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Did you know most chips are not made in Ireland?

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Comments

  • #62
    lucernarian
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,248 ✭✭✭lucernarian


    timthumbni wrote: »
    I will take your word for it but I find it hard to believe that chip shops here in Northern Ireland could be that different to the ones in the republic. Setting aside the Italian ones surely most chip shops are Irish owned and still fry their food in the same type of oil. Although obviously not good for you there’s nothing as nice as a greasy fish supper.
    I don't believe that poster. As recently as Feb 2020 I had eaten in a couple of chippers in the east of England that had good ratings with Google reviews, and the difference was indeed night and day. Never had more disgusting bags of chips in my life.


  • #63
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    lucernarian wrote: »
    I don't believe that poster. As recently as Feb 2020 I had eaten in a couple of chippers in the east of England that had good ratings with Google reviews, and the difference was indeed night and day. Never had more disgusting bags of chips in my life.

    I obviously cant peak for every chip shop in the UK, and I am mainly generalising about Scottish and Norther Irish chipshops (I would have thought that was obvious, i'm not really in the habit of lying about chips and I can only speak from my own experience!)

    But one thing for sure - I have never had a decent chipper in Dublin (and I have tried plenty).


  • #64
    Gregor Samsa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,139 ✭✭✭Gregor Samsa


    kenmm wrote: »
    But one thing for sure - I have never had a decent chipper in Dublin (and I have tried plenty).

    Don’t know what it’s like now, but the original Burdock’s in Christchurch was amazing. Used to be queues out the door. I went to college on Thomas St, and it was hard to stay away from it. I believe it went on fire and was never the same after. Seems to be a chain of them now, so I’ve no idea what they’re like as I don’t live in Dublin any more.


  • #65
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    Gregor Samsa wrote: »
    Don’t know what it’s like now, but the original Burdock’s in Christchurch was amazing. Used to be queues out the door. I went to college on Thomas St, and it was hard to stay away from it. I believe it went on fire and was never the same after. Seems to be a chain of them now, so I’ve no idea what they’re like as I don’t live in Dublin any more.

    Christchurch one seemed ok about 7/8 years ago (maybe high turnover, so fish was sort of freshly made).

    Rathmines one - frozen chips and prebattered cod. Howth one - pretty terrible too.


  • #66
    whisky_galore
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,266 ✭✭✭✭whisky_galore


    kenmm wrote: »
    There was mass migration of Italians to the UK and Ireland in the early parts of the 20th century and after WW2.

    Out of work, a lot of them opened cafes, ice cream parlours and chip shops.

    For some reason, the ones in Ireland have (mainly) evolved into some lazy, cheap (as chips!) 2nd rate chain of chippers (ITICA) that sell frozen food, pre battered (and I suspect frozen) fish and take little pride in serving decent food.

    This is not my experience in other parts of the British Isles, where fresh fish is normally served cooked to order (freshly battered) and often with freshly cut chips (although frozen chips are popping up as well).

    I never eat from an Irish chipper, I have yet to find a decent one - its often one of the first things I do if visiting Scotland or NI.

    Italians have the best food in the world, but emigrate to UK and Ireland and open up junk food outlets.


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  • #67
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 76,168 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Man with broke phone wrote: »
    The irish potato is too good for chips. Although slice them into thin circles dip them in warm oil and throw them in the air fryer at about 180 for 15 mins and its a lovely side for steak.

    No, Irish potatoes make awful chips - not a case of being "too good"

    Roosters are a bland, bland concocted varietal for yield purposes and make bad everything.
    Gregor Samsa wrote: »
    Don’t know what it’s like now, but the original Burdock’s in Christchurch was amazing. Used to be queues out the door. I went to college on Thomas St, and it was hard to stay away from it. I believe it went on fire and was never the same after. Seems to be a chain of them now, so I’ve no idea what they’re like as I don’t live in Dublin any more.

    Burdocks stopped using coal power in the 1990s and some people claim that's when the taste changed. I'm too young to be able to confirm that!


  • #68
    harr
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,667 ✭✭✭harr


    whisky_galore wrote: »
    Italians have the best food in the world, but emigrate to UK and Ireland and open up junk food outlets.
    Good luck in trying to get paddy to eat good Italian food in the 60,s and 70,s most people wouldn’t have had a clue what pasta even was.


