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Drought to spark potato shortage and could push up price of chips

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Drought to spark potato shortage and could push up price of crisps and chips

Britain faces a potato shortage this summer if low rainfall persists in the south of England, according to a new forecast.

Any shortfall will lead to higher prices for chips, crisps and bags of potatoes.

Other vegetables including carrots, onions, cauliflowers, broccoli and lettuce are also threatened by the lack of the rain, and higher prices in the shops will add pressure to already-squeezed family budgets.

Prices for chips, crisps and bags of potatoes may increase if low rainfall continues

Prices for chips, crisps and bags of potatoes may increase if low rainfall continues

Dire problems affecting fresh food supplies this year are included in a ‘drought prospects’ report to be published by the Environment Agency on Tuesday.

Officials will appeal to the public to stop squandering vital water supplies to ensure there is a sufficient amount to grow crops.

Peter Kendall, of the National Farmers’ Union, said: ‘Some growers have cut back on planting by 20 per cent. But are the water companies using their supplies sparingly? Are consumers? Are golf courses still being watered? We should not be throwing water around with a gung-ho attitude.’

Two inches of rain fell in the South last week but it was not enough. Water levels at Ardingly and Bewl reservoirs, which supply households in the South-East, remain exceptionally low. While supplies in the North, Scotland and Wales are plentiful, hosepipe bans in London, the South and the Midlands are expected within weeks.

Helen Vale, the Environment Agency’s drought co-ordinator, said: ‘Everyone must play their part by using water wisely.’

 

I grow my own, and there’s no drought in my garden. Sounds like just another excuse to put up prices.

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I used to eat crisps nearly every day (I know, bad for me, but I like a ‘crunch’) but when the prices started to rocket some time way back, I would stand and look at a packet of crisps and ask myself, can I really afford to spend £1.48 on 6 small packets of crisps which aren’t any good for me? I answered myself with a ‘NO’. I now buy red peppers as a substitute, healthier and still with a crunch. Not any cheaper but better overall health value. So, any price increases in crisps may well do that industry as much harm, as their product does to us.

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During one of the ‘potato famines’, possible the one that happened around 15 years ago my local fish and chip shop displayed a notice to the effect that the cost of potatoes had gone up by £12.00 per ton. That equates to 0.536p per pound !
How many pounds of potatoes does it take to make a portion of chips ?
The chips actually went up by well over 10p per portion !!
Allen

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i remember when a bag of chips were a ” tanner”. how much now £1.50,were i live.

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No worries never eat potatoes to full of starch..

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There will be plenty of water in the south when the olympics start.

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What rubbish – there’s been loads of rain down south, this is just another excuse to put up prices. Crisps this time last year were £1 a pack of 6, now they’re £2.48 – so what’s the reason for that? This is just pure greed. Time to boycott and all grow our own – you can easily grow spuds in an upright container.

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I remember years ago, a chinese chippy near me used to sell ‘Big Chips’ and ‘Small Chips’ – based on portion size. We had another so-called ‘potato shortage’ (caused solely by farmers stocking them up until the price rose) The chippy put a notice up saying ‘Until further notice No More Big Chips’. Of course, everyone then asked for two ‘small chips’ until the ‘shortage’ was over

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Let them eat bread.

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OMG what will i have for my tea 7 nights a week, ……FRUIT !!

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Grow your own fruit and vegetables with Bill & Sheila

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Sauces easily improve any dish

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Sauces easily improve any dish

Despite my tendency to gravitate towards bizarre food combinations, I’m still down with the staples.

I still dig ham sandwiches on white bread, unnaturally orange Mac ‘n’ Cheese and vanilla ice cream. In the same vein, I occasionally crave that classic standby junk food: french fries.

And by “occasionally,” I mean on very specific occasions. Most notably, after consuming a few beverages. After leaving from an especially productive happy hour at Sugar Mom’s in Old City, my craving for fries was particularly strong and I was lead to European Republic by some wise friends.

The shop itself isn’t much to look at and only takes up a small space on Chestnut Street between 2nd and 3rd streets. They offer wraps and salads, but the main attraction is the fries.

Thick cut, European style potato slivers fried to perfection are just the basis of the deliciousness, but the wide range of different flavors of dipping sauces is what really ups the ante.

Sauce offerings include Caesar, lemon dill, Jamaican curry sauce, basil, BBQ cheddar, Parmesan, avocado, European sauce, and European ketchup. The sauce element of the European Republic experience totally changes everything and brings unexpected bursts of flavor to an old classic.

When I took to my own kitchen to recreate my European Republic experience, I decided to forgo the actual making of fries. My laziness really emerges when it comes to cutting potatoes. Their girth and general solidness often leads to a lot more sweating and cursing than necessary as I attempt to hack through the starch-y lumps with my flimsy college knives.

Additionally, my tactic for frying things (drop something into the scalding hot oil as quickly as possibly and run to the other side of the room while squealing and avoiding flying oil droplets) leaves much to be desired.

In the end, my friend Wendy provided me with the fries. I recommend you leave the fry making to your friends as well, whether it be your buddy McDonald, your pal, the Burger King, or your chum, Checkers. Don’t risk the bodily harm that may result from attempting fry-making at home.

So step one in the recreation process: Go buy fries at your local grease factory. Step two: Get home and realize you’ve eaten all the fries on your walk home. Step three: Vow to only look into real estate next to fast food in the future so as to avoid this problem. Step four: Buy more fries and silently threaten to deprive yourself of all RuPaul’s Drag Race if you eat a single fry before getting home.

The fries are important, but the sauce is really where this project gets interesting. I decided my challenge for this particular restaurant was not to recreate the fries, but to recreate the sauces. And in order to really recreate my experience at European Republic, I wanted to create a ridiculous amount of sauce options.

eats

CAITLIN WEIGEL TTN

I pulled out every sauce, condiment and salad dressing in our refrigerator. Jars of spices and vinegars were added to the mix just to increase the variety. With all of my potential ingredients lined up in front of me, I went to town.

My sauce making approach was modest at first – a simple, two-ingredient mixture. Ranch dressing and barbeque (what I dubbed “Texas Cowboy” sauce), or blue cheese and Italian dressing (the “Colbalt Soprano”) were simple, delicious options. But as time went on, I became less disciplined and reverted to an insane 12 year old attempting to shock and sabotage my own taste buds.

Italian dressing, salsa and curry (the “study abroad” sauce) was a happy experiment and the combination of tarragon, honey mustard, and maple syrup (the “sassy Canadian”) proved to be surprisingly delicious. Some misguided attempts involving peanut butter and soy sauce or horseradish and shrimp sauce were better left alone.

In the end, I created 28 sauces. And I could have easily kept going if not for the shortage of fries. Mixing condiments became a fun and easy way to explore new taste sensations and move beyond my regular condiment consumption.

In the end, European Republic is still totally worth visiting. The staff is extremely friendly, the sauces are plentiful and you get a lot of spud for your cash. But I highly recommend taking a second look at your condiments. Throw some curry powder in your ketchup or mix up Sriracha and garlic with your mayo–your condiments may surprise you with their compatibility.

Caitlin S. Weigel can be reached at  [email protected].