“Hey, did you every try dunking a potato chip in champagne? It’s real crazy!” – Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch (1955)

What:

Potato chips are thin slices of potatoes that have been deep fried or baked until crispy and crunchy.

When:

August 24^th, 1853

Where:

Moon’s Lake House, a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York

Who:

George Speck aka George Crum, a half-black, half-Native American cook

How:

Potatoes have been around since the dawn of time. As the fourth largest food crop (following maize, wheat, and rice), this starchy crop makes up an integral part of the world’s food supply. It’s surprising to know that potato chips only came into circulation nearly two centuries ago.

Enter George Crum, a chef at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs. Crum was an average 19^th century chef – eager to please and partial to petty revenge. One day, he encountered a customer who had a beef with his cooking. Specifically, the customer claimed Crum’s French fries to be too thick, too soggy, and/or not salted well enough. As luck would have it, this request came in during a particularly busy restaurant rush. Crum sliced the potatoes thinner and dried them out longer, but the man kept sending them back each time.

The face of a chef who was pushed too far.

Like any self-respecting chef, Crum became reasonably pissed-off. He decided to take this picky patron to school – culinary school. Crum cut the potatoes into paper thin slices and over-fried them purposely so that the potato would appear incredibly crispy. He topped it off by liberally seasoning the potatoes with twice as much salt as he would normally use in order to make them especially unappetizing. It is noted that Crum used this “You don’t like my cooking? Well, taste this” tactic often whenever he dealt with a picky customer.

Once he served this revenge-laced concoction, Crum became surprised to learn that the customer actually enjoyed it. Deciding to turn payback into a profit, Crum began marketing his new creation as “Saratoga Chips” on the Moon’s Lake House menu. Soon after, customers began visiting in droves to try Crum’s hottest new sensation.

Years later, Crum opened his own restaurant, Crum’s, using the money he earned from Moon’s Lake House cooking Saratoga chips. At his new abode, Crum implemented a new policy where a basket of potato chips was placed on every table. Despite his success, Crum never patented his invention, instead allowing entrepreneurs like Herman Lay to swoop in and mass produce potato chips.

In 1973, the St. Regis Paper company, a noted packaging manufacturer for chips, claimed that Crum’s customer was Cornelius Vanderbilt. The truth of this statement remains unknown to this day.

Sources:

“George Crum – Inventor of Potato Chips.” Famous Black Inventors, 26 June 2013, www.black-inventor.com/George-Crum.asp.

Ramakrishnan, Rohan. “7 Great Foods (That Were Created Thanks to Dick Moves).”Cracked, 19 Sept. 2010, www.cracked.com/article_18744_7-great-foods-that-were-created-thanks-to-dick-moves.html.

Turcotte, Matthew W. “Potato Chips – Good To The Last ‘Crum.’” A POP CULTURE ADDICT’S GUIDE TO LIFE, 13 Feb. 2013, popcultureaddictlifeguide.blogspot.com/2013/02/potato-chips-good-to-last-crum.html.

Everyone has their favorite cookie, and everyone has their favorite Girl Scout Cookie. Whether you prefer the chocolatey Thin Mints or the crumbly Trefoils, the Girl Scouts have you covered. This season marks the 101^st year of cookie sales with no lack of challenges, however a question begs to be asked: how did these treats become so popular?

Let’s first take a look at the history behind the sweets. The first ever Girl Scout cookie sales occurred in December, 1917 by the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee Oklahoma. Five years later, The Girl Scout magazine The American Girl suggested cookie sales as a possible fundraiser for the organization. At the time, their only product came in the form of a simple sugar cookie.

Despite having to deal with sugar, flour, and butter shortages during World War II, the Girl Scouts baked and sold cookies without a hitch. By the 1950s, the Girl Scouts added three more cookies to their catalogue: “Shortbreads,” “Savannahs” (Peanut Butter Sandwich), and “Thin Mints.” By 1975, the “Samoa” was added.

