Five states are worth their salt,
but only one can claim the title.See potato-chip production in action on these
Pennsylvania factory tours:Hanover
Watch as fresh potatoes
are cut, fried and
bagged at the company’s
600,000-square-foot
factory. utzsnacks.comThomasville
You won’t just see
the process here—
you’ll also get to eat
warm chips straight
from the fryers.
martinssnacks.comNottingham
Request a guide to
show you around and
give you intel on which
cooking and frying
techniques are best.
herrs.comWe can thank Hawaii for popularizing
kettle-cooked chips: Maui is home to huge
thick-cut chips called Kitch’n Cook’d that
inspired a cult following when they were first
sold in the 1950s. They are hard to find off the
island, but mainlanders itching to try them can
buy these similar Kona Chips—they branched off
from Kitch’n Cook’d in 1991.Hawaii Ohio
Ohio produces chips for some of America’s
biggest brands, including Lay’s, in part
because so many chipping potatoes are
grown here and in neighboring states. When
The National Potato Chip Institute (now
SNAC International) opened in the 1930s,
it was headquartered in Cleveland.Michigan
No. 3
No. 4
No. 2
New York
No. 5
...
CHIPS: RYAN DAUSCH.100 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●MARCH 2020
on the road
at's tlt,o potato cltJp
capital of orica'!
' '
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POTATO ORI<OIHA.L CHIPIWhen potato c hips became a popular snack in
the 1930s, Detroit had the industrial power to
make plenty of them: At one point the city was
home to 22 different chip makers. Today, only one
~ o• from that era, Better M ade, remains, but locals
(".; still love chips: The average American eats four
......... pounds per year; Detroit residents eat seven!
ClassicSaratoga Springs, NY, was t he likely
birthplace of the potato chip: In t he early
1850s, as legend goes, a customer at Moon's
Lake House restaurant insisted that his fried
potatoes weren't crispy enough. Chef George
Crum got fed up and sliced them r idiculously
t hin, and the "Saratoga Chip" was born.~d ~erica's ciUp capital is
No.I
Pennsylvania
Hanover, PA, is America's top potato chip
producer-the area is home to big brands like Wise,
Utz and Herr's, along with half a dozen regional
brands, many of w hich have been around since the
1940s. Pennsylvania's slightly acidic soil and
humid climate make it a perfect potato-growing
spot, and many local chip makers have preserved
old-fashioned cooking techniques: Good's and
Gibble's are still fried in lard instead of oil.I
utz.
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Snaclts