On flavored potato chips (crisps)
March 19, 2021 5:18 AM Subscribe
Until I talked to Berenstein, I had never thought of a chip, potato or otherwise, as a tabula rasa for gastronomic artistry, but the truth is it’s not really self-evident that they should taste like ketchup, or spicy dill pickles, or late night cheeseburgers. Their inimitable texture, crunch and salt-load, though, provides a perfect, flattering backdrop to any particular flavour combination the mad scientists of the food industry could cook up. This infinity of possibilities is inescapably captivating. Which is all to say I’ve been thinking a lot about chips lately. I suspect many of us are, as we take our homebound comforts where we can. Mark Slutsky on potato chips, featuring chip reviewer @professorchip.
I really, really want to know how to buy some Brets' chips here in the US.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:56 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:56 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
...although the older I get the more boring my taste in chips gets and all I ever really crave is plain. I don’t want anything getting in the way of the taste of starch, salt and grease.
Don't think of that as boring. It's more like returning to basics after swimming through an ocean of flavored chips. Anyone can disguise a crap chip in extreme flavorings, but a plain, basic chip is where a chip maker has to shine or GTFO. Nowhere to hide. It's either a quality chip, or it's rubbish.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [21 favorites]
Don't think of that as boring. It's more like returning to basics after swimming through an ocean of flavored chips. Anyone can disguise a crap chip in extreme flavorings, but a plain, basic chip is where a chip maker has to shine or GTFO. Nowhere to hide. It's either a quality chip, or it's rubbish.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [21 favorites]
I thought any real discussion of chips would have at least a bit about, ahem, superior Japanese potato chip flavor technology. There are an absolute ton of never changing variations of chip flavors here. The standard, always available flavors are basically salt, Nori, and consommé, but once you get past that, it’s just non stop rotation through convenience store shelves, and hot damn, there have been some amazing chips in my time here. Hands down the best is the gyoza flavored chips I’ve only had a couple times. The chip somehow is imbued with not just the ginger and garlic porkiness of the stuffing, there are also notes of the crispy browned gyoza skin, combined with, wait, seriously, the soy sauce mixed with a little bit of shichimi, or seven spice chili mix that makes everything better. It’s an astounding snack experience.
Bottom of the list, though, would be the POM brand orange juice flavored chip. Bought on a dare, tasted like orange PEZ made into the tooth cleaning goo they use at the dentist.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:03 AM on March 19, 2021 [16 favorites]
Bottom of the list, though, would be the POM brand orange juice flavored chip. Bought on a dare, tasted like orange PEZ made into the tooth cleaning goo they use at the dentist.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:03 AM on March 19, 2021 [16 favorites]
OH. OH WAIT.
....So, I've been a fan of the French food writer Clotilde Dusolier for some time now, and in her latest book she shared a recipe that was a revelation - a potato chip omelet. For each person, you crush like a handful of chips into the egg, and then crush another handful of chips and use that as the filling. The linked recipe uses chives, but I skipped that the first time I made it - since I was using some of the leftover Sriracha flavor chips my then-roommate had donated to the cause. It worked really well, and now I periodically get some of the more exotic-flavor chips to keep on hand at home - not for snacking purposes, but for omelet-filling purposes. I've also helped clear out the snack pantry at work that way; they regularly order huge boxes of assorted single-serve chip packs, and invariably the sour cream and onion flavor goes last, and there's always a couple days when the mostly-empty box has five sad bags of sour cream and onion left behind before someone notices and replaces the box. I've started grabbing a bag or two to take home for the omelet stash.
....And now I really want to try Brets' chips in that application, because apparently in addition to the roast chicken flavor and cheese flavor they discuss, they also have other cheese flavors, a steak flavor, a tapenade flavor, bacon flavor, mushroom flavor...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:10 AM on March 19, 2021 [17 favorites]
....So, I've been a fan of the French food writer Clotilde Dusolier for some time now, and in her latest book she shared a recipe that was a revelation - a potato chip omelet. For each person, you crush like a handful of chips into the egg, and then crush another handful of chips and use that as the filling. The linked recipe uses chives, but I skipped that the first time I made it - since I was using some of the leftover Sriracha flavor chips my then-roommate had donated to the cause. It worked really well, and now I periodically get some of the more exotic-flavor chips to keep on hand at home - not for snacking purposes, but for omelet-filling purposes. I've also helped clear out the snack pantry at work that way; they regularly order huge boxes of assorted single-serve chip packs, and invariably the sour cream and onion flavor goes last, and there's always a couple days when the mostly-empty box has five sad bags of sour cream and onion left behind before someone notices and replaces the box. I've started grabbing a bag or two to take home for the omelet stash.
