Wednesday, January 15, 2003

The history of potato chips

Chips are hip potato chips that is. Consider the following facts about one of America's favorite fun foods.

While most credit Thomas Jefferson with bringing the idea of the french fry from France, George Crum is credited with slicing potatoes thin enough to turn them into something different chips in the summer of 1853 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In World War II, the potato chip industry was declared an "essential" industry since chips were the only ready-to-eat dehydrated vegetable available at the time.

The world's largest potato chip was produced in Jackson, Tenn. in 1990. It measured 23" x 14.5".

The thickness of an ordinary potato chip is just over 1/20th of an inch. Ridged chips are said to be about four times thicker.

One of the more popular potato chip brands, Jays Potato Chips, uses just three ingredients: potatoes, corn oil and salt.

Jays Potato Chips was founded as "Mrs. Japp's Potato Chips" in 1927 by Leonard Japp Sr. Japp was quick to recognize the growing popularity of the potato chip. At the time, Japp and a friend, George Gavora, bought a rickety truck for $50 and started the company.

A few years later, Japp joined with longtime friend George Johnson to start a new potato chip operation called "Mrs. Japp's Chips." Their big breakthrough came with the invention of the continuous fryer that made chips that were lighter and had less oil content than others then available. The name of the company was changed to Jays in the 1940s.

After World War II, the potato chip industry began to boom. Jays bolstered its position in the market by including recipes on its bags of chips created by Japp's wife, Eugenia.

At a time when families sought ways to stretch their means, her idea of using potato chips in recipes such as a tuna casserole caught on. This helped to transform potato chips from a kids snack into a part of the American diet.

Today, Jays is said to be a top-selling potato chip brand in the Midwest. The company also manufactures and distributes a full line of quality snacks including its signature Jays Potato Chips, O-KE-DOKE popcorns, Krunchers!, tortilla chips and a line of Hot Stuff snacks.

To learn more, visit the Web site at www.jaysfoods.com.

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