Potato chips

The earliest known recipe for potato chips is in the English cook William Kitchiner's book ''The Cook's Oracle'' published in 1817 in London, which was a bestseller in the United Kingdom and the United States. The 1822 edition's recipe for "Potatoes fried in Slices or Shavings" reads "peel large potatoes... 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". attributed the creation of potato chips to George Crum, a cook at Moon's Lake House who was trying to appease an unhappy customer on August 24, 1853. The customer kept sending back his French-fried potatoes, complaining that they were too thick, too "soggy", or not salted enough. Frustrated, Crum sliced several potatoes extremely thin, fried them to a crisp, and seasoned them with extra salt – to his surprise, the customer loved them. They soon came to be called "Saratoga Chips", a name that persisted into the mid-twentieth century. A version of this story was popularized in a 1973 national advertising campaign by St. Regis Paper Company which manufactured packaging for chips, claiming that Crum's customer was Cornelius Vanderbilt. The story is today known to be a myth, and historians and academics have identified a number of problems with the story: Vanderbilt was in Europe during the alleged encounter, the Moons didn't purchase the Lake House until 1854, and crispy fried potatoes were not unknown to Saratoga in 1853. However, the story remains frequently cited in popular media. == Production ==

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 Mikesell's Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, identifies as the "oldest potato chip company in the United States". Flavoring In an idea originated by the Smiths Potato Crisps Company Ltd, formed in 1920, Frank Smith packaged his chips in greaseproof paper bags and attached a twist of salt, and sold them around London. Golden Wonder (Smith's main competitor at the time) also started to produce cheese & onion, and Smith's countered with salt & vinegar (tested first by their north-east England subsidiary Tudor and then launched nationally in 1967), starting a two-decade-long flavor war. The first flavored chips in the United States, barbecue flavor, are also traced to 1954. Kettle-cooked chips Chips were long made in a batch process, where the potato slices are rinsed with cold water to release starch, fried at a low temperature of , and continuously raked to prevent them from sticking together. Industrial advances resulted in a shift to production by a continuous process, running the chips through a vat of hot oil and drying them in a conveyor process. Some small producers continued to use a batch process, notably in Maui. In 1980, inspired by the Maui Chip, an entrepreneur started Cape Cod Potato Chips to produce thicker, batch-cooked "Hawaiian style" potato chips, which came to be known as kettle-style (US) or hand-cooked (UK) chips and became a premium, "gourmet" item. Kettle chips are thicker and the surface starch is not rinsed off, resulting in a style of chip called "hard-bite". == Nomenclature ==

Little consistency exists in the English-speaking world for the name of this food. North American English uses "chips", though Canadians may also call French fries, especially thick ones, "chips" as well. "Crisps" may be used for thin fried or baked products made from potato paste. An example of this type of snack is Pringles, which are marketed as "potato crisps" even in the United States. In the United Kingdom and Ireland they are called "crisps", whilst "chips" refers to french fries (as in "fish and chips"). In Australia, some parts of South Africa, New Zealand, India, and the West Indies, especially in Barbados, both forms of potato product are simply known as "chips", as are the larger "home-style" variety. In the north of New Zealand, they are sometimes affectionately known as "chippies"; however, they are marketed as "chips" throughout the country. In Australia and New Zealand, a distinction is sometimes 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. In German-speaking countries (Austria, Germany: "Kartoffelchips", often shortened to "Chips"; Switzerland: "Pommes Chips") and in countries of the former Yugoslavia, fried thin potato slices are known as "chips" (locally pronounced very similarly to the English pronunciation), with a clear distinction from French fries. In Brazil, "home-style" potato chips are known as ("Portuguese potatoes") if their sides are relatively smooth and ("Prussian potatoes") if their sides show a wafer biscuit-like pattern, whilst American-like industrial uniform potato chips made from a fried potato purée-based dough are known as "batata chips" ("potato chips"), or just "chips". == Health concerns ==

Most potato chips contain high levels of sodium, from salt. This has been linked to health issues such as high blood pressure. In August 2008, California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced a settlement with Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods, and Lance Inc., the makers of Cape Cod Potato Chips, for violating the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. The state had alleged in 2005 that potato chips from these companies failed to document that they contained high levels of acrylamide, which is listed by California since the 1990s as a carcinogen. These companies paid fines and agreed to reduce acrylamide levels to be under 275 parts per billion. Many potato chip manufacturers attempt to remove burned and thus potentially acrylamide-rich chips before the packaging process. Large scanners are used to eliminate chips worst affected by heat. == Regional varieties ==

