The United States of America:

American history is a story of immigration, meetings and mixings, industrialization, progress and change. And remember from the Interlude that a nation’s colonial process determines a lot about that nation’s cuisine. In the United States European colonials endeavored to set up cities and farms very similar to the ones they had left and killed or exiled any native people who might et in their way. As a result, mainstream American cuisine is similar to European cuisine in many ways, but, like Puerto Rico, American kitchens became a vacuum of sorts where cooks could experiment and improvise with new ingredients and new circumstances. That experimentation and willingness to adapt didn’t stop after the colonial period, it continued through the western expansiona dn still continues todaywith waves of new immigrants bringing new tastes and ingredients and more entrepaneurs creating more products that spawn new trends. The potato follows these changes, providing examples of dishes that mix ethnicities, follow trends and utilize the products of industrial processes. The recipes in this section include divergent ingredients ranging from Mexican hot sauce to canned cream of mushroom soup, dehydrated potatoes to mechanically fried potatoes, to scientifically tested potatoes to fresh potatoes with milk, onion and flour. This ection has the most variety of recipes and a history of capitalism and experimentation rather than despotic rulers and famine. Have fun!

Potatoes finally arrived in the US with the first Irish immigrants in 1719. To make the new land their home, they planted their staple crop in the fields of Derry, New Hampshire. As more Irish immigrated to the US they continued to consume large amounts of potatoes like they had in Ireland, and soon New England and the Mid-Atlantic states became the first big potato producers in the US. By the end of the nineteenth century other big potato eaters, like Russians and Germans, began to immigrate in large numbers and demand potatoes on the breakfast, lunch, and dinner tables. Potato culture spread across the United States with the pioneers and now Idaho, Washington and New York lead the nation in potato agriculture.

A potato bar makes a casual, American way to serve baked potatoes, topped with many Eastern European favorites. Nacho Rounds take the idea of nachos, spicy Mexican sauces and beans over chips, and adds a totally un-Mexican ingredient, potatoes. Boston Baked Potatoes substitutes potatoes for beans in an already very American dish, and Curried Potato Bisque combines Indian spices with French preparation.

Potato Bar

(Inspired by The Great Potato Cookbook)

You can see the Eastern European influences on the toppings for the baked potatoes, but note no Peruvian or Native American influences.

Baked Potatoes:

Pick out two medium potatoes or one huge baking potato for each guest. Rub with oil, wrap in foil and bake for 40-45 minutes at 400*.

Toppings:

Butter and salt

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Crumbled bacon

Scrambled eggs

Diced ham

Sausage and scallions

Soup such as clam chowder or any thick stew.

Cubed turkey in cheese sauce

Hot milk

Lemon butter

Salad dressing, creamy or vinargrette

Mushrooms, marinated or sautéed

Avocado

Garlic and Parmesan

Shrimp

Sardines

Set out any combination of these ingredients as a buffet. Each person spreads open their baked potato and loads on all their favorite toppings. This is great for large parties and big casual dinners.

Nacho Rounds

(adapted from the All-American Potato Cookbook)

Any or all of the following ingredients in sufficient quantities:

Large potatoes, sliced into rounds 1/4 inch thick.

Taco sauce

Chopped green chilies

Refried beans

Sliced olives

Sliced green onions

Browned ground beef

Cheddar cheese

Queso blanco or Munster cheese

Sour cream

Lay out the potato slices in a single layer on a greased baking sheet for oven cooking or a microwave-safe plate for microwave cooking. Brush the potatoes with taco sauce. Layer on the next seven ingredients in any combination, topping with cheese. Bake 25 minutes in a 350* oven or microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Top with sour cream if desired.

Boston Baked Potatoes

(from the All-American Potato Cookbook)

A funny cross between scalloped potatoes and baked beans.

