The Great British sauce debate is FINALLY settled: Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips – and it’s bad news for gravy fans

There’s no doubt the humble potato chip is an icon of the great British cookbook. 

From the fanciest bistro to the lowliest greasy spoon, where wouldn’t you find a nice hot serving of chips?

And whether they’re served alongside a posh steak or wrapped in paper with battered fish, there’s certainly no shortage of serving options. 

What’s more up for debate, however, is the greatest accompaniment to have with this most beloved of fast food.

The burning question of the best chip topping is one that has been debated across pubs, chip shops and households for decades. 

But now, the debate may just have been put to bed for good – and it’s bad news for gravy fans.

Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips – and there’s one clear winner. 

Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, says salt & vinegar is the top choice, followed by mushy peas. 

There’s no doubt the humble potato chip is an icon of the great British cookbook – but what makes the best accompaniment is rather more up for debate (stock image)

Experts agree that the ultimate topping for chips is salt and vinegar

The multi-sensory food expert – who is also the son of a chip-shop owner in Leeds – said the malt vinegar is effective at cutting through the oiliness.

‘It always end up over chips underneath so the salt and vinegar combination becomes the familiar option and then gets extended to crisps,’ he told MailOnline. 

Although popular, tomato ketchup is ‘perhaps an infantile condiment’ because of its sweetness – typically containing one teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of ketchup. 

According to the expert, this may be why ketchup is so favoured in the US, which has long had a predilection for oversweet food. 

Mayonnaise on chips, meanwhile, is an import from continental Europe – likely originating in Belgium, France or the Netherlands. 

Mayo on ‘French fries’ memorably triggers the disgust of Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film ‘Pulp Fiction’. 

But Professor Spence is in agreement that there’s ‘something about the eggy oily texture and insipid colour’ that quite rightly puts people off. 

Dr Sue Bailey, culinary historian and independent lecturer in food science, agreed that acidic condiments like vinegar and ketchup cut through the fatty coating of the chips.

Mayonnaise on chips seems to a be a continental European invention that has crossed the shores into Britain. In the US, meanwhile, mayonnaise on ‘fries ‘ isn’t common 

Britain’s most popular chip toppings  

1. Salt and vinegar 
2. Tomato ketchup
3. Mushy peas 
4. Curry sauce 
5. Gravy  

Source: YouGov 

But the best sauces with chips are either mayonnaise or tartare sauce, she claims.

These have an unctuous consistency but don’t fall off the chips when we raise them to our mouth. 

‘Adhesive viscous or thicker sauces are always popular and the most favoured ones have good clinging or “thixotropic” properties – so mayonnaise and ketchup, possibly curry sauce depending on if a starchy thickener is used in it,’ she told MailOnline. 

Gravy, meanwhile, is just too runny and makes a mess – meaning chips with gravy requires a knife and fork, which is not preferable. 

As Professor Spence puts it, ‘the first taste is with the hand’, as the food we feel in the hands influences our perception in the mouth – so when it comes to chips it’s best to avoid cutlery. 

Professor Spence also thinks eating something with a range of colours can ‘make what we eat look more attractive’ and in turn increase our enjoyment of it.

A good example here is pairing the vibrant yellow of chips with the vibrant, glimmering red of tomato ketchup or the almost radioactive green of mushy peas. 

Conversely, curry sauce and mustard – despite packing a big punch of flavour – rank somewhere near the bottom when it comes to colourful chip toppings. 

Gravy lacks the required physical properties to stick to chips – namely it’s too viscous liquid – making cutlery necessary  

The 2020 YouGov poll asked Brits what they have on their chip. They found tomato ketchup is a popular chip topping in England and Scotland, but in Wales people are more likely to favour curry sauce 

‘You don’t get much colour contrast with curry or mustard and fish and chips,’ Professor Spence told MailOnline. 

Slightly more ‘posh’ or alternative options at the chippy are a sprinkle of black pepper or a smear of mustard, but these are far from ideal. 

‘Mustard or black pepper are not standard choices – they’re a bit overpowering flavour wise,’ Dr Bailey told MailOnline. 

Professor Spence added that part of what makes a perfect food combination ‘depends on what we are familiar with because we have grown up with it’.

And this may be why there’s so much variation regarding what exactly Brits put on their fries.  

According to a 2020 poll of more than 36,000 Brits, the most popular chip toppings are tomato ketchup, curry sauce and mushy peas, in that order.

However, salt and vinegar was excluded as a choice in the YouGov poll because ‘they simply dominate everywhere’.

Interestingly, tomato ketchup is a popular chip topping in England and Scotland, but in Wales people are more likely to favour curry sauce. 

Tomato ketchup triumphs by some margin in England (34 per cent) and Scotland (25 per cent), whereas in Wales curry sauce reigns supreme (35 per cent).

How to make the perfect chip butty: Scientist says putting 12 thick ones between two slices of buttered white bread with ketchup is ideal mathematical formula 

It’s a beloved snack that’s been enjoyed in Britain for over a century.

But a scientist thinks he has the formula for the perfect chip butty.

Dr James Hind, a statistician from Nottingham Trent University, refined the perfect chip butty recipe based on preferences of 2,000 Brits surveyed by supermarket chain Iceland.

The academic then experimented around the most popular methods with timings, temperatures and, crucially, portion sizes to refine his recipe. 

According to the findings, a faultless butty has 12 thick cut chips, two 40g slices of medium sliced white bread, ketchup and butter – not mayo or margarine. 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk