Tater tots are grated

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es formed into small cylinders and

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

, often served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal. The name "tater tot" is a

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or word ...

of the American frozen food company

Ore-Ida Ore-Ida is an American brand of potato-based frozen foods currently produced and distributed by Kraft Heinz's, H.J. Heinz Company Brands LLC. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ore-Ida's primary production facility is located in Ontario, Oregon, ...

, but is often used as a

generic term Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character. Re ...

. "Tater" is short for ''potato''.

History

Tater tots were invented in 1953 when American frozen food company

founders F. Nephi Grigg, Golden Grigg, and Ross Erin Butler Sr. were trying to figure out what to do with leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes. They chopped up the slivers, added flour and seasoning, then pushed the mash through holes and sliced off pieces of the

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

mixture. The product was first offered commercially in stores in 1956. The name "Tater Tot" is a

of Ore-Ida—which has been a subsidiary of Heinz since 1965—but has become so widely associated with the dish that it is often used as a

. "Tater" is short for ''potato''. The name "Tater Tot" was created in the 1950s, and soon

trademarked A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. ...

by a member of the Ore-Ida company's research committee who used a thesaurus to come up with an

alliterative Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

name. Originally, the product was very inexpensive; according to

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

lectures at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, people did not buy it at first because there was no perceived value. When the price was raised, people began buying it. Today, Americans consume approximately of Tater Tots, or 3,710,000,000 Tots per year. Recently, some vegetable companies (e.g.

Green Giant Green Giant and Le Sueur (spelled Le Sieur in Canada) are brands of frozen and canned vegetables owned by B&G Foods. The company's mascot is the Jolly Green Giant. Company and brand history The Minnesota Valley Canning Company was founded in ...

brand) have introduced "veggie tots" which seek to substitute more nutritionally dense vegetables for the potato (e.g.

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cl ...

and

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...

Usage

Asia

Tater tots, locally known as ''mat-gamja'' ( ko, 맛감자), are a common ''

bunsik ''Bunsik'' () is a generic term used to refer to inexpensive Korean dishes available at ''bunsikjeom'' (분식점) or ''bunsikjip'' (분식집) snack restaurants. Since the term ''bunsik'' literally means "food made from flour," foods such as ' ...

'' item in Korea. It is often served in a paper cup, with drizzled sweet

gochujang ''Gochujang'' (, from Korean: , ) or red chili paste * is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, ''meju'' (fermented soybean) powder, ''yeotgireum'' ...

-based sauce.

Europe

In the United Kingdom, Ross Frozen Foods once produced "Oven Crunchies" which are no longer available, although generic versions remain widely available.

North America

In Canada,

McCain Foods Limited McCain may refer to: * McCain (surname), a surname (includes a list of persons and characters) Companies * McCain Foods Limited, a producer of frozen foods * McCain, Inc., privately held American manufacturing company headquartered in Vista, ...

calls its line "Tasti Taters". In the United States, tater tots are common at school-lunch counters and

cafeterias A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or schoo ...

.Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat: An ... - Andrew F. Smith
p. 695. They are also sold in the frozen food sections of

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

s. Some

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s also offer them. Supermarket chain

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

sells a generic brand of tater tots known as "Tater Treats". Cascadian Farm calls its line "

Spud The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United S ...

Puppies".

Sonic drive-in Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as Sonic (stylized as SONIC), or "The Drive-In," is an American drive-in fast food restaurant Chain store, chain owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's and Buf ...

also features tater tots on their regular menu: available toppings include cheese and chili. Sonic also sells "Cheesy Tots", coin-shaped tots that contain melted cheese and potatoes. Several restaurants in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

offer a

nacho Nachos are a Mexican culinary dish consisting of fried tortilla chips or ''totopos'' covered with melted cheese or cheese sauce, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken ...

version of tots known as "totchos", covered in nacho cheese sauce and toppings. Totchos were invented by

publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...

Jim Parker in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Some Mexican-style fast-food restaurants offer seasoned tater tots: Taco Time and Señor Frog's call them "Mexi-Fries", while

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

used to sell them as "Mexi-Nuggets" and "Border Fries". Taco Mayo in the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

offers round disc-shaped tater tots called "Potato Locos".

Taco John's Taco John's International, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant founded in 1969 by John Turner. The chain serves Mexican-inspired fast food (which it calls "West-Mex") as well as the company's signature dish, Potato Olés, which are bite- ...

also has coin shaped tots called "Potato Olés". Hotdish

Food franchises

Potato Corner Potato Corner is a global Philippine food franchise known for its flavored French fries. Potato Corner's first stall opened up in SM Megamall in October 1992 in the Philippines under Cinco Corporation. As of 2022, Potato Corner is present in 18 ...

and

Papa John’s Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolita ...

also offer tater tots in select locations, though in the latter case these are branded as ‘Potato Tots’.

Oceania

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, they are known as "potato gems", "potato royals" or "potato pom-poms". The New Zealand

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

franchise offers "Hash Bites" as a side dish, available alone or with an aioli dipping sauce.

References

External links

* {{Deep frying foods Fast food Frozen food brands Heinz brands Potato dishes Products introduced in 1953 American inventions