Roast potatoes topped the UK’s favorite solution to eat a spud
The roast potato has been crowned the nation’s favourite way to enjoy a spud – beating competition from creamy mash and traditional chip shop chips
The humble roast potato has emerged as the UK’s top way to enjoy a spud, leaving creamy mash and chip shop chips in its wake. A Sunday roast staple, crispy roasties are the go-to choice for a six in ten households, while trendier options like loaded fries and dauphinoise didn’t even crack the top 10.
Topped jacket potatoes and chunky chips rounded out the top five in a poll of 2,000 spud enthusiasts. French fries and breakfast favourites hash browns also fared well, and even plain new and boiled potatoes got some love, landing spots in the top 15 list.
The research was commissioned by Jamie Oliver Group to coincide with the launch of Jamie’s new food range, hitting Sainsbury’s freezers and shelves this week.
Jamie Oliver chimed in: “I love the fact that the one thing most of us Brits can get behind is a good roast potato! It’s got to be up there as one of my all-time favourites the ultimate roastie is hard to beat.”
Regionally, the South West is roast potato country (74%), while mash reigns supreme in Yorkshire (55%). Chip shop chips are the West Midlands’ guilty pleasure (43%), but on the East coast, it’s all about jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings (49%).
Jamie added: “I can’t wait to get back down to the South West for some buttery mash.”
The study also revealed that 39% of potato enthusiasts have even tried their hand at growing their own spuds. Of these green-fingered individuals, 54% hail from the South West. This compares to 42% in Scotland and 40% in the North East.
Interestingly, our national potato lingo varies greatly – only 34% of Londoners use ‘spud’, while 56% in the East of England do. ‘Tattie’ is a favourite term in Scotland (53%) and the North East (35%), but in the South West, only 11% use this word. Surprisingly, 20% of Londoners refer to potatoes as ‘tuber’.
Jamie added: “Each to their own, which is why I’ve given you lots of options in my frozen potato range.”
Not every culinary endeavour goes according to plan as many confess to making classic potato-related errors. The most frequent faux pas is overboiling them until they turn mushy (33%). Lumpy mash is another common kitchen calamity, experienced by 24% of home cooks, according to the OnePoll survey.
TOP 15 FAVOURITE POTATO-BASED FOODS:
- Roast potatoes
- Mashed potatoes
- Chip-shop chips
- Jacket potato with toppings
- Thick-cut chips
- Baked potatoes
- Standard French fries (thin chips)
- New potatoes with butter
- Hash browns
- Boiled potatoes
- Potato salad
- Dauphinoise potatoes
- Loaded fries (with cheese, bacon, etc. )
- Bubble and squeak