4 medium potatoes, washed, peeled, and thinly sliced, 1/4 inch or less

3 slices bacon, diced (or 3 Tbs butter)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup light molasses

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375*F. Combine potatoes, bacon, onion, vinegar, molasses, sugar, mustard, and salt in greased 2-quart casserole; toss carefully just to mix. Bake, covered, 45 to 50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Curried Potato Bisque

(from The Complete Potato Cookbook)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. curry powder

3 cups milk

1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes

2 tsp. onion juice or grated onion [or very finely minced onion]

Salt, pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, stir in 2 tablespoons flour and 1 teaspoon curry powder, and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. Scald 3 cups milk and combine well with 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes. Stir this mixture into the roux, and cook slowly, stirring, until hot and smooth. Season with 2 teaspoons onion juice or grated onion, and salt and pepper to taste.

The lack of a strong tradition that allows for all this combining also leaves American cooks wide open for food fads. Sylvia Lovegren wrote a very informative book about culinary trends in America over the last seventy years called Fashionable Food. In the early part of the century scientists discovered vitamins and suddenly cooking became a scientific ordeal. Everyone needed to eat more vegetables and the best way to do this was with salads, preferably contained somehow, whether in elaborate sculptures, congealed in a Jell-O mold, or at least in a lettuce cup. Nicose Salad is one of these sculpted creations that no only incorporates canned fish ingredients, but also shows up in nearly every American potato cookbook I've looked at despite its French origin. I include both a creamy potato salad dressed in mayonnaise and some snappy non-mayonnaise potato salads, one with sour cream and dill and another simple one with vinaigrette. Waxy potatoes like Yukon Golds work best for discreet cubes of boiled potatoes.

Nicose Salad

(from The All-American Potato Cookbook)

Plan ahead for this oneYou need to marinate the potatoes and green beans for at least two hours. Make that part in the morning or even the night before.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 large potatoes, washed, do not peel

Ice water

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 head Boston lettuce

1 can (7 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked

3 large tomatoes, peeled and quartered

1 can (2 ounces) flat anchovy fillets, drained

1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, quartered

1 tablespoon capers

Combine vinegar, oil, green onion, parsley, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in pint jar. Cover, shake to blend, set aside. Bring water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in large saucepan. Add potatoes; cover and boil 20 minutes, or until tender; drain. Plunge into ice water; drain. Peel and slice potatoes. Place in large bowl. Shake dressing; pour enough dressing over sliced potatoes just to coat; mix gently. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut beans into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Cook beans in boiling, salted water to cover 7 to 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water; drain. Pour enough dressing over beans just to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. To serve, mound potatoes in center of lettuce-lined platter. Arrange tuna on top of potatoes. Alternately arrange beans, tomato, and eggs around edge of platter. Arrange anchovy fillets on top of beans. Garnish with capers and olives. Drizzle remaining dressing over all.

Potato-Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and Dill Sauce

(from The Great Potato Cookbook)

7 medium-sized new potatoes [or Yukon Golds]

1 to 1 1/2 cups of Sour Cream and Dill Sauce (below)

2 medium sized cucumbers, peeled, cut in half length-wise, seeds removed and cut into 1/4-inch slices

Tender, center leaves of romaine or other tender lettuce

1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill [or 2 tablespoons dried dill]

Cook the potatoes in their skins until tender, then peel and slice while still warm. In a large bowl, mix the warm potatoes with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Add the cucumbers and 1/2 cup of the remaining sauce. Taste, add more sauce if necessary. Line a salad dish with the lettuce, spoon in the potato-cucumber mixture and sprinkle with the dill. Serve chilled but not icy cold.

Sour Cream and Dill Sauce

(Makes slightly less than 2 cups.)

1 1/2 cups of sour cream

1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill [or 2 tablespoons dried dill]

1 teaspoon of minced onion

1/8 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and blend.

