All this talk of inventions has got us hungry - The salt industry has a long history in and around Syracuse, New York. Jesuit missionaries visiting the region in 1654 were the first to report salty brine springs around the southern end of "Salt Lake," known today as Onondaga Lake. Fast forward to the years of the erie canal being dug by the irish and german immigrants and you've got the number one side staple of our region.

During the 19th century, Irish salt miners would bring a bag of small, unpeeled, substandard potatoes to work each day. Come lunch time, they boiled the potatoes in the "free-flowing" salt brines - boiling them up.

By the early 20th century, the potatoes were a Central New York favorite and local entrepreneur, John Hinerwadel, started serving them as a side "at his famous clambakes."

**The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found in the Upstate New York area. The white hot originated in Rochester, but the Hoffman Coney or "Snappy" was born in Syracuse. A spicy dog + salt potatoes = taste bud euphoria.