Fried Food: Origin and Development of Potato Chips

Chinese people have always been keen on seeking delicacies. There have been many studies on food or eating since ancient times. Even many literary heroes and ink writers specialize in food or ldquo; eating & rdquo; and writing famous works. Su Dongpo, a literary giant, is a typical eater. Litchi Sigh and Pork Song are his masterpieces. Cao Gong of the Qing Dynasty also used a lot of space to describe the food-related plots in his classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions. The detailed and delicate descriptions made many readers salivate. There are many people who like to eat in the folk to study the way of eating food, and some classical dishes have appeared.

It can be seen that people of all ages take food as their heaven, and they also take food as their pleasure. There are all kinds of foods to eat, including staple foods and snacks. When it comes to snacks, potato chips are an absolutely non-negligible category. Since potato chips entered the Chinese market in the 1980s, they have been in an everlasting position in the snack market for more than 20 years, which can be said to be liked by both men and women, young and old. Supporting its high sales is the generosity and decisiveness of people when they pay their wallets, which of course has a lot to do with its crisp and delicious characteristics. Potato chips also belong to fried food, which is slightly different from other fried food. It seems that when eating potato chips, you can not feel so rich greasy feeling. It makes your mouth feel refreshing. This is one of the important reasons why it has become a good taste for people.

Since most people like eating potato chips so much, it's a pleasure to know the origin and development of potato chips, enjoy the delicious food, and taste the related culture of food.

In fact, the emergence of potato chips is not deliberate research and development, it is unintentional. It is said that in the spring of 1853, Captain Vanderbilt went to Saratoga Spring in New York for a holiday. One day, at dinner, he complained to George, the chef there, about the thick potato chips. He disliked them very much and refused to pay on the spot. George made some thinner ones, but he couldn't satisfy him either. In a fit of anger, George cut the potatoes into paper-like slices, fried them in hot oil, and sprinkled spices to express his dissatisfaction with the captain with the thin, crisp chips that he could not fork. Unexpectedly, the captain was not angry, but liked it very much. As soon as other guests tasted it, George was asked to make it for them. From then on, Saratoga potato chips appeared on the menu of the resort and became a local specialty. Soon, the potato chips were packaged and sold, and immediately became popular throughout the region as soon as they went on sale. Finally, George opened his own restaurant, which featured potato chips. At that time, potatoes were peeled and sliced by hand. It was not until the 1920s that the invention of potato peeler made potato chips from small-scale production to snacks with the largest sales.

Later, Herman Lay, a southern traveling salesman, helped promote the food. He took suitcases to sell at grocery stores in the southern United States, and later founded a company that made his name almost synonymous with potato chips. Leshi potato chips are the first successful American brand to be marketed. From the 1960s, potato chips began to be popular in many countries and regions around the world, and began to enter China in the 1980s.

In view of the hot sale of potato chips, China has also begun to develop potato chips production and marketing industry. According to statistics, in 2018, China's potato planting area was more than 86.4 million mu, with a total output of more than 90 million tons, and the planting area and total output accounted for the first place in the world. At the same time, China's potato planting area accounts for about 25% of the world's total output of 23.5%. Therefore, China is undoubtedly a big potato producer. The high yield of potatoes, to a certain extent, provides a solid backing for the potato chip snack industry.

The main products of potato deep processing in China are starch, potato chips, potato chips and whole flour (and a small part of staple food products). According to the statistics of China Starch Industry Association, the actual output of natural potato chips is 395,000 tons and that of compound potato chips is 370,000 tons, which is not high in the scope of potato deep processing in China, so there is still some room for development.

Of course, because the seed potato industry in China started not very early, there are still two major problems: fewer varieties to cultivate and small area to promote high-quality virus-free seed potato, which will also have some corresponding impact on the potato chip production industry. There is a long way to go. In the field of potato chips'raw material cultivation, production and sales, we need to continue to develop and innovate. As long as we consolidate the foundation and set the target, the vast number of diners will surely be able to eat more fragrant, crisp and healthy domestic fried potato chips.