Where Potato Chips Come From

Posted on July 5, 2004

So I went this afternoon with a friend to the American Film Institute’s Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD to see the restored print they’re showing of Orson Welles’ sublimely weird 1947 film noir “The Lady From Shanghai” (great flick, btw — but then you already knew I was a lover of Wellesiana), and afterwards we stopped and got sandwiches for lunch, and she asks me, “So how do they make potato chips, anyway?” (Which wasn’t as random a question as it sounds, since the sandwiches came with chips.)

And I say, feeling all smart-like, “They take potatoes, slice ’em real thin, and fry the slices.”

To which she replies, “I knew that — I mean, what are the details? How do they choose the potatoes? Do they peel them, or fry them with the skins on? Do they season them before they fry them? There’s got to be more to it than just slice them and fry them.”

So I search my brain for a moment, and come back with, “Um… they take potatoes, slice ’em real thin, and fry the slices.” Because that is pretty much the extent of my knowledge, potato-chip-wise.

The conversation moved on to other subjects, but I felt bad for not having an answer; so when I got home, I determined to Find Out how potato chips are made. Here is what I found.

• The invention of the potato chip
• Make your own potato chips

The short version? They take potatoes, slice ’em real thin, and fry the slices 🙂