International Potato Chips

[col klink]

I recently had the great pleasure to visit the insanely gorgeous interior of British Columbia. Unfortunately all of the vineyards are closed for the season (in July I took over 4 cases back with me) but luckily the grocery stores are open which means I get to buy flavors of potato chips that you can't get in the States like "Roasted Chicken" and "All Dressed."

This gets me very excited because I usually don't crave the domestic chips (or "crisps") as I find them boring. Ranch, cheese, salt and pepper, dill and sour cream and chives do nothing for me. Kettle cooked sea salt and vinegar I like, but don't *need.* Likewise the same style in jalapeno. However, when I’m in Great White North, all bets are off and I go to town.

Last weekend, still high on great potato chips, I went to the International District (ID) of Seattle and bought a whole bunch of chips that I’ve never tried before. Here’s the first one:

In my explorations of the ID I’ve found that there are several types of fried snacks based on seafood flavors. I first tried some shrimp chips last summer and was completely surprised to find out they were shrimp flavored or even flavored at all. I had hope for the Crab Chips. Alas, they tasted more of the fried and puffed starch than anything else and the good people who make these chips save millions each year by not allowing flavor into their no-doubt well selling products.

The other set of chips I picked up were the Pizza Chips shown below:

These are easily the WORST chips ever made. They smell of old gym socks. It’s a very disturbing aroma to come out of a bag of chips that you’re planning on eating, but luckily they don’t taste as bad as they smell. Just don’t plan on tasting anything like pizza. The bag actually labels what the different flavor crystals are supposed to taste like: “vegatable, gouda cheese and chedder cheese.” Had I noticed these “flavors” I most assuredly would not have purchased them. These potato chips are so detestable it is the reason why I wrote this little report.

But don’t fear I have yet to get to the good stuff and I’ll start off with the best, Rave “Xtra Salt & Vinegar, flavoured Potato Chips,” shown below:

These chips are the pinnacle of chipdom, they took the best flavor (I’ve tasted so far) and improved upon it by launching an acid and salt attack. What makes these better than standard salt and vinegar or even the upscale sea salt and vinegar chips? You can eat just a couple without going through the whole bag! It’s physically impossible for anyone except a masochist to polish off a whole bag in one sitting. You’d be lucky to take in 10 to 15 chips in and not pucker up. I will grant that it is possible to improve on these chips by doing a kettle version with thick and hearty chips instead of the standard Lay’s texture, but with so much flavor in every bite it’s very hard to complain.

Another fun bag of chips is the roasted chicken flavor by the same brand. They have the same texture as the extra salt and vinegar but they’re dressed with chicken bouillon! It’s a little weird to get over the first time but they are delightful in their own way and you find yourself craving them more and more.

So does anyone else have odd or strange potato chips they enjoy or detest? I’ve recently heard of a British chips flavored, excuse me, flavoured with a cheese (I’m not sure which) and Burgundy wine. So how about it?

[Jinmyo]

Shrimp chips. The only crisps I'd bother opening the bag for these days.

[Ladybug]

I tried some Steak and Onion "flavoured" chips once. I enjoyed them very much. I rarely buy chips, though, because it's just too easy to eat a whole bag. Actually, I never eat a whole bag - I lick the powder off of each chip and throw the soggy remains out.

Once, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars ago, I bought a bag of Doritos for a night at home and licked every chip while watching a video. My husband came in later and grabbed the bag of chips (licked chips) and ate about 10 of them before he said, "Hey. What's wrong with these?" Feel free to assume that he is no "supertaster." Hee hee!

Oh, and I really didn't notice he was eating them until he asked that question. He's never believed that, but it's true.

[Jinmyo]

I lick the powder off of each chip and throw the soggy remains out.

[malarkey]

too funny klink. I'm still depressed that Tim's stopped making the Mountain Ridged chips. the only reasonable substitute is Wavy Lays, and they aren't as good as the Tim's. Sometimes, you just have to have them. Like with a tuna sandwich, how can you NOT have chips.

[snowangel]

While not exactly a chip, those Larp flavored Pretz things I got were absolutely dreadful. Those who tasted them applied all sorts of off-color adjectives, but none really came close to describing the flavor.

[torakris]

Living in the country of bizarre snack foods, Japan, I happen across these all the time.

New potato chip flavors come out every week. He are some of the varieties just one company has:

http://www.yamayoshi.co.jp/web/03shopping.html

Since most people won't be able to read the flavors I will translate some of them for you

The newest flavor debuting last month was

tanshio lemon flavor, tanshio is a popular yakiniku dish of tongue sprinkled with salt then grilled and dipped into a lemon sauce.

nori (seaweed) not so unusual and actually quite good

wasabi beef

mayo beef

black sesame seed

consomme

yakitori, including both salt and sauce flavors

kimchi

kalbi (another yakiniku dish)

karaage (fried chicken)

garlic

pringles makes these very interesting curry flavored chips and it is scary how much like curry they reall taste!