  • #69
    Beechwoodspark
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,295 ✭✭✭✭Beechwoodspark


    kenmm wrote: »
    Christchurch one seemed ok about 7/8 years ago (maybe high turnover, so fish was sort of freshly made).

    Rathmines one - frozen chips and prebattered cod. Howth one - pretty terrible too.

    was in Howth last year with the kids and tried burdocks there - was hoping it would be good but no, nothing special.

    If anyone knows a good fish and chips in howth send the recommendations my way :)


  • #70
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,059 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    Lads there's no such thing as an "Irish potato", there are potatoes of many varieties - just pick the right one, grow them in good conditions and then cook 'em correctly.


  • #71
    Gregor Samsa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,139 ✭✭✭Gregor Samsa


    L1011 wrote: »
    Burdocks stopped using coal power in the 1990s and some people claim that's when the taste changed. I'm too young to be able to confirm that!

    92-96 was when I would have eaten there. Whatever they were doing at the time worked! I see the fire was 2009, so probably unrelated.


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  • #72
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    Beechwoodspark wrote: »
    was in Howth last year with the kids and tried burdocks there - was hoping it would be good but no, nothing special.

    If anyone knows a good fish and chips in howth send the recommendations my way :)

    Dorans on the pier and Kish fish. But they are not traditional 'chippers'.

    Dorans will do take away and it's more a lightly dusted fish than a battered fish. Kish is more sit-in.


  • #73
    Buford T. Justice XIX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,621 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    L1011 wrote: »
    No, Irish potatoes make awful chips - not a case of being "too good"

    Roosters are a bland, bland concocted varietal for yield purposes and make bad everything.



    Burdocks stopped using coal power in the 1990s and some people claim that's when the taste changed. I'm too young to be able to confirm that!

    Irish potatoes would generally be higher dry matter ones (flowery) which would suit boiling, the preferred cooking method here. Most of Europe and Britain especially would prefer a lower dry matter, or watery, spud and most of those would be preferred for deep frying.
    It would be rare to see a British boiled spud breaking out of their jacket when boiled.
    Savages, the lot of them, preferring a watery spud:D


  • #74
    Water John
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,994 ✭✭✭✭Water John


    kenmm wrote: »
    Need to try this - is this a common option in Wellington?

    What about toppings? Cheese? Or just plain buttery goodness?

    It was in a restaurant, hardly any takeaway in Wellington. Just say to Mark Cheese, I'm pretty sure it was buuter/butteroil that was used. That's a great idea to do it in the George, must try that, thanks. Smash it, and put a dollop of butter on it. Probably better a little later in the year using maincrop.


  • #75
    NcdJd
    Closed Accounts Posts: 994 ✭✭✭NcdJd


    Plenty of potato farmers here in ireland at the moment harvesting potatoes that will either go directly to chippers or their distributor network.

    What country a spud comes from is irrelevant. It is the variety that determines whether its for chipping, crisps or for boiling in the pot.


  • #76
    Hamsterchops
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,024 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops


    If you cook chips in Ireland then they're Irish chips, doesn't matter where the potatoes were grown as long as you cook them here.

    I like nice brown well done chips, and I hate those white soggy waterlogged bags of mush that some chip shops hand out.


  • #77
    IAMAMORON
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,078 ✭✭✭IAMAMORON


    I was dousing a bag in vinegar and nearly had a conniption when I realised the vinegar wasn't Irish. I had to lash extra salt on then. I hope the salt was Irish at least.

    It is stressing me out now.


  • #78
    Upforthematch
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,328 ✭✭✭Upforthematch


    Hamsterchops wrote: »
    If you cook chips in Ireland then they're Irish chips, doesn't matter where the potatoes were grown as long as you cook them here..

    Turning on the oven on a packet of mccains oven chips now makes them irish? That's as believable as saying peeling a banana on these shores makes it Irish!

    Surely it's peeling the spud and chopping it up is what makes a chip Irish! And my post was that this is not happening here. Not one chip factory here until 10 years ago, like really!!


