Whatever happened to just "modest" potato chip flavors?

Yeah, I know this is something extremely trivial again and unimportant in the grand scheme of the universe but hey, that's my specialty! After all the real problems of the world are often too complicated for this simple, innocent yet over-imaginative mind. I prefer to just enjoy and/or make observations on things like...well...potato chips for instance!

Oh I know they all are "junk food" and I should really be shopping for healthier snacks but that's not really the point here.

My bigger observation is the apparent "exotic multiple flavor craze" that has taken over chips the last decade or so. Almost every bag you come across is either hot, spicy, smokin something or other or some kind of "southwestern" this or that. It's almost darn near impossible to just get a basic "sour cream" or "baked potato/cheese" flavor of your favorite brand of chips anymore (or name your more MODEST flavor of choice).

Maybe it's just easy for me to nitpick on these bold, wild flavors because I'm admittedly not a general fan of hot/spicy foods etc. Yet it starts to make me feel like an old-fashioned but (I thought) normal guy who is watching all these "everyday" staples and more comforting flavors vanish in the face of this apparent "spicy southwestern chicken wings and jalapeno peppers" way of life.

And there also seems to be not one "barbecue" flavor but two, three or who knows how many? And can I even determine how a "Smokin hot southwestern barbecue" bag of Lay's might vary from a "Hot Jalapeno Barbecue" bag? Or does it even matter?

Then we have the relatively recent and cute popular flavor that tends to pretty much go by the name of "Sea Salt and Pepper" or "Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper". Sometimes the "cracked" word is included. Sometimes it's not. My studies show that this may or may not matter a whole heck of a lot

And then there's what I call the "mystery supply and distribution" game that you play when you DO find a flavor or two you like and you try to find it at a given supermarket, often to no avail. One of these barbecue flavors is at all branches of supermarket "X" but if you go to supermarket "Y", you likely won't find it there (but you will be treated to yet another bold/extreme variation flavor that exists only in THAT supermarket...). It's as if the potato chips makers themselves don't even trust (or want to distribute) all the different flavors they come up with! It's quite amusing...

And it's not so much that these mingled and "hot" flavors are overtaking the shelves but it's also that a lot of them just taste TOO EXTREME to me a lot of times. I guess I just grew up with and enjoy more "flavorful" yet simple flavors. I mean I don't necessarily have a problem with traditional barbecue or anything but some of these chips taste so BOLD and over-saturated (for lack of a proper descriptor). Add in the fact that this "boldness" is being exhibited in the form of spicy hot wing flavors or "screamin' pepper" this or that and you almost need a fire extinguisher just to enjoy a casual bag of salty chips!

Okay I'll stop now Contrary to how it probably sounds, I'm not actually complaining. After all, it's just potato chips. And, believe it or not, I DON'T eat them CONSTANTLY or anything. It's really more just a bewildering amusement kind of thing whenever I walk by them in the aisles these days, nothing more. There's certainly a few "normal" staples that are classic (Nacho Cheese Doritos, Pringles) which I can freely indulge in anytime with a nostalgic smile. So it's not like I don't have a choice. It's just that these choices keep being continually crowded and overrun by the BOLDER and HOTTER bags of flavors I never even knew you could combine...

Furthermore, not ALL is bad with potato chips in modern times. One thing I DO enjoy seeing is the more conscious move to make the HARD (or kettle style) chips! There's definitely more types of those available within the sea of bold/hot/zany flavors. That's a good thing in my eyes although some of these super-hard chips are undoubtedly better than others. Still, I definitely love the substantial crunch to these types over the super-delicate, soggy, microscopic-sliced normal chips. Oh I know that hardening comes at a cost to the health! I make no claims that they are a "wise" food to eat but then again this wasn't intended to be a thread about fruits or vegetables!

So now we got the good super-hard kettle chips involved more fluently but they're all covered with extreme layers of hot, spicy, southwestern, screamin jalapeno.... well you get the picture by now...

Sometimes it's like you take one step forward and two steps back...

Jeff

I read the ingredients on the bag of the best potato chips I ever tasted: potatoes, lard, salt.

I read the ingredients on the bag of the best potato chips I ever tasted: potatoes, lard, salt.

Oh yes! I can believe that. Probably is the key three ingredients to ANY good food come to think of it. Aren't potatoes, salt and lard three of the major food groups? Or are my Midwest roots just showing again?

I'm definitely from the school that largely believes that if a food isn't tasting good then there's probably not enough bad stuff in it! This comes into clear truth when you attempt to enjoy chocolare chip cookies without butter or salt or chocolate without the cocoa butter (fat)! Oh, there's a couple exceptions. Oranges and grapefruits for example - delicious yet good. It's not a 100% rule. Maybe just a 98% rule...

