Tater tots

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Tater tots

| image = File:Tater Tots Close Up (24782852665).jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption =

| alt =

| alternate_name =

| country = United States

| region = Ontario, Oregon

| creator = F. Nephi Grigg, and Golden Grigg[https://web.archive.org/web/20060622162414/http://www.oreida.com/funzone/funfacts.aspx "Ore-Ida Fun Zone{{spaced ndash}} Fun Facts"]. Ore-Ida. (in 1953)

| course = Entrée or side dish, sometimes as part of a main course

| served = Hot

| main_ingredient = Potato

| variations =Veggie tots

| calories = (serving size: 86 g) 160[http://www.oreida.com/products/or-tater-tots.aspx "Ore-Ida Tater Tots{{spaced ndash}} Nutrition Facts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814103751/http://www.oreida.com/products/or-tater-tots.aspx |date=August 14, 2012 }}

| other =

}}

Tater tots are grated potato formed into small cylinders and deep-fried, often served as a side dish. "Tater" is a dialect form of the word potato.{{cite web |title=tater |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tater |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=March 21, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113065810/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tater |url-status=live }} The name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company Ore-Ida, but is often used as a generic term.{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Stuart |date=August 25, 2014 |title=Ore-Ida Campaign Focuses on Authenticity of Tater Tots |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/business/media/ore-ida-campaign-focuses-on-authenticity-of-tater-tots.html |access-date=May 14, 2016 |work=The New York Times |quote=Tater Tots became successful enough that the brand name grew to be synonymous with the product, a delightful dilemma shared with other brands that pioneered a product category, among them Band-Aid, Kleenex, and Xerox. |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518123515/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/business/media/ore-ida-campaign-focuses-on-authenticity-of-tater-tots.html |url-status=live }} Ore-Ida also markets a coin-shaped version called "Crispy Crowns".{{cite web |url=https://www.directionsforme.org/product/26632 |title=Ore Ida Extra Crispy Easy Tater Tots Crispy Crowns |work=Directions for Me |access-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515143907/https://www.directionsforme.org/product/26632 |url-status=live }}

History

Tater tots were developed in 1953 when American frozen food company Ore-Ida founders F. Nephi Grigg, Golden Grigg, and Ross Erin Butler Sr. were trying to devise a recipe to use leftover slivers of cut potatoes that would otherwise be thrown away.{{cite news |title=Mr. Potato Head – A Dirt-Poor Farmer Turned Spud Scraps into Gold |publisher=CNN Money |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/11/01/358297/index.htm |author=Lukas, Paul |date=November 1, 2003 |access-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009215213/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/11/01/358297/index.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=The Francis Nephi ("Neef") Grigg Papers |publisher=University of Utah Library Special Collections |url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?%2FUU_EAD%2C973 |access-date=March 5, 2011 |archive-date=January 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126133506/http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?%2FUU_EAD%2C973 |url-status=dead }} They chopped up the slivers, added flour and seasoning, then pushed the mash through holes and sliced off pieces of the extruded mixture. The product was first offered commercially in stores in 1956.{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vc9KAQAAIAAJ&q=tater+tots,++1956 |title=The United States Patents Quarterly |date=1978 |access-date=October 29, 2016 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531014751/https://books.google.com/books?id=vc9KAQAAIAAJ&q=tater+tots,++1956 |url-status=live }}

The name "Tater Tot" is a registered trademark of Ore-Ida—which has been a subsidiary of Heinz (now part of Kraft Heinz) since 1965—but has become so widely associated with the dish that it is often used as a generic term.{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Stuart |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/business/media/ore-ida-campaign-focuses-on-authenticity-of-tater-tots.html?_r=0 |title=Ore-Ida Campaign Focuses on Authenticity of Tater Tots |work=The New York Times |date=August 25, 2014 |access-date=May 14, 2016 |quote=Tater Tots became successful enough that the brand name grew to be synonymous with the product, a delightful dilemma shared with other brands that pioneered a product category, among them Band-Aid, Kleenex and Xerox. |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612201828/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/business/media/ore-ida-campaign-focuses-on-authenticity-of-tater-tots.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }} "Tater" is short for potato.{{cite web |title=tater |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tater |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=March 21, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113065810/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tater |url-status=live }} The name "Tater Tot" was created in the 1950s, and soon trademarked by a member of the Ore-Ida company's research committee who used a thesaurus to come up with an alliterative name.{{Cite news |last=McKinney |first=Kelsey |date=August 28, 2017 |url=https://www.eater.com/2017/8/28/16159710/tater-tots-ore-ida-history |title=The Tater Tot Is American Ingenuity at Its Finest |work=Eater |access-date=July 29, 2018 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531014751/https://www.eater.com/2017/8/28/16159710/tater-tots-ore-ida-history |url-status=live }}

