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H. Hui, Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology, vol. 2 (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992); Carl W. Hall, A. W. Farrall, and A. L. Rippen, Encyclopedia of Food Engineering (Westport, Conn.: Avi Publishing, 1986); Flavor Science: Sensible Principles and Techniques, edited by Terry E. Acree and Roy Teranishi (Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Scoiety, 1993); Biotechnology for Improved Foods and Flavors, edited by Gary R. Takeoka, Roy Teranishi, Patrick J. Williams, and Akio Kobayashi (Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1995); Flavor Analysis: Developments in Isolation and Characterization, edited by Cynthia J. Mussinan and Michael J. Novello (Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1998). I found many useful articles on the flavor industry in journals such as Food Product Design, Food Engineering, Food Processing, Food Manufacture, Chemistry and Industry, Chemical Market Reporter, and Soap-Cosmetics-Chemical Specialties (now published as Soap & Cosmetics). A good overview of the flavor business can be found in Industry and Trade Summary: Flavor and Fragrance Materials (Washington, D.C.: U.S. International Trade Commission, USITC Publication 3162, March 1999). Ellen Ruppel Shell wrote a fine article on the work of flavorists more than a decade ago: “Chemists Whip Up a Tasty Mess of Artificial Flavors,” Smithsonian, May 1986. Terry Acree, a professor of food science technology at Cornell University, was a wonderful resource on the subjects of smell, taste, flavor, and the flavor industry. Bob Bauer, executive director of the National Association of Fruits, Flavors, and Syrups, outlined when and where the flavor industry settled in New Jersey. At International Flavors & Fragrances, I am grateful to Nancy Ciancaglini, Diane Mora, and Brian Grainger, who patiently answered many questions. The flavorists at other firms whom I interviewed shall remain anonymous.

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113 “gold dust”: Interview with J. R. Simplot.

“the Golden Age of Food Processing”: Levenstein’s chapter on the postwar era is entitled “The Golden Age of Food Processing: Miracle Whip Über Alles,” in Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty, pp. 104–18.

114 “Potato salad from a package!”: Quoted ibid.

tableside microwave ovens: Cited ibid., p. 128.

Although Thomas Jefferson had brought the Parisian recipe: See “The French Fries,” a chapter in Elizabeth Rozin’s The Primal Cheeseburger (New York: Penguin Books, 1994), pp. 133–52.

“That’s a helluva thing”: Simplot interview.

“The french fry [was]… almost sacrosanct”: Kroc, Grinding It Out, p. 10.

115 thinly sliced Russet Burbanks in special fryers: See Love, Behind the Arches, p. 123. about 175 different local suppliers: Ibid., p. 329.

the typical American ate eighty-one pounds: The figures on fresh potato and french fry consumption come from the USDA Economic Research Service.

Ninety percent of those fries: Potato statistics, USDA Economic Research Service.

the most widely sold foodservice item: Cited in Lisa Bocchino, “Frozen Potato Products,” ID: The Voice of Foodservice Distribution, January 1995.

116 bigger than the state of Delaware: Delaware has about 1.6 million acres of land. “It’s big and it’s real”: Simplot interview.

the J. R. Simplot Company supplies the majority: Interview with Fred Zerza.

117 Simplot, Lamb Weston, and McCain now control: This is a conservative estimate, based on discussions with a variety of industry sources.

a $70 million advertising campaign: See Constance L. Hays, “Burger King Campaign Is Promoting New Fries,” New York Times, December 11, 1997.

Idaho’s potato output surpassed Maine’s: Potato Statistics, Economic Research Service, USDA.

117 Since 1980, the tonnage of potatoes grown in Idaho: Figures for 1980 courtesy of Paul Patterson; 1999 figures from the National Agricultural Statistical Service.

Out of every $1.50 spent: A large order of fries weighs about one-quarter of a pound. It takes about a half pound of fresh potatoes to make a quarter pound of fries. A typical farm price for fresh processing potatoes is $4 to $5 per hundredweight