Chips and dip

Chips (crisps) are often served with dipping sauces; together they are referred to by the rhyme chips and dip. Chips used include potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, bean chips, vegetable chips, pita chips, plantain chips and others. Crackers are sometimes substituted, as are crudités, which are whole or sliced raw vegetables. Various different dips may be used in accompaniment to the chip portion. The dish may be served as a party dish, appetizer, or snack.

Chips and dip gained significant popularity in the United States during the 1950s, in part due to a Lipton advertising campaign for their French onion dip recipe, sometimes referred to as "California dip". Specialized trays and serving dishes designed to hold both chips and dip were created during this time. Chips and dip are frequently served during the Super Bowl American football game in the United States. National Chip and Dip Day occurs annually in the U.S. on March 23.

Usually the chips served are not flavored, or flavored only mildly, and the dip serves as a condiment. Serving them separately allows for simultaneous consumption, while also allowing for the eater to control the amount of dip according to their preference. When made from purchased processed foods, the dish is an easy finger food, as each item requires almost no further preparation. Not to mention, there is a large amount of combinatorial possibility inherent to the choice of dip being paired to the chip chosen.

The earliest known recipe for something similar to today's potato chips is in William Kitchiner's book The Cook's Oracle published in 1817, which was a bestseller in the United Kingdom and the United States. The 1822 edition's recipe for "Potatoes fried in Slices or Shavings" reads "peel large potatoes... cut them in shavings round and round, as you would peel a lemon; dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping".

The popularity of chips and dip significantly increased in the United States during the 1950s, beginning circa 1954, due to changes in styles of entertaining in the suburbs and also due to a Lipton advertising campaign based upon using Lipton's instant dehydrated onion soup mix to prepare dip. The advertising campaign occurred on television and in supermarket display advertising, and promoted mixing the soup mix with sour cream or cream cheese to create a dip, to be served with potato chips or crudités. This dip began to be called California Dip. The advertising campaign realized significant success, and new, similar dip products were quickly developed thereafter. During this time, unique platters designed for chips and dip service were created that allowed for the containment of several types of chips, and service variations were devised that included serving the dip in a bread bowl or hollowed-out fruit.

Chips and dip are a popular food during the annual Super Bowl game in the United States. Eighty-five percent of Americans eat potato chips.

Chips and salsa, typically served using tortilla or corn chips, is a common type of chips and dip dish that gained significant popularity in the United States in the late 1980s. Chips and guacamole, also typically served with corn-based chips is another type, as well as chips and bean dip. Seven-layer dip and tortilla chips is another corn-based chip combination, as is chile con queso, an appetizer or side dish of melted cheese and chili pepper typically served in Tex-Mex restaurants as a sauce for nachos.

Double-dipping involves biting a chip and then re-dipping it into a dip, which some people disapprove of, while others are indifferent. Double-dipping ostensibly transfers bacteria from a person's mouth into a dip, which can then be transferred to other consumers' mouths. The term "double dipping", although it had existed since at least the mid twentieth century, was popularized in the 1993 Seinfeld episode "The Implant".