The crunchy temptation

Crisps, often called crisps or in British English crisps, are the iconic and irresistible snack food that has already conquered many stomachs. Chips have become an important part of our culinary culture these days. Whether you’re hosting a movie night, celebrating a party or just a bit in the mood for a tasty treat, crisps are often the star of the moment.

The history of crisps dates back to the 19th century when a cook called George Crum with African American and Native American ancestry tried to help a disgruntled customer at Moon’s Lake House. A guest at Moon Lake Lodge thought the chips the chef had made were too thick and refused the order. Crum cut and fried thinner fries for the guest, however, these were also rejected. Crum was totally fed up and wanted to irritate the guest by frying the fries that were too thin and crispy to pierce with a fork. Unfortunately, the plan backfired, and the guest was raving about the wafer-thin, brown fries Crum had made. Other customers also started asking more and more about Crum’s crisps, and so the house specialty began to appear on the menu under the name Saratoga Chips.

Very soon after, the crisps were packaged and sold locally, to which it spread throughout New England. Eventually, the chef opened a successful restaurant selling only chips.

The idea of adding spices to crisps was conceived by the Smiths Potato Crisps Company Ltd, founded in 1920. Frank Smith added a little salt to his crisps, which he sold in fat-free paper bags all over London.

The first official crisps with spices were not produced until 1950 by Joe “Spud” Murphy, the owner of Irish crisps company Tayto. He came up with the idea of selling crisps with Cheese & Onion flavor and Salt & Vinegar flavor.

With the introduction of automated production techniques and the development of airtight packaging, crisps were first bagged in the 1950s and 1960s. This made it possible to produce and sell crisps on a large scale.

Today, there are countless flavors available in the crisps market ranging from Ketchup and Spicy BBQ flavor to bizarre flavors like Octopus and Peanut Butter crisps. So, there is something for everyone.

Fun Fact: The most expensive chips in the world come from a Swedish brewery called St. Erik’s, which has a set of 5 chips on sale for $56.