Potatoes Vinaigrette

(from The Great Potato Cookbook)

2 pounds of small, firm new potatoes [or Yukon Golds]

3 tablespoons of wine vinegar

3/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of minced chives

6 crisp leaves of Boston lettuce

1 (2-ounce) can of flat anchovy fillets, drained

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, drain and dry in a pan over heat (be careful not to burn them). In a bowl, combine the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and chives. Blend thoroughly. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the potato slices on the lettuce leaves on individual plates, garnish with the anchovy fillets. Just before serving spoon on the desired amount of vinaigrette sauce.

Americans also fell in love with cakes in the twenties and cakes continued to be very chic throughout the thirties and forties, even the fifties. Incorporating mashed potatoes into a cake makes it very soft and moist. This recipe comes to me via my mother. Her email went like this:

Hi Karen!

As requested, here is the:

Chocolate Potato Cake

1 C shortening

2 C sugar

3 eggs

1 C mashed potatoes

3 squares chocolate, melted

2 1/4 C flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 C milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon rind

1 C ground nuts

Cream shortening, add sugar gradually, creaming well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Put hot boiled potatoes through a ricer or strainer, add to creamed mixture with melted chocolate and blend thoroughly. Sift flour and measure; sift again with baking powder and salt and add to first mixture alternately with milk and vanilla. Add lemon rind and ground nuts, and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites last. Pour into two greased and floured 8-inch cake pans, and bake 30 to 35 minutes in a moderate oven, 350 degrees. 12 servings.

From:

Modern Meal Maker by Martha Meade, Privately printed in San Francisco, [apparently by the Sperry Flour company (I think it's now part of General Mills.)]; there's no copyright date, but it's from about 1938 or so. It was one of my mother's first cookbooks after my parents married July 3, 1938. It's a fun cookbook with three menus on one page (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for each day of the year. . . Do you realize that you can use leftover parsley for New potatoes en parsley? And it features a multitude of recipes for Sperry Flour products, including Mystery Muffins made from Wheat Hearts (Yes, I've made them and they're pretty good). . .

Love--mom

I really like this recipe because not only does it make a tasty cake, but it provided a forum for my mom to relate a few other related cooking tricks and a little family history, Just like Jansen's mother and women all over America. It makes a lovely intersection for me between the history of fashionable food in America, potatoes, my family and the way people use and disseminate recipes, reflecting back to thinking about recipes as texts.

In another American food fad, from the 1920s to the 1950s trendsetters found it very chic to cook with canned ingredients. This all-American recipe takes advantage of those products in a glorified version of scalloped potatoes with frankfurters and canned cream of celery soup. One of my taste-testers pegged it when she called the recipe "totally fifties," and compared it to salads in Jell-O molds. A fifties cook would have been very proud of the smart use of canned soup and hot dogs that would show all her guests how modern and efficient she was.

Frankfurter Wonder

(from The All-American Potato Cookbook)

3 medium potatoes, washed, peeled, and sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

5 frankfurters (1/2 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of celery soup, undiluted

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter a 2-quart casserole [or 9-inch cake pan]. Arrange half of the potatoes in prepared casserole. Layer half of the onion and green pepper over potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and celery seed. Place all of the frankfurters in casserole. Repeat layers with remaining vegetables. Combine soup and 1/4 cup water in small bowl; blend well. Pour over ingredients in casserole. Cover and bake 60 to 70 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir before serving.

All these recipes connect with two trends that affect how potatoes are used and abused in America. First, as I mentioned before, the United states is made up of dozens and dozens of immigrant groups, each of which brought their own culinary traditions to their new land. In Why We Eat What We Eat, Raymond Solokov states "America's traditional cuisine, if we have one, is the result of many separate collisions between immigrant groups applying what they knew from the old country to what they found in the new." (148) Cooks culled and modified traditional dishes through contact with other cultures and American food technology. Since American cooks don't have a strong tradition formed over centuries by stable, conservative peasants, the few rules are easily broken. Americans can be wildly creative, mixing ingredients and tastes that have never been mixed before.

