August 24, 2017 (Thursday)
Today’s date, August 24, is considered the date of the original potato chip in 1853. Cornelius Vanderbilt kept asking the chef at a Sarasota Springs, NY, restaurant to make his french fries thinner. The result was the potato chip, known in Great Britain as a “crisp.” The chef was George Crum. The date is disputed, however, because an 1817 cook book gives instructions on how to fry very thin potatoes. Crum’s chips became known for many years as “Sarasota Chips.”
In the early 1950’s, flavored potato chips made the scene, the first being “Barbecue” flavored. Nowadays many different flavors are on the grocers’ shelves. Variety is also found in the cooking style, such as “Kettle Chips” or “Baked Chips,” or whatever “Pringles” are.
The popularity of snacks in bags fostered new types of mass produced goodies, such as corn chips, cheesy morsels, pretzels, etc. These variations take up an entire aisle in a grocery store. In much the same way, the breakfast cereal aisle has grown from a few brands and types to a huge assortment.
Some folks prefer the snack tray that features carrots, celery, and such items, but alas, I fear they are in the minority. Most of us prefer the high sodium and greasy stuff.
I went to high school with George Dentler, but lost track of him after graduation. His grandfather founded Dentler Maid products, and the most famous was potato chips. George was an active leader in Houston, and had a great restaurant (Pier 21). I looked him up today and found that he died (probably from Diabetes and Alzheimers) in 2011, six years ago. His obituary said he had loved taking his family to Port Aransas and Rockport. Too bad we didn’t know our friend from high school days was close by. I would have enjoyed visiting with him. He was really a nice person. Two others from San Jacinto High School some of our readers may have known: Fred Beeler and Bill Keyworth.
I have migrated from potato chips to “the good old days.” Sorry about that. Enjoy your snacks.
When possible, I write blogs ahead of time. I wrote this one before we heard about “Harvey,” the storm in the Gulf. As of last night, all the predictions called for a path to landfall at or near Rockport. I just add this word to today’s blog to say that all who will be affected by this storm in any way are in my prayers. God bless you all.