The History of Potato Chips

As United States Ambassador, Mr. Jefferson brought back many items from his travels abroad, such as recipes. One such recipe he brought back around the turn of the 18th century was that of potatoes fried in the style of the French, or more commonly called french fries.

"French fries" were thickly cut and fried potato sticks and usually salted. These "french fries" quickly spread to many menus in early America, especially the northeast. One such menu was that of the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. History now tells us how potato chips came to be.

Well, as it turned out, the dinner guest became so delighted with the dish, that other guests began requesting the same. It soon became a staple on the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant menu as "Saratoga Chips" and as a house specialty. George Crum opened his own restaurant in 1860 and also began preparing and serving the "Saratoga Chips."

The "Saratoga Chips" remained a kitchen prepared and served item until around 1890 when it is believed William Tappendon of Cleveland, Ohio began selling 'potato chips' in his grocery store. They were usually sold in barrels or tins in those days, because mass production and 'sealed bags' were not yet invented. Around this time, they were also simply referred to as 'potato chips' since they were quickly spreading and being produced around the country, thus ending the history of the name "Saratoga Chips."

In Pennsylvania, 1921, the Wise company began in the town of Berwick and the Utz company began in Hanover. This same year the company to be known later as Golden Flake began operation in Birmingham, Alabama. And in 1924, Moore's began in Bristol, Virginia.

These were some of the early potato chip companies that were around before the 'sealed bag', the continuous fryer and assembly line production factories sprang up. Of course, some of these companies are history, but some are still in business today.

Prior to the 1920's the potato chip was tediously hand peeled, kettle cooked, then sold by dispensing them from barrels or glass cases at the market. During the 1920's the mechanical potato peeler appeared, which greatly increased production. Also, in 1926, Laura Scudder of Scudder's Potato Chips in Monterey, California invented a sealed bag by ironing the ends of two pieces of wax paper with the chips inside, thus making it possible for the chips to be distributed more widely.

For nearly a century the "Saratoga" and then potato chip was simply a plain fried slice of potato. Therefore, the appeal was quite limited or defined due to it's single flavor. The invention of seasoning technology by Joe Murphy in the 1950's changed the potato chip industry and is responsible for making the chip the most popular American snack food today. The seasoning of the chips enabled companies to market the product to a much more broad public, thus greatly expanding the distribution and sale of potato chips.

Modern equipment and numerous factories have enabled companies like Lay's (Frito-Lay's) and Eagle Snacks to mass produce and sale the potato chips in every town of America. Still, however, small companies still exist and do quite well in their local areas and their specifically defined markets.

So there you have it, the history of the potato chip. Why were potato chips invented and who invented the potato chips? This has been answered, now. So if you want to recap, you had a french fry dish that became the accidental "Saratoga Chips" by a chef in an upscale New York resort, which became the kettle cooked plain potato chips of local companies, which became the most common displayed and consumed snack item in America today.

Now that you know the history and origins of the potato chip, why don't you browse the kinds of chips sections to see the many kinds of chips on the market today. You can order some today, or even join a club to receive different kinds of chips every month. Click on either regular (original/plain chips), flavored (seasoned), or unique and specialty section.

If you want to learn even more about the invention and evolution of potato chips, click these links:

Click here as The Chips Nostalgia, Memorabilia and History section takes a trip down chip memory lane.

Click here to Visit the books and history section to discover books about potato chips.