Second, American eating habits changed drastically between 1880 and 1920 in the fervor of the growing Industrial Revolution. Instead of eating fresh foods, we began eating more processed, packaged, and refined foods. In his book Revolution at the Table Harvey A. Levenstien details how food manufacturing transformed the American diet. During the period from 1880 to 1920 new packaged products replaced the traditional unprocessed fresh foods through clever promotion and advertising. By careful placement and emotional tie-ins, new products made people feel they were healthier, more modern and prosperous individuals by eating these canned and packaged goods. For example, Post promised good health and energy for the day if you ate his memorably named Post Toasties Corn Flakes and Grape Nuts. Eventually, processed cereal nearly completely replaced foodstuffs previously consumed at breakfast like steak and eggs. They created an entirely new market by replacing foods in the diet, not by adding foods as the introduction of most new foods had done in the past. The stories of scalloped potatoes, potato chips, and McDonald's fries are prime examples of this process of replacing fresh foods with processed, packaged foods.

American gross potato consumption rose steadily from 1849 to 1969, however, the form of this consumption differed radically over time (Smith, 1977). In the nineteenth century Americans consumed their potatoes fresh, cooked by individual households. Nowadays most of the potatoes consumed by a typical American take the form of frozen products, packaged snacks like chips, and deep-fried restaurant side dishes like french fries. Of all the potatoes put toward food uses in 1978 about half were frozen and another quarter were chipped. In the 20th century food became an industrial venture and fundamentally changed agriculture in America. New technology means fewer and bigger farms. For instance, the number of farms growing potatoes is decreasing, but the size of those farms is going up. Now, instead of a large number of small farmers producing food for their families and a little to sell, large corporations perform most of the food production in America. Farming requires large capital investment for all the new technology for both agriculture and food refinement.

Dehydration and other chemical preservation methods have spawned scalloped potatoes in a box. Before Betty Crocker people made scalloped potatoes like this:

Maine Scallop

(from The Complete Potato Cookbook)

2 lbs. potatoes

3 onions

6 Tbsp. flour

Salt, pepper

6 Tbsp. butter

2 cups milk

Peel 6 medium potatoes (2 pounds) and cut into 1/8-inch slices. Cut 3 onions into similar slices. Put 1/3 the potatoes in a buttered 6-cup casserole and cover with 1/3 the onions. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and a little pepper. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Repeat twice more, using 6 tablespoons each butter and flour. Add about 2 cups milk, or enough to come just to the top of the potatoes. Bake, covered, at 300*F for about 2 hours, until the potatoes are tender. After 1 1/2 hours, remove the cover so that the top can brown. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more milk. Baking the scallop in a moderately slow oven keeps the milk from boiling and curdling.

After Betty Crocker, sadly, many people have never tasted fresh scalloped potatoes. Instead, the casserole is usually made like this:

Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes--100% real Idaho russet potatoes in a creamy sauce seasoned to perfection

MICROWAVE RECIPE, Easy and Convenient.

MIX Sauce Mix, 2 1/2 cups hot water and 2 teaspoons margarine or butter in 2-quart round microwavable casserole

STIR IN Potatoes and 3/4 cup lowfat-milk

MICROWAVE uncovered on High 20 to 23 minutes or until tender; stir. (Dish will be hot.) Let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.

A similar process changed potato chips from a fresh treat to packaged snack food staple. Once upon a time in Saratoga Springs, New York a diner was served a plate of thick, limp, soggy French fries. He sent his plate back to the kitchen, demanding thinner fries. Again, they came back too thick for his taste, and again he sent them back. Chef George Crum angrily cut potatoes paper thin, deep-fat fried them and sent them back to the customer. Contrary to Crum's passive-aggressive expectations, everyone loved the crispy new food. The first recipe for Saratoga Potatoes appeared in 1878 in Mary F. Henderson's Practical Cooking and Dinner Going. People made potato chips at home for quite awhile, and you still can if you have the capacity to deep-fat fry.

