March 14, 2013 - National Potato Chip Day

nTodaynis the day to buy bags of your favorite potato chips and munch andncrunch, guilt-free.
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n(Justndon’t eat chips every day!)

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nIndidn’t know that potato chips started as a joke. A kind of a huffyn“I’m mad at you” joke!

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Thenyear was 1853. Chef George Crum was cooking in a restaurant innSaratoga Springs, New York, and a customer kept sending back thenfried potatoes (what we now call French fries) because they were toonthick and soggy.

Crum was annoyed and decided to show thencustomer potatoes that were anything but thick and soggy. He sliced anpotato paper-thin, and then he fried these thin slices in oil. Henfried them so hard, they became so crisp, he knew that the potatonslices would shatter when the customer tried to pierce them with anfork. To add to the insult, Crum over-salted the potatoes.

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nThennhe sent what he considered inedible food to the customer.

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nYounprobably guessed that, instead of hating these thin, crisp, saltynpotatoes, the customer LOVED them (and didn’t mind at all having tonuse his fingers instead of a fork). The new potato “dish” was anninstant success, and soon appeared on the Saratoga Lodge menu. Thenrestaurant became famous for the chips, and soon it was shippingn“Saratoga Chips” all over New England. Eventually people couldnbuy them in grocery stores.

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nNownpotato chips are one of the most popular snack foods in the world.

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nFlavorsnGalore!

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nInnEngland what Americans call French fries are called “chips,” sonwhat Americans call potato chips are called “crisps.” n

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Andnsome companies offer some pretty crazy flavors on their crisps! Cannyou imagine Lincolnshire sausage and brown sauce crisps? How aboutnBirmingham chicken balti crisps? There are crisps flavored likenchargrilled steak, cheeseburger, steak and onion, smoky bacon, roastnchicken, prawn (shrimp) cocktail, pickled onion, tomato ketchup, BBQnrib, Worcester sauce, cheddar cheese and bacon, and sweet chilinchicken. (These flavors are offered by Walkers brand crisps.)

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nInguess it’s a real meat-and-potatoes country!

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nAmericannchips are offered in lots of flavors, too, although with fewer meatnreferences: there are Cajun herb and spice, chile lemon, chipotlenranch, dill pickle, garden tomato, sweet southern heat barbecue,ntangy Carolina, Parmesan and Tuscan herb, southwestern ranch, creamynMediterranean herb, spice rubbed BBQ, Maui onion, jalapeno, mesquitenBBQ, and spicy cayenne and cheese. (These flavors are offered bynLay’s brand chips.)

nPringlesnoffers fewer flavor choices but claims that their flavors are Xtreme,nand have named them accordingly: Blastin’ Buffalo Wing, Screamin’nDill Pickle, Ragin’ Cajun, and Sizzlin’ Sweet BBQ. This brand alsonsells pizza-flavored chips.

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nOnenof my favorite stores, Trader Joe’s, offers milk chocolate coverednpotato chips! n

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Inpersonally like salt and vinegar chips, sour cream and cheddar chips,nand sour cream and onion chips. Oh, and just good old normal potatonchips!

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nSquidoonhas articles about even more flavors of potato chips and recipes fornmaking potato chips. Maybe you can make this yummy snack a bit more healthy!

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nAlsonon this date:

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