A close-up of a plate of Tater Tots. |
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Tots, Taters |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Creator(s) | F. Nephi Grigg Golden Grigg |
| Dish details | |
| Serving temperature | Hot & Frozen |
| Main ingredient(s) | Potatoes |
| Approximate calories per serving | 900 |
Tater Tots, a registered trademark for a commercial form of hash browns made by Ore-Ida, are a side-dish made from deep-fried, grated potatoes.[1] Tater Tots are widely recognized by their crispness, cylindrical shape and small size.
Tater Tots are commonly found in the U.S. in cafeterias and school lunch-counters, as well as the supermarket frozen food aisle and some fast food restaurants. Safeway Inc. has a generic brand called "Tater Treats". The Sonic Drive-In franchise also features "Tater Tots" as a regular menu item, with the option of cheese, chili, or both as toppings; tots with cheese are branded "Cheesy Tots". Cheesy Tots are coin-shaped and, as implied by the name, contain melted cheese as well as potatoes. Several restaurants in the Pacific Northwest offer a nacho version of tots ("totchos"), covered in nacho cheese sauce and toppings.
Some Mexican-style fast-food restaurants offer seasoned tater tots: Taco Time and Señor Frog's call them "Mexi-Fries", while Taco Bell used to sell them as "Mexi-Nuggets". Taco Mayo in the southwest offers round disc-shaped tater tots called "Potato Locos." Taco John's also has coin shaped tots called “Potato Olés”. In some areas of the Northeast USA, however, they are often called "juliennes" or "potato puffs." In the Midwest states, Tater Tot Hotdish is a very popular soup-based casserole consisting of tater tots, ground beef, and various vegetables.
In Australia, they are known as "potato gems", "potato royals" or "potato pom-poms" (also used in New Zealand). In the UK, Ross Frozen Foods once produced "oven crunchies" which are no longer available. In Canada McCain Foods Limited calls their line of tater tots Tasti Taters. Cascadian Farm calls their line of tater tots Spud Puppies.
Tater is slang for potato (origin: 1750–60; America; by Apheresis, tato, and substitution of -er for final -o, tater); Tots may have been derived from their diminutive size, or because they are often served to children.[2][3] In some regions, the term Tater is informally dropped, and the snack is simply called "Tots".
Tater Tots were first created in 1953 when Ore-Ida founders F. Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg[4][5] were trying to figure out what to do with leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes. They came up with the novel idea of chopping up the potato slivers, adding flour and seasoning, then pushing the mash through holes and slicing off pieces of what came out on the other side. Tater Tots were born.[1] They first became available in stores in 1956. Originally, they were very inexpensive. According to advertising lectures at Iowa State University, people did not buy them at first because there was no perceived value. When the price was raised, people began buying them. Today, Americans consume approximately 70 million pounds per year.[6]
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