valley views
The spud-tacular history of potato chip flavors S
alty snacks? Sweet snacks? What’s your choice? I tend to gravitate towards salty. I am not alone in this preference as evidenced by the 36.89 billion-dollar-a-year savory snack industry in the US. Chief among these snacks is the humble potato chip. Scanning through any supermarket, among the plethora of brands and flavors, four stand out: plain, sour cream & onion, barbeque, and salt & vinegar. These flavors shine as the most ubiquitous across all different brands. This begs the question: why are these big four so popular? While the exact origin story of the potato chip is somewhat contested, with contradicting accounts of its invention, we are certain chips were created in a restaurant in Saratoga, New York in the early 1850s. From there, this culinary newbie circulated into New York state plus Pennsylvania and Ohio-today’s “Potato Chip Belt.” Originally, the dish was simply comprised of thinly
sliced potatoes that were elties were introduced deep fried and then salted. during this era, including In essence, plain or origsoup powder. Onion-flainal flavor was just that, vored soup powder quickly the original. Potato chips rose in popularity. A new remained solely a restautrend emerged in Calirant dish until the early fornia of creating a dip 20th century by mixing when indusonion soup trialization powder into transformed sour cream. the AmerThe salty ican food potato chip industry. contrasted Massive new the creamy machines onion dip ben there allowed for and subDONE that potatoes to sequently Ben Stone be peeled, became Media Production, Valley Journal sliced, fried, the favored and salted dunking in staggering quantities. item. Wax-sealed bags were Barbeque flavorings, invented, as well, to lock in much like sour cream and freshness and extend shelf onion, arrived with the life. From the 1930s to post war age. While smok1950s many of the smaller ing and cooking meat over chip manufacturers were fire dates back to the dawn bought out by the conof humanity, after the war, glomerate we know today processed meats like preas Frito Lay. packaged hamburger patAfter WWII, canning ties and hot dogs became and dehydrating technolo- very popular alongside gies, used to increase shelf backyard barbeques. To life in military rations, make cooking even more bounded into consumer convenient, premade and markets. Numerous novbottled barbeque sauce was
invented. However, the tangy, sweet, and smokey flavor of the molasses tomato-based sauce was quickly adopted as yet another dip for potato chips. In the late 1950s, during the height of the American barbeque craze, Lays rolled out the first barbeque-flavored potato chips-an instant smash hit. No longer did the average consumer need to go to the trouble of dipping their chips, now the flavor was included from the get-go. Then, in the early 1970s, Frito Lays added sour cream and onion chips. The two common dipping choices paralleled each other in success. This now set the stage for the fourth and final great chip flavor to emerge onto the scene. British immigration to the US in the mid part of the 20th century ushered in a new wave of cultural imports. This is when items like fish and chips and British pubs gained popularity alongside a rather prominent rock band. An essential part of
proper fish and chips is the accompanying vinegar sauce. This primed the public to the idea of mixing salty fried foods with a sour flavor. However, instead of Lays being the one to roll out the new flavor, it was the much smaller Irish chip company Tayto. As the new flavor caught on other chip companies soon began to make their own version of the flavor. Early US packaging of salt and vinegar chips was ironically plastered with the union jack showing just how much chip companies leaned into the exotic British origins of the flavor, even though the flavor originated on the neighboring emerald isle. Salt and vinegar grabbed the final spot in the pantheon of great American chip flavors. And that is how we ended up with the four big chips flavors. While today we enjoy the selection of many more flavors, the core four of plain, barbeque, sour cream and onion, and salt and vinegar, have sustained popularity
enough, as most rabbit hair. I have a lot of hair, hole ventures do. I rebut its baby-fine texture cently got a sometimes haircut and makes volume Jill Pertler have decided an issue. Curls Syndicated columnist to embrace require volume, my naturally so I hit the wavy/curly, albeit fine, Google with “best sham-
poo for curly fine hair,” which resulted in numerous websites with lists of the best products for my particular needs. I clicked on one list and the journey began. I was confronted with
various brand names, some I recognized, some I did not. The lists listed numerous facts for each shampoo including scent, ingredient list, price, where to purchase and
Cruel to be kind L
ast weekend I dove headfirst down a deep rabbit hole. And, as those of us with rabbit hole experience can attest, once you hop in there is no going back. It started innocently 10 - April 20, 2022
Slices of Life
Valley Journal
see page 11
over many decades. Other flavor fads have come and gone. As well, I find it fascinating that incremental innovations stretching back to the 1850s influenced the interesting food culture we enjoy today. Who knows what stories are being concocted today?
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