What the spud?

After a brutally hot, dry summer that caused a potato shortage in Belgium, France and the U.K., French fries across the pond could lose up to an inch of salty deliciousness.

With crops yields down by 25 percent from normal, the Washington Post reports Pierre Lebrun, of the Walloon Potato Growers’ Association, told the Sudepresse newspaper much of Europe “will all eat smaller fries."

In Europe, the drought means prices are up and the spuds themselves are smaller. So how much shrinkage could these pomme-frites suffer?

In Belgium, a region hit particularly hard, fries could shrink an average of about three centimeters from the roughly three-inch length the potato spears are usually, the Post says.

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France and Britain are expected to suffer shorter fries as well, though Belgium (where mayonnaise is the preferred condiment to ketchup), with a reported 5,000-plus friteries, is predicted to be hit hardest.

“Frites are essential. It is vital," Bernard Lefevre, president of Belgium’s chip stand owners association, told Politico. "It is part of our culture. It’s more than a product – it’s a symbol of Belgium.”