The Truth About the Origin of the Potato Chip
The Truth About the Origin of the Potato Chip
The prevailing story of the origin of the potato chip starts in Saratoga Springs, New York, a historically affluent and resort community. It was 1853, eight years before the beginning of the Civil War. Known for its mineral springs and their supposed rejuvenation properties, Saratoga Springs had just started becoming a tourist destination with help of the railroad that cut through the town. Resorts, inns, restaurants, and spas had begun to crop up along the shores of Saratoga Lake. Moon’s Lake House, owned by Cary Moon, was one of the finest of those restaurants. Vacationers and wealthy summer home owners visited the restaurant often. At the restaurant, two people shared the cooking responsibilities, Catherine “Aunt Kate” Weeks and her brother (or brother-in-law, depending on who’s telling the story), George Crum.
George was born George Speck, his mother was Native American and his father was a free African-American making a living as a horse jockey. When George was a young man, he adopted his father’s horse racing name – Crum. After an earlier career as a trapper and hunting guide, he made his way to Saratoga Springs, where he began cooking and, by all accounts, seemed to get pretty good at it. So good, in fact, he was hired by Cary Moon to work at his restaurant.
Up to this point, based on the evidence at hand, we can be fairly certain all of this is true.
But here’s where, perhaps, elements of legend creep in. The story goes that it was about dinner time during Moon’s second summer season on the Lake. A customer came in and ordered Moon’s Fried Potatoes, the well-known house specialty. Crum whipped up a batch and served it to the customer, who complained that the potatoes were cut much too thick. So, he sent the item back to be remade. Crum did his best to make them thinner, yet when the discerning patron got his second order, again he complained that the thickness of the potatoes weren’t to his liking. So, once again, the customer told Crum to try again.
Crum, none too pleased that someone would insult his cooking, cut the potatoes paper-thin, dumped them in a vat of oil, let them cook so long that they became hard and crispy, and then salted them heavily, thinking that these “fried potatoes” would now be inedible. When served the item, the customer took a bite…and then another…and then another, before proclaiming that the fried slices of potatoes were delicious. It became known as the “Saratoga Chip.” The potato chip was born.
As one could imagine, there are several versions of this story and all are disputed. First off, assuming the story is true, there is the question of who this customer actually was. The less interesting account was that it was simply a regular (albeit whiny) farmer, hungry from a long day out in the fields. The more famed tale is that the customer was shipping and railroad mogul, Cornelius Vanderbilt.
This part of the story was, at the very least, appropriated by the Snack Food Association in the late 1970s. The Snack Food Association, in partnership with Mary Lou Whitney, the wife of the great-great grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, published an account (essentially as an advertisement) that mostly leaves Crum out of the origin story, partially crediting Vanderbilt with the invention. Says the ad,
“The chef, to spite Vanderbilt, sliced his potatoes very thin, fried them to a crisp and salted them heavily. Vanderbilt loved them and the potato chip was born.”
It was this advertising campaign that firmly established in popular folklore how the potato chip was invented and who invented it. Later, Saratoga Springs historian Violet Dunn would claim that there was no evidence whatsoever that Vanderbilt was the customer, writing in a letter to the Snack Food Association,
“I am annoyed at Mary Lou Whitney when she claims Commodore Vanderbilt was the man who refused to accept the fried potatoes. There is no documentation to substantiate this. It could have been your great grandfather or mine.”
You might not be at all surprised to learn that George Crum himself also may have had nothing to do with the potato chip, at least in terms of its origin. As an article in Western Folklore journal written by William Fox and Mae Banner in 1983 points out, it took 70 years from when the chip was supposedly invented for Crum to be credited with the invention. In fact, when he passed away in 1913, the local newspaper’s obituary of Crum didn’t have a single mention of “potato chip” in it. He was first mentioned in relation to the potato chip in the 1920s when a local historian wrote, “Crum is said to have been the actual inventor of ‘Saratoga Chips’ when he was employed at Moon’s old place.”
Another version of the tale involves Crum and his sister (or sister-in-law) “Aunt Kate” Weeks. In a 1940 article from the Saratogian written by the town’s historian at the time, Jean McGregor, it claims that Weeks was actually the one to accidentally create the potato chip. In this story, Weeks was making pastries, frying them in a vat of fat. She was also peeling potatoes in attempt to multi-task. Well, a slice of potato fell into the fat and when she fished it out, Crum saw the greasy potato sitting on the counter and took a bite. It was so good that Crum said they need to sell them, which they did for ten cents a bag.
