Talk:Potato chips

From Academic Kids

Gosh I hate to ask this - I'll look like a compulsive idiot. Oh, wait, I'm a regular contributor to an online encyclopedia, so obviously I'm compulsive. The 'idiot' part is up to individual judg(e)ment. what's the source for the first potato chip? Place? Person? It's always nice to have those connected to 'inventions.' Along with Mr. Crocker I'm opposed to lone inventors, and food based on easy concepts (slice potato thinly; fry; drain) is an excellent example of this! --MichaelTinkler, who needs to get something else to do with his life.

I've done a Google search and it turns out to be a great story: [1] (http://www.history.rochester.edu/Scientific_American/mystery/crum.htm). George Crum, chef in Saratoga Springs, New York, was fed up with a customer who continued to sent his fried potatoes back, because they were too thick. So Crum decided to slice the potatoes so thin that it couldn't be eaten with a fork. Against Crum's expectation the guest was ecstatic about the chips. -- Tsja

a tasty etiological myth (and set within 100 miles of my current location!). I suppose we can accept the lone invetor for now.--MichaelTinkler

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And snopes.com, which is pretty harsh on myths like this, declares this one true. I trust them, based on other things I've seen from them in the past -- Paul Drye

Snopes is about as reliable a source as there is, I agree. --LDC

I'm very familiar with snopes, but I've had one hamless experience to show me that even there we cannot put down our guard. There was a story going around that a 1911 D. W. Griffith film called The Poseidon Adventure was being played in the second class lounge of the Titanic just before it went down. I confess that I fell for the hoax. I can't say that the snopes people themselves were responsible for this, but the article format was that used by snopes, and it included links to the Internet Movie Data Base for the various people purported to be involved in the movie. Eclecticology

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I cannot remember the guy in Tayto Crisps right now; I saw a programme about it on the History Channel a long time ago. I can try to ring the company next week and find out his name. (I know when his ashes were scattered on the sea, he asked that along with them a pack of Tayto crisps be scattered as well, as his innovation in discovering a way to flavour crisps made him, in terms of today's money, a multi-billionaire. From peeling potatoes with his wife and family in a small firm one day, to being offered blank cheques from top potato chip manufacturers in a matter of weeks, is a nice thought. JTD 05:12 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

From http://web.ukonline.co.uk/m.gratton/Famous%20Men.htm

Murphy - Joseph 'Spud' ..... born May 15th 1923 died 2001 ..... Irish entrepreneur who produced the world's FIRST cheese and onion flavoured crisps in the late 1950s. The new flavour was a huge success both at home and abroad and within two years the business moved to larger premises. His company Tayto was the FIRST company in Ireland to make and market so-called "extruded snacks"Mintguy

http://www.taytocrisps.ie/aboutus/about_history.asp. says he set the company up in 1954. Mintguy

Golden Wonder reckon they introduced flavoured crisps in 1962! http://www.goldenwonder.com/corp/ Mintguy

I just emailed Golden Wonder and told them their website is telling porkie pies. I wonder if I will get a reply. MintguyThanx. I should have guessed. The name 'Murphy' in Ireland is often nicknamed 'Spud'. (That was my old headmaster's nickname.) But I never realised that the name came from the guy who made all the millions and had American potato chip manufacturers queing on the street outside his house throwing figures out as to how much their company would pay to get their hands on his formula. Yeah. Golden Wonder and Tayto are like Coca Cola and Pepsi, forever trying to claim that they were first. But apparently Tayto were, according to RTÉ radio, the History Channel and the BBC. All I know is that Murphy revolutionised the whole process. One guy on the History channel said that before modern post-Murphy flavourings, a good potato chip tasted a bit like a stale fried potato slice, while most potato chips tasted like soggy cardboard. Then along came Murphy's innovation, and potato chips had an appeal to people who never would previously have touched potato chips because they weren't enamoured by the taste. JTD 05:48 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

• smile* they'll probably send you a thousand packs of the things! JTD 05:48 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

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Is it true that all flavored chips include MSG? I haven't seen it listed on the two or three ingredients lists I have checked. Rmhermen 15:03, Nov 13, 2003 (UTC)

Many do. Burger Rings, I remember, does, but I wouldn't be 100% sure on others (gee, miss Burger Rings... ;) Dysprosia 10:40, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I think almost all do. Look for "Flavour enhancer: E621" perhaps :-). And of course, MSG stands for monosodium glutamate. Do such additives have to be declared in the US though? (They do in Europe/EU) zoney ♣ talk 18:14, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

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Mintguy, shouldn' you change the text everywhere to read 'crisps', you Anglophilliac lap-dog?  :-) ----

Contents

1 Flavoured/Flavored 2 US/UK 3 Settle spelling once and for all 4 Photo 5 Wish Chips 6 betrays-belies-reveals

Flavoured/Flavored

Flavoured Crisps were invented in Ireland, where we speak Hiberno-English, which uses British spellings, so logically it should be Flavoured, and not Flavored.

Note that Tayto is a noun and not a proper noun here, they are that revered almost. "To buy some Tayto" just means buying crisps.

