Why do chippy chips taste different to other chips? This is a question that has bounced around in my head for a number of years. After many years of casual research, consuming crispy Battered Cod and chips (in the name of science obviously); I finally decided to get to the bottom of this mystery and the answers I found were not what I was expecting.
The Fish and Chip shop is part of the British DNA and still flourishes in high streets across the land, from high end chandeliered establishments in gentrified London Boroughs to trendy food vans and family businesses sporting menus unchanged by the decades (and matching decor) .
Things may have changed over the years, the appearance of Burgers, Southern Fried Chicken, Jalapeno Poppers but one thing has remained consistent, the Chippy Chip.
And it is a chip like no other, served in eye watering quantitys; fried, crispy yet somehow soggy, the Chippy chip cannot be compared to the French Fry, the ‘fat cut’ chip or indeed anything served outside of those massive stainless steel fryers. It is a taste of home, of Friday nights and if you are especially lucky, the Seaside.
There are of course versions on a theme, different expressions, different quality and different tastes but overall the Chippy chip stands in its own category and eludes replication outside of its humble home.
But why are they so different? “Finally somebody is asking the important questions!” I hear you cry. Well read on….
Probably the best place to start is the ingredients which may seem somewhat obvious on many levels? Fun fact, the McDonalds website lists no fewer than 9 separate ingredients for their French Fries. They are mostly recognisable; three types of Oil, Salt, Dextrose (to help the chip brown without overcooking), Natural Beef Flavour (McDonalds used to cook their fries in dripping) Milk, wheat and the delicious sounding Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate which stops the fry going grey. There are regional variations across the world often with fewer of these ingredients but suffice to say the chip is not always as simple as it appears.
We may return to some of these ingredients but for now lets look at what is needed for that authentic chippy chip.
Choosing the right spud
There are many varieties of potato with a broad range of cooking properties driven by their density and water content. Early in season potatoes are considered new and tend to be much firmer and take longer to cook. Later in the season the potato matures becomes a little softer as the starches start to break down. Potatoes tend to be grouped into two catagories, ‘floury’ and ‘waxy’. Floury potatoes have a higher ratio of solid matter to water and more starch. Waxy potatoes tend to be preferred for dishes that need a bit of resilience, pomme Dauphinoise or pomme Sarladaise, both of which needing thin slices of spud keeping their structure being some good examples, roasting waxy potatoes tends to result in roasties with a more leathery rather than crispy exterior. (remind me to share my awesome roasties recipe some time btw)
Floury potatoes, so described because the they cook down to a more powdery consistency and much better for any application that needs crispyness. That starch swells and pops taking on the oil and browning like a champ. So no surprise that it is the floury potato that is your local chippies favourite.
In terms of varieties, as long as the potato is suitable floury the choice comes down to cost. Well known varieties such as King Edwards and Maris Piper tend to command a higher price so less well know varieties will often be used. For our purposes and due to the general availability of the more recognisable varieties the ideal choice is Maris Piper. King Edwards are more floury but as a consequence are more likely to fall apart in the fryer and whilst there is a certain appeal to crispy fried potato crumbs, intact chips are a more favourable option and the better structural integrity of the Maris Piper serves us better. Do not feel sorry for his Royal Highness though, the King Edward has his chance to shine when it comes to the Roastie (seriously, remind me tell you about that).
Which oil to use?
The oil used for frying has a huge influence on the results of your humble chip both in terms of flavour and crispyness. Different oils have different smoking points (the point where they start to burn) so behave differently at different temperatures. The very character of a chip can come from the oil in which it is fried. We have already looked at the blend used by McDonalds, the Burger chain ‘Five Guys’ exclusively use peanut oil for their fries, this gives them a distinctive texture and flavour and is personally my favourite oil to make chips in. However we intrepid explorers are in search of the chippy chip and the higher cost as well as the risk of issues for people with peanut allergies takes this one off the table.
There are some chippies out there that still cook their chips in dripping (beef fat), the results are spectacular if a little life shortening. The inimitable Tom Kerridge cooks his chips in Duck fat in the amazing Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow. All fantastic but we are on the hunt of a very specific chip, the standard chippy chip so we must not be distracted by such delights.
