It’s come to our attention that Americans may be slightly confused when it comes to their potato-based snack terminology.
Here in Great Britain crisps are a tasty sandwich-side treat. They’re rounded, thin, and usually flavoured. British ‘chips’ on the other hand are a thicker, oblong in shape, served hot, and usually reserved to sit beside either battered fish or, if no battered fish can be found, a burger. Salt, ketchup, mayonnaise, curry sauce, and gravy can all be added top at the eater’s discretion.
Across the pond however, British ‘Crisps’ are confusingly referred to as ‘Chips’, while British ‘Chips’ are called ‘French Fries’. Except when they’re called ‘Freedom Fries’.
The earliest known mention of this-potato-based-snack dates to 1822 in an English cookbook called ‘The Cook’s Oracle’. William Kitchiner, the book’s author, wasn’t very good at names either and simply left them as ‘Potatoes Fried in Slices or Shavings.’
Not content with renaming the snack, Americans also claim to have invented it, only 31 years after it was invented in England, in 1853. The American origin story suggests that a fussy eater in Saratoga Springs, New York forced one George Crum into creating the thinnest fried potatoes he could.
It all boils down to whether or not one considers a quarter of an inch thickness (Kitchiner’s suggestion) to be a valid this-potato-based-snack. What a conundrum.
Regardless of the Anglo-American debate, a world exists beyond the English speaking world. A world, as our graphic below reveals, is tasty in all sorts of weird ways:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.