Alright, we have taken on soda pop and candy bars so it makes perfect sense that we would tackle the greatest potato chip favours the world has ever seen. To do this correctly, we have to establish what a potato chip is and what is not. Doritos are not. Corn chips are not. Popcorn chips are not. I will accept other kinds of potato, like sweet potato, as potato chips. Baked or fried, the all count. Let’s not get any delusions here about what makes the potato chip the world’s best salty snack item.
The next debate is on what constitutes a flavour and how many combinations of flavour make it a truly great chip. As the Earth has lost its mind further and ups the ante monthly with the craziest new flavour, we sometimes need to assess whether less is more. I’m willing to accept any flavour that has made it through the marketing departments of these companies. If they thought it was smart to have “sweat sock” chips on the racks at the supermarket, I can accept that. I can also accept all brands, from around the world. If they can make chips with better potato than the ones from Idaho who am I to argue. With that, let’s establish my Mount Rushmore or potato chips in no particular order:
- Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips – Sweet Maui Onion
Predominantly found on the Hawaiian islands, these chips are the gold standard of kettle style chips and their flavours represent the region accurately. Mango habanero are amazing along with luau BBQ but the go to flavour is sweet onion. They are the perfect mix of sweet and salty and the kettle cooked style are better than the kinds we see in Canada. You can find them around as they have become a popular import from Hawaii and certainly need to be put in your plans to bring back along with the almighty Macadamia nut.
2. Ruffles All-Dressed chips
If you are a Canadian chip connoisseur, there is no way a list can be complete without the might All-dressed flavour. The flavour consists of a combination of BBQ, ketchup, salt & vinegar and sour cream & onion. Two Quebec brothers created the first iteration of this magic formula in 1978 and they changed the chip world. Americans would come to Canada simply to bring back the holy grail of flavours and now they are available in some brands south of the border. The key: ripple chips to better hold the flavour and really kick you in the jaw when you eat them. Our friends at Ruffles have created the best (and greasiest) version of the ripple chip and the combination is lethal. I dare you, compare them against other All-dressed and you will get it.
3. Old Dutch Dill Pickle chips
I will fight you if you try to argue that Lays chips are better than Old Dutch! There is no chance that the Americans make a better overall chip than our friends from Winnipeg ever have. Try the taste test and confirm for yourself and better yet try the sample of Dill Pickle chips while you do it. Dill and chips were just made for each other. Like PB & Jam, Oil & vinegar and Abbott and Costello, some tandems are just better together than they are apart. The dill flavouring on the Old Dutch brand are incredible and they leave a great after taste after to crunch a bag. Dill is a common flavour across North America but we have a great version in our backyard. The only way they could be better is if they came in the classic Old Dutch boxes we all grew up with.
4. Jalapeno Pringles
Pringles truly are the perfect potato chip. They mastered the art of making the chip more important than the damn flavour and once they stepped outside of the core 4 flavours (original, BBQ, sour cream and salt/vinegar) and put their creative hats on they took the product to the next stratosphere. We gladly will pay premium prices for a tube, that has half the volume of a bag of chips. The damn tube alone was an amazing marketing ploy and will have the product live on forever. You can’t go wrong with many of their flavours really, but Jalapeño chips are an art that should not be abused. Here’s the skinny on their Jalapeño. It’s the perfect combo of sweet and heat. The pressure of the heat builds up on you after you inevitably eat 2/3 of the tube and at that point you realize that you have a Pringles problem and that you are prepared to lie, cheat and steal to keep the tube away from anyone who wants what you have. Really you can’t go wrong with any of the flavours but Jalapeño is a tremendous addition to the gang. Damn you Pringles for ruining chips for the rest of the world.
Based on the comments from the last few posts, I’m sure you will have an opinion on where I made a fatal mis-step in this top 4. Comment along and share in the fun around chips. Times are tough out there but at least we can always argue about the important things in the world, like chips.