Crunch!: A History of the Great American Potato Chip

2. Creation Myths

2 Creation Myths Hm hm, that’s good. That’s a good accident. We’ll have plenty of these. attributed to George Crum In the summer of 1853, George Crum was a chef at Moon’s Lake House of Saratoga Springs, New York. The Adirondacks were full of summer hotels catering to middleclass and wealthy New Yorkers, but Saratoga Springs was prime. Located on the southeast edge of the Adirondacks, Saratoga Springs, if you could afford it, was the closest and swankiest location for New Yorkers looking to escape the summer heat and humidity in the days before air-conditioning. Crum, an American Indian, but apparently with some African American ancestry, was reputedly a colorful character . Legend has it that he was a guide in the Adirondacks for a time; he was also a former hunter, fisherman, and trapper who supplied the fancy upstate hotels with fresh game. They say he had several wives—perhaps as many as five. In the summer of 1953, he was chef at this upscale lodge, in this most upscale New York summer spot. Crum was a respected chef and not a man to be trifled with. Known for his cranky temperament, he did not bow to anyone. Patrons of his cooking included former presidents, governors, and robber-baron millionaires of the times, but even these upstanding citizens were treated just like everyone else. Legend has it that Crum once made both William Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, two of the era’s wealthiest entrepreneurs , wait well over an hour just to be seated for dinner—taking 15 their turn along with wage earners. Crum bragged that he could take any food and make it into a dish “fit for a king”—but if someone ever did complain, he was rewarded with “the most indigestible substitutes Crum could contrive.” So it was, they say, that one day in the summer of ’53, a wealthy customer—often purported to be Cornelius Vanderbilt—returned some fried potatoes to the chef, protesting that they were not crunchy enough. Some sources say that the patron complained they were not salty enough, or that the potatoes were too thick. Whatever the exact complaint, there is unanimity about Crum’s alleged response: he sliced additional potatoes into paper-thin wafers, deep-fried and vigorously salted them, and returned them to the peevish customer. Expecting a reaction of disdain, Crum was surprised when the patron not only devoured the potatoes but asked for more. So it is, the legend goes, that the potato chip was born. The story about George Crum and the creation of the potato chip is nearly ubiquitous in modern industry lore. Almost any Web site or written treatment about potato chip history will repeat the Crum legend, including many histories in the promotions from potato chip companies themselves. Some will repeat the exact words from another source; others will alter the wording a bit, impugning motives or feelings to the characters; some will mention Cornelius Vanderbilt as the dissatisfied customer, some won’t. For a long time, snack food industry associations included the Crum legend in their promotional materials. But while the legend about George Crum returning razor-thin fried potatoes to a fastidious customer at Moon’s Lake House is a compelling story and is the most oft-cited potato chip creation myth, there is better evidence that someone else actually created the chip—although Crum clearly had something to do with it. Potato chips are not even mentioned in Crum’s 1914 obituary; an obituary in a yearbook only scantly mentions “Saratoga chips,” devoting much more discussion to Crum’s vaunted culinary skills, and the Crum version of the story does not find its way into other printed records until the 1940s. But like the child’s game of telephone, the story becomes embellished with each retelling. By the late 1970s, the fussy customer who returned Crum’s fried potatoes became Cornelius Vanderbilt—a permutation that later created no small amount of acrimony in Saratoga Springs. 16 Creation Myths  Certain parts of the Crum legend are in agreement : Crum was born in Ballston Spa, New York, to Abraham and Catherine Speck. Abraham Speck was described as from Kentucky, and his wife was variously described as a “Stockbridge Indian” or as an Indian from “the St. Regis tribe.” But conflicting stories abound about even such a simple thing as Crum’s name. The...