Potato Chips
Did you know that one of the most popular snacks in America is potato chips? People spend almost $4 billion every year on these crispy treats!
But do you know how potato chips were invented? Well, it all started in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853. There was a fancy hotel called Carey Moon Lake House where lots of rich people would go on vacation. And in the hotel’s kitchen, there was a chef named George Crum.
One day, a customer at the hotel kept sending his plate of fried potatoes back to the kitchen, asking that they be sliced thinner and fried longer. Now, George Crum had a bit of a temper, and he decided to play a trick on the complaining customer. He sliced the potatoes super thin, fried them until they were curly and crispy, and salted them.
He was sure the customer would hate them, but to everyone’s surprise, the customer loved them and asked for more! Word quickly spread about these crispy potatoes, and they became known as Saratoga chips, after the town where they were introduced.
Today, Americans eat over 816 million pounds of potato chips every year! That’s a lot of chips! And did you know that a total of 3.468 billion pounds of potatoes end up as America's number one snack food: potato chips?
So, the next time you enjoy a bag of potato chips, remember the story of George Crum and how he accidentally invented one of America’s favorite snacks!
