Tater Tots Near You

What Do Tater Tots Consist Of?

Side dishes are a great way to "improve" the main course we're enjoying. Of course, there are various foods that fall under this category. Some notable ones include French fries and onion rings.

Well, for today, we have a very popular dish of this kind that we're sure you're familiar with. And that is - tater tots!

Tater tots are shredded potatoes that have the shape of tiny cylinders. They're cooked by deep frying which makes them crisp and golden brown. Oh, and, extra delicious, too.

You can also enjoy them with a dipping sauce such as ketchup or some honey mustard sauce.

Needless to say, tater tots are a kid's favorite, but it's not like adults can resist them either.

The word "tater" refers to potato. As for the name tater tots, its trademark belongs to the American brand Ore-Ida. Still, this snack is so well known that the term is also a generic one.

Where Do Tater Tots Originate From?

This fantastic side dish was invented by the aforementioned company Ore-Ida.

This took place in 1953 when its founders, Ross Erin, Nephi Grigg, and Golden Grigg, were looking for ways to make use of their leftover potato ingredients.

So, what they did was slice the shreds of potatoes and mix them with flour and seasoning. From there, they used the process of extrusion to get the final form.

This marked the birth of tater tots and by 1956 the product first hit the stores.

The story also goes that Nephi and Golden premiered their product at the National Potato Convention that was held in Florida in 1954.

Apparently, Nephi brought with him 15 pounds of frozen tater tots. He then asked the hotel's chef to cook and serve them to the attendees of the event. As Nephi had expected, the tots left a great impression on everyone that tried them.

In that same decade, the snack's name was trademarked. This was done by one of Ore-Ida's employees. They were part of the research team and actually used a thesaurus to create the name. The idea was to use a term that featured alliteration.

What's interesting is that at first tater tots were very cheap. But this made them sell less. In fact, lectures at Iowa State University have suggested that the product's cheap price caused people to consider it invaluable.

Hence, when the company increased the price, the sales jumped as well.

Nowadays, Americans enjoy tater tots a lot. The numbers show that about 70 million pounds of this side dish are consumed annually in the US. This makes for more than three and a half billion tots every year.

Moreover, the snack is very common in school cafeterias and grocery stores. And of course, many restaurants offer them on their menu, too.

Are There Different Types of Tater Tots?

Yes, there are some variations of tater tots available. For example, we have the so-called veggie tots which substitute the potato with a vegetable such as broccoli.

Also, some countries have a different take on this dish. Hence, in Korea, we have the mat-gamja which is typically served in paper cups and topped with red chili paste.

The Canadian brand McCain Foods Limited also sells its own variants. Notably, we have the Hash Brown Potato Bites and Tasti Taters.

Furthermore, there is a popular nacho variant called totchos. This one comes with nacho cheese sauce and other ingredients. It was invented in Portland by Jim Parker.

How Many Calories Are in 20 Tater Tots?

A serving of 20 tots or 168g contains around 322 calories. This includes 15g of total fat or 19% of the daily value based on a 2000-calorie diet.

In addition, there are 778mg of sodium (34%), 46g of total carbohydrates (17%), and 3.6g of protein. Also, the amount of calcium is 24mg (2%), of iron 1mg (5%), and of potassium 482mg (10%).

Where Can I Find Tater Tots Near Me?

As always, we at Slice are here to offer some restaurant recommendations so that you can easily get yourself some tasty tater tots.

If you're in Las Vegas, we suggest heading to Amore Taste of Chicago. Located on S Durango Dr, they're a great place that also offers takeout and delivery.

As for those of you in Philly, we recommend Zio's Brick Oven Pizza. This popular restaurant is located on S 13th St and is open 7 days a week. You can also order pickup or delivery and even save 10% on all online orders via Slice!