Potato chips are a tasty snack that many people love. They were invented by a chef named George Crum in Saratoga Springs, New York. One day, a customer complained that Crum’s French fries were too thick. To make the customer happy, Crum sliced the potatoes really thin and fried them until they were crispy and brown. He added lots of salt, and to his surprise, the customer loved them! These crispy treats became known as “Saratoga chips,” and that’s how potato chips were born.
Even though we call them “French” fries, they might actually come from Belgium. Long ago, people in Belgium would fry small fish from rivers. But when the rivers froze in winter, they used potatoes instead. This is how French fries were created!
Laura Scudder, a woman from California, had a great idea to keep potato chips fresh. She started putting them in bags, which helped them stay crispy and made it easier for people to buy them. This idea made her known as the “potato chip queen.”
Cornflakes were invented by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother, Will Keith Kellogg, in the late 1800s. They wanted to make a healthy breakfast for people who were eating too much heavy food. They mixed cornmeal and oatmeal into a dough, baked it, and crumbled it into pieces. One day, they accidentally left some wheat dough to cool, and when they rolled it out, it turned into flakes. People loved these flakes, and after trying corn, they made the cornflakes we eat today.
The Kellogg brothers had different ideas about their cornflakes. John wanted them to be healthy and plain, but Will thought adding sugar would make them tastier. Will started his own company and made sweet cornflakes, which became very popular.
Chocolate has a long history that starts with the ancient Mayans. They discovered cocoa beans and made a bitter drink with them. Later, the Aztecs used cocoa beans as money. When cocoa beans came to Europe, people started making chocolate bars. The first chocolate bar was made by Fry’s Chocolate Factory in the 1800s by mixing cocoa powder, sugar, and cocoa.
Chocolate chip cookies were invented by accident! Ruth Graves Wakefield, an American chef, added chocolate bits to cookie dough, thinking they would melt. Instead, they stayed in pieces, creating the delicious chocolate chip cookie we love today.
Cotton candy, a fun treat at fairs, was invented by a dentist named William James Morrison in 1904. He worked with a candy maker, John C. Wharton, to create a machine that spun sugar into thin strands. They called it “fairy floss,” and it was a big hit at the St. Louis Fair.
At first, cotton candy machines didn’t work very well, but a company called Gold Medal Products improved them. Now, cotton candy is a favorite treat at fairs, with lots of different flavors to try.
Ice cream cones were invented by people like Italo Marchioni and Ernest Hamwi. Marchioni wanted a way to serve ice cream without using glass cups, so he tried using waffles to make cones. Hamwi helped a nearby ice cream vendor by rolling his waffles into cones, which made ice cream cones popular.
In 1904, Hamwi’s waffle cones helped a vendor who ran out of cups, and this idea spread quickly. By 1924, people were making millions of ice cream cones, and the tallest cone ever made was 3.8 meters high in Norway!
These snacks and treats have amazing stories that show how creative people can be. From potato chips to ice cream cones, each invention has made our snacks more fun and delicious!
Potato Chip Experiment: Try making your own version of potato chips at home! With the help of an adult, slice a potato into thin pieces. Fry them in a pan with a little oil until they are crispy and brown. Add some salt or your favorite seasoning. How do they taste compared to the ones you buy at the store? What happens if you slice them thicker or thinner?
Sweet and Plain Cornflakes Taste Test: Gather two types of cornflakes: one plain and one sweetened. Taste each type and discuss with a friend or family member which one you prefer and why. Think about why Will Kellogg’s idea to add sugar might have made cornflakes more popular. Can you think of other foods that are made in both sweet and plain versions?
Chocolate Money Math: Imagine you are an Aztec using cocoa beans as money. If you have 10 cocoa beans and you want to buy a small chocolate bar that costs $2.00, how many chocolate bars can you buy if each cocoa bean is worth $0.50? Try using different values for the cocoa beans and see how it changes what you can buy!
