‘Once you pop, you just can’t stop.’
These seven words have been associated with Pringles since the 1990s, and are instantly recognisable.
They’re also very true – the curved crisps are well-known for being addictive, and many people (myself included) find it hard to stop snacking on them after opening a can.
But it turns out it’s not a lack of impulse control that keeps us reaching for another; there’s actually a scientific reason why you keep eating them, and it’s pretty grim.
Professor Hannah Fry, a university mathematics professor and science writer, appeared on a recent episode of the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware, and during the chat, she shared some expert insight into the popular crisps.
Why can’t we stop, once we’ve popped?
Professor Fry, who is the face of a new podcast called The Rest is Science, explained: ‘Our bodies are so perfectly tuned to what we’re eating through literally millions of years of evolution
‘When you’re craving something, if you’re like “oh, I really fancy some chocolate today”, it’s probably some tiny little molecule in the chocolate that your body knows that it needs.
‘Once [food] gets to a certain point in our intestinal system, it releases a hormone that tells us that we’re full, and if you eat whole foods, from scratch, you will know when you’re full.’
She continues: ‘The thing about Pringles is that they are so processed, they’re basically pre-digested, they’re like mascerated in a lab and then reconstructed. So what happens is, when you eat them, they literally dissolve before they reach the part in your body that sends out a hormone saying thank you very much, I’m full.
‘You will never get full on them.’
A clip of Professor Fry’s comments about Pringles has been shared on Instagram, where it’s garnered thousands of views and comments.
Many people were fascinated by the science behind the popular product and confessed to finding the crisps very addictive.
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@wine_world_wonders replied: ‘I am a victim of Pringles, I’m not even a crisps person, but every now and then the classics are consumed within one sitting.’
While @fizzylizzie_outdoors said: ‘You will never get full from Pringles. Challenge accepted.’
Similarly, @sallygreggers wrote: ‘Oh god, why is my brain so annoying?! I’m hearing the science. I don’t really ever eat Pringles (as I can’t stop), but now all I’m craving is Pringles.’
And @ljollik claimed: ‘How crazy is that! They know how to use science to trick our brains, bodies, and our purses!’
‘This should be illegal,’ added @rayrayrasto.
Metro has contacted Pringles for comment.
What are Pringles made of?
According to the official Pringles website, the potato crisps are made mostly from dried (dehydrated) potatoes, starches, flours, salt, and seasonings.
This is unique, as usually crisps are made from sliced raw potatoes, instead of dried ones. As such, Pringles are thought to contain 50% less potato matter than traditional crisps.
To make them, the dried potato is formed into a ‘hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped potato dough’ (the iconic saddle shape of the crisps), and then it is fried and seasoned.
A waterfall process is used to season the crisps, where the seasoning is sprinkled on top, as opposed to a tumbling process, where it’s mixed in.
More crisp stories…
Who invented Pringles?
Pringles date back to the mid-1950s, and the credit for the creation goes to Fredric Baur, Alexander Liepa, and Gene Wolfe.
Frederic started working on the unique crisps back in the 50s, as he was hoping to find an alternative to ‘greasy’ potato chips. He spent more than two years working on them, and designed their unique shape, and the tubular can they are packaged in.
According to the Pringles website, he was so proud of his work that when he died, he had part of his ashes buried in a Pringles tube.
Following his death, Alexander built on what he had begun, working to improve the taste of the crisps, and was rewarded for his efforts, being credited as the inventor on the Pringles patent.
While Gene Wolfe is credited as the person who created the machine that makes Pringles.
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