So what’s the truth in all this? It’s always possible Crum may have served potato chips at some point whether at Moon’s Lake House or later at his own restaurant which he opened in 1860. (It was a popular item in the ar it’s been claimed he commonly served baskets of chips on tables as an appetizer for guests.) And he may have even invented his own version of it, even possibly being ignorant of any other.
But this all seems unlikely as, if he had invented it, one would think he would have claimed this fact at some point to help promote his restaurant, given the eventual popularity of “Saratoga Chips.” Further, the New York Tribune in 1891 did a write up on Crum’s restaurant, Crum’s House, and made no mention of anything remotely resembling potato chips being served there, which also calls into question the claims that he served the chips as an appetizer to all guests. Perhaps most damning of all is that Crum commissioned a biography of his life to be written in 1893- in it there is not one mention of him inventing potato chips.
But whatever the case, no one from Saratoga Springs can really claim they were the first to make potato chips, though the chefs in the town did help popularize it. (“Saratoga Chips” was even a relatively common name for potato chips up until around the mid-20th century). But it seems the potato chip was invented earlier in the 19th century in Europe, and possibly before. After all, potatoes were a very common food (often fried) . It’s hard to believe they were never thinly sliced, salted, and deep fried prior to 1853.
And, indeed, Englishman William Kitchiner’s famed 1822 cookbook Cook’s Oracle has a recipe for “Potato Fried in Slices or Shavings.” The recipe is extremely close to the original Saratoga Chip, having the chef cut the potatoes in “shavings round and round… dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping… send them up with a very little salt sprinkled over them.” This cookbook was a bestseller in both the UK and in America and was published six years before George Crum was even born.
Beyond that, there are several other cookbooks that featured essentially the same thing before Crum supposedly invented them,
for instance, The Virginia House-Wife by Mary Randolph (1824) and Alexis Soyer’s Shilling Cookery for the People (1845), among many others.
Despite all the varied versions and lack of documented evidence, the “Saratoga Chip” is still very much part of the town’s identity today. No matter if the potato chip was invented originally in Saratoga Springs or not, this writer, from experience, can vouch for its tastiness- it really is one fine potato chip.
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Bonus Facts:
Crum wasn’t the only man famously credited for inventing something he seemingly didn’t have anything to do with.
General Abner Doubleday, who is often claimed to have been the inventor of baseball, even by the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, also seems to have had nothing to do with “his” invention.
In fact, in all of Abner Doubleday’s extremely well documented life, the only mention of him in relation to sports was this in his obituary: he was a man “who did not care for outdoor sports.” For more on this, see:
Potato chips saw a huge burst in popularity outside of being served in restaurants thanks to former nurse and lawyer, Laura Scudder.
(Scudder was also the first known female attorney in Ukiah, California.)
Scudder eventually moved to Monterey Park, California and started a business in 1926 selling various food items, including potato chips.
As you might expect from the date, and from the fact that she was a woman in an era when women weren’t generally welcomed as business owners, her business struggled a bit at first due to the Great Depression and that many companies refu even getting insurance for her businesses’ truck was an issue until she managed to find a female insurance agent.
At this point, shelf life for the chips was generally poor, due to lack of effective packaging.
They were usually sold in bulk in cracker barrels or tins, neither of which was ideal. Beyond the poor shelf life, chips at the bottom also tended to become crushed. Scudder got the bright idea to have her employees iron wax paper into bags which they could then put the chips inside and seal shut.
This method worked amazingly well and helped make the former popular restaurant item something consumers could buy and store effectively at home.
Needless to say, she soon had a whole fleet of trucks that needed insured, and of course stuck with the lone insurance agent in her area willing to work with a female business owner at the time. She would later sell her business for $5 million or about $43 million today (though turned down a $9 million offer because the buyers wouldn’t guarantee her employee’s jobs). At its peak, her business would go on to gross well over $100 million in sales annually.
Another innovation of Scudder’s was to put the date the item was packaged on the chip bags, so consumers could make sure they were getting fresh bags.
Today, chips are typically stored in plastic bags filled with nitrogen, which simultaneously helps keep the chips from getting crushed during shipping and keeps them fresher even longer.
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RFID, Technology and THE MARK
Mention the mark of the beast today and instantly the majority of people will think of some sort of technological device like the RFID chip, or an
ID card, or a 'techno' tattoo. And we are not only talking about professed Christians. Even non-believers instantly think of some device or physical
mark that is placed upon us. So the whole world believes that one day soon we are going to have a physical mark enforced upon us which will
be the prophesied mark of the beast foretold in the book of Revelation, chapter 13.