....And now I really want to try Brets' chips in that application, because apparently in addition to the roast chicken flavor and cheese flavor they discuss, they also have other cheese flavors, a steak flavor, a tapenade flavor, bacon flavor, mushroom flavor...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:10 AM on March 19, 2021 [17 favorites]
I'm from the home of flavoured crisps, Ireland, where Tayto started producing cheese and onion crisps in the 1950s.
I live in London now and I still get nostalgia and comfort from finding a pub that sells Tayto crisps. My preference is for the Northern Irish variety, but I'll take Free Stayto (Republic of Ireland) if they've got them.
(To be fair, the southern Irish Tayto cheese and onion is better than the NI one. Not so for salt and vinegar though)
posted by knapah at 6:13 AM on March 19, 2021 [7 favorites]
I live in London now and I still get nostalgia and comfort from finding a pub that sells Tayto crisps. My preference is for the Northern Irish variety, but I'll take Free Stayto (Republic of Ireland) if they've got them.
(To be fair, the southern Irish Tayto cheese and onion is better than the NI one. Not so for salt and vinegar though)
posted by knapah at 6:13 AM on March 19, 2021 [7 favorites]
Loud chewing can be heard on the recording.
I guffawed, which startles the dog.
posted by theora55 at 6:16 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I guffawed, which startles the dog.
posted by theora55 at 6:16 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
...although the older I get the more boring my taste in chips gets and all I ever really crave is plain.
Right there with you, and I've found recently that the "reduced fat" versions of UTZ and Cape Cod are my favorite. They centrifuge out some of the oil and the chips are left crispier and potato-ier.
posted by HumanComplex at 6:22 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Right there with you, and I've found recently that the "reduced fat" versions of UTZ and Cape Cod are my favorite. They centrifuge out some of the oil and the chips are left crispier and potato-ier.
posted by HumanComplex at 6:22 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
ahem, superior Japanese potato chip flavor technology.
I've not been to Japan. I've been to a few places in SE Asia, and every time I have to go check out the chip aisle of the largest supermarket I can find. The first time I took my SO to a supermarket in KL was a massive moment of "See! I'm not crazy. This is worth an afternoon of our holiday!"
It's not potato chips, but I did once get a box of curry-flavoured twisties from a Malaysian ebay seller. Twisties are great (cheese-powedered corn extrusion, if you're unfamiliar), but in Australia the choices are "cheese" and "chicken". The curry version beats the shit out of anything you can buy here.
Hmmmm..... brb. ebaying.
posted by pompomtom at 6:41 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've not been to Japan. I've been to a few places in SE Asia, and every time I have to go check out the chip aisle of the largest supermarket I can find. The first time I took my SO to a supermarket in KL was a massive moment of "See! I'm not crazy. This is worth an afternoon of our holiday!"
It's not potato chips, but I did once get a box of curry-flavoured twisties from a Malaysian ebay seller. Twisties are great (cheese-powedered corn extrusion, if you're unfamiliar), but in Australia the choices are "cheese" and "chicken". The curry version beats the shit out of anything you can buy here.
Hmmmm..... brb. ebaying.
posted by pompomtom at 6:41 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
TBH I like the potato flavour of plain crisps. For me rando corn extrusion is probably a better vehicle for your tom yum goong (or whatever) flavour-powder.
posted by pompomtom at 6:47 AM on March 19, 2021
posted by pompomtom at 6:47 AM on March 19, 2021
"I don’t think they sound very good, but I’d be willing to try them."
I'm game for pretty much any kind of novelty chip. They usually end up in one of three categories:
1. Yeah, I can see how this tastes like [X]
2. These actually taste good!
3. OMG, these are disgusting. How many more do I need to eat?
Last week I tried a can of Pringles Honey Mustard. Not at all disgusting. Bought a second can this week, and without the novelty, they didn't taste as good somehow. They indeed tasted like honey mustard. I have a can of Pringles Wendy's Baconator waiting -- bacon is a tried and true chip flavour, but I'm wondering how Pringles turns it into a Baconator. With cheese? Ketchup? Who knows. Also, Science demands that I eat a Baconator for comparison, but I don't do Wendy's. Enh.
Had Lay's Grilled Eel chips in China. Combination of categories 1 and 3.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:47 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm game for pretty much any kind of novelty chip. They usually end up in one of three categories:
1. Yeah, I can see how this tastes like [X]
2. These actually taste good!
3. OMG, these are disgusting. How many more do I need to eat?
Last week I tried a can of Pringles Honey Mustard. Not at all disgusting. Bought a second can this week, and without the novelty, they didn't taste as good somehow. They indeed tasted like honey mustard. I have a can of Pringles Wendy's Baconator waiting -- bacon is a tried and true chip flavour, but I'm wondering how Pringles turns it into a Baconator. With cheese? Ketchup? Who knows. Also, Science demands that I eat a Baconator for comparison, but I don't do Wendy's. Enh.
