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Potato chip

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Crisp" redirects here. For any other use, see Crisp (disambiguation).

For the thicker batons of potato sometimes known as "chips", see French fries.

Potato chips

Alternative names Potato crisps

Course Snack, side dish

Place of origin England, 1817

Serving temperature Room temperature

Cookbook: Potato chips Media: Potato chips

A potato chip or crisp is a thin slice of potato that has been deep fried or baked until crunchy.
Potato chips are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appetizer. The basic chips are cooked
and salted; additional varieties are manufactured using various flavorings and ingredients
including herbs, spices, cheeses, other natural flavors, artificial flavors and additives.
Potato chips are a predominant part of the snack food and convenience food market in Western
countries. The global potato chip market generated total revenues of US$16.49 billion in 2005. This
accounted for 35.5% of the total savory snacks market in that year ($46.1 billion).[1]

Contents
[hide]

1History
o 1.1Origins
o 1.2Saratoga Springs
o 1.3Mass production
o 1.4Flavored chips
o 1.5Potato chip bag
o 1.6Kettle cooked
2Nomenclature
3Health concerns
4Regional varieties
o 4.1Canada
o 4.2Hong Kong
o 4.3Ireland
o 4.4Germany
o 4.5Colombia
o 4.6Japan
o 4.7United Kingdom
o 4.8United States
4.8.1Pennsylvania
4.8.2New Mexico
5Similar foods
6Production
7See also
8References
9Further reading
10External links

History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The earliest known recipe for potato chips is in William Kitchiner's cookbook The Cook's Oracle, first
published in 1817, which was a bestseller in England and the United States. The 1822 edition's
version of recipe 104 is called "Potatoes fried in Slices or Shavings" and reads "peel large potatoes,
slice them about a quarter of an inch thick, or cut them in shavings round and round, as you would
peel a lemon; dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping".[2][3] Early recipes for
potato chips in the United States are found in Mary Randolph's Virginia House-Wife (1824),[4] and in
N.K.M. Lee's Cook's Own Book (1832),[5] both of which explicitly cite Kitchiner.[6]
Saratoga Springs[edit]
However, a legend associates the creation of potato chips with Saratoga Springs, New York,
decades later.[7] By the late nineteenth century, a popular version of the story attributed the dish
to George Crum, a half-black, half-Native American cook[8][9] at Moon's Lake House, who was trying
to appease an unhappy customer on 24 August 1853.[10] The customer kept sending his French-fried
potatoes back, complaining that they were too thick,[11] too "soggy," and/or not salted well enough.
Frustrated, Crum personally sliced several potatoes extremely thin, fried the potato slices to a crisp,
and seasoned them with extra salt. To Crum's surprise, the customer loved them.[12] They soon came
to be called "Saratoga Chips,"[13] a name that persisted into at least the mid-twentieth century. A
version of this story popularized in a 1973 national advertising campaign by St. Regis Paper
Company, which manufactured packaging for chips, said that Crum's customer was Cornelius
Vanderbilt.[8] Crum was already renowned as a chef at the time, and by 1860, he owned his own
lakeside restaurant, which he called Crum's House.[8]
Mass production[edit]
In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-
produced for home consumption. The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company,
founded in 1910, identifies as the "oldest potato chip company in the United States".[14][15][16] New
England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, founded in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company,
in Leominster, Massachusetts claim to be America's first potato chip manufacturer.[17][18]
Flavored chips[edit]

An advertisement for Smith's Potato Crisps

In an idea originated by the Smiths Potato Crisps Company Ltd, formed in 1920, Frank Smith
packaged a twist of salt with his chips in greaseproof paper bags, which were sold around
London.[19] The potato chip remained otherwise unseasoned until an innovation by Joe "Spud"
Murphy, the owner of the Irish crisps company Tayto, who in the 1950s developed a technology to
add seasoning during manufacture. After some trial and error, Murphy and his employee Seamus
Burke produced the world's first seasoned chips: Cheese & Onion and Salt & Vinegar.[20] Companies
worldwide sought to buy the rights to Tayto's technique.[21]
The first flavored chips in the United States, barbecue flavor, were being manufactured and sold by
1954.[22][23][24] In 1958, Herr's was the first company to introduce barbecue-flavored potato chips in
Pennsylvania.[25]
Potato chip bag[edit]
Chips sold in markets were usually sold in tins or scooped out of storefront glass bins and delivered
by horse and wagon. Early potato chip bags were wax paper with the ends ironed or stapled
together. At first, potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins, which left chips at the bottom stale
and crumbled.
Laura Scudder,[26][27][28] an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California, started having her workers take
home sheets of wax paper to iron into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the
next day. This pioneering method reduced crumbling and kept the chips fresh and crisp longer. This
innovation, along with the invention of cellophane, allowed potato chips to become a mass-market
product. Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing to
lengthen shelf life, and provide protection against crushing.[29][30]
Kettle cooked[edit]