So what about us. Do we go along with this 'mainstream' view of the beast's mark? I'm afraid not, and for VERY good reason. Which is why we
have compiled a short list of reasons as to why the mark of the beast CANNOT be the RFID chip or any technology device or physical mark.
This is a very important issue we are dealing with here, as some of God's most dire warnings are associated with the mark of the beast.
Please carefully consider the following 6 reasons as to why the mark of the beast cannot be the
RFID chip or any physical mark.
1 - The Word &Mark& Doesn't HAVE to Mean a Physical Mark
So many people look at that word &mark& in Revelation 13 and say ...&Well, the original greek for the word mark means
an actual physical mark.& ... And they would be right.
The problem is, they forget that they are reading it in the book of
Revelation.
You know, that book which is FULL of symbolic language.
For example.
The beasts of Revelation 13 and the whore riding
a beast in Revelation 17.
If you take a look at these in the original language, they too will be described as ACTUAL beasts and a whore.
So if you apply the rule that the mark of the beast HAS to be a physical mark because of the word, then you have to apply that rule to
the rest of Revelation.
Now if you were to ask those people who support the theory of the mark being this RFID chip, or any other physical mark, if they
believed we will be seeing ACTUAL beasts and a whore riding a beast forcing the world to worship them.
I am sure that they would
respond by saying ... &Don't be silly, that is SYMBOLIC language.& ... And the same applies with the mark.
Friend, the mark of the beast does not HAVE to be a physical mark.
And with the rest of the following reasons, we will show you
why it CANNOT be this RFID chip or any other physical device.
2 - Where's the Deception?
Let me give you a few verses which tells us what Satan is going to do in the end times:
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 ...'Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.'
Revelation 12:9 ...'And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast
out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.'
Revelation 13:14 ...'And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.'
Revelation 18:23 ...'for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.'
Revelation 19:20 ...'And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.'
Now have a REALLY good think about this for a moment. Not only does the vast majority of the professed Christian world believe that the mark of
the beast will be a physical mark, like the RFID chip, or an ID card, or tattoo. Even the un-believing world has some 'knowledge' about the mark
of the beast, which they relate to a physical mark like the RFID chip. So I ask you, and please think carefully about this .... where is the
DECEPTION?. Did you read the above verses from the Word of God concerning Satan's tactics? He is ALL about deception, and the final battle
in these last days will contain Satan's greatest deceptions of all.
The RFID Chip is not a deception. But I tell you what is ... the WHOLE
world is waiting for the RFID chip or some physical mark to be enforced. THAT is the deception!
3 - The Mark is all to do With Worship
The many people who focus on the RFID chip or some other technology device being the mark of the beast tend to forget about the spiritual
aspect of being a Christian.
Does the Bible say we are warring against physical enemies? No, the Bible is very clear on what we are
up against:
Ephesians 6:12 ...'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.'
You see, our battle is not against the physical things of this world.
Our battle is a SPIRITUAL one.
Satan is not so much looking to
gain control of our wallets.
He us ultimately looking to gain control of our MINDS. He wants to drive a wedge between us and Christ
And how does he do that? By stopping us from giving TRUE worship to our Creator God. Look at what the final warning to the world
is in Revelation 13 and 14:
Revelation 13: vs 4 ... And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the
beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? ... vs 8 ...And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world ... vs 11-12 ...And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth ...
and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast ... vs 15 ...and cause that as many as would not worship
the image of the beast should be killed.'
Revelation 14: ...'vs 6-7 ...And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven ... Saying with a loud voice ... worship
him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters ... vs 9-10 ...If any man worship the beast and his image,
and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand ... The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God
I think the mark is all to do with worship don't you? This is the final warning to the world, and it is a warning about worshipping the beast system and a
call to TRUE WORSHIP. The three angels of Revelation 14 don't just say ... &DON'T TAKE THE
MARK& ... They are telling us to remember our Creator and worship Him ONLY who created the heavens and the earth.
pointing us back to creation and telling us to give our allegiance to the ONE true Creator God, Jehovah!
Now I ask you.
How does getting a physical mark STOP us from giving TRUE worship to our Creator? It doesn't! Which is why the mark
of the beast CANNOT be a physical mark.
Now some people claim that these RFID chips could be able to alter your mind and thoughts and in some way take
control. But God would never allow this to happen on a mass scale, because He wouldn't allow our free choice to be taken away from us. If we are
not able to make a free conscious decision with regards to our worship and allegiance, then the judgment of the mark would not be a fair one.
The mark of the beast is all about a free conscious decision by each and every person as to who we give our allegiance and worship to.
