Chips!

[SummerRain]

Hey Brits! I know we love our chips here, and I had a kinda general question for you - do you assume chips are vegetarian? How often have you found chips haven't been vegetarian?

I ask this because when I was first vegetarian I asked all the shops locally, and even ones on the southern coast on holidays, if they cooked with vegetable oil, and they always always said yes, so I just stopped asking and assumed chips were vegan.

Then recently I was in Whitby and ordered chips in a restaurant and was told they were cooked in beef dripping. I later wanted to find some chips (it isn't a holiday to the seaside without them!) and decided to ask about the fat to be sure, and most of them said, oh sorry we cook in beef dripping. I was stunned - is this a local thing? A northern thing?

Have I been crazy for not asking about this for so long? After a long string of being told yes of course we cook in vegetable oil I figured it was out dated and not done any more...

So I was wondering what your experiences were

 

[AeryFairy]

I've known a few places that do it. There's one in the village I grew up in that does it, but they have a big sign up in the window warning vegetarians about it. My local one up north has signs everywhere stating that they use 100% vegetable oil with a totally separate fryer for the chips.

I almost always ask. Sometimes I forget (usually when I'm getting chips after a night out ), but unless the menu has a V by the chips or something similar, then I like to make sure. I've almost never been told it's beef (or similar), though - a lot of places up here are halal, and it's a lot easier to use vegetable oil than it is to find halal beef fat.

 

[shyvas]

Dripping is far more popular up North so I would assume that chippies in the South only use oil or vegetable fat.

I only ever make my own chips. Easy peasy.

 

[hungryraccoon]

Oh wow, gross. I didn't realise this was much of a problem. Luckily I've never been a big fan of chips anyway so I haven't had chip shop chips for years, but I will definitely ask if I ever do. :/

 

[Moll Flanders]

I love chips and most chippies I have asked in have done veggie-friendly chips.

I was reading a menu recently in a posh pub and they specified that their hand cooked chips were cooked in goose fat.

 

[Lord Snot]

Not an issue anywhere I've been, agree with Shyvas that it's more likely up North. Oil is cheaper than dripping as well as suitable for all religions so it'd be a silly business move not to use it, really.

 

[Alice-Bee]

I used to assume all chips were vegan...and I attend Whitby Goth Weekend so thought easy meals!
Apparently there is only one chip shop in Whitby that uses veggie oil. But as far as Ive found all my local chippies use beef yakk.
Plus I always ask 'what do you fry in' because if you ask 'do you fry in veg oil' they will probably just say what they think you want to hear.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

My local has a poster up showing they only use veg oil.
I'm pretty sure if I asked if the chips were suitable for veg*ns I'd get a response along the lines of...confused face...it's a potato :-/
Lol! Xxx

 

[AeryFairy]

Plus I always ask 'what do you fry in' because if you ask 'do you fry in veg oil' they will probably just say what they think you want to hear.

This is a good point! Most places are proud of using beef (why?!) so they'll tell you, but there are a sneaky few who don't. I had a job once where I was told to lie to vegetarians about the beef fats the products were cooked in. Idiots.

 

[Alice-Bee]

This is a good point! Most places are broad of using beef (why?!) so they'll tell you, but there are a sneaky few who don't. I had a job once where I was told to lie to vegetarians about the beef fats the products were cooked in. Idiots.

Thats shocking.
I think its easier to say you are vegan, even if youre not, because someplaces will say 'well..FOOD TYPE...is vegetarian'
I mean I am not vegan yet but I wouldnt say Im a veggie who does eat this this and this..

 

[shyvas]

My local has a poster up showing they only use veg oil.
I'm pretty sure if I asked if the chips were suitable for veg*ns I'd get a response along the lines of...confused face...it's a potato :-/
Lol! Xxx

They do have eyes.