Potato Chips
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass produced for home consumption. The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell’s Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the “oldest potato chip company in the United States”. New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally founded in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts claim to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer. Chips sold in markets were usually sold in tins or scooped out of storefront glass bins and delivered by horse and wagon. The early potato chip bag was wax paper with the ends ironed or stapled together.
At first, potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins, which left chips at the bottom stale and crumbled.
Laura Scudder, an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California started having her workers take home sheets of wax paper to iron into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the next day.
This pioneering method reduced crumbling and kept the chips fresh and crisp longer. This innovation, along with the invention of cellophane, allowed potato chips to become a mass market product. Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing to lengthen shelf life, and provide protection against crushing.
Similar foods
Another type of potato chip, notably the Pringles and Lay’s Stax brands, is made by extruding or pressing a dough made from ground potatoes into the desired shape before frying. This makes chips that are very uniform in size and shape, which allows them to be stacked and packaged in rigid tubes. In America, the official term for Pringles is “potato crisps”, but they are rarely referred to as such. Conversely Pringles may be termed “potato chips” in Britain, to distinguish them from traditional “crisps”.
Kettle-style chips (known as hand-cooked in the UK/Europe) are traditionally made by the “batch-style” process, where all chips are fried all at once at a low temperature profile, and continuously raked to prevent them from sticking together. There has been some development recently where kettle-style chips are able to be produced by a “continuous-style” process (like a long conveyor belt), creating the same old-fashioned texture and flavor of a real kettle-cooked chip.
There are many other products which might be called “crisps” in Britain, but would not be classed as “potato chips” because they aren’t made with potato and/or aren’t chipped (for example,Wotsits, Quavers, Skips, Hula Hoops and Monster Munch).
The Tayto’s innovation changed the entire nature of the potato chip, and led to the end of Smith’s twist of salt. (Walkers revived the idea of “salt in a bag”, following their takeover of Smith’s (UK) in 1979, with their Salt ‘n’ Shake potato crisps. Later chip manufacturers added natural and artificial seasonings to potato chips with varying degrees of success. A product that had had a large appeal to a limited market on the basis of one seasoning now had a degree of market penetration through vast numbers of seasonings. Various other seasonings of chips are sold in different locales, including the original Cheese and Onion, produced by Tayto, which remains by far Ireland’s biggest manufacturer of crisps.
Nomenclature
A Bangladeshi version of potato chips, marketed as potato crackers.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland crisps are potato chips while chips refer to french fries (as in “fish and chips”) and served hot. In Australia, some parts of South Africa, the south of New Zealand, India, the general West Indies especially in Barbados, both forms of potato product are simply known as “chips”, as are the larger “home-style” potato crisps. In the north of New Zealand they are known as “chippies” but are marketed as “chips” throughout the country. Sometimes the distinction is made between “hot chips” (fried potatoes) and “potato chips” in Australia and New Zealand. In Bangladesh, they are generally known as chip or chips, and much less as crisps (pronounced “kirisp”) and locally Álu Bhaja.
Health concerns
Potato chips were originally fried and seasoned without concern for trans fats, sodium, sugar, or other nutrient levels. As nutritional intake guidelines were created in various countries and the nutrition facts label became commonplace, consumers, advocacy groups, and health organizations have focused on the nutritional value of junk foods, including potato chips.
A recent long term study associates potato chip consumption as the most important contributor to weight change, before potatoes and soft drinks.
Some potato chip companies have responded to the criticism, both informal and legal, by investing in research and development to modify existing recipes and create health-conscious products.Kettle Foods was founded in 1978 and currently sells only trans fat-free products, including potato chips. Pepsico research shows that approximately 80% of salt on chips is not sensed by the tongue before being swallowed. Additionally, the starch in potato chips is known to cause tooth erosion.
A big concern about the nutrition of potato chips is that because they are often made with salt, they may contain substantial levels of sodium. However, it has been claimed that potato chips may actually contain less sodium/salt than the equivalent weight in corn flakes. The excessive consumption of potato chips may cause obesity which can produce a rise in blood pressure. It has been pointed out that potato chips contain less salt than Golden Graham cereals. It should also be noted potato chips that may contain significant levels of potassium.
Gallery of production
- The process of making homemade chips
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Potato is sliced by rotating the blade
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Long and narrow slices are produced
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The potato slices are fried in hot oil
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Frying takes several minutes
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The finished product
Take 60 seconds to read this wonderful story. It will give you time to settle your brain,gather your thoughts, calm down and start your week off on a positive note.
Potato Chips
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.
His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, “dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied “I ate potato chips in the park with God.” However, before his son responded, he added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!
Have lunch with God…….bring chips.
Send this to people who have touched your life in a special way. Let them know how important they are. I did!!!!
God still sits on the throne. You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can.
Keep the faith!
My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you.
Please pass this (if you wish) to at least four people you want to be blessed. This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue to pray for one another.
>> Here is the prayer:
Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
>> I know I picked more than four, so can you.
Potato Chips
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Tony Longwell
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