The Size of a British Chip

Yorky

Yorky

RIP 21/01/2024
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I read today that In a survey conducted among 2,000 adults from all over the United Kingdom for the Food Advisory Board, it would appear that the preferred size of the British chip should be 70 mm (2¾") long x 12 mm (½") wide.

Obviously the size of the original potato has significant bearing but I always try to limit the length of the chip to around 75 mm and I agree with 12 mm square which I believe result in perfectly cooked chips (whether deep fried or air fried).

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I believe the above (which were prepared some time ago) were around 65mm - 70mm long and 12mm square (although I didn't measure them).
 
Makes sense. That seemed to be the predominant size that was common among fish and chips shops and of course made from whole potatoes and cut on site, at least the few that I've patronized when ever I've visited. The popular sizes in Canada are much less wide but personally and at home I'll make a wider chip and parboil before deep frying.
 
Yorky said:
I read today that In a survey conducted among 2,000 adults from all over the United Kingdom for the Food Advisory Board, it would appear that the preferred size of the British chip should be 70 mm (2¾") long x 12 mm (½") wide.
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These are some that I deep fried today to accompany a pork and apple sausage. They would be roughly within the parameters quoted in the survey I think.

With chips s.jpg

With chips s.jpg

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SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I think I prefer my chips longer. For some reason, now lost to time, there was always a competition to see who had the longest chip in our family. I did agree about the width though. Even now, I always hunt out the really long chips first! Lol
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I think the Americans favor the longer, slimmer, chips (fries) as in the genetically modified potato product pushed by McDonald's fast food chain. I have always enjoyed the shorter stouter chips as described above. Guaranteed to burn the roof of your mouth if your not careful, but I like that a thicker chip has more substance to it!
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
I think the Americans favor the longer, slimmer, chips (fries) as in the genetically modified potato product pushed by McDonald's fast food chain. I have always enjoyed the shorter stouter chips as described above. Guaranteed to burn the roof of your mouth if your not careful, but I like that a thicker chip has more substance to it!
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They might, but I'm not American and in the UK, in the potato growing counties, you do get some very big potatoes. I've grown up in these counties, particularly Cheshire where am awful lot of potatoes are grown (you can usually pick up kgs of them in autumn from the side of back roads where they have fallen off the farmers wagon after collection on the way back to the farm). We'd usually buy the tatties in great big sacks of them 25kg at a time, fresh from the ground. Those are the tatties made into chips that I'm referring to. (Even some of my homegrown tatties have made chips easily exceeding 10cm in length and in some chip shops, I've seen and eaten much longer ones where the entire batch has exceeded 10cm in length. Our local chip shop where I grew up was famous (locally) for huge length chips. )
 
Well I can´t in all honesty say that´s the perfect size, because I have never, ever measured a chip. The length depends entirely on the length of the potato I´m cutting!
They look about right, though! I´m not a great fan of "shoestring" potatoes or "French fries" (although I´m quite happy to eat them), preferring the thicker cut.
These chips below were the best I have ever eaten. Twice cooked, from a Chippy in Rye, Sussex:
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karadekoolaid said:
Well I can´t in all honesty say that´s the perfect size, because I have never, ever measured a chip. The length depends entirely on the length of the potato I´m cutting!
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If the potatoes are large then I'll slice them first and then cut the results in half. I've found that shorter chips are better suited to smaller air fryers like mine.
 
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