The potato content in Pringles® makes up less than 50 percent of the chip. The chip, made from dried potatoes, caused a kerfuffle when it hit the market for the first time in 1968. It marketed itself as Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips, bristling the other potato chip manufacturers who claimed Pringles® didn't meet standard potato chip criteria. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stepped in and decided Pringles could use the word "chip," but only if accompanied by the phrase, "potato chips made from dried potatoes." Ultimately, Pringles® changed the name and used "potato crisps."
More Potato Facts:
- Pringles® made the largest potato crisp, nee chip, on record in 1990. It measured 23 inches by 14.5 inches (58.5 cm by 37 cm).
- In the U.S., about 137.9 pounds (62.5 kilograms) of potatoes per person are consumed each year, including 16.9 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of potato chips or crisps.
- The first potato chip is attributed to a chef in Saratoga Springs, New York, named George Crum. He got tired of a picky customer who kept sending back his fried potatoes, calling them "soggy." He decided to fight back on August 24, 1853, by slicing the potatoes super thin — to his surprise, the customers loved them. They became a regular menu item called "Saratoga Chips."