Originally, the product was very inexpensive; according to advertising lectures at Iowa State University, people did not buy it at first because there was no perceived value.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}} When the price was raised, people began buying it. Today, Americans consume approximately {{convert|70|e6lb|t}} of Tater Tots, or 3,710,000,000 Tots per year.{{cite web |title=Culinary Corner: The Fries Have It |publisher=WSOC-TV |url=http://www.wsoctv.com/food/13455388/detail.html |access-date=February 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403031908/http://www.wsoctv.com/food/13455388/detail.html |archive-date=April 3, 2009 }}

Since at least 2016, vegetable companies (like the Green Giant brand) have introduced "veggie tots" which seek to substitute more nutritionally dense vegetables (e.g. broccoli and cauliflower) for the potato.{{cite news |last1=Watrous |first1=Monica |title=B&G Foods unveils Green Giant innovation |url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/8573-b-g-foods-unveils-green-giant-innovation |access-date=February 25, 2023 |publisher=Food Business News |date=June 9, 2016 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225011538/https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/8573-b-g-foods-unveils-green-giant-innovation |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Kimball |first1=Molly |title=10 nutritious finds on the freezer aisle for healthful home cooking |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/cooking/healthy-eating/2016/10/10_hidden_gems_on_freezer_aisl.html |access-date=February 25, 2023 |publisher=The Oregonian |date=October 18, 2016 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225011538/https://www.oregonlive.com/cooking/healthy-eating/2016/10/10_hidden_gems_on_freezer_aisl.html |url-status=live }}

Usage

= Asia =

Tater tots, locally known as mat-gamja ({{langx|ko|맛감자}}), are a common bunsik item in Korea.{{cite news |author=강병오 |title=2021 '뉴' 프랜차이즈 |url=https://www.ilyosisa.co.kr/mobile/article.html?no=227203 |access-date=October 24, 2021 |work=Ilyo Sisa |date=March 22, 2021 |language=ko |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612152956/https://www.ilyosisa.co.kr/mobile/article.html?no=227203 |url-status=live }} It is often served in a paper cup, with drizzled sweet gochujang-based sauce.{{fact|date=May 2022}}

= Europe =

In the United Kingdom, Ross Frozen Foods once produced "Oven Crunchies", although generic versions remain widely available.{{fact|date=May 2022}} McCain Foods currently produce "Hash Brown Potato Bites" that are similar to classic tater tots. Birds Eye also have "Hash Brown Potato Bites" in their "Chicken Shop" range.

=North America=

In Canada, McCain Foods Limited calls its line "Tasti Taters".{{cite web | url=https://mccain.ca/en/products/fun/tasti-taters/ | title=Tasti Taters® }}

File:Hotdish.jpg states, tater tot hotdish is a popular soup-based casserole consisting of tater tots, ground beef and various vegetables.]]

In the United States, tater tots are common at school-lunch counters and cafeterias.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq3tvL_uIHcC&pg=PA695 Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat: An ... - Andrew F. Smith] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531014751/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq3tvL_uIHcC&pg=PA695 |date=May 31, 2024 }}. p. 695. They are also sold in the frozen food sections of grocery stores. Some fast-food restaurants also offer them.

Supermarket chain Safeway sells a generic brand of tater tots known as "Tater Treats".{{fact|date=May 2022}} Cascadian Farm calls its line "Spud Puppies". Sonic drive-in also features tater tots on their regular menu: available toppings include cheese and chili.{{fact|date=May 2022}} Sonic also sells "Cheesy Tots", coin-shaped tots that contain melted cheese and potatoes.{{fact|date=May 2022}} Several restaurants in the Pacific Northwest offer a nacho version of tots known as "totchos", covered in nacho cheese sauce and toppings. Totchos were invented by publican Jim Parker in Portland, Oregon.{{cite news |title=Jim Parker, beloved Portland publican who invented the totcho, has died |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2019/02/jim-parker-portland-publican-who-invented-the-totcho-has-died.html |access-date=February 11, 2019 |archive-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914070705/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2019/02/jim-parker-portland-publican-who-invented-the-totcho-has-died.html |url-status=live }}

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" and "Border Fries".{{fact|date=May 2022}} Taco Mayo in the Southwest offers round disc-shaped tater tots called "Potato Locos".{{fact|date=May 2022}} Taco John's also has coin shaped tots called "Potato Olés".{{fact|date=May 2022}}

Food franchises Potato Corner and Papa John's also offer tater tots in select locations, though in the latter case these are branded as "Potato Tots".{{fact|date=May 2022}}

= Oceania =

In Australia and New Zealand, they are known as "potato gems", "potato royals" or "potato pom-poms".{{fact|date=May 2022}} The New Zealand Pizza Hut franchise offers "Hash Bites" as a side dish, available alone or with an aioli dipping sauce.{{fact|date=May 2022}}