Mary v Greg

We're all in to the health kick at the moment aren't we. Our parents we're always brought up with fried food and sugary cakes and pudding and my Mum lived until nearly 90! Exercise is the key I think as our parents used to walk everywhere. Kids today just sit on their bottoms all day on computers.

We do have a small chip pan as OH hates frozen chips but loves home made that said it gets used once a month if that. I do agree with Greg that it's up to the individual choice.

We gave a chip pan! it is used about once a month as steak and oven chips is a complete no no. We have steak most Friday nights with various sorts of potatoes but every now and again it has to be chips and garlic mushrooms.

Well if Greg Wallace is as healthy as Mary Berry at 80 (?) then I'll eat my hat.

I agree tanith, do dislike being told what to do by so called celebrities. Nothing wrong at all with the occasional portion of chips. Home made chips are delicious, oven baked chips - yuk
Moderation in all things is my mantra.

Children shouldn't have sugary drinks - what's wrong with saying that?

I have a small chip pan, used to get it out every Friday religiously (not for religious reasons. Perhaps should say habitually).

Anyway I now hate the sticky gungy thing (inside pan is clean of course, but outside is impossible to keep spick and span. So now it stays in cupboard and I use oven or microwave chips, which are nowhere near as nice.

Think I will start again with a new one.

Can't believe Mary Berry! A few home fried chips must be a lot healthier than a sugary sickly piece of cake.

Always seeded cod with our chips.

We were given an electric fryer and a catering sized box of fat by my then boss whose family owned a couple of fish n chip shops as a wedding present It did make fabulous chips but it was consigned to the bin before the children came along. We now eat oven chips.

I was going to say the same jingls!

Quite ironic really, given that sugar is the wicked 'no-no' and healthy oils are good.
Anything in excess is bad, even water, everything in moderation.
Remembering what DM used to say 'A little of what you fancy does you good'.

Cakes versus chips
Well, I like cake occasionally
I like chips occasionally (especially triple cooked chips fried by a good chef!)

I haven't owned a chip pan for years. A bog standard one at first, then an electric fryer, but got rid of them both. We don't eat a lot of fried food but sometimes we really fancy some chips, and oven chips don't cut it, so I have flirted with the idea of getting another one. Does anyone know if air fryers are any good? I have read mixed reviews.

Jalima but you've just said it yourself, you like both occasionally - and that's the point. And as far as a 'little of what you fancy' ....the same rules apply. But sadly people's idea of 'occasionally' and 'a little' are somewhat different to yours

Anya

I only eat chips occasionally as we don't have a chip pan any more and I don't like oven chips.

I may be being a bit disingenuous about the cake
(but not often, not even every week .....)

I think they should both shut up!

Very hyprocitical, Mary, to present a programme encouraging the consumption of shedloads of sugar when you admit to sticking to a diet of soup and salad during filming to avoid putting on any weight.

If you only want chips on the odd occasion, there's probably a local chippie very willing to supply them. Why keep a dog and bark yourself?

My chips are better than the chippy!

We grow our own potatoes and prefer oven baked wedges, tossed in rapeseed oil, to chips.

If I 'make chips' I put them in a poly bag with a spoonful of rapeseed oil to coat them, then oven-bake.

I am tempted by an air fryer, but is it just another gadget to clutter up the kitchen.
I'm more tempted by a soup maker

We used to have a chip pan, cannot beat deep fried chips. Must have spent ages cleaning the thing out. That was years ago, now when we do have chips they are oven chips which are not as good as the real thing but much better than they used to be imho. We don't eat much cake either. Chocolate is my downfall and I doubt that will change whatever anyone says.

I have a chip pan that gets used approximately every 18 months when OH fancies fresh eggs and homemade chips!

I used to love the eggs that were dropped in the chip pan while the chips were draining. They were like golden lace with a runny yolk in the middle.

I heard her on the today programme saying that she wouldn't have deep fried chips cos they are a major cause of house fires ( fair enough) . She said she has oven chips as a treat. What really got me was that she presumes that most ( or was it many) people eat in the kitchen like she does and she doesn't like the smell. It would be interesting to know how many people have a kitchen large enough to eat in. However I admire her willpower in being able to eat small pieces of cake and never having a second helping.Life without cake or chips would be so dull .

Mary Berry looks as though she could do with a big plate of chips. I agree that celebrating fattening, sugary cake baking while criticising deep fat frying is ridiculous. My OH has a little electric fryer which makes lovely chips.
Of course, Mrs Berry might have been referring to the danger of chip pan fires so I will give her the benefit of the doubt.

Crossed posts ?