Please use your device in portrait mode
By George Crum
The son of an African American father and a Native American mother, Crum worked at Moon Lake House, an upscale restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. At the time, fries were served thick in the French style. The story goes that a customer (sometimes misidentified as tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt) complained the fries were too thick. In a fit of irritation, Crum sliced them paper-thin so they could no longer be eaten with a fork.
On August 24, 1853, Crum fried these extra-thin slices until they were brittle and salted them heavily. To his surprise, the customer loved them. These "Saratoga Chips" quickly became the restaurant's specialty. Crum never patented his invention, which explains why similar recipes appeared in earlier cookbooks like The Cook's Oracle (1822). However, Crum is the one who turned it into a dining phenomenon.
Crum’s impact is massive: with his profits, he opened his own restaurant, Crum’s, in 1860, placing baskets of chips on every table. His invention remained a local luxury specialty until Herman Lay popularized it nationwide in the 20th century. Today, chips are consumed by the billions annually, based on the thin-fried salted concept he made famous.
Although some credit his sister, Catherine "Aunt Katie" Wicks, with the discovery, George Crum remains the central figure in potato chip history. While an 1893 biography did not mention the invention, sparking historical skepticism, he is still celebrated annually in Saratoga Springs as the pioneer who gave birth to the chip.