Had Lay's Grilled Eel chips in China. Combination of categories 1 and 3.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:47 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
One of those random bits of travel is seeing global brands do localized flavours, and yeah all around asia there's all sorts though there's a french pringles gruyere flavour that i just had to try even if I can't recall how it tasted now. It's a pretty handy way of finding out the market-tested popular food of that market. Like, there's a couple of Thai Lay's that honestly made me curious about the original dishes. Japan in particular still deserves a shoutout though, between the crisps and their KitKat flavour rotation as well.
posted by cendawanita at 6:50 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 6:50 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Lay's is just a terrible base. You can't blame the flavour-powder.
posted by pompomtom at 6:50 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pompomtom at 6:50 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
When I was in Vanuatu last year, I could not find a decent potato chip to save my life. Most were brands imported from New Zealand or Australia and every one of them was terrible. I tasted maybe 10 different kinds over 4 months and could not imagine why anyone would buy a second bag of any of them. Flavor was bland, crunch was shit, saltiness wasn't there... It was really weird.
The best chips I've had lately were both bought at The Mercantile in Toronto. They're both Spanish brands, Rubio and Inessence. One is Fried Egg flavor and the other Iberian Ham.
Can't help but envision a Ni-Van biting into one of these and changing their life.
Both companies have multiple flavors, all which nail the taste, but which might leave you wondering "Why?!". I'm thinking in particular of the Raspberry and Pepper.
posted by dobbs at 7:02 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
The best chips I've had lately were both bought at The Mercantile in Toronto. They're both Spanish brands, Rubio and Inessence. One is Fried Egg flavor and the other Iberian Ham.
Can't help but envision a Ni-Van biting into one of these and changing their life.
Both companies have multiple flavors, all which nail the taste, but which might leave you wondering "Why?!". I'm thinking in particular of the Raspberry and Pepper.
posted by dobbs at 7:02 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Had Lay's Grilled Eel chips in China. Combination of categories 1 and 3.
What I have found with Lays since I have access to a Mediterranean and Chinese grocery store, is that Lays actually sells the same flavors in the US and other places, they just change the name to approximate whatever local flavor it is most like, like a real-life version of the Pulp Fiction McDonalds Quarter Pounder conversation.
I have a can of Pringles Wendy's Baconator waiting -- bacon is a tried and true chip flavour, but I'm wondering how Pringles turns it into a Baconator.
Don't get your hopes up. They are nothing special, and they don't really taste like a Baconator. More like bacon-flavored soda (also don't try).
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:27 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
What I have found with Lays since I have access to a Mediterranean and Chinese grocery store, is that Lays actually sells the same flavors in the US and other places, they just change the name to approximate whatever local flavor it is most like, like a real-life version of the Pulp Fiction McDonalds Quarter Pounder conversation.
I have a can of Pringles Wendy's Baconator waiting -- bacon is a tried and true chip flavour, but I'm wondering how Pringles turns it into a Baconator.
Don't get your hopes up. They are nothing special, and they don't really taste like a Baconator. More like bacon-flavored soda (also don't try).
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:27 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
EmpressCallipygos: "there's always a couple days when the mostly-empty box has five sad bags of sour cream and onion left behind"
Wait, what? Who would ever leave sour cream and onion chips behind. Have you people never eaten a baked potato?!
posted by chavenet at 7:30 AM on March 19, 2021 [13 favorites]
Wait, what? Who would ever leave sour cream and onion chips behind. Have you people never eaten a baked potato?!
posted by chavenet at 7:30 AM on March 19, 2021 [13 favorites]
Don't get your hopes up. They are nothing special, and they don't really taste like a Baconator.
Pringles Wavy (or Groovz?) Ketchup was a big disappointment, much too oily, and the crunch was too tough. You really had to work at them. They were especially disappointing because regular Pringles Ketchup is generally inhalable. SCHOOMP. Down they go!
Doritos Ketchup also went down fast. Them boys is tasty.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Pringles Wavy (or Groovz?) Ketchup was a big disappointment, much too oily, and the crunch was too tough. You really had to work at them. They were especially disappointing because regular Pringles Ketchup is generally inhalable. SCHOOMP. Down they go!
Doritos Ketchup also went down fast. Them boys is tasty.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Who would ever leave sour cream and onion chips behind. Have you people never eaten a baked potato?!
