Potato Chip Flavors

[dodger]

Current obsession is Doritos Guacamole Tortilla chips......awesome.

Standbys include ....Salt & Vinegar, Dill, All Dressed.

However...I never buy Lays....dunno why...just don't like 'em.

John

Anyone want to start a Vancouver Chip Club??

John

[gourmande]

I like the Roast Chicken Dinner flavour...

Me too! Unfortunately not readily available where I am. I bought "reserves" when I was in Nova Scotia last summer but they didn't last me very long, BTW, these were Lay's brand

Last Fall I discovered Walker's Marmite and Thai Chili flavoured crisps; they were fabulous! Unfortunately, can't get those very often either...

From what's available here I like first, Miss Vickie's sea salt and malt vinegar and second, Lay's dill.

* edit for poor typing

Edited February 22, 2005 by gourmande (log)

[DTBarton]

I can't stand potato chips. I just taste grease and salt for some reason.

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And your problem is? Perhaps you're unclear on the potato chip concept!

My best chip memories as a kid are of Charles Chips. They came in a big, light brown steel can and were delivered to your doorstep and left next to the box where the milk man left the milk that was home delivered. In those innocent old days we didn't agonize about eating home delivered big cans of chips and people didn't steal milk off of doorsteps. Oh well.

As for today, I'm an Utz man. Love Grandma Utz's home cooked (yes in lard) for a splurge, but also love the Utz kettle cooked sea salt and malt vinegar. Peanut oil cooked, crunchy, nice balance of salt and vinegar. My local Safeway keeps having tham on a buy one get one free promotion which tests my will power severely.

[Chris Cognac]

I dont know if you guys know about this but the L.A. group just did taste testing on around 60 different chip flavors and brands from across the country...Utz's Jays, Kettle, Dirty, Mike Sells....on and on...I have the data but am not much of a math guy so its going to take a while to get the numbers and ranki the chips but the stand outs where the Steak and worshestire chips and the Tims cracked peppercorn

you can see photos in the L.A. Pie Tasting thread..

Chris

[Marlene]

I've been on a Munchos kick lately. They are very hard to find here. Bruno's had six bags left the other day, so I bought them all.

[Marlene]

I like the Roast Chicken Dinner flavour...

Me too! Unfortunately not readily available where I am. I bought "reserves" when I was in Nova Scotia last summer but they didn't last me very long, BTW, these were Lay's brand

Last Fall I discovered Walker's Marmite and Thai Chili flavoured crisps; they were fabulous! Unfortunately, can't get those very often either...

From what's available here I like first, Miss Vickie's sea salt and malt vinegar and second, Lay's dill.

* edit for poor typing

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I love the roasted chicken too. They are Lays. Very occassionally, Brunos will also have them, but not often. Recently I saw a President's Choice version of Roasted Chicken though.

And Old Dutch BBQ rocks. It's the one thing Don misses from living out west. When we take the RV out west this summer, I think he has plans to fill every available space with boxes of Old Dutch BBQ

[SushiCat]

nobody mentions Hard Bites - they are quite good. I like the Jalapeno flavor. Hmmn, maybe these are local in Vancouver only? Never thought to look at the bag and check.

All time best potato chip I ever had was hand made fresh in Oaxaca Mexico - I think I might have to dig up the photo, digitize it (circa 1991) and post it for you all. It is an egullet worthy photo and warm chips from the oil - think of the comparison between real fresh frites and something you bake out of the freezer isle ...

mr. cat as some people call my other half - eats Ruffles plain. Always. He would never dream of a better chip, well except those fresh ones from Oaxaca!

[chow guy]

I like Wise Chips!  A guess it's a hold over from growing up in PA.  I used to have them as a snack before I went to bed and liked them then and still do today.  What irks me about potato chips is that with the focus on 'quality' in the last decade or so, you get a consistent product each and every time.  I used to like to dig through the bag of chips to find the dark ones, you know the ones with all the extra flavor!  But now, those are the ones that are culled out before the chips are packaged!  I can usually still find some of those dark brown delights in a bag of Wise chips, but never in Lays!

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I'm with you. I grew up in NY with Wise. I can't get them out West so I 've elevated them to cult status. Love those dark ones. I also say... Nix on Lays.

[Foodie in Vancouver]

I like the Hard Bites as well. I think they are made locally - in Chilliwack or some such place. My other favs are Tim's Cascade - especially the Jalapeno. But I truly believe that they tasted better about 8 - 10 years ago. They don't make me swoon like they used to when I first discovered them. We would drive from Vancouver to Haggen's in Bellingham just to buy them. I can't see myself doing that now - they just don't taste good enough to cross a border for.

