Oops...and Delicious
Some of the best things in life start with a happy accident. These culinary mistakes could very well have been swept into the trash, yet somehow, they ended up on a plate, and then, surprisingly, stocked on the shelves or the freezer aisle of a supermarket chain. Looking at the items on this list, you can almost imagine the moment of hesitation as someone decided not to throw the batch out. A pan of too-thin potatoes. A drink left too long in the cold. Milk that’s gone “off” but, oddly, tastes okay. Call it luck, call it curiosity, call it forgetting to set a timer. Whatever it is, these accidental moments have fed us for decades.
1. Potato Chips
Let’s set the scene: Saratoga Springs, 1853. George Crum had no aspirations of creating a snack empire; he was just a small-town chef sick and tired of his cranky customers complaining that his fries were too thick. One day, he decided to cut a batch of fried potatoes paper-thin out of spite and changed history.
Esperanza Doronila on Unsplash
2. Popsicles
In 1905, an 11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally left a cup of soda powder and water outside with a stir stick stuck in it. An overnight freeze settled in, and the following morning, Frank’s backyard accident became a summer staple for generations.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ruth Wakefield was running the Toll House Inn in the 1930s, and one night she ran out of baker’s chocolate. She decided to chop up a Nestlé bar instead, hoping it would melt into the dough. It didn’t. And thank goodness for that.
4. Corn Flakes
In 1894, the Kellogg brothers were attempting to create a healthy cereal for patients at their sanitarium. They left boiled wheat sitting out until it softened, rolled it, and then toasted it, inadvertently creating something crunchy and delicious. Eventually, they swapped the wheat for corn, and the rest is history.
5. Cheese Puffs
Midwestern animal feed machines used to puff out damp corn for livestock. One day, a curious farm worker salted one, tasted it, and realized this waste product was actually pretty delicious.
6. Slurpees
A broken soda fountain in the 1950s forced Omar Knedlik to store drinks in a freezer. As the temperature dropped, the drinks began to freeze, but his customers loved it and kept coming back for more.
Nehrams2020 at English Wikipedia on Wikimedia
7. Beer
Yes, beer. That fizzy, hoppy goodness after a long day’s work. Some theories say a vat of grains got wet and fermented naturally, and prehistoric humans decided the bubbly, slightly sour result was worth drinking. And then worth making again. And again.
8. Ice Cream Cones
During the 1904 World’s Fair, a waffle vendor and an ice cream vendor were positioned side by side. Over the course of the fair, the ice cream vendor ran out of dishes and began to use rolled-up waffles from his neighbor to hold scoops. Problem solved, and a new dessert was invented all at once.
9. Worcestershire Sauce
Two chemists in Worcester, England, came together with the goal of creating a sauce for a nobleman’s recipe. It tasted awful, so they left it in the cellar. Months later, they decided to try it again; by then, fermentation had transformed it into the tangy staple we know today.
10. Yogurt
Milk stored in warm climates before the advent of refrigeration led to a naturally fermented dish. Nomadic herders probably didn’t know the exact science, only that if they stored it in a corner for a couple of days covered by a cloth, it developed a pleasant, tangy thickness.
11. Penicillin Cheese
Blue cheese exists because someone, somewhere, left cheese in a damp cellar and wasn’t remotely put off by the moldy growth that soon took hold. Penicillium roqueforti is the strain of mold that gives it veins of sharp, pungent flavor.
12. Tarte Tatin
This French dish involved two sisters and a happy accident in the late 1800s that saw one sister overcook the apples in sugar until they caramelized. To save the dish, she quickly put some pastry dough over the apples and placed it in the oven to bake. Afterwards, she flipped the dish so that the apples were facing upwards.
13. Champagne
Winemakers in the cold Champagne region struggled with their bottles fermenting a second time in the spring, creating unwanted carbonation in the wine. This perceived flaw would eventually make the bottles a coveted luxury.
14. Nachos
In 1943, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya threw together tortilla chips, cheese, and jalapeños for a group of hungry military wives when the restaurant was almost out of food. The name stuck, and the snack became a go-to comfort food for millions.
15. Brownies
The story goes that a baker forgot to add baking powder to a chocolate cake recipe. The result was flat, fudgy, chewy, and somehow better than what was intended.
16. Graham Crackers
Originally part of a 19th-century health movement to curb excessive appetites, the original grahams were plain, dry, and unsweetened. Eventually, sugar crept in and suddenly they were the base crackers for s’mores—so, not exactly according to plan.
17. Sandwiches
This lunch staple was not invented in the kitchen at all but at the card table. The Earl of Sandwich, an enthusiastic gambler, requested that his meat be placed between bread so he could keep playing without getting grease on the deck. Practical and delicious.
18. Pretzels
The origin story is a little uncertain on this one. Legend says a baker accidentally over-baked some bread dough that he had twisted into loops but decided the crunch was a pleasant addition. Others say that monks shaped their baked treats into a prayerful pose. Either way, we thank you.
19. Trail Mix
The early hikers that mixed nuts, chocolate, and dried fruit probably didn’t imagine that their haphazard blend would eventually become a snack aisle mainstay. As is often the case with new creations, necessity is the mother of invention.
20. Sourdough Bread
Wild yeast in the air leavened early doughs without anyone fully understanding the mechanism behind it. The sharp tang and airy loaf that resulted was pleasant and didn’t require the use of yeast cultures to rise. We’ve been keeping starters alive like little pets ever since.
