Tater tots
Course | Entrée or side dish, sometimes as part of a main course (In Australia, The name of this snack food are called "Potato Gems") |
---|---|
Place of origin | United States |
Region or state | Ontario, Oregon |
Created by | F. Nephi Grigg, and Golden Grigg[1][2][3] (in 1953) |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Potato |
Variations | Veggie tots |
(serving size: 86 g) 160[4] kcal | |
Tater tots are
History
Tater tots were invented in 1953 when American frozen food company Ore-Ida founders F. Nephi Grigg, Golden Grigg, and Ross Erin Butler Sr. were trying to figure out what to do with leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes.[1][2][3] They chopped up the slivers, added flour and seasoning, then pushed the mash through holes and sliced off pieces of the extruded mixture. The product was first offered commercially in stores in 1956.[8]
The name "Tater Tot" is a
Originally, the product was very inexpensive; according to advertising lectures at Iowa State University, people did not buy it at first because there was no perceived value.[citation needed] When the price was raised, people began buying it. Today, Americans consume approximately 70 million pounds (32,000 t) of Tater Tots, or 3,710,000,000 Tots per year.[12][13]
Since at least 2016, vegetable companies (like the Green Giant brand) have introduced "veggie tots" which seek to substitute more nutritionally dense vegetables (e.g. broccoli and cauliflower) for the potato.[14][15]
Usage
Asia
Tater tots, locally known as mat-gamja (Korean: 맛감자), are a common bunsik item in Korea.[16] It is often served in a paper cup, with drizzled sweet gochujang-based sauce.[citation needed]
Europe
In the United Kingdom, Ross Frozen Foods once produced "Oven Crunchies" which are no longer available, although generic versions remain widely available.[citation needed]. McCain Foods currently produce "Hash Brown Potato Bites" that are similar to classic tater tots.
North America
In Canada,
In the United States, tater tots are common at
Supermarket chain
Some
Food franchises
Oceania
In Australia and New Zealand, they are known as "potato gems", "potato royals" or "potato pom-poms".[citation needed] The New Zealand Pizza Hut franchise offers "Hash Bites" as a side dish, available alone or with an aioli dipping sauce.[citation needed]
See also
- French fries – Deep-fried strips of potato
- Croquette – Small breaded, deep-fried food
- Hash browns – Potato dish commonly eaten for breakfast in the United States
- Potato processing industry
- Potato pancake – Shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato
- Potato cake – Various cake-shaped potato dishes
- Hotdish – Casserole dish
- List of deep fried foods
- List of frozen food brands
- Dumpling
- Potato Salad
References
- ^ a b c "Ore-Ida Fun Zone – Fun Facts". Ore-Ida.
- ^ CNN Money. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ a b "The Francis Nephi ("Neef") Grigg Papers". University of Utah Library Special Collections. Archived from the original on 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ "Ore-Ida Tater Tots – Nutrition Facts" Archived 2012-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (2014-08-25). "Ore-Ida Campaign Focuses on Authenticity of Tater Tots". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
Tater Tots became successful enough that the brand name grew to be synonymous with the product, a delightful dilemma shared with other brands that pioneered a product category, among them Band-Aid, Kleenex and Xerox.
- ^ "tater". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "Ore Ida Extra Crispy Easy Tater Tots Crispy Crowns". Directions for Me.
- ^ The United States Patents Quarterly
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (2014-08-25). "Ore-Ida Campaign Focuses on Authenticity of Tater Tots". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
Tater Tots became successful enough that the brand name grew to be synonymous with the product, a delightful dilemma shared with other brands that pioneered a product category, among them Band-Aid, Kleenex and Xerox.
- ^ "tater". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ McKinney, Kelsey (28 August 2017). "The Tater Tot Is American Ingenuity at Its Finest". Eater.
- ^ "Culinary Corner: The Fries Have It". WSOC-TV. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ^ a b c Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat: An ... - Andrew F. Smith. p. 695.
- ^ Watrous, Monica (9 June 2016). "B&G Foods unveils Green Giant innovation". Food Business News. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Kimball, Molly (18 October 2016). "10 nutritious finds on the freezer aisle for healthful home cooking". The Oregonian. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ 강병오 (22 March 2021). "2021 '뉴' 프랜차이즈". Ilyo Sisa (in Korean). Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "Jim Parker, beloved Portland publican who invented the totcho, has died".
External links
- Media related to Tater Tots at Wikimedia Commons