Crispy potatoes unexpectedly become a favorite snack of the British

VHO - Crispy potatoes are thinly sliced, seasoned potato chips that continue to attract millions of people and capture the hearts of the British people in many different ways.

The British love crisps. Photo: Toby Hancock/CNN

Crisps are considered the national dish of the British. This iconic dish is not served on a plate, but in a metalized plastic bag. The crispy snack is nestled in a “fatty” air pocket, satisfying the craving for junk food.

According to CNN, the British people really love crisps, consuming an estimated 10 billion bags of crisps each year.

On weekday lunchtimes, bags of crisps fly off supermarket shelves in the UK. Many people consider them part of the meal.

Because of their limitless passion, British manufacturers have continuously created a variety of dishes from crispy potatoes to satisfy the needs of diners.

In 2022, Nigella Lawson, one of the nation's most beloved TV chefs, teamed up with Walkers — Britain's best-selling crisp brand — to create the recipe for the perfect crispy potato sandwich (ingredients: bread, butter, chips).

By 2023, Kicks Bar and Grill in Hull, northeast England, was attracting customers with an all-you-can-eat french fry buffet.

In her 2024 book "Crunch: An Ode to Crisps," Natalie Whittle writes: "It's hard to escape the strangely connective power of crisps in British life."

Crispy Potato Culture

Since the 1980s, crisps have become an indispensable part of British life.

Punk band Splodgenessabounds released the song "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please", an ode to local pub fare.

By the middle of the decade, statistics showed that Britons were willing to spend a whopping £805 million (more than a billion dollars) just on chips and snacks.

Potato chips have also become a ubiquitous food in football, pop music, movies and cartoons. They've even become a fashion accessory. Natalie Whittle writes in "Crunch: An Ode to Crisps" about how she shrinks old potato chip packets in the oven.

They could then be used to make items like earrings and key chains. "I remember a lot of kids being as obsessed with potato chips as I was," Whittle writes.

"The nation addicted to potato chips"

Crispy Potato Sandwich: For the British, it's arguably the best thing since sliced bread. Photo: ClarkandCompany/E+/Getty Images

Amid concerns about the health impact of people in "a nation addicted to potato chips", in 2006, manufacturers looked to ingredients such as vegetables, lentils and chickpeas to replace potatoes.

However, most potato chip lovers claim that these snacks are completely different.

Other great flavor discoveries to replace crisps continued. A variety of other snacks were born such as Candy Cane, Gin & Tonic, Rose Petals, Pumpkin Pie.

Walkers alone has 125 flavours of crisps on UK shelves at any given time, and its experts are still hard at work in its “crispy test kitchen”, creating more flavours.

Walkers fans send the company new flavor ideas every day. But the truth is, the best crunchy flavors have been discovered for a long time.

Cheese and onion is still the most popular flavour for both Walkers and Tayto, despite the first flavour being tested 70 years ago.

“These humble flavours have truly stood the test of time. The classic flavours have always been a hit and have remained a long-time favourite for millions of Brits ,” said Stephanie Herbert, Marketing Director at Walkers.

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