There are a couple of preferred oils/fats that tend to be in use in chippies and you can probably work out which is being used based on the results. The first is refined palm oil. It has the benefit to the chip shop of several things. Firstly it is solid at room temperature making it easier to transport and store. It can be shipped in cardboard boxes rather than metal cans and there is less of a risk of leakage. Palm oil is also competitively priced as it is not a favoured consumer product. Whilst there is no particular health issue associated with it, it does carry the stigma of the politics and environmental impact that it has due to the clearing of forests that take place to farm it.
If you find that the chips from your chippy feel a little greasy on your fingers as they cool, it is a good chance that your chippy is using refined palm oil and if that is the flavour you are after then you have a winner in terms of your oil choice. Palm oil is available online and can often be found in Indian/Pakistani supermarkets. Unrefined palm oil by the way is a very different thing altogether, it is deep red in colour and colours food cooked in it. It has a distinct flavour and it is not what we want for our chippy chips.
The other mainstay of chippy oils is good honest vegetable oil which in the vast majority of cases is good old Rapeseed oil. I always find it wryly amusing that supermarkets will offer ‘Rapeseed Oil’ and ‘Vegetable Oil’ at different prices despite the vegetable oil being 100% Rapeseed. Naughty. Sunflower is similarly priced but gives a flavour that I personally would not normally associate with the Chippy. The budget basement choice would be Soya Oil, again that is a flavour that does not fit the mould for me.
So we now have our ingredients, Maris Piper potatoes and Vegetable Oil and you are now justifiably thinking, “Now look here buddy I have read all this stuff only for you to come to some pretty obvious conclusions, what gives?”. Calm yourself we are getting to the interesting bit.
Where the magic happens
Next time you get a portion of chips, take a bit of time to really evaluate it, you will notice something about the chippy chip that you may have overlooked. Firstly whilst being fully cooked and crispy they are often lighter in colour than chips you get elsewhere. Secondly notice the the actual flesh of the potato. It is less powdery that you would imagine given that we have already concluded the use of floury potatoes. There is a creamyness to the texture, it is these illusive differences that contribute to the distinctive chippy chip. So what is going on?
I have in the past heard it said that the distinctive nature of the chippy chip is down to the scale of its production, the large fryers turning out kilos of chips. This I think is partially true, the chippy chip is a product of the quantity being made but not for that reason. The reason is, chippy chips are brined.
Any chippy worth its salt is going to have a peeling and chipping machine, potatoes get thrown in the peeler (think of it as cross between a tumble dryer and a cheese grater). The peeled potatoes are then put through a chipper to give consistently width and inderterminate length. This is not a job you do in small batches, it makes sense to do this job in bulk and get it out of the way but now you have mountains of chips. What do you do with them. You put them in big vessels and cover them in salted water, that is what you do.
Sitting in the salted water, the starches and sugars of the potato begin to leach out. This results and a chip that does not brown as readily which is desirable for the Chip shop owner as it means his oil does not darken and burn so quickly. Commercial products such as Drywite’s potato treatment range are used to handle these sugars and help preserve the chips and are the modern approach to the same issue. It is the leaching of the starches and sugars that lead to chippy chips being lighter in colour. The texture of the chip goes from firm to rubbery and this contributes to the difference in texture of the chippy chip. So whilst the practices of preparing the chippy chip are rooted in bulk production there is nothing stopping us doing this at home. Soaking the chips for at least 24 hours in salted water leaves us with the chips we want. 48 hours is better but if not kept cool the beginnings of fermentation occur and we are making chips not Vodka.
Bringing it all together
The final part of the process of making the chippy chip is the actual frying. A brief word on safety before we begin. Deep frying can be dangerous leading to burns and fires, take the risk seriously and make sure you know what you are doing and how to handle things if it goes wrong. Don’t leave unattended, don’t try to move pans containing hot oil, don’t overfill, dont add water, be aware of trip hazards like dishwasher doors, dogs, children or amusingly placed roller skates around the cooker when cooking. Have appropriate safety items such as a fire blanket or at the very least a damp tea towel to hand to cover the pan in the event of fire. Google for further safety instructions if you are unsure. Better to be prepared and not need these things than not. Stay safe. Lecture over.
To fry or not two fry?
You dont have to look far to find restaurants, cookery books and blogs that celebrate the virtues of the triple cooked chip. The idea that the potato is first gently poached, cooled, fried and then fried again. It does of course yield superbly crispy results.
