Brits’ favourite way to enjoy potatoes revealed

THE classic roast potato has been crowned the nation’s favourite way to enjoy a spud – beating competition from creamy mash and traditional chip shop chips.

A staple of the crispy roasties remain a top choice for 65 per cent of households, while trendier alternatives like loaded fries and dauphinoise failed to break into the top 10.

Jacket with toppings and thick-cut chips secured spots in the top five, according to a poll of 2,000 potato lovers.

French fries and breakfast staple hash browns also ranked highly, while the humble new and boiled potatoes are still shown love, both making it into the upper ranks of the list.

The research was commissioned by the to mark the launch of Jamie’s new food range, hitting freezers and ambient aisles in this week.

Regionally, those in the South West love roast potatoes the most (74 per cent), while mash is most popular in (55 per cent)

Chip shop chips are a firm favourite in the West Midland (43 per cent), but on the East of the county, they are the most likely to be tucking into jacket potatoes with toppings (49 per cent).

Jamie Oliver said: “I love the fact that the one thing most of us Brits can get behind is a good roast potato!

“It's got to be up there as one of my all-time favourites – the ultimate roastie is hard to beat.”;

“That's not to say I don't have a lot of love for other potato dishes.

“I can't wait to get back down to the South West for some buttery mash, I'll be sure to check out chippy chips the next time I'm in the West Midlands, and I agree with the East, a filled jacket potato is a thing of joy!

“But, each to their own, which is why I've given you lots of options in my frozen potato range.”;

It also emerged 39 per cent of greenfingered potato fans have even tried to grow their own, and of these, 54 per cent South West have attempted it.

This is compared to 42 per cent in Scotland and 40 per cent in the North East.

And across the nation the way we refer to potatoes changes significantly – with just 34 per cent of Londoners using ‘spud’ compared to 56 per cent in the East of England.

‘Tattie’ is popular in Scotland (53 per cent) and the North East (35 per cent), but down in the South West only 11 per cent use this word.

Interestingly, 20 per cent in the capital use ‘tuber’ when talking about potatoes.

But back in the kitchen not every attempt in the kitchen goes smoothly – with many admit to committing classic potato-related blunders.

The most common mistake is overboiling them until mushy (33 per cent).

And lumpy mash is another kitchen mishap, suffered by 24 per cent of home cooks, according to the poll carried out by OnePoll.

The biggest potato pet peeve is when they undercooked (20 per cent), followed by soggy chips (12 per cent) and the act of peeling them (11 per cent).