I'm going to keep fixing the spelling till I get banned, it seems. Being an obstinate bastard can be useful sometimes... Kiand 15:18, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

What a lame edit war. Using chips to mean crisps is obviously an American thing, so it's only logical that this article is in American spelling. You could say that the Irish guy "invented flavoured crisps", making it italic to make it obvious that the different spelling is intentional. Also, this article needs a prominent link to real chips at the top. Zocky 08:57, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Potato_chips&diff=634931&oldid=634860) was the first addition of british spelling to the article. Before this, American english is used exclusivly. Therefore, according to Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Usage_and_spelling, this article should use American spelling only. Gentgeen 09:21, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

oh, there should be a link to the disambiguation page chip at the top of the page. Gentgeen 09:23, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Seconded. Gentgeen is absolutely correct. • Benc • 20:35, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

1. U.S. "(potato) chips" are what British and Irish folks call "(potato) crisps" (both expressions refer to those crispy potato wafer thingies).
2. Irish/British "(potato) chips" are not ubiquitously known in the US. They are thick fried chunks of potatoes. "French fries" probably is the closest thing U.S. folks know that's comparable to Irish/British "chips". However the term "French fries" is also known in the UK/Éire, where it is used to specifically refer to the thin fried potato strips (to distinguish them from "proper" chips). To the British/Irish, "fries" is what you get at McDonalds whereas "chips" is what you get at your local take-away (often also called a "chipper".) (That's "chippy", at least in England -- Greg K Nicholson 15:02, 2005 Mar 15 (UTC))
3. Since "flavour" is the British/Irish usage and "flavor" is U.S. usage it appears absolutely crystal to me that in an article on "potato chips" it can't say "flavour".

(Feel free to incorporate come of the above details/info into some article. I couldn't be arsed right now.) Ropers 00:21, 27 Sep 2004 (UTC)

US/UK

I suggest two separate articles. Crisp and potato chip. One may discuss the "chip"'s appearance in the US, and the other the origins of the Irish/UK "crisp". At the latter we may discuss flavoured crisps and Tayto to our heart's content. The US version can refer to the addition of flavoring, with a direction towards crisp.

Pringles etc. can be discussed at potato chip, as no sane individual considers them a "Crisp".

zoney ♣ talk 09:32, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The government calles Pringles "crisps", because they're not real chips. Oh, you said "sane", so that rules out the government. Nevermind.

Crisps. For the UK and Ireland definition, non-US <remove insulting language> spellings and the word "crisps" used instead of "Chips". Also links to Potato Chips, if someone does want the US definition. I had suggested this last night but not actually carried it out. Kiand 12:46, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Please note that this was an off-hand suggestion on my part. Others may disagree with it and prefer not to have separate articles. One alternative is to have most of the content about the introduction of flavoured crisps at Tayto and merely refer to that article from within potato chip. This is most likely preferable to having separate US and non-US articles. zoney ♣ talk 14:07, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I'd already said I was considering doing it on Darriens talk page.

Crisps can be many things, as I pointed out. Meanies aren't even close to being potatoes, or "chips" in form, but are often known as crisps. Same applies to Hula Hoops, etc.

Kiand 14:25, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Somebody added to the article that in North America, french fries are also known as "freedom fries". Must this be here? I think it's silly. And anyway, nobody calls them "freedom fries" anymore! Permission to delete it? --Munchkinguy 18:36, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

We have crisp sandwiches in the UK too! Great Briton 17:56, May 14, 2005 (UTC)

Settle spelling once and for all

To settle this dispute once and for all, people should use words that use non-region specific spelling. I'm going to reword this article so this dispute does not flair up again. -- AxSkov 02:44, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Photo

I'm a bit disappointed that the photo accompanying this article seems to be of Pringles brand snacks, which - due to their manufacturing method - are a poor representation of the typical potato chip (or crisp for that matter, 'seasoned' or not). I don't have any handy, or I'd submit a replacement myself. Anyone? Tverbeek 02:36, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Wish Chips

I know of a myth where if you eat a chip that is folded over (a wish chip), you can make a wish. Has anyone else heard of this myth? If so, where do you live, and who did you hear it from. I am trying to pinpoint the origin of this myth. Accordiong to my mother, she invented the idea, but I'm not so sure. --Munchkinguy 20:43, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

betrays-belies-reveals

Do Pringles chips "betray", "belie", or "reveal" their manufacturing method? I vote for belie: to give a false impression of. To present an appearance not in agreement with

The key here is that a lot of people (including myself until I read this) assume Pringles are just cut from potates like other chips, and don't know they're made from a paste. Since they're shaped to look like traditional chips, I think they "belie" their unusual manufacturing process. They certainly don't reveal it -- if anything, they conceal it. And betray, as in treachery? I think this is someone confusing "betray" with "belie".

Splitting hairs, but oh well.

No, I would say "betray" (as in reveal despite the attempt to hide the process). Pringles are quite distinctive due to being made from powdered cardboard (yeah, reformed potatoes, whatever...). Anyone who mistakes one for a slice/sliver of potato needs a good look at the real thing.

zoney ♣ talk 23:27, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)