They're mixed in with an assortment of corn chips and potato chips, and usually it's both flavors of Doritos that go fastest, followed by the Cheetos and Fritos. And I'll admit those are what I usually reach for first myself.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:07 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
They're mixed in with an assortment of corn chips and potato chips, and usually it's both flavors of Doritos that go fastest, followed by the Cheetos and Fritos. And I'll admit those are what I usually reach for first myself.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:07 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Any recommendations for fancy-pants chips like Brets that are available in the US?
posted by treepour at 8:07 AM on March 19, 2021
posted by treepour at 8:07 AM on March 19, 2021
Potato, oil, salt and Maillard reaction flavor, please...
posted by jim in austin at 8:29 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 8:29 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
My current plain chips go-tos are the Lay’s Lightly Salted (at 47, the only culinary issue I have so far in terms of my body’s ability to handle it is excessive sodium in any context) and Miss Vickie’s Original Recipe, which I used to think were too greasy but now they’re pretty much perfect.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:31 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:31 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Is this where I pose the question of why baked chips seem to find no traction in the U.S.? Baked Lay's is the only kind I can find after the one good brand--Kettle Crisps--inexplicably stopped being produced. I guess I wasn't buying enough bags to keep the product line alive. But is there no love for the baked chip? (which, apparently, can't be called a "potato chip" because it's baked...?)
posted by the sobsister at 8:42 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by the sobsister at 8:42 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I really, really want to know how to buy some Brets' chips here in the US.
I have recently discovered Brets' (in Canada). They are boutique and expensive so I've been gradually making my way through flavours week-by-week and it is an exciting highlight in these pandemic times!
As another side note: growing up in the 70s there was the science fiction trope of having meals of the future be pills that tasted like food/full meals. This has not come to pass, but instead we have a future of potato chips that can taste like beef, roast chicken, a cheeseburger, etc and frankly this is the future I want.
posted by mazola at 8:53 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have recently discovered Brets' (in Canada). They are boutique and expensive so I've been gradually making my way through flavours week-by-week and it is an exciting highlight in these pandemic times!
As another side note: growing up in the 70s there was the science fiction trope of having meals of the future be pills that tasted like food/full meals. This has not come to pass, but instead we have a future of potato chips that can taste like beef, roast chicken, a cheeseburger, etc and frankly this is the future I want.
posted by mazola at 8:53 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
And shout out for including Hostess' Grape-Orange-Cherry chips into this -- summer camp canteen memories!
I tell people about that and they don't believe me.
posted by mazola at 8:56 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I tell people about that and they don't believe me.
posted by mazola at 8:56 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don’t know if they’re new, but I’ve recently started seeing Miss Vickies spicy dill pickle chips around and they are a revelation. I don’t know if it’s the excitement of a new love affair but they’ve gone straight to the top of my list.
posted by rodlymight at 8:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 8:59 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Enlightening followup!
I was discussing the "hey, didja notice the sour cream and onion is always left over" issue with a co-worker just now and he had an interesting note - he actually likes that flavor, but is uneasy having it at work in case it makes his breath stink. So it may not be a flavor issue, but rather a workplace etiquette one.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:05 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I was discussing the "hey, didja notice the sour cream and onion is always left over" issue with a co-worker just now and he had an interesting note - he actually likes that flavor, but is uneasy having it at work in case it makes his breath stink. So it may not be a flavor issue, but rather a workplace etiquette one.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:05 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Hands down the best is the gyoza flavored chips
Hey, Ghidorah, I totally believe that and would be delighted to get my hands on a bag now that I know they exist. The fancy-pants chicken-flavoured chips in the article sound really tasty, too. Usually I am a plain-chips kind of gal but those two, in particular, sound yummy. I hope this is a fun topic for folks; it's Friday, and I needed a little fun.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:17 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hey, Ghidorah, I totally believe that and would be delighted to get my hands on a bag now that I know they exist. The fancy-pants chicken-flavoured chips in the article sound really tasty, too. Usually I am a plain-chips kind of gal but those two, in particular, sound yummy. I hope this is a fun topic for folks; it's Friday, and I needed a little fun.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:17 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
This year (thanks to a tip on this askme thread) we bought subscriptions to Universal Yum for the kids.
Thankfully the offspring are the sharing sort, because these monthly boxes have been tasty fun. Never had I ever: wasabi, veal & adjika or turkey stuffing delivered to my tastebuds via chip. A revelation.
The subscription has run its course but the damage has been done. I'm on the prowl for flavored chips!
posted by heidiola at 9:19 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
Thankfully the offspring are the sharing sort, because these monthly boxes have been tasty fun. Never had I ever: wasabi, veal & adjika or turkey stuffing delivered to my tastebuds via chip. A revelation.
The subscription has run its course but the damage has been done. I'm on the prowl for flavored chips!
posted by heidiola at 9:19 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
...we have a future of potato chips that can taste like beef, roast chicken, a cheeseburger, etc and frankly this is the future I want.
I'm still waiting for 'Cowboy's Delight Meat Dinner' flavored chips.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:19 AM on March 19, 2021
I'm still waiting for 'Cowboy's Delight Meat Dinner' flavored chips.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:19 AM on March 19, 2021
There is so much to learn in the world!