[col klink]

Thanks torakris! I actually forgot about another bag of chips that I believe were from Japan that were okonomyaki (sp?) flavored. They pretty much tasted like mayonaise.

[maggiethecat]

As a card-carrying Canadian, I agree that Canada is chip heaven...tho' Torakris's Japanese assortment sounds damn interesting.

BTW...love your new avatar!

[Miss J]

Best English crisp flavours:

Smoky Bacon

Beef & Mustard (which taste mostly of hot English mustard, in a good way)

Salt and Black Pepper - almost lemony in their pepperiness. My absolute fav.

Worst:

Prawn cocktail (think sweet, chemical fake prawn flavour)

"Curry" (yep, that generic spice flavour)

I understand that Walkers are bringing back old-fashioned, NOT ready-salted crisps this year - a bag of plain crisps with an attached sachet of salt, so you can add your own. They think they'll be a hit (again), apparently.

[Charlene Leonard]

why is it that in the UK you can get anything from hedgehog to salad cream crisps but in Cont. Europe you are hard pressed to get anything other than paprika, cheese and ham? Where do crisps originate from?

My Fav flavours:

Smiths Bovril

Walkers Branston pickle and cheese

Burts sea salt and black pepper

Garlic crisps from Spain

I am not a great fan of Kettle chips but they do some original flavours like stilton and port, rosemary and garlic, salsa with mesquite and most recently some Jersey Royal ones which are actually quite good.

[Marlene]

Interesting. The windmill symbol on the bag of chips is the same one used by Old Dutch, a chip maker in Western Canada. Old Dutch makes some of the best chips I've ever tasted. They briefly made a foray into Ontario, but were stopped cold by Lay's and Hostess. Every once in a while, Lay''s brings out their Roasted Chicken chips which are my very favourite ever.

[elfin]

While in India, we had masala flavored chips that were excellent. On repeated trips were were unable to find them.

[col klink]

Miss J, I'd love to try the smoky bacon and beef & mustard sometime.

I'm not sure I'd like it Charlene (I could, I do like Marmite), but the bovril sounds like something I have to try before I die!

[torakris]

Here are some more yummy Japanese ones:

http://www.greggman.com/japan/chips/japane...ato%20chips.htm

I am off to the store today to see if I can find those nankotsu ones (deep fried chicken cartilage)

[cherrypi]

When Hostess started producing new chip flavours like dill pickle and ketchup in the late 1970s, it was an exciting time for young'uns like me weaned on barbecue, s & v, sour cream & onion, and "regular." But Hostess lost it when they came out with their orange and grape flavours. Disgusting. It came and went so fast, I don't know if anybody remembers.

[Jaymes]

How about Salt & Lime? Is that just a regional thing??

[torakris]

Went to the store yesterday to look at the snack foods, I normally only wander down these aisles once a year or so, so I hadn't checked them out recently.

Came home with bags of Thai BBQ chicken flavor and umeboshi flavor.

I ate the Thai ones yesterday and was very disappointed, they tasted like nothing, not even a hint of spice.

Some that I left on the shelves included:

cheese fondue

onion gratin soup

wasabi

and many others I have now forgotten (I told myself to write them down, but my self answered back that I would never forget them!)

[nightscotsman]

Speaking of Japanese chips, I just ran across these whilst browsing J-List.com:

Yes, they are cheese flavored potato chips with images of Hello Kitty and Tweety Bird printed on them. What more can I say?

[col klink]

Nuts! I thought they were Tweety and Kitty flavored. Oh well, guess you can't win 'em all.

[torakris]

Spent yesterday picking strawberries with my family at a small village about 2 hours form Yokohama.

Besides strawberries this village is also very famous for their green tea and wasabi, and lo and behold right there in the gift shop was a package of green tea-wasabi potato chips.

Unfortunately I was not adventurous enough to give them a try.

[elfin]

In Chicago Polish delis are paprika chips. Not bad.

[bjcohan]

When I lived in Mexico I was addicted to their chips, especially:

- chile piquin with salt and lime (YUM!)

- smoky chipotle

- habanero (for serious fire-eaters)

Haven't thought about these in ages. Now I'm getting homesick...

Barb

[aliwaks]

have had hanbanero ginger kettle chips yumm..also Utz has Old Bay Spice ones that are great w. tuna sandwich. I do have a slight additcion to Kettle balsamic vinegar & sea salt but have decided to only eat them when in the UK

[Vanessa]

Garlic crisps from Spain

Charlene - ever seen these in the UK? I'm addicted to crinkle cut plain Spanish crisps - obtainable in Spanish shops here and Green Valley in Upper Berkeley St but had never noticed garlic ones, neither here nor in Spain.

v