Chip butty

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Wikipedia

Chip butty
Chip butty
Alternative namesChip barm, chip bap, chip bun, chip sarnie
TypeSandwich
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Main ingredientsBread, butter, chips

A chip butty, chip barm, chip bap or chip bun is a sandwich filled with chips. It originated in fish and chip shops in Britain in the 19th century, though the exact origin is disputed. The chip butty is associated with British working-class culture.

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 statistician from Nottingham Trent University carried out a 2,000-person study and concluded 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 "pretty much everybody agreed the English Chip Butty was less gross than they expected it to be".[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.