Unfortunately, there isn't much choice here, and I don't like the flavored chips that are available. I'd really love to taste those French ones from the article, too.
Just recently, I was eating a chip someone else had bought, and suddenly I realized that what I really don't like are the tastes of onion and garlic powder. I like a homemade sour cream and onion dip. But the chips (and the dip mix) taste of the powder, not the real veg, same with ranch. So plain are my favorites, but I like salt and vinegar and salt and pepper too. Do chips made of other roots count here? I like those a lot.
One more vote for kettle chips, too.
And: make your own! you can flavor the oil. IMO they are easier to make in relatively small batches in the wok, so it takes time, but it's worth it. Actually, I have some goose fat in the fridge, maybe I should try to make chips with that...
posted by mumimor at 9:28 AM on March 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
Unfortunately, there isn't much choice here, and I don't like the flavored chips that are available. I'd really love to taste those French ones from the article, too.
Just recently, I was eating a chip someone else had bought, and suddenly I realized that what I really don't like are the tastes of onion and garlic powder. I like a homemade sour cream and onion dip. But the chips (and the dip mix) taste of the powder, not the real veg, same with ranch. So plain are my favorites, but I like salt and vinegar and salt and pepper too. Do chips made of other roots count here? I like those a lot.
One more vote for kettle chips, too.
And: make your own! you can flavor the oil. IMO they are easier to make in relatively small batches in the wok, so it takes time, but it's worth it. Actually, I have some goose fat in the fridge, maybe I should try to make chips with that...
posted by mumimor at 9:28 AM on March 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
Flavor powder? More like death powder. A friend had worked in a potato chip factory years ago. There was this gigantic container up above the work floor of BBQ flavor powder (it was simpler times) and it sprung a leak. They had to have an immediate get the hell out of here evacuation as breathing that stuff was deadly. I guess they had a hazmat crew clean up the place.
posted by njohnson23 at 9:41 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 9:41 AM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
BBQ flavor powder (it was simpler times) and it sprung a leak. They had to have an immediate get the hell out of here evacuation as breathing that stuff was deadly
That doesn't surprise me. BBQ flavor is the worst, and it seems to be the most popular in this village.
posted by mumimor at 9:44 AM on March 19, 2021
That doesn't surprise me. BBQ flavor is the worst, and it seems to be the most popular in this village.
posted by mumimor at 9:44 AM on March 19, 2021
I was immediately brought back to the radioactive-orange, mind-blowingly tangy Zesty Cheese Doritos that rocked my world as an allowance-rich junior high schooler. They tasted like nothing natural—certainly not the corn they were made from—but they waged an assault on my brain’s gustatory cortex and dopamine receptors that I have yet to fully recover from.
Every once in a long, long while, I get a hankering for these. The mouthfeel of the French appelation "mordant" seems more suited to whatever they're engineered to fire in your brain than "zesty" does.
I don’t know if they’re new, but I’ve recently started seeing Miss Vickies spicy dill pickle chips around and they are a revelation.
*record scratch*
Whoa.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:46 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
Every once in a long, long while, I get a hankering for these. The mouthfeel of the French appelation "mordant" seems more suited to whatever they're engineered to fire in your brain than "zesty" does.
I don’t know if they’re new, but I’ve recently started seeing Miss Vickies spicy dill pickle chips around and they are a revelation.
*record scratch*
Whoa.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:46 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
→
Raspberries with pepper is about the only way I can enjoy 'em. Not too much pepper, a tiny dusting of sugar if you're squeamish (or if they're too wersh⁷) and you've got a whole new experience.
posted by scruss at 10:17 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
but which might leave you wondering "Why?!". I'm thinking in particular of the Raspberry and Pepper.
Raspberries with pepper is about the only way I can enjoy 'em. Not too much pepper, a tiny dusting of sugar if you're squeamish (or if they're too wersh⁷) and you've got a whole new experience.
posted by scruss at 10:17 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Paqui Haunted Ghost Pepper chips are worth a try if you like extremely spicy snacks. It took me about 2 weeks to get through a bag, and I crumbled a bunch up to put into chili because they were so hot on their own.
posted by oulipian at 11:27 AM on March 19, 2021
posted by oulipian at 11:27 AM on March 19, 2021
What I have found with Lays since I have access to a Mediterranean and Chinese grocery store, is that Lays actually sells the same flavors in the US and other places, they just change the name to approximate whatever local flavor it is most like, like a real-life version of the Pulp Fiction McDonalds Quarter Pounder conversation.
