And why does it matter?
This age-old question has plagued both chip shop operators and their customers for many years. How big really is a scoop of chips? The term ‘scoop’ is used as a measurement in any fish and chip shop across New Zealand. Yet the customer has no idea how many chips they’ll get, and the operator has no idea how many chips they’re serving.
There has been great debate recently about how big a scoop should be. Since its inception, The Chip Group set out to solve this mystery. The Chip Group are a division of Potatoes New Zealand, partially funded by the Ministry of Health. The Chip Group’s underlying goal is to improve the nutritional quality of deep fried chips, focusing on reducing fat content (both total and saturated) and sodium (salt).
The group has produced a standard that the industry could follow – recommending that ‘one scoop’ be 330g of uncooked chips per serve.
New Zealanders consume over 4 million servings of hot chips every week, and the Chip Group’s goal is to help operators prepare chips in a way that reduces fat and sodium (salt) intake and therefore improves the health of the consumer. The Group isn’t aiming to demonise chips, but rather make sure that operators are preparing chips in a way that is best for the customer.
Interestingly, portion sizes vary throughout the country – depending on the region, town, suburb within a city and of course depending on price. In fact, scoop sizes over New Zealand can be anywhere from 250g to 800g per scoop.
One of The Chip Group’s primary focus areas is indeed portion size. The Group recommends serving a 330g (uncooked weight) of chips. Potatoes are a nutritious vegetable with high satiety – meaning customers will feel fuller for longer after eating potatoes. There can often be a great deal of ‘waste’ associated with hot chips – as over-ordering, or not knowing how many chips you are going to get – can result in chips being thrown out.
From a health perspective, research from The Chip Group shows that 330g is an appropriate serving size. By encouraging operators to serve a consistently sized scoop, consumers can better gauge the nutritional content consumed. It also allows operators to manage their costings, because 1kg of chips will give them three 330g scoops, so out of a 5kg box of chips they can produce 15 servings of chips. So not only does it help with the operators’ business, it is designed to help customers understand and know how much they are getting when they order ‘one scoop of chips’.
As an industry organisation, The Chip Group does not have the authority to enforce a scoop or serving size. It is simply a best practice recommendation, based on industry standards, and one that The Chip Group believes will benefit both the operator and New Zealanders’ health.
Take a look next time you cook a scoop and see how many grams per scoop you are serving. If you’re unsure, or want to know more about The Chip Group, get online and complete the free online training.
The Chip Group will be running the 2018 People’s Choice Best Chips Competition, which will kick off in August this year. The winner chosen entirely by public online vote so if you think you have the best chips, or you know somewhere that does, encourage them to get online and complete Chip Group training as in order to enter at least one staff member must have completed the training.
