Potato Crisps / Chips on Tasting History
So we've just watched Max's latest...
...and I was grinning a bit because I posted about Dr Kitchiner's 1817 (non-US, definitely non-Saratoga) crisps / chips recipe a month ago.
That image was from an American edition of his book; I've found a pic from the original - NB that these slices are floured before frying.
For reference, here's a two-penny piece from about 1797; the coin would still be current 20 years later:
...and here's how thick the potatoes should be sliced. That's 4mm, which is 2mm less than "a quarter of an inch" (6.25mm).
The slices will get even thinner as their moisture evaporates during frying, and, given the nature of recipes, potatoes cooked this way are probably even older than 1817 and Kitchiner's is just the first appearance found so far in print.
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The first recipe for "Game Chips" (an accompaniment to grouse, pheasant etc.) appeared, per the Wikipedia link, in a 1903 book published by famous chef Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935):
"Chip potatoes - these are potatoes cut into thin slices; this is usually done with a special plane. (A mandoline.)
They are put in cold water for 10 minutes; then drained, dried in a cloth and fried until very crunchy. They are served hot or cold and generally accompany game roasted in the English style."
However, per Escoffier's Wikipedia page, much of his work was based on that of Anton Carême (1783-1833), whose dates are squarely coincident with Dr Kitchiner's Potato Slices.
Given the amount of cookery to-and-fro between England and France after the Napoleonic wars were over, it's impossible to say who first came up with the idea of potato crisps.
The French loved dainties - "un petit quelquechose", a little something - which the English pronounced and dismissed as "kickshaws", something over-fussy yet insubstantial. Yet those same English also loved roasting things with their appropriate accompaniments.
(I'm writing this just over a week after Christmas, and have been well reminded that the phrase "Roast (turkey / goose / beef) With All The Trimmings" is still in common 21st-century use.)
If those roasted things were game birds, only those above a certain level in society would be eating them, so it's not unreasonable to assume a rich-person game bird would attract fussy, time-consuming rich-person trimmings like, okay, Game Chips.
One thing's for sure, Potato Crisps - and Game Chips too, so hard luck, Escoffier - are almost certainly older than even Tasting History could prove.
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BTW, they also existed at a time when "English Food Was Bland" is more fake history.
Sauces put out on the table in fancy bottles had fancy labels ("bottle tickets") showing what was in them, and the contents were often far from bland.
Quin sauce was anchovy-based, hot and pungent.
Harvey's was a spicy sauce similar to Worcestershire, ketchup was probably mushroom and also spicy; the other two need no elaboration.
AFAIK the two crescent-shaped ones in the next pics are deliberate imitations of an officer's rank-gorget.
Finally a generic Not-Bland label that would go on any number of modern bottles (antique silver, yours for £250)...
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And after all of the above, I could do Very Bad Things to a packet of Tayto Cheese 'n' Onion. A packet?
Why stop at a packet when A Pack takes less time to say?
After all, It Is Written that:
"Reading One Book Is Like Eating One Potato Crisp Chip."
And also that Nothing Exceeds Like Excess...
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What’s your favorite snack? Since you don’t have a sweet tooth
If I hear anything about tea and crumpets, I’m coming after you 😤
can’t stand the mouthfeel of a crumpet, and I’ve always been more of a coffee person, so it’s no wonder I’m seen as a traitor to my kind
ive been shamed for my snacking habits without remorse
mostly I graze on fruits and veggies, like a rabbit
i snack a lot (it’s a stress thing) but fervently avoid processed snack foods unless it’s a special occasion or other such dire circumstances. when im on vacation in a different country i am a bottomless pit of processed snacks. but at home im a saint.
my most favouritest thing is those frozen bags of berries you get for to make smoothies except I don’t make a smoothie. i just shovel the frozen fruit directly into my mouth and cut out the middle man . that’s my favourite . I love the icy crunch.
beyond that i eat a lot of cured meats and a LOT of yoghurt . and it’s no secret im a cheese fiend. and pickles are great, im always craving pickles. and olives. and a lot of avocados. like, daily.
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