Ben there, done that for April 20, 2022
The spud-tacular history of potato chip flavors
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Salty snacks? Sweet snacks? What’s your choice? I tend to gravitate towards salty. I am not alone in this preference as evidenced by the 36.89 billion-dollar-a-year savory snack industry in the US. Chief among these snacks is the humble potato chip. Scanning through any supermarket, among the plethora of brands and flavors, four stand out: plain, sour cream & onion, barbeque, and salt & vinegar. These flavors shine as the most ubiquitous across all different brands. This begs the question: why are these big four so popular?
While the exact origin story of the potato chip is somewhat contested, with contradicting accounts of its invention, we are certain chips were created in a restaurant in Saratoga, New York in the early 1850s. From there, this culinary newbie circulated into New York state plus Pennsylvania and Ohio-today’s “Potato Chip Belt.”
Originally, the dish was simply comprised of thinly sliced potatoes that were deep fried and then salted. In essence, plain or original flavor was just that, the original. Potato chips remained solely a restaurant dish until the early 20th century when industrialization transformed the American food industry. Massive new machines allowed for potatoes to be peeled, sliced, fried, and salted in staggering quantities. Wax-sealed bags were invented, as well, to lock in freshness and extend shelf life. From the 1930s to 1950s many of the smaller chip manufacturers were bought out by the conglomerate we know today as Frito Lay.
After WWII, canning and dehydrating technologies, used to increase shelf life in military rations, bounded into consumer markets. Numerous novelties were introduced during this era, including soup powder. Onion-flavored soup powder quickly rose in popularity. A new trend emerged in California of creating a dip by mixing onion soup powder into sour cream. The salty potato chip contrasted the creamy onion dip and subsequently became the favored dunking item.
Barbeque flavorings, much like sour cream and onion, arrived with the post war age. While smoking and cooking meat over fire dates back to the dawn of humanity, after the war, processed meats like prepackaged hamburger patties and hot dogs became very popular alongside backyard barbeques. To make cooking even more convenient, premade and bottled barbeque sauce was invented. However, the tangy, sweet, and smokey flavor of the molasses tomato-based sauce was quickly adopted as yet another dip for potato chips.
In the late 1950s, during the height of the American barbeque craze, Lays rolled out the first barbeque-flavored potato chips-an instant smash hit. No longer did the average consumer need to go to the trouble of dipping their chips, now the flavor was included from the get-go. Then, in the early 1970s, Frito Lays added sour cream and onion chips. The two common dipping choices paralleled each other in success. This now set the stage for the fourth and final great chip flavor to emerge onto the scene.
British immigration to the US in the mid part of the 20th century ushered in a new wave of cultural imports. This is when items like fish and chips and British pubs gained popularity alongside a rather prominent rock band. An essential part of proper fish and chips is the accompanying vinegar sauce. This primed the public to the idea of mixing salty fried foods with a sour flavor. However, instead of Lays being the one to roll out the new flavor, it was the much smaller Irish chip company Tayto. As the new flavor caught on other chip companies soon began to make their own version of the flavor. Early US packaging of salt and vinegar chips was ironically plastered with the union jack showing just how much chip companies leaned into the exotic British origins of the flavor, even though the flavor originated on the neighboring emerald isle. Salt and vinegar grabbed the final spot in the pantheon of great American chip flavors.
And that is how we ended up with the four big chips flavors. While today we enjoy the selection of many more flavors, the core four of plain, barbeque, sour cream and onion, and salt and vinegar, have sustained popularity over many decades. Other flavor fads have come and gone. As well, I find it fascinating that incremental innovations stretching back to the 1850s influenced the interesting food culture we enjoy today. Who knows what stories are being concocted today?
