Thought this would be as simple as slicing a potato on a mandolin and putting it in a chip pan. All I got was soggy slices of oily potato. How should I have done this?
Soaking them in ice water removes excess starch from the surface, which improves the crispness. Dry them with kitchen towels before frying and make sure the temperature of the oil is 365F/185C. If the temperature is too low, they won't cook fast enough and will get greasy. Have a sheet pan covered with kitchen paper ready to put the cooked crisps on and salt them as soon as they come out of the oil.Didn't soak in ice water. But oil and water doesn't mix. Why would this make a difference?
"The History of Potato Chips" is an interesting read. Potato chips were actually a 'happy accident' which started as somewhat of a joke by a frustrated chef when a customer kept sending back his potatoes, saying they were too thick. After the dish came back a couple of times, the chef went into "you want thin potatoes? I'll give you thin potatoes" mode, assuming the customer would probably send those back as well. But the customer ended up loving them, hence the potato chip was born, 1853, New York, USA.
I remember reading something similar about shoestring potato chips. In that case the customer was complaining about French fries (chips) being too thick.
According to Wikipedia, the first printed recipe for potato chips was in the UK in 1822 and one in the US in 1824.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip#Origins