Potato chips, which were invented in Saratoga, New York, are more American than apple pie, which came here from Europe.

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May 2005
Updated March 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Snacks

A History of the Potato Chip

America’s Favorite Snack Food Began As An Insult Returned

This is Page 1 of a five-page article. Click the black links below to view the other pages.

• Page 1: Introduction
• Page 2: Who Invented The Potato Chip
• Page 3: The Potato Chip Evolves
• Page 4: The First Salted & Flavored Potato Chips
• Page 5: Gourmet Potato Chips

Introduction

While much of history comprises many people doing singular things, in certain cases one or two people seem to do an awful lot. Some days, it seems that everything we enjoy was invented by the ancient Chinese and/or abetted by Thomas Jefferson. Thus, we have Thomas Jefferson perfecting ice cream recipes (originally created as fruit ice by the Chinese), Jefferson returning from Europe with the first pasta machine (pasta, too, invented by the Chinese), and at the same time bringing the recipe for French fries, called “potatoes fried in the French manner” (as far as we know, the Chinese have had absolutely nothing to do with the potato).

From that elegant dining room in Monticello in 1789, French-style fried potatoes spread quickly and far. The style of the time was a thick-cut fry and not the slender julienne frites of today.

Continue To Page 2: Who Invented The Potato Chip

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