4 - RFID Chip Can be Forced Upon Us
Let's look at the follow scenarios:
Someone is taken into hospital for an operation and during the operation the doctors insert an RFID chip into the person.
Now according
to the many people who believe the RFID chip to be the mark of the beast, this person who went to hospital, NOW HAS THE MARK OF THE
BEAST, and is going to be lost!
Another scenario: The military take control of a town and force their way into each and every home, injecting (somehow) an RFID chip
into every person.
There is nothing that the people can do.
Some make a run for it, but are captured and forced to have this RFID
chip. The same goes for any other physical mark.
They can be forced upon us if the governments decided, and there is little we could do about
it, because as TRUE Christians, we should not fight back.
So is God going to reject people for having a physical mark forced upon them?
No, not a chance!
Because we serve a loving God who
is fair and just in all His ways.
And not only that, any one of us could have a physical mark forced upon us, but then we could continue
to worship God in spirit and truth, which is what God is most interested in (John 4:24). Why would God be concerned about us
having a physical mark like an RFID chip or ID card forced upon us?
As long as we continue to serve God and keep His commandments
and worship Him in spirit and truth, then God is happy with us, no matter what kind of &marking& the governments decide
to place upon us.
Remember what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:4? That food offered to idols is nothing to worry about for a strong Christian, because
the idol is nothing and we know there is only One God and it is Him we still worship. The same applies to a physical mark. It is NOTHING, and
God is only concerned with our true WORSHIP of Him in spirit and truth.
5 - The Mark, OR the Name OR the Number of the Beast
Revelation 13:17 confirms the following: &And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, OR the name of the beast,
OR the number of his name.&
This verse shows us that this issue is FAR deeper than a mere physical mark like an RFID chip or ID card.
Many people place all their
focus upon this RFID chip or some other technology device. And yet Revelation 13 reveals there is more to this than just the &mark&.
We are shown here that ANY affiliation with the beast, ANY kind of support or agreement we make with the beast,
apart from the &mark& will see us condemned!
Do you see this?
There will be many people who don't take the actual mark of the beast and yet they will still be lost.
they will in some way still be on the wrong side.
In the last days, there will be only two groups of people.
Those who are for Christ
Jesus and those who are for the beast and Satan.
Now if you are not on the side of Christ, then you are automatically placed on the
side of the beast and Satan, and you will be lost.
Even if you don't take the mark of the beast.
For instance, what would you have if you had the 'name of the beast'? Well, let's use the Bible to interpret. In Exodus 34:5-7 we see that God
descended down to Moses on the mount and 'proclaimed the NAME of the Lord'. And what did the Lord proclaim?:
Exodus 34:5-7 ...'And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord
passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.'
Do you see what 'NAME' God proclaimed to Moses? He proclaimed His CHARACTER! So it will be with the beast. Those in the last days who have the
'name of the beast' will have the CHARACTER of the beast.
6 - Those Who Don't Take the Mark are Keeping God's Commandments
This is a vital point to understand, and one that the majority of people completely miss.
Revelation 14 contains the three angels messages
(). And those three angels tell us
that we need to worship the true God.
That Babylon is fallen.
And that we should not take the mark of the beast. Now here is the vital
point. Right after the third angel warns against receiving the mark, he says ... &Here is the patience of the saints, here are
they which keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.&
Wow! So who are the one's who do NOT take the beast's mark?
The one's who are keeping the commandments of God and have the faith
of Jesus Christ. So how do you fit a physical mark like the RFID chip into this?
You cannot! To not take the mark means to keep God's
commandments and follow in the footstep of Christ. Which means the mark of the beast is to do with the BREAKING of commandments of
God or not following in Christ's footsteps.
Friend, the mark of the beast cannot be any kind of technology device.
The beast's mark is a SPIRITUAL mark, as this is a SPIRITUAL issue,
and our war against Satan is a SPIRITUAL war.
Don't get me wrong. Technology WILL be used to help enforce the mark of the beast. But in
of itself, the RFID, or ID Card or Tattoo, or whatever else CANNOT be the mark.
The mark HAS to be a spiritual one.
Which is why we
receive it in the hand OR the forehead. And do you know where we make our decisions? In the front of our forehead.
So those who decide to
go along with the beast's mark will receive it (spiritually) in their forehead.
And those who don't accept it, but continue to
break God's commandments and reject Christ Jesus, will receive the mark (spiritually) in their hand, which represents their ACTIONS against
We will have to make a decision one day soon, whether to be on God's side and receive His seal, or to be on Satan's side and receive the
mark of the beast. And that decision will decide your eternal destiny!
It's time to find out .
And also read this ... .}