How do you know? Salt absorbs moisture and waxed paper bags are porous so the salt will get soggy if the bag is left around long enough. I was talking about the Smith's product anyway, which wasn't always very good. Perhaps some retailers weren't very good at stock control and had packets sitting around too long? Once a product has left the factory control of quality is out of their hands. (I sometimes find that a certain retailer of frozen foods 'six ice cream cones to the pack' sells 'soggy' cones. I suspect they were crisp in the factory but became unfrozen at some point and while the ice cream might re-freeze the cones don't recover).
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RTP Potato Crisps
- Thread starter Edifi
- Start date
Radiorails
master brummie
There were, I gather, many small cottage style crisp makers in Britain in the past. It has been said that Smiths, who were the only well known name at the time, usually bought them out. The family of a former business partner of mine set up such a firm in the East Midlands which was their home at the time. The name was ********* Golden Crisps, with their * surname in the fist line.
Spargone,at my age about 10-11 I wouldn't have known about soggy salt and certainly wasn't bothered.But surely it would take months not days to go soggy.By the way they sold 1,000s of bags and the Co is still in business today but buy and sell Walkers Crisps to the shops.Which is easier than frying them
Mike,from what I can remember we went out to the shops around Bham on a Tues & Fri ,always to the same shops some having 2 tins some 3-4 and that was regular.It may have been because it was a new thing Crisps.Me and my Mother used to fill a tin about 18 in Square a night which was many Hundreds of little blue bags.And I earned a few penny extra.It was used for my Train Spotting trips to Crewe and Derby and Tamwoth
My original point was that crisps in the old-style packaging were a perishable product that were best produced locally and provided 'just-in-time' to local shops. That was why small manufacturers existed and why the newer packaging methods allowed manufacturing to be carried out further away from the point of sale and by bigger companies.
We can see similar changes with other 'foods' - ice cream was made by dairy shops or local factories in larger towns. The empty supermarket site opposite 'The Swan' Tesco Extra, Yardley, was a local factory for Wall's ice cream. Refrigerated trailers mean that ice cream can be shipped all over Europe. Nothing beats a good 'local' recipe though!
We can see similar changes with other 'foods' - ice cream was made by dairy shops or local factories in larger towns. The empty supermarket site opposite 'The Swan' Tesco Extra, Yardley, was a local factory for Wall's ice cream. Refrigerated trailers mean that ice cream can be shipped all over Europe. Nothing beats a good 'local' recipe though!
I think the tins might have grown with time! Probably half that size in all dimensions, i.e. 9" per side. Like this. Tins like this were put in front of a grocer's counter so couldn't be too big. A tin that size could easily hold 6lb of loose biscuits.
I expect the modern crisp is made from potato slurry, every one the same size!
Radiorails
master brummie
RTP Crisps Ltd
RTP Crisps Ltd, 78 Allison Street, Birmingham, 2005 • What a beautiful building! Originally built in 1872 for Corder & Turley, manufacturers of umbrella ribs, it was adapted in 1923 as a clothi…
shopfrontelegy.wordpress.com
Alan,Brian Round took over when his dad died of Heart Attack.
My father and Uncle worked for him there
Brian then sold the building ,to be made into flats
He became a Millionaire through it buying property in Florida & Spain
He's my cousin still alive at 80 And 9 days older than me.
My father and Uncle worked for him there
Brian then sold the building ,to be made into flats
He became a Millionaire through it buying property in Florida & Spain
He's my cousin still alive at 80 And 9 days older than me.
Radiorails
master brummie
So much cast iron work was highly decorative as evidenced by the fountain head. Those were the days when craftsmen built buildings rather than cranes.
Pete.The factory was between the pub on the corner of Cato St and the Butcher in Saltley Rd .There was a driveway between the Butchers and the Garage to the back of the building were I cleaned and chipped the potatoes before my dad & Uncle fried them.Think the garage was near Devon St.Your so right Alan at least that building wasn't demolished
A Sparks
master brummie
So much cast iron work was highly decorative as evidenced by the fountain head. Those were the days when craftsmen built buildings rather than cranes.
I'm sure there are still craftsmen but all that's wanted now is to put things up quickly and as cheaply as possible
mikeflan
master brummie
They always had their vans and vehicles from Arnold Genders in Kings Heath, when I worked at AG we always supplied RTP Crisps with their vehicles as the Genral Manager there was friendly with the owner of RTP....I think they were Villa supporters too....we supplied a lot of cars to Aston Villa in the 1960's.....funny how you remember these things so well
mikeflan
master brummie
RTP was in Bennetts Road Alum Rock/Saltley when we supplied their vans and cars, I always remember having to take one of their vans (a Morris LDO) that had a prang round to the repairers in Silver Street Kings Heath (Karspray) ... RTP was a good customer of Arnold Genders !
They moved to Bennetts Rd when they went into Wholesaling and finished the crisps and Scratching side of cooking them. They then had the Scratching done for them at a Co in Dudley they then Sold 1,000sof boxes of Walkers Crisps.They then moved to Alison St off digbeth sold that place to be converted to flats and moved to there new premises down Salford Bridge way and are still there.
Irenesadie
New Member
My nan lived at 111 Cato Street until it was pulled down in the slum clearance days. It was opposite the Midlands County Dairy. I remember in the summer walking past the RTP premises, they used to leave the door open and the smell was wonderful. At Christmas my uncle Albert Freeman who lived next to nan at 113 used to go and buy a tin box of chrisps for all the family. So fresh and tasty nothing like todays flavoured ones.
I worked there from 77 -79.
I was working there when Brian Round took over.
