup originated in France. In the US, it
>> therefor became referred to as French onion soup. Onion soup,
>> from France -- not soup made from French onions.
>
> Although, strictly speaking, French onion soup was made with French
> onions...:-)
>


In France.

gloria p