The History of Chips

Chips are a common day snack eaten by many people, but do many know of their origins? There are many legends and theories as to how the snack came to be, one of them being known as “The Saratoga Story”, dating back to the eighteen hundreds. In 1853, a man by the name of Cornelius Vanderbilt, an American business magnate, had been dining at a lake house, when he was served fried potatoes. Disappointed with his meal, Vanderbilt sent the potatoes back to the kitchen, when prominent chef, George Crum, resorted to slicing the potatoes very thinly and frying them, thus creating the potato chip. Many believe the story to be nothing more than that, a story. However, others believe the story to be the origin of the modern-day snack. Another popular story of origin for the chips dates back to 1817, when William Kitchiner, an English doctor, wrote The Cook’s Oracle, a cookbook containing a recipe similar to today's chips. Although the origin is not entirely evident, the decision is yours to make as to what story you believe to be true.