Talk:Tater tots

Names and Description
"(which can be oftentimes as large as a child's shoe)" This appears very unprofessional, should it be removed? Garric 23:24, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
 * A child's shoe would be as big as a whole potato. I've never heard of hash browns made with whole potatoes. Removing the comment. --LuciferBlack 21:43, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

The generic name for these in Australia is "potato gems". Is this name used anywhere else? If it's widespread, it probably should be in the article. - 211.28.82.103 10:14, 13 November 2005 (UTC)
 * I have seen generic, non-name-brand tater tots called "tater gems" and "potato gems." I do not know the origin of the name, nor have I seen it in any offical source... unless a school cafeteria lunch menu is an offical source? (I'm gonna guess no...) Do we need a source for such a minor piece of information though? 3Juno3 (talk) 22:51, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
 * In the US, competing brands are often called "potato nuggets," but that term is less specific and might also describe methods of preparation other than grating. Richard K. Carson (talk) 20:17, 27 January 2018 (UTC)

Croquettes
Are these the US equivalent of potato croquettes? (Potato croquettes being small cylindrincal hash-brown-like fried shredded potatos) 86.141.208.51 00:05, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes. Daniel Davis 01:08, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

They are much smaller and crispier than croguettes. I have removed the unsourced and unverifiable claim that they are "one of the worlds most popular snack food"!! --Brideshead 15:00, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Croquettes are often mashed potato.87.246.103.137 (talk) 14:17, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I think they're more similar to Hash Browns than Croquettes — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.157.121.157 (talk) 11:33, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

"tater" origins?
I don't know where the heck the idea of "tater" coming from some obscure French word comes from. It's short for "potato" and it's a quite common term for potato in many American dialects, particularly the South and the Midwest. Fledchen 17:20, 25 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Tater is definately an Americanism in origin. According to Merriam-Webster it dates back to 1759, and is an aphetic of Potato. The article had previously indicated that this was the case, but also indicated that it was New England slang. None of this had sources. I deleted the New England comment to read that it was slang, not New England slang, because I could find no source that said it was New England slang. One source (Dictionary.com) listed it as a Southern expression. Because of the confusion, I decided it would be best if the exact local origin was omitted until clarification can be sought. However, I added sources for both Tater and Tot word origin today. Jo7hs2 (talk) 18:00, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Mexi-Nuggets? Ah, that would be Mexi-Fries®
Mexi-Nuggets were sold by taco bell. Mexi-Fries® is a trademarked side dish from Taco Time, based out of OregonWiki stub:R.M. Brady 20:26, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Also Known as "Tots"?
Does anyone actually call them this, except in intentional imitation of the film, "Napoleon Dynamite"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.231.6.66 (talk) 16:22, 2 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes. Menus for various restaurants have them listed as "Tots" and it is a commonly used term in the Rocky Mountain states. I'm not able to find a solid reference just yet, but they are referred to as "Tots" quite frequently.  Gh5046 (talk) 17:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

YES! I CALL THEM TOTS ALL THE TIME! GOSH! Noliandynamite (talk) 21:44, 20 August 2009 (UTC) You're kidding right - you've never heard them called tots? What amazes me is that this Wiki article hasn't been rewritten in UK English like those for most non-UK related topics.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.1.168.113 (talk) 16:27, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

New Image
I've taken and uploaded a new image over. I'm noting it on this page in case anybody thinks this article could use it. Note that it takes advantage of the AdobeRGB color space, so browsers set up to take advantage of that will see the difference. --Major_Small (talk) 10:43, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I can rest now knowing that there is a photo in Wikipedia of tater tots that has better color representation. --Will (talk) 04:35, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

A “novel” idea??
Surely the claim that the process of making them is “novel” is far too broad? They are surely just a commercial form of riced potatoes, hash-browns, potato fritters etc. What is novel about that…? Jock123 (talk) 10:32, 11 December 2009 (UTC)


 * They are delicious, is what. 63.127.232.196 (talk) 16:51, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

In The UK
These things are for sale in many supermarkets in the UK: http://www.auntbessies.co.uk/products/potatoes-1/rustic-mini-rosti-1/

They aren't cylinder shapped like tater tots in the US, but they are the same thing.

I didn't add it because it is original research....

151.228.97.231 (talk) 11:57, 7 December 2013 (UTC)Matt

Clora Lay Orton
I've just removed this text:


 * When the tater tot product was first produced, there was no name for them. The owners of Ore-Ida decided to hold a contest among the employees that would help determine the product name. Clora Lay Orton, then a young house mother, submitted the name "tater tots". The name was a hit and she won the contest.

It was added on 2014-9-25 by IP address 206.251.47.36, and it is the only edit ever by that IP address. A Google Books search limited to books published before 2014 turned up nothing. The only websites that support the claim are obviously sourced from this Wikipedia article. The only Clora Lay Orton I could find was born in 1908, and so would not have been a young mother in the 50s, and nothing on pages dedicated to her mentioned her historical role in naming one of the world's great foods. Unless someone can come up with a reliable source that dates from before 2014-9-25, I don't think it should be added back. Jbening (talk) 12:05, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

16 calories per tater tot
Online it says that 10 tater tots has 160 calories. Another reference says it is 9 tater tots at 160 calories.

70 million pounds
Wiki says: "Americans consume approximately 70,000,000 pounds (32,000,000 kg) of tater tots, or 3,710,000,000 tots per year" but the reference says "Americans consume approximately 70 million pounds of Tater Tots per year." Within the context of the reference, it seems to be referring to the OreIda brand named product. The wiki writer may have incorrectly assumed this was all tater tots (generic). --Mindfill (talk) 10:25, 23 March 2021 (UTC)