87% of the population love chips! Whether it’s straight, crinkly or wedges, we just can’t get enough of this delicious potato delight.
Did you know?
- For chips prepared in the home, nearly 60% are oven baked, over a third are fried and 3% come out of the microwave.
- Friday is the most popular day of the week for eating chips, with around a fifth of the chips eaten then.
- In one year we eat nearly three billion meals containing chips.
- We eat 300 million portions of fish and chips in Britain each year.
- There are more than 10,000 fish and chip shops in the UK.
- Nearly 200 million chip meals are sold in fish and chip shops each year.
Leaving potato skins on
When preparing your chips why not leave the potato skins on? Not only do they give the chips a delicious crunch, but they also contain many nutrients including vitamin B, vitamin C, calcium and potassium. If you do have to peel potatoes, try making crisps out of the skins by placing on baking tray, drizzling with oil, seasoning and baking.
Chip recipes
Below are some fantastic recipes that you can try at home, to celebrate the deleicously versatile chip.
Fajita potato wedges with chicken
Adding Fajita spices to wedges turns them into a great twist on the classic. This recipe is guilt-free and ready in less than 30 minutes!
Chip dipping
Chips and dips are ideal for any party centrepeice. These recipes show you how to make 3 different popular dips; Garlic Mayonnaiseand Curry Sauce.
Chunky chips with caramelised onion & garlic
This recipe adds caramlised onion to chips to make them really special. These are especially delicious as an accompiment to steak.
Healthier ideas
Chips are generally considered an unhealthy food choice. However there are lots of things you can do to improve your chips and make them guilt-free:
Oven baking
Instead of making your chips in the deep fat fryer why not try oven baking them? Simply cut up the potatoes with the skins on, coat with a tea spoon or two of sunflower oil and pop in the oven for 20 minutes at 200° (180° fan assisted). Oven chips generally have about 5% fat.
Potato alternatives
Sweet potatoes: Sweet potato naturally contains less carbohydrate and more fibre than the regular potato. Here is a guilt free recipe for sweet potato chips.
Courgettes: Courgettes can be used to make a healthy chip alternative. They can be sliced into a chip shape and coated with a small layer of flour to give them a crunch. Have a look at the recipe here.
Carrots: Carrots can be cut into a chip shape and put in the oven to make these delicious, guilt free chips. Find a recipe here.
Celeriac: Celeriac is a root vegetable that like potatoes make fluffy and crispy chips. Click here for a recipe
Chip trivia
- A recent survey showed that fans of wedges are most likely to dip them in barbecue sauce, and ketchup is most popular with those who prefer oven chips and French fries.
- A quarter of all potatoes grown in Britain are made into chips – that’s around 1.5 million tonnes each year, or nearly the same weight as 125,000 full double decker buses
- During the Second World War, chips were one of the few foods that weren’t rationed.