Chip butty

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Chip butty
Chip Butty.jpg
Alternative namesChip barm, chip bap, chip bun, chip sarnie, chip muffin
Type Sandwich
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Main ingredients Bread, butter, chips
  • Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg Cookbook: Chip butty
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A chip butty is a sandwich filled with chips. It originated in fish and chip shops in Britain in the 19th.

Contents

Sandwich

The chip butty is a sandwich filled with chips, often served with malt vinegar, curry sauce, gravy or ketchup. [1] [2] The British food writer Tim Hayward recommended using "undistinguished" soft white bread, as "this is not the place for artisanal sourdough". [3] In The Guardian , Tony Naylor recommended using buttered soft white bread and lightly fried chips seasoned with salt and vinegar, and serving the sandwich with a cup of tea. [2] Naylor wrote that the chip butty was a comforting meal and a means to "transport ourselves to a happier, more innocent place". [2] In 2022, a 2,000-person study carried out at Nottingham Trent University found that the ideal chip butty contained 12 chips. [4]

The Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth created a version with sourdough, triple-cooked chips, mayonnaise and parmesan. [5] In 2020, the fast food franchise Burger King began selling chip butties in New Zealand. [6] In 2024, The Guardian reported that the chip butty had become popular in Australian cafes during the cost-of-living crisis. [4]

Origins

The chip butty originated in working-class communities in Britain the 19th century, though its exact origins are unknown. [5] [7] According to the National Federation of Fish Fryers, it was created in 1863 in Oldham, Lancashire, at Mr Lees, the second-ever fish and chip shop in Britain. [5] [8] The term "chip barm" began appearing in print in the 20th century, likely the result of the surge in popularity of fish and chips in the 1900s. [5] Yorkshire [8] and Liverpool [9] have also been suggested as potential origins; the word "butty" is said to have originated in Yorkshire as slang for butter, [5] or in Liverpool [10] as a dialect elision of "buttery". [11] In the north of England, the easier access to fuel and the closer proximity to the potato supply of Ireland meant chips could be produced cheaply in large quantities. [5]

Culture

The chip butty is associated with British working-class culture. [2] [12] [13] The anthropologist Kate Fox wrote in her book Watching the English : "Even if you call it a chip sandwich rather than a butty, it is about as working-class as food can get." [14] "The Greasy Chip Butty Song", a football chant that glorifies South Yorkshire, includes the chip butty as a Yorkshire invention. [5]

In 2010, writers for the American media organisation NPR made a chip butty, having learnt of it from the National Geographic , and concluded that it was "less gross than they expected". [1] In 2018, the American website Food Insider attracted mockery from British social media users when it appeared to discover the chip butty. [5] Similar dishes have appeared in other countries, including the "fake burger" sold by Burger King Japan, the Turkish patso, [15] the South African Gatsby, [4] and the Belgian mitraillette.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chillag, Ian (6 December 2010). "Sandwich Monday: English Chip Butty". NPR . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Naylor, Tony (7 August 2020). "How to eat: chip butties". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Hayward, Tim (28 August 2015). "How to Make the Ultimate Chip Butty". The Telegraph . Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Lam, Lee Tran (11 June 2024). "'It's hard to get wrong – it's chips, bread and sauce!' Why chip butties are having a moment in Australia". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hancock, Sam (12 March 2020). "A Brief History of the Humble Chip Butty". Vice . Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Ebrahimji, Alisha (22 February 2020). "Burger King debuts a french fry sandwich and Wendy's isn't impressed". CNN . Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Brunner, Raven (11 November 2024). "Gordon Ramsay's Favorite Childhood Lunch Was Classic British Grub". Chowhound. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  8. 1 2 Groundwater, Ben (28 January 2024). "In praise of Britain's (greatest?) culinary invention: The chip butty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  9. ↑ Esa, Jessica (13 May 2021). "This Sandwich Is the Ultimate Carb-on-Carb Comfort Food for Bad Days". Greatist. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Sinclair, Charles (1 January 2009). Dictionary of Food: International Food and Cooking Terms from A to Z. A&C Black. ISBN   978-1-4081-0218-3 . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  11. ↑ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (27 November 2014). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-317-62512-4 . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Ashley, Bob; Hollows, Joanne; Jones, Steve; Taylor, Ben (2 August 2004). Food and Cultural Studies. Routledge. pp. 69–70. ISBN   978-1-134-49003-5 . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  13. ↑ Langford, David (9 June 2015). CROSSTALK: Interviews Conducted by David Langford. Ansible Editions. p. 110. ISBN   978-1-326-29982-8 . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  14. ↑ Fox, Kate (2014). Watching the English (2nd ed.). Nicholas Brealey. ISBN   978-1857886160.
  15. ↑ Schleifer, Yigal (11 October 2010). "Birth of the Turkish French Fry Sandwich". Eurasianet . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Anderson, Brett (15 April 2009). "French Fry Po-boy at Parasol's". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
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