Americas In the United States, major regional brands include Jays, Better Made, Old Dutch, Utz and Zapp's. In Canada, regional varieties include all-dressed, dill pickle, and ketchup. Ketchup chips are flavored with tomato, garlic and onions. In Colombia, lemon, chicken, chorizo, and sirloin steak with mushroom sauce flavored potato chips are sold. UK and Ireland In the United Kingdom, Walkers makes crisps with popular flavours as 'cheese fondue', 'BBQ and rib', and 'sweet chilli'. In Ireland, the word "Tayto" is synonymous with potato chips after the Tayto brand, and can be used to describe all varieties of chips, including those not produced by Tayto. Asia In Japan, flavors include norishio (nori and salt), consommé, 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 include Calbee and Koikeya. In Hong Kong, the two prominent potato chips are the spicy "Ethnican" variety by Calbee, and barbecue by Jack 'n Jill. In Indonesia, potato chips are commonly called kripik kentang and traditionally fell under the kripik category. The major brands are Indofood's Chitato (since 1990s) and Lay's (Frito-Lay). In 2014, Japan's Calbee and Indonesia's Wings Food formed Calbeewings, a joint venture and marketed Potabee potato chips offering two flavors: beef BBQ and grilled seaweed. Lay's potato chips sold in Indonesia are available in six flavors: honey butter, sour cream and onion, nori seaweed, beef barbecue, classic salty, and salmon teriyaki flavors. In 2018 Chitato launched three unusual flavors: beef rendang, fried crab golden egg yolk, and mango sticky rice. File:Pizza potato.JPG|Bowl of pizza-flavored chips in Japan File:Crispy and spicy potato chips in West Bengal, India, photo taken by Yogabrata Chakraborty on July 1, 2023.jpg|Triangle potato chips with Indian spicy flavors == Similar foods ==

potato crisps are uniform in size and shape, which allows them to be stacked. Another food made from potatoes, notably the Pringles and Lay's Stax brands, is made by extruding or pressing a dough made from dehydrated potato flour into the desired shape before frying. This makes a product that is uniform in size and shape, which allows them to be stacked and packaged in rigid cardboard or plastic canisters. Pringles are officially branded as "potato crisps" in the US. Pringles may be termed "potato chips" in Britain, to distinguish them from traditional "crisps", but do not meet the definition or standard of identity for potato chips. Munchos, another brand that uses the term "potato crisps", has deep air pockets in its chips that give it a curved shape, though the chips themselves resemble regular bagged chips. An additional product similar to potato chips exists in the form of "potato sticks", also called "shoestring potatoes". These are made as extremely thin (2 to 3 mm) versions of the popular French fry but are fried in the manner of regular salted potato chips. A hickory-smoke-flavored version is popular in Canada, going by the vending machine name "Hickory Sticks". Potato sticks are typically packaged in rigid containers, although some manufacturers use flexible pouches, similar to potato chip bags. Potato sticks were originally packed in hermetically sealed steel cans. In the 1960s, manufacturers switched to the less expensive composite canister (similar to the Pringles container). Reckitt Benckiser was a market leader in this category under the Durkee Potato Stix and French's Potato Sticks names but exited the business in 2008. In 2014, French's reentered the market. A larger variant (about 1 cm thick) made with dehydrated potatoes is marketed as Andy Capp's Pub Fries, using the theme of a long-running British comic strip, which are baked and sold in a variety of flavors. Walkers make a similar product (using the Smiths brand) called "Chipsticks" which are sold in ready-salted and salt and vinegar flavors. Some companies have also marketed baked potato chips as an alternative with lower fat content. Additionally, some varieties of fat-free chips have been made using artificial, and indigestible, fat substitutes. These became well known in the media when an ingredient many contained, olestra, was linked in some individuals to abdominal discomfort and loose stools. Sweet potato chips are eaten in Korea, New Zealand, and Japan; parsnip, beetroot, and carrot crisps are available in the United Kingdom. India is famous for a large number of localized 'chips shops', selling not only potato chips, but also other varieties such as plantain chips, tapioca chips, yam chips, and even carrot chips. Plantain chips, also known as chifles or tostones, are also sold in the Western Hemisphere from Canada to Chile. In the Philippines, banana chips can be found sold at local stores. In Kenya, chips are made from arrowroot and cassava. In the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, and Australia, a new variety of Pringles made from rice was released in 2010 and marketed as lower in fat than its potato counterparts. == See also ==