George Crum

:"For the American composer, see George Crumb. For the conductor and music coach, see George Crum (musician)"

George "Speck" Crum (1822 – 1914) was the head chef of Moon's Lake House, a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. He is now best known as the African/ Native American who invented potato chips. On August 24, 1853, a customer complained that Crum's french fries were "too thick." The angered cook was frustrated by this remark, so he decided to give the maximal opposite of what the client was complaining about: he sliced potatoes paper-thin, over fried them to a crisp and seasoned them with an excess of salt. When the crisps were prepared, he gave them to the customer, who loved them. The chips became popular, and became known as "Saratoga Chips". Crum was able to open his own restaurant with the profits he made selling his new crisps. They remained a local delicacy until the Prohibition era, when an enterprising salesman named Herman Lay popularized the product throughout the Southeast United States. According to Urban legend, the hard-to-please customer in Saratoga Springs was none other than railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, but more than likely it was a much more obscure customer. [ [http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/chips.asp Snopes, which lists its sources] ]

Although it is widely accepted that the potato chip was invented at Moon's Lake House, there is some controversy as to the true inventor. It is curious that a biography commissioned by Crum himself in 1893 did not mention his famous invention. ["History of Saratoga County, New York". Nathaniel Sylvester] It is possible that Crum's sister, Katie Wicks, either made the first discovery herself or in conjunction with Crum. [ [http://www.historyofsaratoga.com "Invented in Saratoga County". Timothy Starr, 2008] ] A contemporary source even gives credit to Cary Moon's wife Harriet, stating that she developed the side dish over time. ["New York Times"]

However, the surviving evidence, memories of contemporary residents, and oral traditions point to George Crum either being the sole inventor or one of the inventors. The lack of a patent by the actual inventor will unfortunately always leave the matter in doubt.

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