The surprising story behind America’s favorite snack
The story goes something like this: In the summer of 1853, a chef named George Crum was cooking up french fries at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. A customer sent his fries back to the kitchen, complaining that they were too thick and soggy.
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George Crum
Crum decided to teach this picky customer a lesson. He sliced some potatoes as thin as he could and fried them to a hard, brown crisp. He was sure they would be inedible.
But something surprising happened. The customer didn’t turn up his nose at these crunchy fried potatoes. In fact, he scarfed them down. Other diners began to ask for them too. Soon, the restaurant was famous for its “Saratoga Chips.”
Historians aren’t certain whether this tale is 100 percent true—or even that Crum was the first to serve potato chips. But he definitely helped make them popular in the U.S. More than 150 years later, potato chips remain one of America’s favorite snacks.
Passion for Potatoes
Humans have been eating potatoes in one form or another for thousands of years. Scientists believe that potatoes were first grown in ancient times high up in the Andes Mountains in South America. In 1532, while trekking through the Andes, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro and his team witnessed locals eating a vegetable he’d never seen before. When Pizarro sailed back to Spain, he brought the tasty tuber with him. Eventually, the potato made its way across Europe and then to North America, where—whether boiled, baked, or mashed—it became a staple.
According to some accounts, President Thomas Jefferson is the one who introduced Americans to thinly sliced, fried potatoes after sampling them in Paris, France. He loved the dish so much that he obtained the recipe and served it to guests at the White House in the early 1800s. These “french fries,” as they came to be known, soon appeared on menus across America. It wasn’t long after that, thanks in part to Crum and his finicky french fry customer, that the potato chip was born.
Crunch Craving
It’s not surprising that Crum’s creation became a hit. He had stumbled on a winning combination: salt and crunch.
When we eat salty foods, our brains release a feel-good chemical called dopamine. But it’s not just the saltiness of chips that we love. Research shows that humans naturally crave noisy, crunchy foods.
Why? Some scientists think it’s because crunchy foods tend to be fresh. Think of the satisfying snap you hear when you bite into a stalk of celery or a crisp apple. The crunchiness of fruits and vegetables helped tell early humans that these foods were fresh and healthful. Even though potato chips aren’t very nutritious, they still appeal to our brain’s built-in love of crunch.
Today, food companies research how to deliver the perfect crunchiness. They’ve figured out exactly how much tooth pressure it should take to crush a chip. They’ve calculated how loud the sound is: It can reach 63 decibels. (That’s as loud as two people talking!) They’ve designed bags to keep chips crispy for as long as possible.
So the next time you tear into a bag of chips, think about the work that went into each perfect crunch. And between noisy mouthfuls, you can thank George Crum.
This article was originally published in the December 2020 / January 2021 issue.
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