Lightening up on brown chips

The most successful social media post I ever made was a couple of years ago when I asked the internet if fat or skinny chips were preferable. Boom. The internet went bonkers as people from around the globe chimed in on a subject that was clearly close to their hearts (and I’m not just talking about the cholesterol in a chip fan’s bloodstream).

Since then, I’ve realised the value that a great chip has to my hospitality business.

Because Kiwis love their chips. Chuck in a bit of battered fish and you’ve got our national dish.

Making chips isn’t hard. You need the right potato. You need some clean oil at the right temperature. Then you’ll need to drop those chips into that oil for the right amount of time and – voila – you got great chips, baby.

Now there are nuances. For example, I’m a fan of the double-fry. This is when the chip basket is lifted just before the end of the frying process and left to drain for a minute.The chips are then dropped again for another blast right at the end which – in my opinion – produces the perfect chip.

Sadly the double-fry isn’t always practical when banging chips out at volume.

So you can imagine my frustration when the standard of chips in my establishment dropped. Plate after plate came out looking brown and depressed.

I talked to the chefs:

‘‘What’s wrong with those chips? They look awful. Are we cooking them too long?’’

The kitchen – it turned out – were frustrated too. No matter what they tried, they got bad chips.

Luckily someone pulled me aside and explained they’d had a similar bad chip at one of the big-boy real-deal fast food chains.

So I drove around town and bought up chips from everyone. You know what? It wasn’t just us.The market was flooded with dark brown, burned looking chips.

I went to the wholesaler: ‘‘It’s not just me, I’m seeing bad chips everywhere.’’

The wholesaler informed me that one particular brand of chip was being returned left right and centre. They had a backlog. Did I want to buy them cheap?

Then I remembered seeing a warning of the Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV) in the media last year. Maybe that was the culprit.

So I called Gemma Carroll from Potatoes New Zealand – a potato industry group.

After talking me through the symptoms of the bad chips, we came to the conclusion that what I had was not PMTV. Surprise, surprise, I was jumping to an overly dramatic conclusion.

When you see dark brown chips it generally means they’ve been stored improperly or for too long.

When stored badly the chip ends up with excess sugars, which react with amino acids when cooked and create a dark brown chip.

What I was seeing wasn’t the beginnings of a nationwide chip shortage, it was a producer trying to hock off old chips without telling us.

I changed brand and the chips came right. But I did learn a thing or two along the way. Gemma walked me through how to cook a healthier chip and introduced me to the corporate world of chips – a world I’d never even imagined.

Plus, it turns out that there’s a big industry shindig in Christchurch later this year. An event where they’ll be sermonising on the perfect chip.

I reckon if I play my cards right I might just get an invitation. Imagine that? A chip conference. Throw in a side of ham and consider me in heaven.

In the meantime, what do you reckon is better? Fat or skinny chips?