*please note: Chip Club USA is not to be compared to, and/or called a "SNACK" club.*
Sunday, July 13, 2008
CHIPS IN THE NEWS
for those that want to be kept up on chip news:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/potato_chips/index.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/potato_chips/index.html
The Origin of Chip
courtesy of the ever-so trustworthy wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip
ORIGIN:
It is believed that the original potato chip recipe was created by African American chef George Crum, at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York, on August 24, 1853. He was fed up with a customer (the popular myth wrongly identifies him as Cornelius Vanderbilt) who continued to send his fried potatoes back, claiming that they were too thick and soggy. Crum decided to slice the potatoes so thin that they couldn't be eaten with a fork, nor fried normally in a pan, so he decided to stir-fry the potato slices. Against Crum's expectation, the guest was ecstatic about the new chips. They became a regular item on the lodge's menu under the name "Saratoga Chips." They soon became popular throughout New York and New England.
One version of this story credits Dr. Kellogg (the brother of the Dr. Kellogg who founded the company which bears the family name) as the customer who wanted them thinner.
An earlier reference to what are now known as potato chips as Alexis Soyer's recipe in "Shilling Cookery for People" (1845). Here raw potatoes, "almost shavings" are fried. Earlier still, Mary Randolph's book "The Virginia House-wife" (1824) has a part titled "To fry Sliced Potatoes" here raw potatoes are cut into slices or thin shavings and fried "till they are crisp."
In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass produced for home consumption; Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the "oldest potato chip company in the United States".[1]
Before the airtight sealed bag was developed, chips were stored in barrels or tins which allowed them to go stale and damp. Then Laura Scudder invented the potato chip bag by ironing together two pieces of waxed paper, thereby creating an airtight seal and keeping the chips fresh until opened. In 1934 Akron, Ohio, potato chip maker K.T. Salem was the first to distribute chips in glassine waxed paper bags. Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing in order to lengthen shelf life and provide protection against crushing.
The owners of the restaurant Schweizerhaus in Vienna's largest permanent amusement park Wurstelprater claim it's their site where what they call Rohscheiben (raw slices) was invented. Whether it's an exaggeration or the story itself was the invention - what they do prove is that fresh and deep-fryer-hot potato slices have a special taste.
“Magna Cool Ranch Carta”
Chip Club has attempted to build a delicious little foundation of knowledge that we call the “Magna Cool Ranch Carta”. Here is a brief snippet from page 13, section 8, paragraph 3:
The chip hierarchy is established with nesting categories: “Chips” are the standard bearers, encompassing all crunchy, relatively thin, somewhat curved and cooked (baked, puffed, kettle-cooked or fried) edible morsels. Within the “Chips” mother class, are “Cheps,” which must be composed of potatoes, corn or flour tortilla and, in terms of flavor, are fairly well rated, but lack something that keeps them from approaching culinary genius. At the summit of the chip period, and existing within “Cheps,” are “Cheops”: the Hope Diamond of chips, truly exquisite in flavor, and made from either potato or flour tortilla.
Under the “Chips” umbrella, but exclusive from “Cheops” and “Cheps,” exist two other varieties of the snack. The first is “Chimps,” which are made from a fruit (e.g. banana) or a vegetable other than potato (e.g. cassava) and would probably be consumed by your average chimpanzee. The second is “Chumps,” which include, but are not limited to any of the following:
1) a chip made from vegetable or potato powder (e.g. Veggie Crisps, Pringles);
2) a Pita, Bagel or other “bread” chip;
3) a chip posing as a chip, but is really more of a cracker in texture;
4) a “crisp” or a “puff”;
5) shredded lettuce and mayonnaise mixed together;
6) Styrofoam peanuts.
A chip should also not be constructed from animal parts, nor should it be fried in animal oil. And from henceforth, all foreign products must be stamped with the correct seal to indicate MSG levels above and beyond that which might induce stroke.
The chip hierarchy is established with nesting categories: “Chips” are the standard bearers, encompassing all crunchy, relatively thin, somewhat curved and cooked (baked, puffed, kettle-cooked or fried) edible morsels. Within the “Chips” mother class, are “Cheps,” which must be composed of potatoes, corn or flour tortilla and, in terms of flavor, are fairly well rated, but lack something that keeps them from approaching culinary genius. At the summit of the chip period, and existing within “Cheps,” are “Cheops”: the Hope Diamond of chips, truly exquisite in flavor, and made from either potato or flour tortilla.
Under the “Chips” umbrella, but exclusive from “Cheops” and “Cheps,” exist two other varieties of the snack. The first is “Chimps,” which are made from a fruit (e.g. banana) or a vegetable other than potato (e.g. cassava) and would probably be consumed by your average chimpanzee. The second is “Chumps,” which include, but are not limited to any of the following:
1) a chip made from vegetable or potato powder (e.g. Veggie Crisps, Pringles);
2) a Pita, Bagel or other “bread” chip;
3) a chip posing as a chip, but is really more of a cracker in texture;
4) a “crisp” or a “puff”;
5) shredded lettuce and mayonnaise mixed together;
6) Styrofoam peanuts.
A chip should also not be constructed from animal parts, nor should it be fried in animal oil. And from henceforth, all foreign products must be stamped with the correct seal to indicate MSG levels above and beyond that which might induce stroke.
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