The best potato chips I ever had were from a street vendor in Seville, Spain. He would make them right there using olive oil and lots of salt. We would sit at the side of the road and each of us would eat a bag and then order another 2 bags to take back to the hotel room to have later, with wine. Every time I think about them I can still remember the unbelievable taste and they feeling of the hot sun as we sat on the roadside stuffing our faces with chips.

[Mooshmouse]

A vote from me for Kettle Chips, Honey Dijon flavour as my latest and greatest. I usually have a large bag of these on hand for idle snacking when company comes over, and it's all I can do to prevent myself from demolishing at least half a bag myself while watching TV or reading or surfing eGullet.

They're in the cupboard right now and they're calling my name...

[rooftop1000]

Rt 66 dill pickle and Blairs death rain jalepeno cheddar

[BeJam]

Utz salt and vinegar chips made my lips bleed once. I guess I should have stopped eating them by that point, or for that matter after.

[Pam R]

ketchup chips first followed by salt & vinegar

[winesonoma]

Best I ever had. http://www.connschips.com/quikcode.html

[ChefSwartz]

utz - carolina style

[MarketStEl]

I think I read an article somewhere that stated that more potato chips are produced in Pennsylvania than in any other state of the Union.

Several posters have already mentioned the two big names in Hanover, Utz and Snyder's. Wise, I believe, is also made here, though the company is owned by an out-of-state firm.

Someone else posted a pic of a bag of Gibble's Red Hot Chips--another Pennsylvania brand. I've had those; they're plenty fiery.

I've also eaten LG--they're merely okay--and Groff's, which if I'm not mistaken also come from Lancaster County (where Hanover is located) but aren't as widely available as Utz or Snyder's.

Bachmann is also located in this part of the state (southeastern/south-central Pennsylvania).

For the life of me, though, I can't figure out why Herr's outsells Utz in Philadelphia. Herr's chips are too salty, IMO. Or maybe I was brainwashed by the text on the back of the Utz bag explaining how Bill and Salie Utz thought that "a little salt would enhance the flavor of the chip, but too much would destroy it." Utz regular chips have about half as much sodium as most other brands' regular variety. Nationally, Utz outsells Herr's: again, I recall reading that Utz was the fourth-best-selling chip brand nationally. And that's based on strong sales in the Northeast mainly, for--as their ad campaign of a few years back reminded everyone--there's "no Utz in Dallas" (or North Dakota, or even Florida).

You can probably guess by now that Utz chips are among my favorites--especially their Carolina Bar-B-Q, Salt & Pepper and Grandma Utz's Handcooked, but their plain-Jane chips are about the best of their kind.

I also like some of the Kettle Chips varieties: salt and fresh ground black pepper, New York Cheddar with herbs and jalapeno, to name three.

One unusual new flavor that I find tasty is Herr's Steak & Worcestershire. That's about the only Herr's chip that makes my favorites list, though.

Anyone else here tried the blue cheese Bistro Chips? What did you think of them? I thought they had the texture and character of the potato "crisps" made from dried potatoes (Pringles and their kin), but the label says they're all natural.

[katbert]

Trader Joe's in PHL recently brought in a white cheddar flavour for their Hawaiian style potato chips that are addictive like crack.

Favorite generic chip flavour: sour cream & onion.

Favorite dippy side for thicker, or waffle cut potato chips that I make regularly is cream cheese with scallions, cayenne, worcestershire, salt & pepper (sour cream is too liquidy, i like the solider texture of the cream cheese).

Favorite potato chip experience: gorging in Hawaii on Hawaiian style potato chips with poke (I think it was salmon); it was like chips & salsa but sashimi instead of tomatoes.

Worst potato chip experience: ex-bf's gift of a jigsaw puzzle of potato chips. Not tasty, not aesthetically pleasing. (A really good gift for me would actually be potato chips.)

Still waiting to try: potato chips made w/ lard.

I would like for fresh potato chips to be more common and also for chips in general to be cheaper. Also on the wishlist for the acrylamide to be less carcinogenic. Thanks!

[djbeers]

I am a Zapp's nut too. The cajun crawtater and jalapeno flavors go great with beer and a football game.

Growing up in upstate NY we always had Wise chips. I liked Wise because they were generally cooked to a darker color and therefore had a richer flavor.

Now, living in the south I can get Zapp's all the time, which is a good thing. I don't care much for the Golden Flake chips that are so popular down here in Alabama - the texture is too soft in a Pringles sort of way. I like the kettle crunch of Zapp's. And they go good with dips too. No breakage, and no ridges required!