One of the store brands here (President's Choice) has various International Flavours potato chips and a lot of them taste the same as each other, like a cross between a ketchup/all-dressed chip and bbq and a little bit of spiciness. I haven't done any comparison tests but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the same chip in different bags.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:08 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
One of the store brands here (President's Choice) has various International Flavours potato chips and a lot of them taste the same as each other, like a cross between a ketchup/all-dressed chip and bbq and a little bit of spiciness. I haven't done any comparison tests but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the same chip in different bags.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:08 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
One of my local Asian groceries gets in packets of Lays White Rabbit flavor. I love potato chips and I love White Rabbit candy, but the pairing is not harmonious.
White Rabbit is a sweet milky taffy candy, by the way. So milky sweet potatoes. Good when there is cheese and no sweet and a a pyrex dish involved, otherwise not so much.
posted by PussKillian at 12:50 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
White Rabbit is a sweet milky taffy candy, by the way. So milky sweet potatoes. Good when there is cheese and no sweet and a a pyrex dish involved, otherwise not so much.
posted by PussKillian at 12:50 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
sometimes I'm convinced all the spicy chips are the same flavor and the claim on the bag helps guide the palate (except Aussie sweet chilli chips, those are distinct).
In Pennsylvania there were (maybe still are) Middleswarth sour cream and onion chips and the amount of flavoring was so delightfully random: sometimes enough powder on the chip for a mouse to snowboard; sometimes a plain chip that was only getting a "contact high" from the notion of onions and sour cream. Sometimes both in the same 2-ounce bag. It was never the same snack and that was usually fun.
posted by kurumi at 1:04 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
In Pennsylvania there were (maybe still are) Middleswarth sour cream and onion chips and the amount of flavoring was so delightfully random: sometimes enough powder on the chip for a mouse to snowboard; sometimes a plain chip that was only getting a "contact high" from the notion of onions and sour cream. Sometimes both in the same 2-ounce bag. It was never the same snack and that was usually fun.
posted by kurumi at 1:04 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Because of this thread I just paid $4.49 for a bag of Bret’s (at La Vieille Europe in Montreal), which I’ve never tried. I was tempted by Poivrons Grillé Chorizo, but grabbed the last bag of Poulet Braisé instead. Will munch later and report back.
posted by oulipian at 2:32 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 2:32 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Bret's Chèvre & Piment d'Espelette flavor are the best chips ever made. I keep asking our local supermarket for them, which is not totally unrealistic, because it is a Super U.
posted by snofoam at 2:47 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 2:47 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I miss Tim's Cascade Alder Smoked BBQ chips. I haven't had a regular chip since they stopped making them.
posted by calamari kid at 2:54 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by calamari kid at 2:54 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oooh, do you remember the Lay's cappuccino chips? It was basically a publicity stunt but I tried them, and I didn't actually think they were terrible.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:01 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by exceptinsects at 4:01 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Poulet Braisé verdict: They are ok. Kind of chicken-y but only because I know it's supposed to taste like chicken. It's mostly kind of a bland all-dressed flavour. You're not missing much. Maybe I should have tried the Chorizo ones, but I'm not paying that much for another bag of these.
posted by oulipian at 4:03 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 4:03 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
I should note that I do not really like potato chips, except kettle-cooked ones, which these are not.
posted by oulipian at 4:05 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 4:05 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Bella Donna, I'd love to be able to send some to you, but they rotate flavors so quickly (like, weeks, not months), and in 20 years here, I've only seen them two or three times. So good though.
Other fantastic chips here: leek and salt steak flavor, salt yakitori (with shichimi!), sour cream and bacon (holy hell, they were good), sour cream and chili (also, damn, tasty). Goma (sesame) oil and salt was pretty good. I never bought them, but I've seen it a couple times: okonomiyaki flavor chips with a little packet of katsuobushi (the little fish flakes on top of the okonomiyaki) fixed to the side of the bag, for sprinkling over the chips.
Pringles flavors here, too, can be awesome.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:09 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Other fantastic chips here: leek and salt steak flavor, salt yakitori (with shichimi!), sour cream and bacon (holy hell, they were good), sour cream and chili (also, damn, tasty). Goma (sesame) oil and salt was pretty good. I never bought them, but I've seen it a couple times: okonomiyaki flavor chips with a little packet of katsuobushi (the little fish flakes on top of the okonomiyaki) fixed to the side of the bag, for sprinkling over the chips.
Pringles flavors here, too, can be awesome.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:09 PM on March 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Pringles introduced a virtual non-fungible flavor this week.
