The Regional Impact of a New Food Product: The Reconstituted Potato Chip

Abstract

Potato chips are believed to have been first made in this country about the middle of the last century, and for many years were prepared only in the home kitchen. Commercial production did not develop to any great extent until improved peeling and frying methods became available. In 1939 the U. S. chip industry is estimated to have used only 2.1 million hundredweight of potatoes. Chip production increased rapidly during and immediately following World War II, and annual use of potatoes for chipping grew to 29.0 million hundredweight in 1950. Quantity of potatoes used for chipping reached a peak for the crop year ending June 30, 1972, of 35.1 million hundredweight but dropped about .5 million hundredweight the following year due to the smaller 1972 crop. Use of potatoes for chip production in 1972 amounted to about 11 per cent of the crop and 17 pounds per person. Potato chip markets were first developed in the Northcentral and Northeastern States and processing plants were established close to these major markets.