Kettle-cooked chips

Traditional chips were made by the "batch-style" process, where all chips are rinsed with cold water
to release starch,[31] fried all at once at a low temperature (300 F)[32] and continuously raked to
prevent them from sticking together.
Industrial advance resulted in a shift to production by a "continuous-style" process, running chips
through a vat of hot oil and drying them in a conveyor process. Consumer desire for original style
chips resulted in the introduction of traditionally made "kettle-style"[33] chips in the 2000s (known as
hand-cooked in the UK/Europe). [34]
The Serious Eats Food Lab recommends: parboiling in vinegar-water for three minutes, then
draining on a towel, then frying in oil until they stopped bubbling, for crispy non-kettle chips.[31]

Nomenclature[edit]
A Bangladeshi version of potato chips, marketed as "potato crackers."

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Little consistency exists in the English-speaking world for names of fried potato slices, thick or thin.
American and Canadian English use "chips" for the above-mentioned dish this term is also used
(but not universally) in other parts of world, and sometimes "crisps" for the same made from batter.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, "crisps" are potato chips which are eaten cold, whilst "chips" are
similar to french fries (as in "fish and chips") and are served hot. In Australia, some parts of South
Africa, New Zealand, India, the general West Indies especially in Barbados, both forms of potato
product are simply known as "chips", as are the larger "home-style" potato crisps. In the north of
New Zealand, they are known as "chippies", but are marketed as "chips" throughout the country. In
Australia and New Zealand, sometimes the distinction is made between "hot chips" (fried potatoes)
and "chips" or "potato chips". In Bangladesh, they are generally known as "chip" or "chips", and
much less frequently as "crisps" (pronounced "kirisp") and locally, alu bhaja (for their similarity to the
native potato bhajji).
In German-speaking countries (Austria, Germany: "Kartoffelchips"; Switzerland: "Pommes Chips")
and in countries of the former SFR Yugoslavia, fried thin potato slices are known as "chips" (locally
pronounced very similar to the actual English pronunciation), with a clear distinction from french
fries. In Brazil, "home-style" potato chips are known as batatas portuguesas ("Portuguese potatoes")
if their sides are relatively smooth and batatas prussianas("Prussian potatoes") if their sides show a
wafer biscuit-like pattern, whilst American-like industrial uniform potato chips made from a fried
potato pure-based dough are known as "batata chips" ("potato chips"), or just "chips".

Health concerns[edit]
Most potato chips contain high levels of sodium, from salt. This has been linked to health issues
such as high blood pressure.[35] However, researchers at Queen Mary, University of London in 2004
have noted that a small "bag of ready-salted crisps" contains less salt than a serving of many
breakfast cereals, including every brand of cornflakes on sale in the UK."[36]
Some potato chip companies have responded to the criticism by investing in research and
development to modify existing recipes and create health-conscious products. Kettle Foods was
founded in 1978 and currently sells only trans fatfree products, including potato
chips. PepsiCo research shows that about 80% of salt on chips is not sensed by the tongue before
being swallowed. Frito-Lay spent $414 million in 2009 on product development, including
development of salt crystals that would reduce the salt content of Lay's potato chips without
adversely affecting flavor.[37]
Unsalted chips are available, e.g. the longstanding British brand Salt 'n' Shake, whose chips are not
seasoned, but instead include a small salt sachet in the bag for seasoning to taste.

Regional varieties[edit]
Salt and vinegar is a favorite variety of chip in the United Kingdom.