  • #79
    Cordell
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,636 ✭✭✭Cordell


    Sure, I've a tub of Himalayan salt packed in South Africa that I bought from Dunnes. As Irish as it gets :)


  • #80
    Upforthematch
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,328 ✭✭✭Upforthematch


    IAMAMORON wrote: »
    I was dousing a bag in vinegar and nearly had a conniption when I realised the vinegar wasn't Irish. I had to lash extra salt on then. I hope the salt was Irish at least.

    It is stressing me out now.

    Should have gotten a spice bag :D


  • #81
    Hamsterchops
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,024 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops


    Upforthematch wrote: »
    Turning on the oven on a packet of mccains oven chips now makes them irish? That's as believable as saying peeling a banana on these shores makes it Irish!

    Surely it's peeling the spud and chopping it up is what makes a chip Irish! And my post was that this is not happening here. Not one chip factory here until 10 years ago, like really!!

    Yeah agreed, I should have said when making home made chips, not oven chips from a bag.


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  • #82
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 5,506 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    kenmm wrote: »
    Yes. Also a lot of the Italian chipper brands use ****e fish as well.

    Irish chippers are often a complete disappointment (compared to Scottish or English ones for example).

    Oh I would disagree with that. UK offerings are definitely inferior in my experience


  • #83
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    Niner leprauchan wrote: »
    Oh I would disagree with that. UK offerings are definitely inferior in my experience

    I'm refining my comment somewhat to exclude the English.

    My own experience says:

    NI/Scottish - ~90% success rate (i.e. rarely disappointed)
    Irish - 10/15% Success Rate (That's when I expand it to include places that sell fish and chips that are not quite chippers).
    ITICA Chipper Success - 0 - absolute rank


  • #84
    IAMAMORON
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,078 ✭✭✭IAMAMORON


    Upforthematch wrote: »
    Should have gotten a spice bag :D

    Usually a battered sausie, I dip it in curry sauce as well, right the way in.


  • #85
    dennyire
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,835 ✭✭✭dennyire


    kenmm wrote: »
    I obviously cant peak for every chip shop in the UK, and I am mainly generalising about Scottish and Norther Irish chipshops (I would have thought that was obvious, i'm not really in the habit of lying about chips and I can only speak from my own experience!)

    But one thing for sure - I have never had a decent chipper in Dublin (and I have tried plenty).

    I lived in Stillorgan and used to pass 5 0r 6 chippers to go to Macari 66 on Braemor Road in Churchtown.
    Their cod was battered on order and cooked from scratch and chips were consistently perfect.
    Side of mush peas too and they threw in lemon wedge and tartar sauce.
    Moved to Bray 2 years ago and still travel there once or twice a fornight


  • #86
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    dennyire wrote: »
    I lived in Stillorgan and used to pass 5 0r 6 chippers to go to Macari 66 on Braemor Road in Churchtown.
    Their cod was battered on order and cooked from scratch and chips were consistently perfect.
    Side of mush peas too and they threw in lemon wedge and tartar sauce.
    Moved to Bray 2 years ago and still travel there once or twice a fornight

    I didn't get a fresh fish there, but as I recall, that one had ok chips, and the pizzas were ok. Not too quality wood fired pizza, but a lot better than a lot if muck out there.


    I was thinking about them in my 10-15percent category actually! I am not sure if they are still part of the official Italians tho? Their shop looks different?

    Edit: says it all really if we have to travel so far, leaving a seaside town to get a decent chip! I would march in the streets for this! (Or take a small business loan and do better!)


  • #87
    dennyire
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,835 ✭✭✭dennyire


    kenmm wrote: »
    I didn't get a fresh fish there, but as I recall, that one had ok chips, and the pizzas were ok. Not too quality wood fired pizza, but a lot better than a lot if muck out there.


    I was thinking about them in my 10-15percent category actually! I am not sure if they are still part of the official Italians tho? Their shop looks different?

    Edit: says it all really if we have to travel so far, leaving a seaside town to get a decent chip! I would march in the streets for this! (Or take a small business loan and do better!)

    A couple of chippers in Bray are ok....put them at 80-90 percent but Macari 66 worth the travel and put it at over 95 percent.
    Usually combine my visit with something else I have to do in the area
    Surprised you didnt get the cod fresh


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