The History of Potato Chips

These salty treats are some of the most popular snacks in the world. But did you know that their well-known origin story is actually bogus? Historians have debunked the idea that potato chips were invented in 1853 when Cornelius Vanderbilt sent his fries back to New York chef George Crum for being too thick – it’s much more likely that these salty snacks were created by a British MD who included a recipe that sounds very familiar in his 1822 cookbook, The Cook’s Oracle. Popularized by a variety of forces – including Chef Crum, WWII, and even Al Capone – potato chips weren’t mass-produced until Laura Clough Scudder introduced the concept of potato chip bags.