10 Foods That Were Invented by Accident (and, We Love It)

Food inventions often come from careful planning and clever chefs, but sometimes, a little luck and a big mistake can lead to some of the world's most beloved snacks and dishes. It just goes to show you that sometimes a mistake can be a delicious thing. 

Here's a look at 10 foods that were born because of a forgotten ingredient or a fortunate mishap.

Potato Chips 

The year was 1853, and a picky customer at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York, kept sending his fried potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they were too thick. Frustrated, chef George Crum decided to get revenge. He sliced the potatoes as thin as possible, fried them to make it crisp, and salted them heavily. The customer, instead of being angry, loved them. The Saratoga Chips were born and eventually became the potato chips we all know and love.

Corn Flakes 

Back in 1894, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will were working at a sanitarium in Michigan, where they were experimenting with healthy food options for patients. One day, they accidentally left a pot of boiled wheat sitting out for too long. Instead of tossing it, they ran the mixture through rollers and out came thin, flaky bits instead of a dough. They decided to toast the flakes, and to their surprise, they were a hit. A few tweaks later, they swapped wheat for corn and the breakfast world changed forever.

Chocolate Chip Cookies 

In the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield was baking at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts when she realized she was out of baker's chocolate. Thinking on her feet, she chopped up a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar and stirred the pieces into her cookie dough, expecting them to melt. Instead, the chunks softened but held their shape, creating little pockets of melty chocolate. The accidental treat was an instant crowd-pleaser. Nestlé eventually struck a deal to print her recipe on their chocolate packaging and the iconic chocolate chip cookie was born.

Popsicles

In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a mixture of powdered soda, water, and a stirring stick in a cup on his porch overnight. It was a cold night, and when he woke up, the mixture was frozen solid around the stick. He pulled it out and tasted the frozen treat. He initially called it an "Epsicle", but his children later called them "Pop's 'sicles", leading to the name we use today.

Ice Cream Cones

At the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, a Syrian waffle vendor named Ernest Hamwi was selling a treat called zalabia, a crisp, waffle-like pastry. A nearby ice cream vendor ran out of dishes to serve his ice cream. Thinking fast, Hamwi rolled one of his waffles into a cone shape while it was still hot and pliable, creating a convenient, edible holder for the ice cream. This new invention was an instant success.

Tarte Tatin 

The story of the Tarte Tatin dates back to the 1880s at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France. The two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, managed the hotel. One day, Stéphanie was making a traditional apple pie and accidentally left the apples and sugar cooking in the pan for too long, causing them to caramelize. To save the dish, she placed the pastry on top of the cooked apples and baked it. The result was a delicious, upside-down caramelized apple tart.

Champagne

The bubbles in Champagne were originally considered a defect. In the 17th century, winemakers in France were trying to create a still wine. During the cold winters, the fermentation process would stop, but the yeast would reactivate in the spring, creating a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The resulting carbon dioxide would cause the bottles to explode. The famous monk Dom Pérignon spent years trying to get rid of the bubbles, but eventually, the sparkling wine became a novelty and then a luxury item.

Worcestershire Sauce 

In the 1830s, two chemists, John Lea and William Perrins, were hired by a nobleman to recreate a special sauce he had tasted in India. The initial batch was so strong and pungent that they set it aside and forgot about it. A few years later, they rediscovered the barrel and found that the sauce had aged and mellowed into a rich, complex flavor. The fermentation had transformed the sauce into the Worcestershire sauce we know today.

Chewing Gum 

In the 1860s, Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna was living in exile in Staten Island. He brought with him a lump of chicle, a tree sap that was traditionally used as a natural chewing gum in Mexico. He introduced it to American inventor Thomas Adams, hoping he could turn it into a rubber substitute. Adams tried and failed to make tires and toys from the chicle. Out of frustration, he put a piece of the substance in his mouth, realizing its potential as a chewing gum. He added flavor and called it Adams New York Chewing Gum.

Nachos 

The year was 1943, and a group of American military wives arrived at a restaurant in Piedras Negras, Mexico, after closing time. The maître d', Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, didn't want to turn them away, so he created a snack with what he had left in the kitchen: tortilla chips, melted cheese, and jalapeños. He called them "Nacho's Especiales," and the women loved them. The dish quickly became famous, and its name was shortened to nachos.