National Potato Chip Day is celebrated every year in the United States of America on March 14. This event is observed to enjoy this tasty snack food. Potato chips can be eaten by dipping them in chocolate or along with your favourite sandwich. These chips are versatile and you can come up with your own unique combination with this snack. On the occasion of National Potato Chip Day, we will share with you seven interesting facts about America's favourite snack food. In this article, we will also speak about potato chips history and how it evolve over ages.
There is no as such history about the celebration of National Potato Chip Day. However, it must be noted that American chef George Speck created potato chips under the brand name Saratoga Chips for the first time in the year 1853. By the late 1870s, menus across the country used the term Saratoga Chips on train cars, hotel restaurants, and street carts. In the year 1932, Frito Lay introduced Lay's potato chips. Now let us know some more interesting facts about potato chips.
Seven Amazing Facts About Potato Chips
1. Initially, when USA entered into World War II, potato chips were declared a “nonessential food” that had to halt production immediately. However, manufacturers of this snack food item protested War Production Board and they were then forced to declare potato chips as an essential food.
2. Laura Scudder created the first modern bag of potato chips in 1953 for which she is considered as potato chip queen of California. Before this, potato chips were sold out of wooden barrels or scooped from behind glass counters
3. Potato chip bags are not full of air, they are also filled with nitrogen gas which prevents the chips from oxidizing or turning stale.
4. Americans eat about 1.85 billion pounds of potato chips annually.
5. Corkers Crisps set a new world record on September 13, 2013 for the largest single bag of potato chips. The bag measured 18 feet tall and comfortably housed more than 2,515 pounds of chips.
6. Famous Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee during her long jump practice session used empty potato chip bags filled with sand to have a soft landing place for her leaps.
7. Pennsylvania is known as the "Potato Chip Capital" of the world and leads the United States in potato chip production.
On National Potato Chip Day 2021 try to learn more about this tasty snack item. Have lots of potato chips on this event with your family and share pictures of you enjoying this snack in a unique way on social media to become part of this crunchy day celebration.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 14, 2021 08:26 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).