...are we the only nation to use it on chips? I know they don't use it as norm in Turkey and I can't even find a bottle of Malt vinegar there!
I know they use a lot of cider vinegar but I like to use white/red/malt etc as they all have their own unique uses and tastes.

Plus, I know we're accustomed but who can resist the smell of hot vinegar on chips? ( well I do have a son who doesn't care for vinegar in general but as his Mother I'm allowed to ignore him for the sake of the thread!)

If you're in Edinburgh it's just as alien.

Salt and sauce. Urgh. Whatever next. People will be battering chips next.

Vinegar alien in the UK?
I love sauce too (as in ketchup/HP etc) but 'salt 'n' vinegar' a must surely?

What's your sauce btw - the vinegar?

In Edinburgh it's common to have a mix of malt vinegar and brown sauce as the regular chippy sauce.

Aye, 'sauce' is vinegary tasting, and you can always ask them to chuck a bit of extra vinegar on too

Fanny Cradock, the food writer and TV presenter from the 50s/60s/70s, was a wonderfully entertaining snob. "Malt vinegar" she once wrote, "should only be used for cleaning furntiture".

Good grief even I would find that a tad acidic! It is interesting tho' to learn of regional variations. I don't dislike brown sauce but I prefer ketchup with chips - should I ever go North from South Wales I'd have to give the sauce a try but perhaps on the side at first.

Gaditano - I remember Fanny Craddock, my late Mother used to watch it but I never took much notice until they showed an old clip on Saturday Kitchen the other week - she was lethal wasn't she? I can just imagine her dismissing the vinegar! But it is a large part of HP sauce for example and many other sauces.
I do find that abroad (Turkey again, I haven't had the need to shop for it elsewhere) that white/clear/distilled vinegar is unavailable for pickling. My Mother in Law makes her own but it's still not the same or rather the veg would be more crunchy if I could find the aforementioned. Plus, I would like to make some chutneys while I'm there - does anyone know if the other vinegars such as cider/grape etc work when making chutneys/relishes? I'd love to know as their produce is great out there.

It's got to be vinegar with chip shop chips and ketchup/bbq/mayo with fries.

Curry sauce is great with chip shop chips too.

Most other countries only have fries, which is why vinegar is not popular.

I guess you have a point as Belguim etc have Mayo as the norm don't they? I was there once - many moons ago and our house only used 'salad cream' at the time - my Mother wasn't adventurous! I do enjoy mayo with chips at times now & curry sauce too.

I like Malt Bingar on my chipshop chips but do LOVE curry sauce more. The chip shop around the corner from me does an EXCELLENT Curry sauce.
For fries I agree I prefer mayo with those or something a little different to vinegar/brown.

I rarely buy the standard vinegar anymore. But I would for Pie&mash.

I also like onion vinegar on occassion too.

On home cooked chips, Malt vinegar everytime and my chips usually end up drowning in a puddle of it.

I should stop reading this thread, so craving a bag of chips soaked in vinegar right now!

I absolutely hate soggy chip-shop chips and never touch them, but even I love the smell of them soaked in vinegar.