Have you ever wondered how your favorite food or snacks were made? Well, you’d be surprised that many of them were created accidentally as they were meant to create a different dish. Here are 10 popular American foods that were created accidentally. Check them out, as the treat you’ve been munching might be on the list.
10. French Fries
One food that we all know is an accident is the staple fast food side, French Fries. Its origins are unknown since both France and Belgium claim to have invented them first. In Belgium’s version, they were said to have been created during the winter of 1680 when the villagers of Namur fried potatoes and cut them into sticks since they couldn’t fry small fish due to the frozen lake.
In France’s version, they invented the first fried potatoes from the cookbooks from 1975 that mentioned them. Well, at least we have them now to pair with burgers and chicken nuggets.
9. Slurpee
Have you ever thought of the origins of 7-Eleven’s popular Slurpee? You might be surprised that 7-Eleven wasn’t the first one to have invented them. Instead, they licensed it from the original inventor, Omar Knedlik. It started off when the soda machine broke down, so Knedlick stored some soda bottles inside the freezer to keep them cold. When he served them to customers, they found that the liquid soda turned into a sweet slush, and they loved it. 7-Eleven received the rights when they licensed the machine and called it Slurpees.
8. Nashville Hot Chicken
Hot Chicken rightfully belongs to Nashville, and since then, many have followed to create their own twist and flavors. Well, according to Southern legends, the invention of the Hot Chicken starts with a known womanizer, Thorton Prince, and when he stepped out one day with a woman, he was served a plate of fried chicken full of hot peppers to teach him a lesson. However, Prince loved it that he decided to open his own chicken shack.
7. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
Brothers William and John Kellogg were looking for a substitute for bread, so they decided to boil wheat. However, they accidentally boiled the wheat for too long, and when they rolled it out, it fell and produced flakes. They tried to bake these flakes. Many people fell in love with Corn Flakes, but the Kellogg brothers’ innovative minds knew that they could make it better, so they substituted corn for wheat, and that was how Corn Flakes were born.
6. Chocolate Chip Cookies
You may be familiar with the Toll House, which is a popular name for Nestle’s chocolate chip cookies, but in case you’re not familiar, it actually came from the Toll House Inn, a tourist lodge owned by the inventor, Ruth Wakefield’s husband.
It was just a normal day at the inn when Ruth was baking cookies for the guests and discovered that she had run out of baker’s chocolate. Instead of running to the store, she used chopped Nestle chocolate and added it to the cookie batter. Ruth assumed that the chocolate would melt away and cover up the entire cookie when baked, but to her surprise, she invented the Chocolate Chip Cookies.
5. Gooey Butter Cake
Many of us love the Gooey Butter Cake due to its moist texture, which adds to its taste. This cake was actually invented by accident by a baker from St. Louise who mistakenly used the wrong proportions of butter and flour when creating a simple butter cake. After seeing that the “failed” result had potential, he decided to sell it, and luckily, it sold like hotcakes.
4. Philly Cheesesteak
Chopped steak smothered with cheese is just the ideal sandwich flavor! That is why the Philly Cheesesteak is well-loved by many. The sandwich actually started out by mistake in Philadelphia when hot dog seller Pat Oliveri threw some beef on his grill to make a sandwich. It looked so good that a cab driver who happened to pass by asked if he could give it a try, and guess what? He loved it! Soon enough, word spread around town, so many were intrigued. Pat decided to smother the beef with cheese. The sandwich grew so popular that he opened Pat’s King of Steaks, which is a spot that still stands today.
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3. Dippin’ Dots
Have you ever thought of the genius person who invented your favorite Dippin’ Dots innovation? Well, in 1988, Curt Jones, a microbiologist, wanted to figure out how to feed cows faster and easier by using few materials. Jones froze a batch of cow feeds at around -212 degrees Celsius, which resulted in pellets that could be fed to cows easily. Jones realized that it could be the same with human food, so he decided to test it out first with ice cream until he created Dippin’ Dots.
2. Ice Cream Cone
Ice cream and cones can never be separated, and whoever thought of pairing them is a genius! It all started out with the World Fair, which saw the birth of many genius inventions. During the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Ernest Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire who sold zalabia, which is a thin and crispy waffle, set up his booth next to an ice cream vendor who ran out of dishes or plates to serve his ice cream. This was an opportunity Hamwi saw, so he rolled one of his waffles into a cone shape and handed it to the vendor, who scooped ice cream on top.
1. Buffalo Wings
We all know that the famous Buffalo Wings started out in The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, but it was actually an accident that created this American classic. Owner Teresa Bellissimo ordered chicken necks as an ingredient for the restaurant’s spaghetti sauce, but instead, she received wings. To avoid wasting it, she created a new dish and tried to blend different flavors for its coating. Thus, the Buffalo Wings was born.
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From The Club
What food are you surprised the most? Well, as a foodie, I’ve read these stories from books and online forums, but one fact I didn’t know was about Nestle’s Tollhouse. I remembered the times when my Mom would buy those chocolate chips from Nestle Tollhouse. What was the reason behind its name? The Tollhouse Inn where it was invented together with Nestle chocolate bars.