Girl Scouts selling cookies in 1955

By 1978, the Girl Scouts limited the number of bakers to four to lower prices and uniform, packaging, quality, and distribution. In 1979, the cookies gained more popularity by showcasing their new logo (courtesy of famed graphic designer Saul Bass). By the 1990s, the number of Girl Scout cookie bakers decreased to two: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers.

In recent years, the organization decided to take a more health-conscious stance. By 2005, the Girl Scouts removed trans fat from their cookies to be healthier and put nutritional information on each box. By 2015, they added the first gluten-free cookies to their product mix: Toffee-tastic (buttery cookies with toffee bits) and Trios (peanut butter, chocolate chips, and whole grain oats).

Percentage of Girl Scout Cookies by Purchase

In economic terms, Girl Scout Cookies are seasonal goods, meaning they are only sold around February each year for around six to eight weeks. The Girl Scouts claim that this is only one facet of their yearly entrepreneurship and leadership program, and that they work on other (less notable) projects throughout each year. Their scarcity gives the cookies a higher rating over other notable cookies like Oreos or Chips Ahoy, giving consumers more of an incentive to purchase Girl Scout cookies in bulk.

Branding is also a huge factor to the Girl Scouts’ success. Since Keebler currently manufactures most of their catalogue, they are able to sell similar cookies (ex: Grasshoppers) year round. However, the average buyer will flock to a name they know rather than generics – especially when that name espouses tastier treats. The very mention of Girl Scout Cookies causes people to perk their ears up like dogs ready for fresh food.

With a dozen varieties of cookies on catalogue, the Girl Scouts show no signs of stopping. What began as a local fundraising event was later refined and standardized over generations into not only a pop culture phenomenon but a nationwide sensation.

Sources:

Gibson, Morgan. “Girl Scouts Release Three New Cookies, Including Two Gluten-Free Flavors.” People Great Ideas, Time Inc., 5 Jan. 2015, greatideas.people.com/2015/01/05/new-girl-scout-cookies-gluten-free/.

“Girl Scout Cookie Statistics.” Statistic Brain, 8 Sept. 2017, www.statisticbrain.com/girl-scout-cookie-statistics/.

Picchi, Aimee. “For the Girl Scouts, Cookies Are More Important than Ever.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 12 Jan. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/for-the-girl-scouts-cookies-are-more-important-than-ever/.

Trierweiler, John. “Girl Scout Cookies Just Got Sweeter in Arizona.” ABC15 Arizona, 20 Feb. 2018, www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/girl-scout-cookies-just-got-sweeter-in-arizona.

Versability. “The Economics of Girl Scout Cookies.” Thought for Your Penny, Brian Penny, 3 Dec. 2017, thoughtforyourpenny.com/money/business/economics-girl-scout-cookies/.

“Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman.” – Henri Charpentier, disputed creator of Crêpes Suzette

What:

Crêpes Suzette is a variation of a crêpe served with a sauce of sugar, orange juice, and liqeur (typically Grand Marnier). For the final and signature touch, chefs pour the liquer over the crêpes and light it on fire.

When:

1895

Where:

Monte Carlo’s Café de Paris, Monaco

Who:

A fourteen year-old assistant waiter named Henri Charpentier (1880-1961).

How:

Most people tend to lose their nerve when they hear that they are in the presence of a celebrity. This was the cause with novice assistant waiter Henri Charpentier when he learned that he would be serving Prince Edward of Wales (the future English king Edward VII), his beautiful French mistress, Suzette, and a coterie filled with members of high society.

Desperation was high, time was tight, and Charpentier was frenzied. While preparing the food, Charpentier eventually set fire to the crêpes right after he poured liqeur over it. Historicity varies over Charpentier’s method: some claim that he burnt it accidentally by the chafing dish, others say that he purposefully flambéed the crêpes in front of the prince himself. Regardless, the young waiter mustered enough courage to serve the dish as it was.

