Food Science and Technology

Snack Seasoning Formulation There's a whole lot of crunching going on. According to the Snack Food Assoc., the 1994 per-capita consumption of   snacks   in the United States was nearly 22 pounds. A Columbia University study indicates that savory/crunchy products are the most popular snack choices, followed by baked goods and fruit.   While some salty snacks come all natural, most carry some sort of   snack seasoning   - even if it consists of a simple sprinkle of salt. Seasoning can bring out and complement the flavor of the base, or it can make up the bulk of the flavor. Whatever the case, seasoning plays an important role in the flavor and appearance of a salty snack and greatly influences its acceptability.   "Snacks are essentially fun foods," says Jane Schultz, vice president of communications for the Snack Food Assoc. (SFA), Alexandria VA. "Trying to promote snacks based primarily on nutrition merits just doesn't work for   seasoning ...

Potato Chip Background Potato chips are thin slices of potato, fried quickly in oil and then salted. According to snack food folklore, the potato chip was invented in 1853 by a chef named George Crum at a restaurant called Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Spring, New York. Angered when a customer, some sources say it was none other than Cornelius Vanderbilt, returned his french fried potatoes to the kitchen for being too thick, Crum sarcastically shaved them paper thin and sent the plate back out. The customer, whoever he was, and others around him, loved the thin potatoes. Crum soon opened his own restaurant across the lake and his policy of not taking reservations did not keep the customers from standing in line to taste his potato chips. The popularity of potato chips quickly spread across the country, particularly in speakeasies, spawning a flurry of home-based companies. Van de Camp's Saratoga Chips opened in Los Angeles on January 6, 1915. In 1921, Earl Wise, a g...