Who Came Up With The Name “Tater Tot?”
I came across a recipe the other day – which I plan to make – which used Tater Tots in a unique way and I thought: who came up with that name?
You probably know what a “tater tot” is: a perfect little nugget of crispy potato on the outside, and shredded potato inside – delicious!
But where did the name come from? Well, it’s an easy one to answer, because a potato company created them – and here’s why!
It’s All About Those “Leftover Scraps!”
As always, new things get invented to solve old problems!
The name “Tater Tot” was coined in the 1950s by researchers at the Ore-Ida company. It is a combination of “tater” (a common slang word for potato) and “tot” (a reference to a small child, reflecting the bite-sized nature of the treat).
The founders of Ore-Ida, brothers F. Nephi and Golden Grigg, invented the treat in 1953 in Ontario, Oregon. They were looking for a profitable way to use the leftover slivers and scraps of potatoes generated during their frozen French fry production, which were previously being sold as livestock feed. They shredded the scraps, added seasoning, and formed them into small cylinders – a culinary icon was born!
Tater Tots come ready to be reheated in an oven, then dipped, topped, or in some cases, layered underneath a burger!
This burger has a normal bottom bun, then tater tots, a hamburger patty topped with bacon, and creamy macaroni and cheese added to the top…perfection!
More than 70 million pounds of tots are sold each year – and this is the way I plan to cook with them next week!
A Cheeseburger With A Tater Tot Bun!
Yes, imagine your favorite cheeseburger – add bacon if you wish – all held together by buns of Tater Tots!
I plan to make – and devour – this next week and will share my attempt with you!
It’s just one of my favorite “no bun” burgers, and you can see the rest here:
An Amazing Tater Tot Culinary Mashup!
I am a fan of taking a product and doing something completely different with it – and since a Tater Tot is one of the most delicious things ever devised by people who simply weren’t satisfied eating an “unbastardized” potato – I’m all in!
A “Caviar And Creme Fraiche-Topped Tater Tot!”
How about this amazing Tater Tot topped with creme fraiche and caviar! I had this the first time at a restaurant in Napa Valley.
I love caviar, and I love Tater Tots, so this is a great taste combination…let’s gaze upon it again:
The flavors of potato and caviar just sound right – and I found another example of this potato/caviar mashup as well, this time with caviar anchoring one end of a french fry:
And it reminded me that I once posted a story about this unique potato/caviar combo from Russia of course – the caviar flavored potato chip!
You can read all about this Russian delicacy by clicking on here:
Back to Tater Tots, how about this combo?
Bite Into A “Tater Tot Chop” With Coca Cola Ketchup!
Yes, this is a Tater Top “Chop” with Coca-Cola Ketchup! The Atlanta Braves actually served this during baseball games!
Finally, bravo to Burger Kings for literally “stuffing their tots!”
Yes, fast food has taken the Tater Tot to a whole new cheesy level by stuffing that cheese right inside for you!
If you don’t feel like cooking, look for someone who does the Tots up for you – they seem to be a staple of almost every sports bar now – and even Wienerschnitzel got into the act:
If all of this makes you thirsty, may I offer you this:
“Tater Tot Bloody Mary!”
Refreshing and filling too!
Here are a few more creative culinary mashups for you:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Burgers, Eat This!, Fast Food, Food, Food Porn, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Very interesting!! I’m not a fan of too much deep-fried food, but I do love the tot with the crème fraiche and caviar….
it’s amazing that Tater Tots are so popular. A good idea of the company. I suppose Vienna sausages and polony developed in the same manner.