There’s a museum dedicated to bananas, a museum dedicated to cheese so why not one one dedicated to the fry. The Frietmuseum in Bruges tells the story of the fry from its humble beginnings as a wild potato in South America to the fry of today which the Belgians claim they invented.
A Very Brief History of the Potato
In a January 2000 History Magazine article entitled “The Impact of the Potato” Jeff Chapman explains that the history of the potato starts 13,000 years ago where it is believed to have grown wild in a mountainous region in South America on the border between Peru and Bolivia. The wild potato was subsequently cultivated and has for the last 8,000 years been the staple diet of the people of the Peruvian Andes and beyond.
The Potato Arrives in Europe
The humble potato did not find its way to Europe (via the Spanish conquistadores) until the late 1500s and its arrival was treated with some suspicion. Most people thought that it was only good for animal fodder and it took another hundred years or more before it was regarded as suitable for human consumption.
Eddy Van Belle
The person behind the Frietmuseum is Eddy Van Belle who is already well known in Bruges for his illuminating lamp museum Lumina Domestica and his museum dedicated to chocolate Choco Story.
The Birth of the Belgian Friet
Although Chapman says that the potato had become part of the French diet by the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and often served as pommes-frites, in a May 3rd 2008 Guardian article “Land of the Friet”, Patrick Barkham explains how the fry was invented in Belgium in the 1700s. When the rivers froze one winter the Belgians substituted their usual diet of small fried fish with potatoes that they cunningly cut into small fish shapes and fried. The name French fry apparently only entered the vernacular because some US soldiers in the First World War thought that the French-speaking Belgians who introduced them to fries were French!
The Home of the Frietmuseum
The Frietmuseum has been created in the Saaihalle which is one of the oldest and best-preserved buildings in Bruges. The oldest part of the building dates back to 1399 and still contains many original features. To ensure that the integrity of the building was maintained, no alterations have been made and so not only can visitors enjoy the story of the fry but they can also experience the interior of a magnificent 14th century building.
What’s on Show at the Frietmuseum?
The Frietmuseum has a fascinating array of potato-related artefacts from carefully restored antique deep-fat fryers to a set of Inca vases representing different varieties of potato. There’s also a wonderful display of art and photos including paintings of traditional Belgian frituur stalls. And, when you have learned all there is to know about the history of the potato, you can sit back and watch a short film about how to prepare the perfect friet.
Fry Tasting
After you have completed the tour of the museum you will almost certainly be craving for some yourself. In the medieval basement the Frietmuseum café serves up traditional cones of Belgian friet and a variety of typical Belgian meat dishes including Flemish beef stew cooked in beer (Vlaamse Stoverij in Flemish, Les Carbonades Flamandes in French).
For further information
Address: Frietmuseum - Brugge, Vlamingstraat 33, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
Telephone: +32 (0)50 34 01 50
website: www.frietmuseum.be
Christine Lightfoot - After completing my degree and a postgraduate teaching course my first job was as a secondary school music teacher. However, after ...