Canada[edit]
In Canada, seasonings include dill pickle,[38] jalapeo, ketchup,[38][39] barbecue, all dressed, sour
cream and onion, and salt and vinegar. In 2006, Lay's introduced wasabi chips in Toronto and
Vancouver,[40] but no longer offers them.[41] Loblaw, Canada's largest food retailer, offers several
unusual flavors under its President's Choice brand, including poutine, maple bacon, Jamaican jerk
chicken, Greek feta and olive, ballpark hot dog, and barbeque baby back ribs.[42]
Hong Kong[edit]
In Hong Kong, the two prominent potato chips are the spicy "Ethnican" variety by Calbee,[43] and
barbecue by Jack'n Jill. Lay's are also popular in Hong Kong.
Ireland[edit]
In Ireland, the two main flavors are cheese and onion, and salt and vinegar. However in Ireland, the
word "Tayto" is synonymous[citation needed] with potato chips after the Tayto brand and can be used to
describe all varieties of chips, including those not produced by Tayto. Owing to the dominance of
Tayto in the Irish market, the word has become a genericized trademark. Hunky Dorys and King
crisps are other popular Irish brands.
Germany[edit]
In Germany, only two flavors were traditionally available, red paprika (paprika, sometimes also
called ungarisch) and ready salted (gesalzen). These are still by far the most common and popular
types, but some vendors started to offer a number of other flavors such as sour cream & onion,
cheese, oriental, or more exotic seasonings like "chakalaka", "currywurst", "pommes" (french fries),
"Rot-weiss" (red and white - french fries with tomato ketchup and mayonnaise). Potato chips made
from ground potatoes are called Stapelchips rather than Kartoffelchips for legal reasons.
Colombia[edit]
In Colombia, lemon, chicken, chorizo, and sirloin steak with mushroom sauce flavored potato chips
are sold.[44]

A bowl of pizza-flavored chips in Japan


Japan[edit]
In Japan, flavors include norishio (nori and salt), consomm, wasabi, soy
sauce and butter, garlic, plum, barbecue, pizza, mayonnaise, and black pepper. Chili, scallop with
butter, teriyaki, takoyaki, and yakitori chip flavors are also available. Major manufacturers
are Calbee,[45] Koikeya[46] and Yamayoshi.
United Kingdom[edit]

McCoy's crinkle-cut crisps

The market in the United Kingdom is dominated by Walkers, which held 56% of the British crisp
market in 2013.[47] Walkers is known for its wide variety of potato chips. The three main flavors are
ready salted, cheese and onion, and salt and vinegar; however, other examples are prawn
cocktail (which were incorrectly described in the media as being subject to an EU directive banning
them), Worcester sauce, roast chicken, steak and onion, smoky bacon, lamb and mint, ham and
mustard, barbecue, BBQ rib, tomato ketchup, sausage and ketchup, pickled onion, Branston pickle,
and Marmite.
More exotic flavors are Thai sweet chili, roast pork and creamy mustard sauce, lime and Thai spices,
chicken with Italian herbs, sea salt and cracked black pepper, sea salt and chardonnay wine vinegar,
sea salt and cider vinegar, spicy and aromatic curry, turkey and bacon, caramelized onion and sweet
balsamic vinegar, Stilton and cranberry, mango chili, and special flavors, such as American
cheeseburger and English roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.[48] Kettle Foods Ltd's range of thick-cut
crunchy potato chips include gourmet flavors: Mexican limes with a hint of chilli, salsa with mesquite,
buffalo mozzarella tomato and basil, mature cheddar with Adnams Broadside Beer, Soulmate
cheeses, and onion. McCoys Crisps are also popular in the UK. In the north of England, Seabrook
Potato Crisps are popular, but they are much less common in the south. Tayto is a popular brand in
Northern Ireland. Since 2008, Walkers has launched its "Do Us a Flavour" campaign, challenging
the UK public to think up unique flavours for their crisps. Six flavours were chosen from among the
entries and released as special editions. Consumers could vote on their favourite, and the winner
would become a permanent flavour.[49]
United States[edit]
In the United States, popular potato chip flavorings include sour cream and onion and barbecue.[50] In
the Gulf South, Zapp's Potato Chips of Gramercy, Louisiana, manufactures kettle-fried chips with
regional flavors such as Crawtator, Cajun dill, Voodoo, and Creole onion.[51]
Pennsylvania[edit]
The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania leads the United States in potato-chip production, and it has
been dubbed "the Potato Chip Capital" by several sources.[52] Pennsylvania-based companies that
produce potato chips include Utz Quality Foods, Herr's Snacks, Snyder's of Hanover, Wise Foods,
Middleswarth Potato Chips,[53] Dieffenbach's Potato Chips,[54] Hartley's Potato Chips,[55] Gibbles
Foods,[56] Stehman's Potato Chips, and Charles Chips. These are all member companies of
"The Snack Food Association Of The United States."
New Mexico[edit]
In New Mexico, jerky shops offer locally made chips (often kettle-cooked) flavored with local red or
green chile, or a combination of the two (known as "Christmas").

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