Pommes frites

[Victor Steinbok]

OK, carrot, beet and jicama are not technically tubers, so I should have
broadened that particular category. The "green bean chips", I suspect,
are precisely the freeze-dried green beans that I described. I can
understand someone wanting to try it with water chestnuts and bamboo
shoots, but I'm not sure *I* would want to eat them--which explains why
I have not noticed them. Burdock makes sense, but so do other wood chips
;-) I refuse to comment on meatsicles... I mean, if we do beef chips,
why not egg chips? How about potato & fish chips? (besides, we already
have "cow chips", although that, of course, is a different category ;-) )

     VS-)



On 1/22/2012 10:46 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
> Wow!!
>
> Lotus root chips particularly stand out. They sound scrumptious. =
> http://grocerytrekker.blogspot.com/2007/03/water-chestnut-chips_26.html =
> has water chestnut chips and suggests jicama and bamboo shoot chips.  =
> (Okay, I'm just salivating here. There are no substantial additions to =
> the list below.)
>
> Burdock root chips also get a number of hits. See, for example, =
> http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/burdock-root-chips, which falls into the stix =
> category in that they are not poker chip-shaped. There are also "green =
> bean chips" =
> (http://www.lesleykat.com/Latest-Obsessions-Green-Bean-Chips-13080827).=20=
>
>
> There are also beef chips. Looking casually, I see pork and chicken =
> chips for dogs, but the potential is there for them as human snacks.
>
> Are the unifying characteristics: being a food, being cooked and being =
> crispy/having a crunch?
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
>
> On Jan 22, 2012, at 7:17 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>
>> If we talk about "chips", in general, there are some interesting =
> things
>> to deal with. First, there was the attempt by Pringles to be =
> classified
>> as something other than "crisps" in the UK--for tax purposes. That
>> resulted in some name changes. For one, chips of the Pringles
>> kind--i.e., reconstituted from potato or rice flour--are now regularly
>> referred to as "crisps" in the US market. There are other items that =
> are
>> clearly not "chip" shaped--in the sense that they don't look like =
> poker
>> chips. One such item is "veggie sticks" (or "stix"). But there are =
> also
>> other "chips" that really do look like poker chips (although not
>> necessarily round)--these include pita chips, bagel chips, pretzel
>> chips, corn chips (of course! but not necessarily tortila or tortilla
>> chips; also includes "popcorn chips"), bean chips, vegetable chips,
>> [other unnamed] chips (e.g., Terra--they really just go by "Terra
>> chips"), multigrain chips. I have not done any formal research on the
>> subject--these are just the ones I can recall from memory. But there =
> are
>> a couple of characteristics that most of these share. Potato chips
>> (other than Pringles-like versions) and Terra chips are made from =
> slices
>> of actual vegetable (usually tubers, but could also be zucchini, =
> banana,
>> plantain, apple--theoretically, pear and quince also could be cut into
>> "chips", as well as items that are referred to as "chips" in recipes =
> but
>> are not sold commercially--sunchokes and lotus, both of which I've =
> made
>> in my own kitchen). Pita chips and bagel chips are made from irregular
>> "slices" of actual pita and bagels, respectively. Pretzel chips are
>> essentially flat pretzels. The rest are reconstituted "chips" shaped
>> with dehydrated vegetable or grain flour. The only two things they =
> have
>> in common is being more flat than long and usually serving as a =
> vehicle
>> for some kind of "dip". "Chips and dip" is a fairly standard item. It =
> is
>> not always clear what distinguishes the latter variety (i.e., the
>> reconstituted chips) from crackers. Most of the time, people know it
>> when they see it, but I've had a few kinds lately that appear to
>> straddle the line. Another questionable category is freeze-dried
>> "chips"--while such things as whole green beans and whole green peas
>> would not constitute "chips", slices of other fruits and vegetables
>> (e.g., eggplant or apple) that have been freeze-dried may well fall =
> into
>> that category.
>> =20
>> Other than that, I believe my description is fairly exhaustive. Only
>> some of these would be considered "crisps" in the UK and none would be
>> considered "chips".
>> =20
>>      VS-)
>> =20
>> On 1/22/2012 9:27 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 3:23 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>> =20
>>>> If you travel from "potato chip" to "potato crisp," there is no link =
> to "crisp," but looking "crisp" up yields:
>>>> 7. In full potato crisp. A thin sliver of potato fried until crisp =
> and eaten cold. Usu. in pl. of such food produced commercially.
>>> BTW, potato chips are no longer necessarily fried. The trend away =
> from fats for dietary reasons in the US resulted in even national brands =
> bringing out baked potato chips. Neither the AHD nor Wiktionary have =
> captured this change.
>>> =20
>>> Also, I wonder how appropriate "spec" (specifically) is. Mixed =
> vegetable chips are commonly found in the bulk section of the grocery =
> store, and sweet potato chips and other sorts are found in national =
> grocery store chains as well.
>>> =20
>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>> Seattle, WA
>> =20
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> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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