We have already heard of the exorbitant rise in the cost of some foodstuffs – mustard and spaghetti have been especially noteworthy. This might be thought of as an attempt to trivialise the inflation problem, reducing a macroeconomic crisis to overdue scrutiny of a handful of comestibles that are neither essential nor unthinkably expensive.
Though it is true that an extra euro for a condiment might pass unnoticed in the face of mammoth energy bills, economists have long been aware of everyday items as a measure of price fluctuations (hence the Mars Bar inflation index). For Belgium, few items could be more apt than frites/fries/frietjes to track how major international perturbations hit the individual.
The Belgian penchant for fried delicacies – potatoes in particular – is remarkable. No kitchen here is complete without a deep-fat fryer, but this doesn't dent the appetite to treat yourself in a dedicated frituur.
Yet if these veritable temples to chips have managed to stay in business thus far, it's not without overcoming gargantuan challenges. The chairman of Belgium's national organisation of friteries cites a "perfect storm" of factors that have made a trip to the chip shop twice as costly as 20 years ago: "Mayonnaise, potatoes, frying fat and oil, but also snacks and, the biggest cost, energy: absolutely everything has become much more expensive over the past year."
This isn't just the hard luck story of another sector struggling to cut it in a tough climate; the chairman made a pertinent point about the value we attach to certain products: "French fries are like a loaf of bread... a price increase of 20 to 30 cents does not seem like much, but it does feel like a drama. A much larger price increase for a dishwasher is less emotional."
Whilst we might jest about efforts to promote chips as haute cuisine, their importance as an everyman's treat is now be in jeopardy. What might once have been a weekly ritual that grandparents look back on starry-eyed risks being relegated to days gone by.
Things certainly ain't what they used to be and those in the trade are doing all they can to keep customers, some even writing to loyal clients explaining their plight. And whilst chips as a quick snack won't disappear, the cultural cornerstone that is the frituur is less secure.
Where do you get the best frites? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Time fries: Belgians face skyrocketing 'Frietflation'
Belgian food lovers, brace yourselves: the price of a packet of Belgian frietjes, or frites, has increased 13% compared to last year — the largest increase in 20 years, according to Statbel, Belgium's official statistics office. Read more.
2. Top five EU countries to educate children
With its variety of cultures and curricula, education levels across the EU vary widely and disparities between Member States are sometimes striking. If you ever wondered where is the best place to educate children, a number of factors must first be considered. Read more.
3. Miss Belgium attack: Suspect arrested for attempted terrorism
The man who attempted an attack on the Miss Belgium's final event that took place on Saturday in De Panne has been arrested for attempted terrorist murder. Read more.
4. Multilingualism strong among Europeans, less so among native English speakers
The EU officially recognises 23 languages and encourages multilingualism. But people's foreign language skills vary widely across the bloc. Read more.
5. Mowing the lawn or hosting a party, what are Brussels noise regulations?
From mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning to organising a house party that goes on until the early hours (or maybe, moving into a house next to a popular nightclub in Brussels' city centre), noise nuisance affects everyone. When should you keep quiet in Brussels? Read more.
6. Adult acne on the rise in Belgium, according to leading dermatologists
Often affiliated with the teenage years, acne - a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles – is increasingly common among adults in Belgium, according to data collected by the Royal Belgian Society of Dermatology and Venerology (RBSDV). Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: Basiel Urban Greenhouse
Thomas and Jane have turned an abandoned house in the heart of Bruges into a cool coffee bar and plant shop. They ripped out the old interior of the house on Mariastraat to create a lofty white space on two levels with exotic house plants filling every corner and an orange tree growing in the back garden. Read more.