[Tess]

I like Hawaiian potato chips-- especially Maui onion flavor-- but I only seem to buy them when I'm in Hawaii. On the mainland I almost always go for Terra chips (or sticks) of some kind. I recently got some onion-parmesan ones which turned out to be lower-fat but were still very good.

[Chris Cognac]

I just cracked open a bag of the yet unreleased "Luau BBQ" chips from Tims.....The Tims rep lives down the street (how convienient)! The flavor is a sweet version of a traditional BBQ, until about 3 seconds after you eat it...then a little heat kicks in...not too much...just enough!

I will work on the chip tasting scores this weekend if I am not to sick (had to leave work early)

[Jason Perlow]

In terms of easy to find chips that are particularly good -- I'm quite fond of the Cape Cod brand "Robust Russets". All they are is just Russet potatoes that have been cooked in vegetable oil with some salt added. The chips come out a darker brown color, almost burnt looking, with a deep caramelized potatoey flavor. Russet potatoes, unlike white potatoes, contain higher amounts of sugar, so thats why they get that caramelized flavor.

Apparently they have a "Whole Earth" version of the chip which is cooked in Canola Oil (no trans fats) with reduced sodium. I'll have to try them and compare.

[gus_tatory]

Lay's has a great new chip in Canada called Sea Salt & Black Pepper.

It sounds plain, but is soo much more than just the sum of its parts...

[lancastermike]

I think I read an article somewhere that stated that more potato chips are produced in Pennsylvania than in any other state of the Union.

Several posters have already mentioned the two big names in Hanover, Utz and Snyder's.  Wise, I believe, is also made here, though the company is owned by an out-of-state firm.

Someone else posted a pic of a bag of Gibble's Red Hot Chips--another Pennsylvania brand.  I've had those; they're plenty fiery.

I've also eaten LG--they're merely okay--and Groff's, which if I'm not mistaken also come from Lancaster County (where Hanover is located) but aren't as widely available as Utz or Snyder's.

Bachmann is also located in this part of the state (southeastern/south-central Pennsylvania).

For the life of me, though, I can't figure out why Herr's outsells Utz in Philadelphia.  Herr's chips are too salty, IMO.  Or maybe I was brainwashed by the text on the back of the Utz bag explaining how Bill and Salie Utz thought that "a little salt would enhance the flavor of the chip, but too much would destroy it."  Utz regular chips have about half as much sodium as most other brands' regular variety.  Nationally, Utz outsells Herr's: again, I recall reading that Utz was the fourth-best-selling chip brand nationally.  And that's based on strong sales in the Northeast mainly, for--as their ad campaign of a few years back reminded everyone--there's "no Utz in Dallas" (or North Dakota, or even Florida).

You can probably guess by now that Utz chips are among my favorites--especially their Carolina Bar-B-Q, Salt & Pepper and Grandma Utz's Handcooked, but their plain-Jane chips are about the best of their kind.

I also like some of the Kettle Chips varieties: salt and fresh ground black pepper, New York Cheddar with herbs and jalapeno, to name three.

One unusual new flavor that I find tasty is Herr's Steak & Worcestershire.  That's about the only Herr's chip that makes my favorites list, though.

Anyone else here tried the blue cheese Bistro Chips?  What did you think of them?  I thought they had the texture and character of the potato "crisps" made from dried potatoes (Pringles and their kin), but the label says they're all natural.

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Sandy,

I live in Lancaster County and I can assure you that Hanover is not located in lancaster. Hanover is in York County. There are great chips made in Lancaster County including lots of lard chips. Herr's are made in Lancaster co in the town of Nottingham Also Groff's made in Lancaster Co. One of the best is Stehman's which is made in Monhton, Berks county and the elusive legandary Diffenbachs. Real lard and hard to find. I know that many folks in Philly think Lancaster co is everything west of Villanova, but there are lots of counties in PA

Edited March 10, 2005 by lancastermike (log)

[mikey]

Cape Cod reduced fat- you can eat them and read the newspaper at the same time.

[eje]

I also like some of the Kettle Chips varieties: salt and fresh ground black pepper, New York Cheddar with herbs and jalapeno, to name three.

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I like three of the Kettle Chips "classic" flavors. I think my favorite is the Salsa with Mesquite, though I also like Cheddar with Herbs and Yoghurt with Green Onion.

Trader Joe's used to have some tasty Hawaiian flavored Kettle chips; but, now they just seem to sell other folks brands.

I like BBQ flavored and spicy chips and have tried many; but, find almost all (except for the above) are too sweet for me. No frosted flakes, please.

If anyone has some recommends for not too sweet; but, spicy, I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Erik