Thusly, they are not on my happy list.
posted by delfin at 4:20 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Thusly, they are not on my happy list.
posted by delfin at 4:20 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
I salute you, oulipian. It feels like you took one for the team, and I respect that. Thanks for the review!
posted by Bella Donna at 4:37 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 4:37 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
The best chips I ever ate were in the wee hours on London night. We had done a pub crawl and made one last stop Ye Olde Swiss Cottage. We didn’t drink there but ate Walker’s salt and vinegar crisps. They were the perfect thing to eat while eavesdropping on the bachelorette party at the next table!
posted by Biblio at 4:38 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Biblio at 4:38 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also, I hate every single thing about Pringles but the link delfin shared made me laugh out loud. It’s ridiculous, as it should be. Like a parody of a super stupid thing. I mean maybe it’s serious but I think it’s just a timely marketing ploy.
posted by Bella Donna at 4:40 PM on March 19, 2021
posted by Bella Donna at 4:40 PM on March 19, 2021
@mazola: in the late 70s I got 35 cents (canadian) allowance and would walk to becker's milk store and buy a bag of hostess chips (back when the bags were still foil) and a lik-m-aid packet. one time, they had grape and orange and cherry chips. and I bought grape because that was my favorite candy flavor...and threw up before I was even out of the parking lot. and generally I could eat ANYTHING.
usually no one believes me that they even existed! it seems like they were only around for a few weeks. BLERGH. Angst for the memories!
posted by hearthpig at 4:44 PM on March 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
usually no one believes me that they even existed! it seems like they were only around for a few weeks. BLERGH. Angst for the memories!
posted by hearthpig at 4:44 PM on March 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
This seems like a good place to sneak in an AskMefi.
When Camden Yards, the baseball stadium for the Baltimore Orioles (aka The Birds), UTZ sold special potato chips in team-color packaging, exclusive to the stadium, labeled 'Bird Food'.
Am I fabricating that memory? And I'm assuming they were Old Bay flavored, the local favorite crab-boil seasoned salt?
posted by bartleby at 5:14 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
When Camden Yards, the baseball stadium for the Baltimore Orioles (aka The Birds), UTZ sold special potato chips in team-color packaging, exclusive to the stadium, labeled 'Bird Food'.
Am I fabricating that memory? And I'm assuming they were Old Bay flavored, the local favorite crab-boil seasoned salt?
posted by bartleby at 5:14 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I just realized. There should be licorice potato chips.
posted by aniola at 5:40 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 5:40 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
The mouthfeel of the French appelation "mordant" seems more suited to whatever they're engineered to fire in your brain
A large component of that are hydrolyzed yeast proteins and milk solids - free-based amino acids, ie. MSG. Different combinations of aa-salts give different tastes. Science in different amounts of different kinds of fats. Certain combos with lactic acid makes very inexpensive but intense "cow's/ American cheese" flavour.
Food science is complex stuff.
Not sure why people blanche when scifi posits yeast as a major protein source in resource-limited futures. It can be made to taste amazing! My issue with dystopian food is the lack of texture. Maybe fixable with recombinant yeast-produced wheat-gluten (seitan).
posted by porpoise at 6:37 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
A large component of that are hydrolyzed yeast proteins and milk solids - free-based amino acids, ie. MSG. Different combinations of aa-salts give different tastes. Science in different amounts of different kinds of fats. Certain combos with lactic acid makes very inexpensive but intense "cow's/ American cheese" flavour.
Food science is complex stuff.
Not sure why people blanche when scifi posits yeast as a major protein source in resource-limited futures. It can be made to taste amazing! My issue with dystopian food is the lack of texture. Maybe fixable with recombinant yeast-produced wheat-gluten (seitan).
posted by porpoise at 6:37 PM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
hearthpig I got you a present:
- lots of people remember those chips and those chips were objectively awful
- an article about said chips
- an article in which someone attempts to recreate said chips using Koolaid and gets "that type of saliva you get when you’re about to vomit".
posted by aniola at 8:24 AM on March 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
- lots of people remember those chips and those chips were objectively awful
- an article about said chips
- an article in which someone attempts to recreate said chips using Koolaid and gets "that type of saliva you get when you’re about to vomit".
posted by aniola at 8:24 AM on March 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
Brets are indeed awesome and I am eating their Camembert flavour RIGHT NOW. I second the opinion above that chèvre and piment d’espelette is among the best (along with Fromage de Jura and Fromage Frais). Their strangest is definitely « saveur frites ». I have to say that of all the nations who might invent such a thing, the French surprised me here. They do absolutely taste of French Fries... combined with the basic taste it is quite odd.
I think it might have been pulled now as the other day they had « frites sauce » ones instead, with the fries taste dialled down and a tang of tomato ketchup and mayonnaise.... trashy ! But tasty !
Anyway off to rtfa.
posted by tardigrade at 10:44 AM on March 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think it might have been pulled now as the other day they had « frites sauce » ones instead, with the fries taste dialled down and a tang of tomato ketchup and mayonnaise.... trashy ! But tasty !
Anyway off to rtfa.
posted by tardigrade at 10:44 AM on March 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
So if Lays just relabels its flavors from place to place, what US fast food flavor is Smoked Eel going to be? Gumbo? Clam chowder?
posted by clew at 11:14 AM on March 20, 2021
posted by clew at 11:14 AM on March 20, 2021
Certain combos with lactic acid makes very inexpensive but intense "cow's/ American cheese" flavour.
