Snacks, Salty: Potato Chips

Home recipes that called for fried “shavings” of raw potatoes had appeared in American cookery books beginning in 1824. As a home and restaurant treat, they became popular at the end of the nineteenth century. Early commercial potato chips were often stale due to poor packaging. In 1933, the Dixie Wax Paper Company introduced the first waxed glassine bag, which made it possible for manufacturers to print brand names and other information on the outside of the bag. This mode of packaging promptly became the standard in the salty snack world. Potato chip sales increased throughout World War II and advertising increased sales even more when the war ended.