If it’s brown, beige, or somewhere on the way to yellow, it’s probably an important part of our national cuisine.
Fish and chips, the meal deal, the Full English, an incredible range of crisps, the Sunday roast… even the tikka masala is somewhere on the brown-orange spectrum.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder we’ve also created something of a Shadow National Dish that’s found its way across the pond. It’s even the basis of Walkers’ current ad campaign: the crisp butty.
It’s a simple concept: add crisps to your sandwich, and you’re done. You could go for a purely crisp sandwich, but we reckon any sandwich with any filling can become a crisp sandwich if you’re feeling the urge to add a bit of crunch to proceedings.
For some Brits, crisps are an essential addition in every sandwich. Others see it as a treat, or something to do when either your mum or a member of high society isn’t watching, but it’s fair to say it’s a normalised British behaviour.
Now the Americans seem to have made the discovery, too. The New York Times Cooking account on Instagram shared a recipe from Kenji López for a Tuna Melt – a toasted sandwich with tuna and cheese, if you’re unfamiliar – and the bestselling author included crisps for a little pièce de résistance.
“Beyond crunch, chips also add stability holding the fillings in place,” reads the recipe.
Naturally, the relevant props weren’t made clear and so the comments sought to set the record straight.
“Americans thinking they’ve invented the crisp butty,” said one comment.
“I don't know why they're pretending that's a new idea,” said another user keen to defend the sanctity of British cuisine.
“I’ve been doing this since I was able to make my own sandwiches,” said another, highlighting the childlike glee with which we add crisps to our sarnies.
“Hahaha exactly!” agreed another. “I've been doing this for decades.. love me a crisp butty.”
As to the origins of the crisp butty, it came courtesy of an Irish mum named Noreen O’Neill in 1961. To that end, it’s not to much a UK invention as a British Isles one, but that hasn’t precluded the widespread adoption of the practice across Britain.
O’Neill supposedly invented the meal when her cooker stopped working. With 18 kids to feed – good grief! – and a resourceful attitude, the crisp butty was born.
“People have been calling me a genius, but that’s silly, that’s just what you did in those days. You made do. I had 18 children to feed and the Tayto family packs were cheaper than proper food,” O’Neill told Gay Byrne in a 1993 interview.
Of course, the crisp butty has a close relation to the chip butty. This alternative potato-based sandwich was devised in Lancashire by the country’s second-ever chip shop, at least that’s how the National Federation of Fish Fryers tells it.
As far as we understand it, that chippie never got the recognition it deserved from Michelin.
Featured Image Credit: Oscar Wong/Getty ImagesTopics: UK Food, Social Media
Rachael Davis