There once was a cow that ate chips...

So what do Angus cattle and snack foods have in common?  More than you can imagine!  Earlier this week our team had the opportunity to attend an educational tour of a snack food manufacturer in Nottingham, PA and discovered the connection!

The Herr Food Company was founded in 1946 by James S Herr and continues to be run and managed by his family.  Most of the waste generated by the manufacturing facility is used for their nearby Herr Angus Farm.  Any product that does not meet quality standards is used for cattle feed as well as water discharge used for irrigation and potato skins for fodder.

Here are some less known potato facts:

• Green marks on chips means the potato was grown too close to the surface and was hit by sunlight. The green is equivalent to a sunburn. 
• Brown marks on chips comes from a higher sugar content in the potato. The sugar caramelizes when the chip is cooked. 
• Dehydrated potatoes are used for onion rings, and an onion powder gives them the "onion ring" flavor.
• At Herr's, starch from the potatoes is sold to a local paper manufacturing company.
• They are supplied with potatoes from Florida to Maine and many states in between.
• One potato equals 17 chips (thin), 15 kettle chips (thicker) or 13 of the 1853 Herr chips (thickest).

What was the best part of the visit, you ask?  Tasting thin and crispy chips off the assembly line that were warm and salty.  Yum!  We all walked away with a new appreciation for the art of the potato chip.  Those are some lucky Angus cows, too.

Comments

[Kristin Taylor]

What a neat story, sounds like you had a great time! fyi - we feed our dairy cows chips, too!