POTATO CHIPS

2013 marked the 160th birthday of the potato chips. It had been said, "a diet of whole milk and potatoes would supply almost all the food elements necessary for the maintenance of the human body."

 

In 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt went on vacation and stayed at a resort in Saratoga Springs in New York. Dining at Moon's Lake House, Cornelius complained his fried potatoes were too thick. His order was then returned back to the kitchen. Taken aback, George Crum, a native American chef, decided to shave the potatoes to paper-thin slices then deep-fried and added salt. It was a hit.

 

Potato chips had since become a phenomenon. The "crunch that heard around the world" helped launched the salty snack food industry. By 1959 it was reported Americans on average ate 4.4 pounds of potato chips each year. By 1990 some 5 billion pounds of potatoes were said to have turned into some 1.5 billion pounds of potato chips. By 2002, plain potato chips were said to remain the most popular of all the potato chips eaten.

 

Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum confessed, "I never dreamt as I munched away on those crispy and crunchy potato chips each day after school and at all children's functions, that I would someday find that its founder was no other than my husband's great-great-grandfather." One nutritionist maintained there were no "good" or "bad" food.  The specialist in nutrition and biochemistry reasoned, "Even if a food contains so-called empty calories, it still has some nutrient value." It was pointed out, "A balanced diet based on selections from the 4 food groups (diary, meat, vegetable-fruit and cereal) is still as good as anything we have." One ounce of chips reportedly contained 2.5 ounces of fresh potato, providing consumer with the recommended 10% daily vitamin C intake.

In conclusion, "Banning something is rarely a solution. The notion that kids are filling up on soft drinks and potato chips doesn't hold."