Since America is such a cool melting pot and we are a product of numerous cultures from all around the globe, we have a neat smorgasbord of all kinds of different foods. I think it is really fascinating to learn where these things we think of as “American staples” actually came from. Potato chips are just potato chips, right? They seem about as American as they come. Little did I know, flavored potato chips and a couple of my other favorite treats and snacks actually came from Ireland. 

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share some foods we eat all the time that we probably don't realize have Irish origins.

1. Chocolate milk. We are really obsessed with good chocolate milk in this house and I owe my thanks to a physician from Northern Ireland named Hans Sloane from the 1600’s. He encountered chocolate while traveling to Jamaica and found it made him nauseous. He added milk and sugar to it to make it more appealing. By 1700, people actually enjoyed going to “chocolate houses”, which were similar to our coffee shops now, where they would choose from a variety of different chocolate milk mixes. Hans lived to be 92 years old, which at that time was ancient. I Think it’s fair to say that chocolate milk is the elixir of life!

2. Flavored potato chips, r crisps as they would call them in Ireland. Potato chips weren’t invented in Ireland, but flavored ones were. Joseph Murphy, who had the adorable nickname ‘spud’, first created cheese and onion flavored crisps in Ireland in the 1950’s. He owned the well-known company Tayto, who still are one of the biggest crisps and popcorn making companies in Ireland today. Murphy also invented some of the very best flavors including salt and vinegar and barbeque. What would American bbq’s be like without some flavored crisps, eh?

Do you know what is a very popular snack in Ireland? A simple sandwich made up of buttered soft white bread with a layer of cheddar and onion Taytos in the middle. Sounds……interesting. But I’d try it :) When in Dublin, right?

3. Soda water. Soda water was invented by Robert Perceval, a bright young man born in 1756. He entered Trinity College, which is Ireland’s oldest and most highly ranked University at 16. He then studied medicine in and returned to Trinity in Dublin to become a professor of chemistry. One of his great accomplishments was creating soda water, which he believed would be highly useful when used for medicinal purposes. 

So there you have it--three things Americans LOVE that have Irish roots: chocolate milk, salt and vinegar chips and soda water, which of course turned into Coca Cola about 100 years later. Many of my fondest memories of summer picnics and bbqs involve these yummy and fun foods so I, for one, am thankful for these inventive minds for changing our snack game forever!