Has reviewing Salt & Vinegar chips become a monthly series? Is there even that many types to keep us going? For a third month in a row the answer is yes!
As a reminder the review systems is based on gatcha game rarity: C is worthless, R average, SR exceptional and SSR once-in-lifetime good! And for the first time today you’ll see a new category…
We found these Humble brand chips at a ‘health food’ shop, which was probably a warning. They were appalling, absolutely disgustingly tasting and quite possibly one of the worst chips I’ve ever eaten. They tasted like greasy rot, and had no real taste of vinegar at all. These were so awful I’m confused why they’re even on the market. Far, far below C, these things get the lowest possible grade of Z.
A slew of ‘not worth the calorie’ C rank chips this month, one of which surprised me since I used to think it a good chip!
The Siete chips released a pungent stench when the bag was opened, and the base chip had a taste of petrichor I found quite disagreeable. Upon further mastication I noted almost no vinegar taste but a hint of heat, which I quickly found unpleasant. They have serrano pepper in them! Obviously I hated them and give them a solid C, but KLS for her part thought them at least an R (due to the heat).
The Cape Cod brand has been a favourite of mine for years, and the normal version of their salt and vinegar scored an SR in the first installment. But this reduced fat version was powdery and a bit tasteless, and far below the quality of the ‘full fat’ ones. It’s not worth it even considering the lower calories.
365 is the Amazon brand, and while the chips were crispy and not too oily, the taste was terrible and not at all tasting of vinegar. The aftertaste was even worse, and reminded me of gherkin pickling juice. Overall, an awful chip and at the low end of the C’s.
Bowl & Basket is the store brand of Shoprite, which recently closed all its local stores and left our area! While I liked the supermarket in general, these are a very poor chip. They were paper thin to the point they seemed to be 90% oil, and the vinegar taste was excessively acidic. Not worth eating at all, and a very low C.
The shtick with these Dirty chips is they are a bit burned and a bit ugly and a bit like the sort of chips other brands would have removed during the QC step. I’m not a big fan of this, but I won’t deny the chips were crispy and had a good mouthfeel, and the vinegar was adequate if not exceptional. I’m putting them here only because the previous five were so poor, but I think I’m being (too) generous giving these an R.
Things were looking grim after six bags of very poor chips. Thankfully we struck gold as well, and these three SR brands were unique in their own way.
The Hannaford kettle chips specify malt vinegar, but did it make any difference? Yes it absolutely did! The taste of these was the same as the ‘brown vinegar’ of my youth and while initially sweet and moorish, I was shocked by how quickly it ramped up as I shoveled them in my mouth. Very quickly the vinegar burned and I started sweating! Heaven and Hell in a single chip then, and while I’ll never eat them again I won’t hesitate giving them SR.
The Kettle chips are air-fried, and this gave them a very light and airy feel quite different from the usual chip. They were very easy to eat, and as a bonus the vinegar was sweet and delicious. However there was a slight pining for the delicious taste of oil, which keeps them out of the highest rating and solidly SR.
I had been snack deprived the day I tore into the Deep River chips and they were exactly what I needed at that moment. A delicious potato taste in a not-too-greasy chip accompanied by a wonderful and sweet vinegar taste. These are a chip to fill your mouth with and then perhaps regret you ate so many, as I did that day. Regardless, a solid to even perhaps high SR.
I don’t even remember where we bought the Uglies chips, but for whatever reason I was hesitant when we opened them. My caution was unwarranted: they were superb! They were delicious and sweet and just kept going into my mouth with hardly any effort from me. They were perhaps the sweetest chip so far, and they have cemented in my mind that I prefer sweet over bitter and mild over strong. Without doubt, SSR!
Saratoga Chips are a local brand, and rather than wax lyrical I’ll simply paste the notes I took when I ate them: “Godlike. Best so far. The chips turn to joy in your mouth and you could live on them. Easily best so far!” I think you’ll agree such a review is absolutely worth SSR 🙂
That’s an astonishing 27 different brands reviewed so far, and I can say there may still be a few unopened packs in this abode waiting for our taste testing. But what of more exotic brands, perhaps even in distant realms? Let’s hope when we travel we might even find some…
