The Varying Price & Quality Of Chips These Days: A Critique

Chips in the street have gone to crazy, ambitious prices and what you get served in return, you never know until it turns up. I'm including cafes and restaurants in this too as well as chippies and vans.

It could be big fat fluffy things, with a big lump of potato inside each one, or it could be little skinny long things which are all crispy outer and nothing of potato inside at all.

In most of the places I eat, there are photos of each dish you can order, but even these the chips, when they arrive, are of a completely different type from the photo.

I had a chinese last night and thought id order chips instead of rice with my dish for a change. Chinese chips are the big fat ones, right? Always. It's an unwritten rule. But when I got home, they were the long thin 'fry' type! I was shocked and bemused. But too late to complain.

And the prices! For a bit of fried potato. I mean I'm old, but not that old. I remember when it was 5p for a small chips and 7p for a medium. I stopped the car at a chippy a while back and being financially embarrassed as ever, just asked for a small chips.

Guess how much? £2.50 compadres. £2.50. English pounds, not pesos. A small chips! The thieving bástads. I was shocked. Of course they've brought them to the counter wrapped up by now, so it's too late to form a protest or refuse to have them. All you can do is pay up that extortion and suck up the pain while you eat your bitter chips.

At least in the chippy you do, admittedly invariably receive a decent portion and they don't change from how chippy chips ought to be - in dimensions or in type. Greasy and floppy brown ones. That unwritten law remains at least.

Special disgusted mentions for the abuses that are so-called 'dirty fries' - just Mccains fries with some messy gloop over them. Similarly cheesy chips. Similarly 'skin on' fries. How do they cost twice the price when they don't even have to go to the trouble of peeling 'em.

In the same way as there is a measure on the pint glass that has legal protection, so there ought to be legislation to standardise the term chips. The sellers should have to say what type they are and how many grams you get. A small chips = 378 grams or whatever. A medium = 683 grams and so on. Nationally agreed as protection for the consumer.

We would see the end of abuses such as the restaurants who think 'chips' means about 8 long things stuffed upright in a bloody mug too. Why? I'm not going to drink them. After you've paid about £4 for them too. 50p a chip.

Something really OUGHT to be done.

 

With you comrade.

I had Fish 'n' chips the other week. Like you I expected the big fat soggy ones. The ones that are floppy when you hold them and obviosuly real potato saturated in fat. What I got was slightly fatter than usual, fries probably made from reconstitued potato and was severely disapointed with that.

Chips are not fries, fries are different and have their place alongside a burger. Chips should not be served with a burger.
Chips come with steak, fish or chicken, but should not be served with a curry or a chinese.
Chips do not come in single digit volumes housed in a minature zinc bucket, mug, comedy watering can or served on a roofing slate. They come in a cardboard carton, wrapped in newspaper or served on a plate or in my case resting on a shoulder.
Chips should not be cooked 3 times, that's suggesting you didn't get it right the first 2 times. They should be deep fried in preferably beef dripping or oil, never olive oil and never air fried. Chips are meant to be a treat and unhealthy. Oven chips are acceptable at home only for convenience.
Chips are not artisan, hand cut rustic or anything else. They also are not made from anything other than potato and peeled potato at that.

 

I generally agree regarding chips with Chinese or Indian. I'm usually scornful of people who don't have rice in that situation.

I plumped for chips with my 'chicken in capital sauce' this time because I had visions of mopping up the aforementioned sauce with the mushy absorbancy of the inside of the normal Chinese big fat chips. Only to find those fry things - out of the freezer bag without doubt - which are all crispy outer and no good for mopping whatsoever.

I was choked.

 

Eat slower and chew more

 

A controversial view on this forum in these times....

 

You beat me to it, obviously a chip off the old block!

 

I don't like chips.

 

Too much waffling about making you slow?

I'd jacket in if I were you.

 

Seek help

 

You need this man:-
ChipsAway Oxford Mobile Car Body Repair | Marius and Juliano

 

First thing I did when we got the air frier was to peel and cut up a potato, bit of vegetable oil, smattering of salt and chuck it in there.
The quality of what came out was awesome. I can only imagine the delight if I'd boiled them first.

 

**FIXED**

 

He lost me from there.

I air fry my chips. Try it comrade @Clive_ofthe_Kremlin a 2.5kg bag of potatoes costs about a quid from tesco and will make chips for days.

 

*blanched*

Just kidding. I put them straight in and whack it on. I'm not ******* about with them.

 

FFY

 

Our oven has been on the blink so we just bought a new one in the Labor Day sales. Ordered it today and it is arriving tomorrow (!).

It has a built in air frier and I'm excited to see what that's like (the built-in bit, not air friers in general as we have a freestanding one already).

 

Chips are one of the World’s greatest treasures. When aliens seek contact with us and want to visit CERN or see the finest art humans have created we should say ‘hang on, get your gills and five mouths around these first. Whaddya think of that baldy?’

 

I do like to make a homemade chip, one thing I do that I read makes them come out better is once you’ve sliced them in to shape, soak them in cold water for an hour, apparently this removes a lot of the starch and makes them crisp up a lot more. I then stick some olive oil in a bowl, add some salt, pepper, maybe some paprika, onion and garlic powder and some mixed herbs, give them a good coat and chuck them in the air fryer.

Same goes for cooking most type of potato, but I normally boil them first until they are soft when you put a knife in them. They then come out really crispy but also nice and fluffy.

 

I love chips with curry and Chinese.

Not as a replacement for rice or naan bread obviously, but as an addition.

 

£3.30 for small chips from the chippy in Farnham Common the other day. Freshly cooked and very nice though.

While I was waiting a 'lady' with brat in tow came in and asked for a burger. After they told her it was a proper chippy and they don't do burgers she gave them a mouthful and stormed out much to our amusement.

 

Chips with soy sauce are an exotic holiday for the taste buds.