Pow. Right in the gustatory pleasure centre.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:36 AM on March 20, 2021
Pow. Right in the gustatory pleasure centre.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:36 AM on March 20, 2021
I just realized. There should be licorice potato chips
There’s a licorice specialty store (chain) in Sweden that sells those. I have never had any because I am not a big fan of licorice. But Finns are big fans of licorice, more so than Swedes even, so I bet they have them too. But that’s just a guess.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:00 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
There’s a licorice specialty store (chain) in Sweden that sells those. I have never had any because I am not a big fan of licorice. But Finns are big fans of licorice, more so than Swedes even, so I bet they have them too. But that’s just a guess.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:00 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Inspired by this thread, I bought a couple small bags of Chinese Lays to try.
Mexican Chicken Tomato: Definitely tomato, not sure I'm getting chicken, and I don't know what's Mexican about it. Not spicy. Not bad, but it's no ketchup.
Spicy Crayfish: Pretty good! Mildly spicy and crustaceanesque (I haven't had crayfish but you could have called this shrimp and I would have bought it).
Wish we could get Utz crab chips here, but I do have a big shaker of Old Bay.
posted by rodlymight at 3:31 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Mexican Chicken Tomato: Definitely tomato, not sure I'm getting chicken, and I don't know what's Mexican about it. Not spicy. Not bad, but it's no ketchup.
Spicy Crayfish: Pretty good! Mildly spicy and crustaceanesque (I haven't had crayfish but you could have called this shrimp and I would have bought it).
Wish we could get Utz crab chips here, but I do have a big shaker of Old Bay.
posted by rodlymight at 3:31 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
recent Japanese potato chip news
spoiler: blueberry gum
posted by torii hugger at 11:46 PM on March 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
spoiler: blueberry gum
posted by torii hugger at 11:46 PM on March 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Eating new flavors of chips is one of the highlights of traveling. One of my best finds so far has to be the blueberry chips I had in Beijing ten years ago. I remember the hot pot flavor being good, too.
But hell, I love chips anywhere. My current go-to flavors are Barcel's diablo/fuego/habanero. They rule, and I can get them at the convenience store closest to my house.
I'll let Nathan Explosion sum up my feelings about potato chips.
posted by heteronym at 8:05 PM on March 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
But hell, I love chips anywhere. My current go-to flavors are Barcel's diablo/fuego/habanero. They rule, and I can get them at the convenience store closest to my house.
I'll let Nathan Explosion sum up my feelings about potato chips.
posted by heteronym at 8:05 PM on March 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Vegetarians: check the backs of the crisp packets. More often than not, the "prawn cocktail" crisps are just flavoured with tomato extracts and onion powder and brine, and the "bacon" ones are just paprika.
I once shouted in surprise at a bacon crisp packet that was made with actual bacon, and the publican looked at me like I was off my head. Like, of course it'd have bacon: says so on the label, don' it? Rarer than you'd think!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:58 AM on March 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
I once shouted in surprise at a bacon crisp packet that was made with actual bacon, and the publican looked at me like I was off my head. Like, of course it'd have bacon: says so on the label, don' it? Rarer than you'd think!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:58 AM on March 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
Ok I've been working my way through the (available) Brets' chips week-by-week, partly to extend the experience, partly because they're expensive.
The last flavour available to me was Camembert and I left it to last because I thought it was boring.
IT IS THE BEST THING EVER! :D
posted by mazola at 9:45 AM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
The last flavour available to me was Camembert and I left it to last because I thought it was boring.
IT IS THE BEST THING EVER! :D
posted by mazola at 9:45 AM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
(the basil/pesto flavour is no slouch either)
posted by mazola at 9:51 AM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mazola at 9:51 AM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
CBC - The Debaters - "Popcorn is superior to chips" - I disagree, why must we choose - both can be flavoured in a myriad of manners.
posted by rozcakj at 11:59 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rozcakj at 11:59 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
During corona, I've have been eating more popcorn than usual. Just with salt.
I do actually feel that freshly made popcorn are superior to chips. But only freshly made, and I prefer making them in a pot to microwaving them.
posted by mumimor at 3:36 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
I do actually feel that freshly made popcorn are superior to chips. But only freshly made, and I prefer making them in a pot to microwaving them.
posted by mumimor at 3:36 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
This slideshow suggests that MSG is why people like ranch dressing(and Chick Fil-A, boo, hiss) so much, and is interesting on its own.
posted by theora55 at 7:55 AM on March 28, 2021
posted by theora55 at 7:55 AM on March 28, 2021
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posted by The Card Cheat at 5:30 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]