National Potato Chip Day - March 14th

National Potato Chip Day is celebrated every year on March 14^th. Celebrate this day by eating delicious potato chips. Eat them for lunch or dinner and try plain, barbecue, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, ranch, baked, etc.

Who Invented the Potato Chip?

Potato chips were first made in Saratoga, New York on August 24, 1853 by Chef George Crum. Chef Crum, a Native American, was employed at a resort called Moon Lake Lodge. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt took a trip to New York and ate at the Chef's restaurant. He kept sending his fried potatoes back to the Chef because he claimed they were too thick. The Chef decided to cut them into very thin slices and boil them in oil, fry them and salt them as a joke. Well, the rest is 'history', as they became a success.

Make Your Own Potato Chips

There are several ways to make your own potato chips. Not only is it easy, but it will save money.

You can find an easy recipe on the All Recipes web site for Microwave Potato Chips. All you need is one tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 potato sliced paper thin and ½ teaspoon of salt. You can leave the peel on the potato if you prefer. You will need to coat the potato slices in vegetable oil. An easy way is to place the potatoes and the oil in a plastic bag and shake. Then coat a microwaveable plate with oil or cooking spray and arrange the potato slices in a single layer on the plate. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and toss with salt. Repeat with the remainder slices. But, no need to oil plate again. Enjoy!

Also, take a look at Mahalo.com for several ways to make your own potato chips. The website gives you instructions for baked, deep-fried and microwaved potato chips. The deep-fried chips come out oilier and crispier, the baked are drier and crunchier and the microwaved are good if you want your chips quickly.

Interesting Chips

Nowadays, there are many different flavors of potato chips. You have the traditional salted, unsalted, barbecue, sour cream and onion, ranch and salt and vinegar. You can also find some other interesting flavors, such as cheddar, sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic, beer, kimchee, etc. And of course there are different textures like ridged, thinly sliced and thicker chips.

If you make your own chips, or even buy plain chips, you can always add your own flavorings. Try your potato chips with sour cream, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, yogurt, mustard, cayenne pepper, ketchup, chutneys, and much more. Get creative. You can even sweeten them up with chocolate, cinnamon sugar or honey. Of course you can just use your plain chips as a dip holder. Try sour cream, onion, spinach, vegetable, hummus, artichoke, sundried tomato, roasted peppers and different cheese spreads.

Chips as Gifts

Yes, potato chips can make a great gift. Everyone knows a potato chip lover. Ballreich's offers some interesting gift packs for every occasion, including St. Patrick's Day and Easter. Most packs feature several types of their potato chips, pretzels, popcorn and more.

Figi's offers a tin of Chocolate Covered Potato Chips and a combo tin of Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, Pretzels and Popcorn. Not a bad idea for the chip lover who also has a sweet tooth. Good way to beat the salty and sweet craving in one.

Most of all enjoy your potato chips on National Potato Chip Day!

Sources:

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/potatochips.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-different-flavors-of-potato-chips.htm