Potato Chips

(from The All-American Potato Cookbook)

8 large potatoes, washed and peeled

Ice water

Peanut or corn oil for deep-fat frying

Salt (optional)

Slice potatoes paper-thin (approximately 1/16") with a vegetable peeler or sharp knife. Soak slices in ice water for 2 hours. Heat oil in deep-fat fryer (or 4 inches oil in a large, deep saucepan) to 380*F. Drain potato slices; dry thoroughly on paper towels. Place separated slices in fry basket. Lower into oil. Shake basket or stir several times to prevent slices from sticking together. Deep-fat fry until golden. Remove from oil. Drain well on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Cool before serving. Store in airtight container.

When you make these chips you'll notice that they're much darker than commercial chips. Frito-Lay and other huge corporations have perfected a very refined and exacting process to make chips on huge assembly lines which conform exactly to strict standards of taste and texture. First, the potatoes are treated with chemicals in storage to prevent sprouting. Combined with other measures like cold temperatures and a dry atmosphere, food companies can store potatoes up to a year. Potato processors need exactly the right kind of potatoes to make chips. They can't be too wet because water disturbs the frying process nor can they be too sugary because sugar browns during frying and processors want a perfectly golden chip. Corporations have studied the specific gravity of potatoes to predetermine which will make the best chips, as well as perfected the blanching and frying temperatures, the type of oil and the exact slice thickness that combine to produce the most consistent, appealing chip. To prevent dark-colored chips, manufacturers store the potatoes close to freezing and treat quick-frozen potato slices with a myriad of chemical compounds and gasses. To make a chip the potato is first cut to just the right thinness, then treated by blanching in boiling water to partially cook it, then partially dried, treated with chemicals, perhaps stored some more, then fried for just the right amount of time in just the right kind of fat at just the right temperature. Then the chips are inspected and packaged in cellophane foil to block out light that would affect the chip's flavor. Some of this exact knowledge of potato chip processing comes from research done with an electronic "nose" that measures the concentration of certain compounds in the air. By studying the aroma of the chips when processed under certain conditions, corporations have scientifically determined the best tasting potato chip.

Potatoes can be processed in other ways to make a myriad of snack foods. Many of these products take advantage of dehydrated potato flakes. Potato flakes are manufactured by applying mashed potatoes to huge drums which roll the potatoes out thin and dry them. Then machines break the sheets of dried potato into bits suitable for packaging. They may be sold to consumers as instant mashed potatoes or to food manufacturers for snacks like Pringles. To make the thousands of exactly identical chips sold each year as Pringles, Proctor and Gamble rehydrate potato flakes to make a dough, shapes it into chips of "uniform size and curvature," fry them, then can them in that little tube. They usually add some flavoring to the dough since the dehydration makes the potatoes lose flavor. After their introduction in 1971 Pringles commanded nearly 30 percent of the total potato snack market.

In many ways manufactured potato chips are the epitome of convenience foods. Not only is it incredibly easy to consume large quantities, they also contain excessive amounts of fat and salt and very small amounts of nutrients. Snack foods like potato chips are a national obsession. Americans spent $14 billion on snack food in 1992, averaging 21 pounds per person. Statisticians figure that, on average, each person in the US eats about 7 pounds of potato chips per year. Potato chips need not be just a quick snack, they can become a part of more elaborate meals and desserts. They make a greasy-crunchy topping for casseroles or add an interesting texture to cookies. A version of Potato Chip Cookies appeared on the web page for the Idaho Potato Expo, immediately preceded by "Idaho potatoes are delicious and good for you. Try some of the following recipes and see what we mean." However, there isn't enough flour in that recipe and the cookies melted into thin wafers in the oven. My mom said "Oh, just like a potato chip," so perhaps it's some sort of physical pun. This version works much better, though there's no getting around the silliness or the greasiness of the idea.

Potato Chip Cookies

(from The All-American Potato Cookbook)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup crushed potato chips

2 egg yolks

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Confectioners sugar

Combine flour, sugar, chips, egg yolks, shortening, butter, and vanilla in large bowl; beat with electric mixer until mixture is consistency of fine crumbs. Preheat oven to 350*F. Shape dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of a glass. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet; cool. Dust with confectioners sugar.