But what about the chippy? Are these chips triple, double or single cooked? I will confess that when starting this adventure my suspicion was that the way to go would be double cooking. A gentle fry to cook the chip followed by a higher temperature crisping at the end.
Again I am sure that there a chippys out there that do exactly that and if I am being brutally honest I do prefer the result but in our pursuit here we are purists on a sacred mission to recreate that high street institution of the chippy chip and the reality is, a single cooked chip has a lot more in common with our target than anything else.
This of course makes perfect sense, the chippy is a scene of mass production and carefully managed cost, as a nation we love the chippy chip so why guild the lily? Now the chip has already undergone a transformation in salt water and leached much of its own water content so it now cooks far faster. Around 6 minutes should be enough to cook a chippy chip. If you are used to cooking chips from raw potatoes that sounds crazy but it is true and extremely handy when you have a queue of people on a friday night demanding the perfect accompaniment to their medium cod, Wally and sneaky sausage. (If you aren’t from round here a Wally is a large pickled Gherkin/Cucumber, you need your veg after all)
Fry temperature does vary from chippie to chippie following each cooks preference for cooking and the equipment they have. The intention is to find a sweet spot of cooking the chips quickly without raising the temperature of the oil so much that it degrades quickly. Oil isn’t cheap and having to change it too regularly eats into profits. A cooking temperature range between 160-170 degrees centigrade is where most seem to operate. This is actually quite a gentle heat from a deep frying perspective the intention here is to cook the chip though to the centre before the outside overcooks.
It makes complete sense that there are certain things that evolved in the chip shop to provide a consistent and cost effective product. The need to store large batches of chips, the removal of starches and sugars to limit browning and maximise the life of the oil, the optimal temperature cooking to minimise energy cost and again extend oil life have all contibuted to the creation of a distinct type of chip loved by millions across the country, long may they be a successful feature of our towns and cities.
But just because the chippy chip is the product of mass production does not mean it is impossible to recreate in the comfort of your own home. Follow this recipe below to create a chip that you could discard on a street corner on a friday night with pride.
Chippy Chips
Recreate the elusive chippy chip in the comfort of your own home.
Ingredients
- 2 kg Maris Piper Potatoes
- 30 g Salt
- 1 ltr Water
- 500 ml Rapeseed or Refined Palm Oil for frying
Instructions
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Peel the potatoes
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Cut into chips around 1 cm square
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Place chips in a bowl, cover with water and add the salt, leave covered for 24-36 hours
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Strain and dry using a clean tea towel or paper towel, ensure the potatoes are properly dry before frying
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Just in case you missed the last instruction, dry the chips!
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Add the oil to a suitable sauce pan ensure the oil occupies no more than half of the pan to ensure it does not boil over
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Heat the oil to 160
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Carefully add the chips to the oil
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Fry for around 6 minutes till the chips are a light yellow just starting to brown in some places
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Remove chips to a metal colander over a bowl or on to kitchen paper (the former is preferred)
As for the seasoning, basic table salt is needed, there is a time the crunch of sea salt flakes and this isn’t it.
Feel free to cover them for a short while making them steam a little. It isn’t essential but the slightly soggy texture of chippy chips is owed to the paper your chips are wrapped in.
As to how you dress your chips I shall leave that to your preference be it Gravy, Curry Sauce, Ketchup or the alluringly titled ‘Non Brewed Condiment’ we are a broad church and all are welcome.
Incidentally If you do like your malt vinegar you should really check out https://artisanvinegar.co.uk/ of which I have no affiliation but am a big fan. It has a real depth of flavour and it is always great to see a classic British Ingredient treated with respect and care. And it is made in a Nuclear Bomb Shelter, obviously, you had to ask?
Let me know how you get on.
count. Even the hawthorn berries had the smallest amount of sweetness that justified eating them. We found enough for a decent snack for all of us and, whilst rebuilding a shelter of sticks and ferns that had unbelievable survived for a year since we had last been there, we snacked to our hearts content.
exploring the vicinity of our new base camp we hit upon some heavily fruited trees, the fruit looked like sloes but this was a tree rather than the spiky Blackthorne bush where we would expect to find them. The leaves were the same as Damsons but the fruit was smaller. We had found a cluster of Bullace trees; a wild plum and relative of both Sloe and Damson.
