- Do you know about the popsicles and corn flakes?
What do you know about foods with unexpected histories? Like popsicles or corn flakes?
Potato Chips
One famous story says potato chips were created in 1853 at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York, after chef George Crum became annoyed by a customer repeatedly complaining that his fried potatoes were too thick. Crum sliced them extremely thin, fried them until crisp, and heavily salted them. The customer supposedly loved them. The story is probably exaggerated, but Saratoga Springs really did become associated with the early popularity of the potato chip.
Worcestershire Sauce
The sauce began with a recipe supposedly brought to England from Bengal in the early 19th century. Chemists John Lea and William Perrins attempted to reproduce it, but their first batch was reportedly so unpleasant that they left it in a barrel. After fermenting and aging, they tasted it again and discovered that it had transformed into the complex savory sauce now known as Worcestershire sauce. Did you know about this as one of the foods with unexpected histories?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
The chocolate chip cookie was created at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield. The popular story claims she ran out of baker’s chocolate and chopped up a Nestlé chocolate bar instead, expecting it to melt into the dough. It didn’t. The resulting chunks became the defining feature of the cookie.
Popsicles
In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson reportedly left a mixture of powdered soda, water, and a stirring stick outside overnight. It froze during the cold weather. Nearly two decades later, he began selling the frozen treats commercially as “Epsicles.” His children called them “Pop’s ‘cicles,” which eventually became Popsicles. Did you know about this as one of the foods with unexpected histories?
Caesar Salad
Despite its name, Caesar salad wasn’t invented by Julius Caesar or in Italy. It is generally credited to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian-born restaurateur who operated restaurants in Tijuana, Mexico. According to the familiar account, the salad was improvised from ingredients available in the kitchen during a busy period around the Fourth of July in 1924. The dish eventually became internationally famous.
Corn Flakes
John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Kellogg were experimenting with grains at a Michigan sanitarium when a batch of cooked wheat was accidentally left sitting out. When they rolled it, it produced flakes. They later experimented with corn, creating the cereal that became Corn Flakes. What began as part of a rather peculiar health-food philosophy eventually became a massive breakfast-food industry.
Have you heard of all these foods with unexpected histories? Tell us what you think in the comments!