Woodwork History - chips and fries Ch 1
Many of you may not know this but the predeliction of the Yanks to call 'chips' - 'french fries' has a bit of history to it.
In the late 1600's, while the Poms were trying to colonise America, they didn't have anywhere near enough troops to do the job. So, they enlisted the help of some free-ranging French sailors who'd lost their way trying to navigate their way back to France. Not wanting to fight, as usual, the French employed some innovative ways to pass the time. One of these, was to use the broad-bladed cutlasses they'd been issued with to chop potatoes into smaller and smaller slivers. These they'd fry up in a cauldron of fat & to which they'd add a generous helping of salt (which they'd gotten from the salt flats of Northern Australia - they'd accidentally bumped into this on they're way home).
The locals saw this and began calling this process "French Fries".
Woodwork History - chips & fries Ch 2
At around about the same time, a religious sect called the Shakers were really off at their treatment by the British Government and so decided to take off to the new colony of America. They travelled to the relatively new colony & setup settlements apart from the mainstream population.
With no local interaction, and no sex, they had plenty of time on their hands. So, they decided to invent things. Apart from paint, clothes pegs and some other good stuff, they came up with the circular saw.
One night, two of the 'brothers' had just got their new-fangled invention running when Jethro, a newly-converted shaker, came back to camp after an 'interaction' with the local community. One of the locals had given him a sack of potatoes...
Woodwork History - chips & fries Ch 3
Jethro was a little bit wobbly from his evening of embibing & was keen to show the brothers the spuds he'd gotten from the nearby local community. (By this time, the word 'french fries' had become commonplace within the American vernacuar).
Dipping into his bag, Jethro produced a prime spud. As he went to show it to the brothers, he stumbled in the sawdust the spinning circular saw had produced and he lurched forward propelling the spud into the saw. One of the brothers remarked that the effect was similar to that of creating 'chips' of wood. Remember, they (the two brothers) had been witnessing this ever since they got the saw spinning. (One of them was turning the saw and one was feeding the wood).
They (all three of them - Jethro included - by now they'd all become a bit peckish - the two brothers with their saw-turning and J with his attack of the munchies ) decided to try the french method of frying the 'chips' of potato. This exercise was such a success that it was decreed that throughout all of the Shaker settlements, finely cut-up potatoes would henceforth be known as 'chips'.
Woodwork History - chips & fries Ch 4
So, you ask, how did this get to Australia?
Well, one of the crew of the Bounty (mentioned in a previous post) accidentally swam in the wrong direction and ended up in America. After staggering around for months and months, he ended up on the outskirts of a Shaker settlement.
Upon smelling the 'chips' cooking, he stole up to the window just in time to hear the pronouncement (about them being called 'chips').
Upon his return to Australia, he immediately approached the local Governor and was immediately granted a franchise to produce the 'chips' for the whole colony.
Poms coming to Australia still used the American term 'french fries' for many years. That all changed in early World War 1. The Australian Government, who'd become so parocial about the term 'chips' made it a condition of support to the British Government that the name be changed!!! Otherwise, we won't be there mate... The Poms capitulated and the term 'chips' was adopted universally throughout England and Ireland. Packaging was left to the individual shopkeeper however but it wasn't long before newspaper became the method of choice, due in large part to public opinion.
The Americans, however, still stuck to the original term copied from the French all those years before.:D