Once Charpentier brought over the dish, the prince delightfully and promptly cleaned his plate of every last morsel. When asked for the name of the dish, Charpentier told him to call the creation “Crêpes Princesse” in honor of the prince. Charpentier was unable to title it “Crêpes Prince” since “Crêpes” in French is a feminine noun which controls the gender of the adjective(s) associated with it. Prince Edward shot the idea down and instead suggested the name be “Crêpes Suzette” in honor of his paramour.

The following day, Henri Charpentier received three gifts from the prince: a cane, a panama hat, and a jeweled ring. Within a few years, his concoction became a staple of French cuisine.

Sources:

Ramakrishnan, Rohan. “7 Great Foods (That Were Created Thanks to Dick Moves).”Cracked, 19 Sept. 2010, www.cracked.com/article_18744_7-great-foods-that-were-created-thanks-to-dick-moves.html.

Stradley, Linda. “Crepes Suzette History and Recipe, Whats Cooking America.”What’s Cooking America, 25 Sept. 2017, whatscookingamerica.net/History/CrepesSuzetteHistory.htm.

Trapella, Filippo – philosokitchen.com. “CREPES SUZETTE RECIPE & HISTORY – All You Need to Know!” Philosokitchen, 9 May 2017, philosokitchen.com/crepes-suzette-recipe-history/.

For the most part, we tend to associate certain foods based off of their colors: when we think of something green, we might think of broccoli; when we think of something orange, we might think of an orange; when we think of something red, we might think of raspberries.

What about purple foods? I’m not talking about standard foods that have the royal color as their default shade (eggplants, grapes, blackberries); I’d like to shine a light on foods that have their own separate purple version. For example, did you know that you could find purple artichokes, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, and cauliflower? Unlike food coloring, this natural shading offers multiple health benefits. According to the Pantone Color Institute – the global authority on color trends – an ultraviolet hue in foods indicates nutrient density and antioxidants (Schueller).

Purple cauliflower – only slightly less boring than regular cauliflower.

The shade of purple within foods comes from anthocyanins – disease-fighting antioxidants. Anthocyanins are responsible for producing colors in red, blue, and violet foods, depending on the count of anthocyanins there are. For example, a black raspberry has nearly five times as many anthocyanins than a cherry. Artistically, this makes sense since blue and red combination of black raspberries outweigh the singular red hue of cherries.

So what do anthocyanins do? Because it boasts antioxidants, it prevents the creation of free radicals which would normally damage cells. In short, the more purple foods you eat, the less likely you will gain cancer. As a result, the American Cancer Society recommends eating as many anthocyanin-containing foods as possible (AFP).

So if you’re looking to spruce up your diet and colorize your dishes, look no further than anthocyanin-based fruits and vegetables. For a list of violet alternatives of your staple foods, take a look at our compilation below (Cole). Remember: expanding your purple palette can be just as delicious as it is life-saving!

Fruits:

• Grapes
• Figs
• Passion Fruit
• Raisins
• Plums
• Prunes
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Currants

Vegetables:

• Red Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Asparagus
• Carrots
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Peppers
• Basil
• Broccoli
• Thyme
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Kale
• Artichokes
• Red Onions

Sources:

Schueller, Gretel H. “Nutrition and Health Benefits of Purple Potatoes & More Purple Produce.” EatingWell, EatingWell, 21 Nov. 2013, www.eatingwell.com/article/279756/nutrition-and-health-benefits-of-purple-potatoes- more-purple-produce/.

AFP. “The Most Fashionable Foods Of 2018.” Singapore Tatler, Edipress Media Asia Limited, 20 Dec. 2017, sg.asiatatler.com/dining/fashionable-foods-2018-pantone-purple.

Cole, Holly. “35 Purple Fruits and Vegetables You Should Be Eating.” Fine Dining Lovers, 15 Nov. 2017, www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/purple-fruits-and-vegetables/.