Salty. Crispy. Delicious. People around the world love potato chips. But have you ever wondered how they got their start?
The story goes like this: It was 1853, at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. A chef named George Crum had just prepared some french fries. But the customer who got the fries didn’t like them. He said they were too thick and soggy. He sent his food back to the kitchen.
Crum felt annoyed. So he sliced some potatoes as thin as he could. Crum fried them until they became hard, brown chips. They weren’t thick or soggy now! Crum was sure the customer would hate the chips.
But something surprising happened. The customer loved them! Soon the restaurant became famous for its “Saratoga Chips.”
Experts aren’t sure things really happened this way. Someone else might have invented potato chips before Crum. But Crum helped make them popular.
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.
Crum decided to teach this picky customer a lesson. So he sliced up 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 gobbled up the delicious new treat. Other diners began to ask for them too. Soon, the restaurant was known for its famous “Saratoga Chips.”
History experts aren’t sure whether this tale is 100 percent true, or even that Crum was the first person to invent potato chips. But he definitely helped make them popular in the U.S. And more than 150 years later, potato chips are still one of America’s favorite snacks.
