On March 23rd, it is a National Day just for the chip and dip! National Chip And Dip Day celebrates a perfect combination loved by many across the country. Chips and dip are the quick and easy party dish that also makes for great parties. We enjoy them for just about any occasion. From watching the game to hunkering down for a big storm, chips and dips are the way to go. Just no double-dipping, please!
Only a few days earlier on March 14, we celebrate Potato Chip Day, and now we add a partner, the dip. And people have been dipping their food for centuries. Hummus-like recipes date back to the 13th century. These are some of the first “dip” recipes found.
Potato chips are not the only mode of celebrating the day. There are tortilla chips, corn chips, pretzel chips, and even popcorn chips to name a few. After you have chosen your chips, there are dozens of dips to partner with them. There are a variety of dips usually made with sour cream, cheeses, salsas, and seasonings. The combinations are endless. Don’t hesitate to mix up your favorite or try something new!
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalChipAndDipDay
Invite some family and friends over and have a chip and dip party! Be sure to share your favorite recipes, too. Use #NationalChipAndDipDay to post on social media.
National Potato Chip Day on March 14th celebrates America’s #1 snack food. Millions will enjoy their favorite chip this holiday. It’s a good thing there are so many to choose from, too!
Saratoga Chips
On August 24, 1853, an unhappy restaurant customer kept sending his potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they were thick and soggy. Chef George Crum decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and added extra salt. To the chef’s surprise, the customer loved them. The crispy potatoes soon became a regular item on the restaurant’s menu under the name of “Saratoga Chips.”
Other explanations point for the existence of the potato chip point to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph’s The Virginia House-Wife (1824). While many references between these dates sliced potatoes and fried them in grease, uncertainty remains whether the potatoes were fried to a crisp.
However, by the late 1870s, menus across the country used the term “Saratoga Chips” on train cars, hotel restaurants, and street carts. The name carried into grocers when bakeries made the chips in larger batches. They shipped them by wagon to the restaurants and grocers by the barrel. The grocers sold them to private families by the pound. Folks were instructed to bake the chips in a hot oven for a few minutes, and the chips would be as crisp as if fried that same day.
Classic Potato Chips
The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell’s Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the “oldest potato chip company in the United States.” New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally established in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts, claims to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer.
In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-produced for home consumption. Flavored chips were introduced in the 1950s. Potato Chip revenues are over $15 billion a year worldwide!
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalPotatoChipDay
While we enjoy potato chips as a simple snack, they also provide a great ingredient in recipes, too. Favorite recipes include chocolate-dipped chips and crushed chips dusted over fish. Share with us how you enjoy your favorite chip recipes! Or just grab a bag of potato chips to enjoy and use #NationalPotatoChipDay to post on social media.
