The Super Bowl of Chips: Which will be the ultimate winner in your house?

Published on: January 30, 2004

Like it or not, today’s Super Bowl Sunday has become as much of a food event as it has a sports event. The Super Bowl now ranks as the number two food consumption event of the year, second only to Thanksgiving!

So what’s the favorite food on Super Bowl? Without a doubt, it’s got to be the chip.

According to Frito-Lay, the nation’s largest chip manufacturer, they must increase production in the weeks leading up to the event by more than 10 million pounds of chips just to meet the demand for this coming Sunday’s viewing event. Add that to a normal week’s consumption and, according to ACNielsen Scantrack, that makes the chip business in supermarkets in the United States worth over $2.7 billion each year. Total sales, in all outlets everywhere in the U.S., including places like convenience stores, delis and ballparks, top $6 billion! You could easily guess which segment of the chip business is growing the fastest…it’s the reduced fat varieties which last year grew over 25% - and that’s even before the “low-carb” chips hit the shelves.

Last year, Americans consumed over 1.85 billion pounds of chips as the potato chip officially celebrated its 150th birthday, and while today there are hundreds of brands and varieties lining the supermarket shelves; it is still the “plain” potato chip that remains the sales leader capturing over 80% of sales.

The potato chips hasn’t changed all that much since it was first invented back in 1853 by a cook by the name of George Crum in Saratoga Springs, New York. Crum, a part Indian, part African-American worked at the Moon Lake Lodge, and according to folklore, didn’t much care for customers who complained and sent their food back to the kitchen. One such customer, reportedly Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, sent back his dinner complaining that the standard, thick-cut French style that was popularized in France in the 1700s and brought to the United States by Thomas Jefferson (when he returned from his stint as ambassador to that country) were too thick for his liking and sent back the order. Crum then cut and fried a thinner batch, but Vanderbilt once again complained, and sent these fries back to the kitchen. As was his manner, Crum decided to get even with the unknown guest, and prepared French fries that were too thin and crisp to skewer with a fork.

Supposedly, Vanderbilt loved the browned, paper-thin potatoes, and as fate would have it, other diners requested Crum's potato chips which he called potato crunches, and they soon appeared on the menu as Saratoga Chips, the house specialty; which led to Crum opening his own restaurant, on the lake in Saratoga Springs, called Crums House, which was financed by four men including Vanderbilt. Crumb called his signature dish "potato crunches” and placed them in baskets on all the tables. He also marketed them for takeout in boxes as "Saratoga Chips" but, not realizing the importance of his creation, neither patented nor otherwise protected his invention.

Potato chip mass production is credited first to William Tappendon of Cleveland, OH, in 1895. He began making chips in his kitchen and delivered them to neighborhood grocery stores; he later created one of the first potato chip factories in a converted a barn in his backyard.

Other brands quickly followed: Leominster Potato Chip Co. (1908), Mike-sell's Potato Chips (1910), Dan Dee Pretzel and Potato Chip Company (1913), Num Num (1918). Blue Bell (1919). The Wise Delicatessen Company and Utz potato chips, both founded in 1921, are credited with being the driving force in expanding beyond their local geography and starting to market in areas where “chips” were unknown on the shelves in grocery stores.

But it was the invention of the mechanical potato peeler and continuous fryer, both in 1929 that that moved potato chips from a local small specialty item to the nation’s top-selling snack that it is today.

And in 1926, Laura Scudder started her potato chip company in California, and developed the wax paper bag to pack her chips to preserve their freshness and crispiness, making possible a wider distribution area.

At about the same time, Herman Lay, a traveling salesman in the South, helped bring potato chips from Atlanta to Tennessee. Lay sold his chips to Southern grocers out of the trunk of his car, building the first successfully marketed national brand of chips. He is also credited with the invention of the mechanical potato chip peeler.

Today, the trends driving chips include more flavors, less fat and calories, reduced carbs, organic, and much like the trends in wine, beer and coffee – a return to the basics with a number of hand made, kettle-type chips, that are challenging the mainstream products both in taste and price.

Unlike “table potatoes” which come primarily from Maine and Idaho, the number one source of chipping potatoes is Pennsylvania. Although the state ranks only 13th in total potato output, 70% of the acres in potatoes are in chipping potatoes and these potatoes account for about 25% of all chipping potatoes, the highest in the U.S. Second in production is North Dakota, followed by Florida and then New York State. Many of the boutique brands of chips actually use different varieties of potatoes for different flavors and list them on their packages.

But there are favorites: in the Midwest shoppers prefers a light blander chip, Easterners would rather eat a strong-flavored, darker chip and our northern friends, the Northeast states and Canada favor salt and vinegar flavored chips. Often, you may find chips of all kinds that are ‘browned’, and while most of us avoid them thinking they are burned or overcooked, the truth is that some potatoes naturally have higher sugar content and the browning is nothing more than carmelization.

So what should you serve for Super Bowl?

Most agree that it is the assortment and variety of chips that make “chipping” fun and interesting enough to display as the mainstay of any Super Bowl party. And while it’s unlikely that any of our viewers will want this many different chips, we wanted to taste them all and make sure you have the ultimate chip report!

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