All these recipes reflect American's growing reliance on convenience foods and snack foods for quick energy. Even within the home, inventors have heeded the demand for faster, tastier and more convenient. A microwave oven cooks a whole potato to moist, pasty perfection in seven or eight minutes, versus up to an hour in conventional ovens. The following recipe is my very own, created during a quarter when I could hardly find time to take a shower, let alone cook an elaborate meal. Nuclear potatoes not only cook up in 12 minutes or less but also provide a good illustration of the food pyramid, a base of carbohydrates, then a smaller amount of vegetables, then dairy on top.

Nuclear potatoes

2 small potatoes

1 cup chopped broccoli

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Wash the potatoes and remove any eyes or rotten spots. Microwave on high for 7 or 8 minutes, depending on your microwave. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the broccoli. Include peeled stalks, they're flavorful and crunchy. Grate the cheese. When the potatoes finish cooking open them on a plate and fluff them with a fork. Pile the broccoli on the potatoes and top with cheese. Microwave again for 30 seconds to melt the cheese and steam the broccoli.

Before fast food in the home, Americans could get fast food on the road or as part of a fun evening out. Potatoes played a key role in the success of the first and most successful of all fast food empires--the McDonald's corporation. In his biography of McDonald's, John F. Love quotes Ray Kroc, founder of the chain, "A competitor could buy the same kind of hamburger we did, and we wouldn't have anything extra to show . . . But the french fries gave us an identity and exclusiveness because you couldn't buy french fries anywhere to compete with ours." (121) The process for making French fries, or any other food at McDonald's requires almost no thinking on the part of the employee (I hesitate to call the workers there cooks). This eliminates mistakes that could cost the company money or personal quirks that would disturb the exact consistency of the food.

Procedure for Making McDonald's French Fries

(informant: Kristi Hooten)

1) A programmed vat keeps the oil at just the right temperature all day.

2) Place a square, wire fry basket under the fry dispenser. Push the button and receive just the right amount of frozen fries.

3) Place the basket in the fry vat. Press the button on the vat console. The vat is programmed to beep after 7 minutes.

4) When the vat beeps, shake the fries in the basket to prevent sticking.

5) The vat will beep again in 7 minutes. Dump the cooked fries onto the plate under the warmer.

6) Salt them with a "triple arch;" three shakes of the salt shaker, evenly coating all the fries.

7) Scoop the fries into small, medium and large fry bags with the specially made scoop that aligns the fries and funnels them into the bags.

Before McDonald's started up in 1937, french fries made up no more than five percent of all US potato sales. Today, french fries make up 25 percent of all potato sales. In the late fifties, each restaurant used about three thousand pounds of fresh potatoes per week. However, making fries from fresh potatoes in each store produced inconsistencies, even after years of research into the exact time of par-frying and final frying, oil type and temperature, solids content of the potatoes, and much more. Inconsistency was unacceptable in a business that built it's reputation on exact standardization, speed, efficiency, and volume. In every store in every country McDonald's strives to put out an absolutely consistent product. A McDonald's hamburger in China is the same as a McDonald's hamburger in Ohio. In the mid 1960s the whole chain switched to frozen fries after a entrepreneur named Jack Simplot perfected a process for freezing fries while maintaining quality. The frozen fries allowed the chain to maintain the same quality all year round since they were no longer subject to harvest cycles.

Today, McDonald's has spread all over the world, with restaurants from around the corner to Moscow, Beijing, and Kuala Lampur. Each of these restaurants maintains exactly the same standard as any restaurant in the US. Worldwide sales totaled $24 billion in 1994. The corporation has captured 18 percent of the fast food market share and 1 of every 6 restaurant visits. Though almost every fast-food restaurant serves french fries these days, McDonald's started the trend, jumped to the top and stayed there. The founders attribute their success to the standardization of every bit of the food preparation process that allows each restaurant to provide such speedy service.