Category: Taste Test

My weakness when it comes to junk food is potato chips. There are so many brands and varieties to choose from this is a list of my favorites. Before I get into the main list let me lament the passing of two great chip companies that are sadly no longer with us. It used to be before the advent of modern mass market production that there were hundreds of small locally owned and operated chip companies. Two of these that I grew up with were Royal Feast in Methuen, Massachusetts and Granite State in Salem, New Hampshire.

#5) Pringles – I can remember when these “chips” became popular, they were new and different from other chips on the market. These heavily processed chips are made from ground potatoes and pressed into a chip shape and packaged in their signature red tube. The packaging means that there is a minimum of broken chips despite the fragile nature of the chips themselves. They have a satisfying crunch and nice potato flavor with not much grease. I may actually prefer a newcomer to the market Lays Stax but for nostalgia sake I will go with Pringles.
#4) Cape Cod – The company that brought “kettle cooked” chips to the forefront of the mass production market. This is the style of chip that was the mainstay of the traditional regional chip production 100 years ago. Holdovers like Royal Feast were still producing kettle cooked chips for local distribution and purchase but the supermarket chips were dominated by the fragile processed brands like Lays and Wise. All of the companies now have a kettle cooked line but Cape Cod was the trendsetter.

#3) Lays Classic – This iconic brand in the bright yellow bag still brings the goods. The very fragile thin chips are ideal for munching and it is difficult to stop eating them since they are so light and ephemeral. One big drawback is the fragility of the chips, you will invariably end up with a half a bag of broken chips and crumbs no matter how careful you are.
#2) Lehman’s Gold’ N Krisp – I am not sure you can find this brand outside of mail order but it is well worth seeking out. The chips are cooked in a combination of vegetable oil and lard which gives them a unique flavor. The chips are very firm leaving few broken chips and the flavor is superb.
#1) Tri-Sum – This regional chip company has been in business since 1908 and is the pinnacle of potato chip flavor and texture. The firm chips hold up in the bag and the flavor is unique. They used to be cooked in beef tallow but are no longer. I do not know how they have maintained that flavor with the formulation change but they still have that unique aspect to their flavor profile. They may not be to everyone’s taste but for me they reign supreme.

Growing up if you wanted a potato chip suitable for dipping for a party you would get Ruffles. These ridged chips were more robust and held up well to dips. About twenty years ago a “competitor” came on the market Wavy Lays. Surprisingly enough both chips are made by the same company Frito-Lays! Why then are there two ridged dipping chips manufactured by the same company and are there any real differences? To satisfy my curiosity I decided to do a taste test on both varieties.

The chip on the left is a Ruffle and the one pictured right is a Wavy Lays. As you can see the Wavy Lays has deeper ridges and the chips appear to be thicker than the Ruffles. I anticipated the Wavy Lays to be more robust and less fragile than the Ruffles but I did not find this to be the case. There was roughly the same amount of broken chips in each bag and both chips held up well to firm onion dip without breaking. The Wavy Lays whole chips do seem to be larger and have a bigger crunch than the Ruffles. There is also a noticeable difference in flavor with the Wavy Lays having a deeper potato flavor than their counterpart. In summary both chips are suitable for your party and personal preference may dictate on or the other, for my tastes that would be the Wavy Lays but either chip would be acceptable.

One of my favorite snacks is pickled pigs feet, hocks or tidbits from Hormel. My mother would purchase the pigs feet when I was a kid and I was the only one in the family besides her who enjoyed them. At first I would only eat the meat portion leaving the fat and skin for mom. I think it was the slimy consistency that put me off initially.

The pork hocks and tidbits are completely boneless and have more meat than the pigs feet. I enjoy all three but prefer the hocks as you get both meat and skin in good proportion. When tasting the first thing you will notice is the strong acidic bite from the vinegar and then the texture. The meat is firm and has a nice pickled flavor while the fat and skin is slimy and silky soft. If you enjoy strong pickles and can get past the textural aspects of the product this is a great albeit not very healthy snack treat.