Valley Views

The spud-tacular history of potato chip flavors

Salty 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 deep fried and then salted. In essence, plain or original flavor was just that, the original. Potato chips remained solely a restaurant dish until the early 20th century when industrialization transformed the American food industry. Massive new machines allowed for potatoes to be peeled, sliced, fried, and salted in staggering quantities. Wax-sealed bags were invented, as well, to lock in freshness and extend shelf life. From the 1930s to 1950s many of the smaller chip manufacturers were bought out by the conglomerate we know today as Frito Lay.

After WWII, canning and dehydrating technologies, used to increase shelf life in military rations, bounded into consumer markets. Numerous novelties were introduced during this era, including soup powder. Onion-flavored soup powder quickly rose in popularity. A new trend emerged in California of creating a dip by mixing onion soup powder into sour cream. The salty potato chip contrasted the creamy onion dip and subsequently became the favored dunking

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Barbeque flavorings, much like sour cream and onion, arrived with the post war age. While smoking and cooking meat over fire dates back to the dawn of humanity, after the war, processed meats like prepackaged hamburger patties and hot dogs became very popular alongside backyard barbeques. To make cooking even more convenient, premade and bottled 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 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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DONE that Ben Stone Media Production, Valley Journal

Cruel to be kind

Last 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 enough, as most rabbit hole ventures do. I recently got a haircut and have decided to embrace my naturally wavy/curly, albeit fine, hair. I have a lot of hair, but its baby-fine texture sometimes makes volume an issue. Curls require volume, so I hit the Google with “best shampoo 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

Slices of Life Jill Pertler Syndicated columnist

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whether the shampoo was cruelty-free.

Say what? Call me naive (because I am) but I thought the whole animal testing thing was outlawed sometime during the days of eight-track tapes.

Turns out I was wrong.

Some of the brand names I recognized very well were not considered cruelty free. Yep. They test their products on animals “when required to do so” and can’t promise that those tests aren’t cruel.

You see how this rabbit hole sucked me in? I am a lot of things, but I hope to think that cruel is not one of them. I’d much rather be seen as kind. I think most of us can relate.

I knew I had to find out more so I revisited my go-to search engine.

Turns out, one particular country (hint: it starts with “Ch”) still requires animal testing on certain products in order for those products to be sold on their soil. Some companies choose not to sell their products in this country; others overlook this little detail in the name of profit, and not only allow animal testing but even pay for it as well.

My mouth was wide open at this point.

I want my high-needs hair to look good, but not at the expense of an innocent bunny rabbit or any of its offspring. I’m also not questioning a company’s need to make a profit. I get it. But at what cost? That’s a personal question for all of us; I may have my answer, you may have yours – and that’s okay.

As my search continued, I learned that another key word when looking for cruelty-free is “vegan.” I like meat as much as anyone, but not in my shampoo or beauty products.

I think my big take-away is that not all products are cruelty-free. Call me innocent, but I thought we were way beyond that. Sigh.

I spent the day reading reviews and ended up ordering a couple of shampoos and conditioners (as well as a curl-activating product) that are all vegan, cruelty-free and, even better, they didn’t break the bank.

My life is again filled with hope, not only for the bunnies of the globe, but my hair as well.

Here’s hoping that any rabbit holes in my future only serve to help bunnies, not hurt them - and that my new products are as kind to my hair as they are to the planet.

Jill Pertler is an award-winning syndicated columnist, published playwright and author. Don’t miss a slice; follow the Slices of Life page on Facebook.

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Call for judicial diversity

We expect a great deal from our Supreme Court - that justices apply the law rigorously, but with a broad understanding of what their decisions mean to individuals and society. It is the need for this broad, wise understanding that makes diversity on the bench so important. None of us, however intelligent and well-educated, can see all sides of an issue.

As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, said about her colleague, Thurgood Marshall (the first African American on the Court) “Occasionally, at Conference meetings, I still catch myself looking expectantly for his raised brow and his twinkling eye, hoping to hear, just once more, another story that would, by and by, perhaps change the way I see the world.”

We also tend to think of the law as a set of rules that can be applied impartially. This is the goal, but there are many situations in which understanding of the world views and immediate problems of defendants can lead to the sort of decisions that benefit individuals and society. We need diversity in judicial experience - backgrounds other than prosecution, and educations that are other than Ivy League.

We also need to consider that, as Justice Brown Jackson states, “The judicial branch... is the protection of the rule of law, which can only be done by the consent of the governed. It can only be done if people in our society believe, decide, and agree that they’re going to follow what it is that courts decide. And so, one of the reasons why having a diverse judicial branch is important is because it lends and bolsters public confidence in our system.”

We, of course, need this diversity in national and state supreme courts. Let your representatives know.

Gail Trenfield St. Ignatius

Take a break

Amid all the negativity we are reading in the news these days, take-a-break with these:

A guy walks into a lumber yard and asks for some two-by-fours. The clerk asks, “How long do you need them?” The man answers, “A long time. We’re gonna build a house.”

The students walk into the classroom on their first day in med school. In huge print on the blackboard is “A patient cured is a patient lost.”

The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.

Be decisive. Right or wrong, decide. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.

For some reason my English teacher just groaned when I said, “Thanks for teaching me the meaning of ‘plethora.’ It means a lot to me.”

Bob McClellan Missoula

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