Jeff

[Jenise]

As a kid, when the only choices were plain or barbecued flavor, I never chose the latter. And I haven't changed. The only so-called flavored chip I really like doesn't exactly go out on the edge: the Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips. Wish they were a bit less salted than they are, but oh are they good.

Funny though that you post this: just a week or so ago Bob and I hadn't eaten, it was around lunchtime, and we didn't have time for lunch so when we stopped for gas, I bought the dollar bags of Ruffles, Lays, Lightly Salted Kettle Chips, and Tim's Cascade in plain salted and some cheese flavor and we had a potato chip contest while completing the rest of our errands. Our favorite? It was pretty much a tie between the Ruffles and the Lays. We loved the delicate crunch and pure potato flavor of the Lays and also the more substantial bite of the Ruffles, which, while being more substantial didn't tear up our mouths the way the hardness of the Kettle Chips did, which by the way they seemed highly salty and not less so than average. Our least favorites were both the Tim's: and the plain least of all. That is, while we still would both prefer plain salt+potato in general, the Tim's tasted extremely greasy compared to the others in an animal fat kind of way, not a clean fat, and the cheese masked that somewhat so we nominally preferred it.

Don't like 'hot and spicy'...hmmm
More flavor choices, as stated in best grammatical fashion, mor better. Especially hot and spicy, long live the ring of fire!

I put in a vote for plain Lay's. Hate the baked ones.

Jeff -

If you think we have too many flavors here, you should see what they have in England. My wife and daughter were back there a year or so ago and they brought back flavors like roasted chicken, onion bhaji, beef and onion, and (yes) Cajun squirrel.

As a kid, when the only choices were plain or barbecued flavor, I never chose the latter. And I haven't changed. The only so-called flavored chip I really like doesn't exactly go out on the edge: the Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips. Wish they were a bit less salted than they are, but oh are they good.

Funny though that you post this: just a week or so ago Bob and I hadn't eaten, it was around lunchtime, and we didn't have time for lunch so when we stopped for gas, I bought the dollar bags of Ruffles, Lays, Lightly Salted Kettle Chips, and Tim's Cascade in plain salted and some cheese flavor and we had a potato chip contest while completing the rest of our errands. Our favorite? It was pretty much a tie between the Ruffles and the Lays. We loved the delicate crunch and pure potato flavor of the Lays and the more substantial bite of the Ruffles, which, while being more substantial didn't tear up our mouths the way the hardness of the Kettle Chips did, which by the way they seemed highly salty and not less so than average. Our least favorites were both the Tim's: and the plain least of all. That is, while we still would both prefer plain salt+potato in general, the Tim's tasted extremely greasy compared to the others in an animal fat kind of way, not a clean fat, and the cheese masked that somewhat so we nominally preferred it.

Yeah I do know quite a few people who love those "sea salt and pepper" chips. They seem to have a very loyal following. I don't dislike them necessarily but, as you mentioned, they just are a little too heavily-spiced or something for me to fall in love with them on a consistent basis.

That potato chip contest sounds very interesting! I'm a Lay's person myself over Ruffles but ONLY if the Lay's are the newer kettle cooked variety (in the old days I probably would've sided with Ruffles). It's all in that CCRRUUNCCHH thing for me. I like the crunch. Much the same way I prefer HARD tortilla shell tacos to soft.

I also rarely to ever eat plain chips either but DO enjoy the plain kettle cooked chips with the classic combination of chip dip! But, again, the hard chips are much more ideal for this. They are obviously firm, thick and scoop better. I sometimes wonder how the chips and dip craze ever came about when only delicate flaky chips were the only option! You just end up with a pile of airy chip fragments inside the dip. Assuming they didnt crumble in your fingers right when you pulled one out of the bag...

Jeff

Don't like 'hot and spicy'...hmmm

As a general rule, no. Just isn't for me I guess. I'm not a wild wings or spicy chicken wings kind of person either. I do love fried chicken however! I'm more into the "meat" I guess than the picking at the wings and bathing in the heat of the sauces etc. Just give me tender breasts, thighs, legs and my coleslaw and mashed potatoes!

But yes I definitely gravitate more to mildness and subtleties in most things. There's a few exceptions of some indulgent foods that might violate that. But generally speaking, I like mellowed things by and large (in almost all things of life)

It's my laid-back and relatively quiet nature I think - like personality, like food...LOL

Jeff

Anyone here remember when Charles Chips were delivered to your home in those big cans? Those were the best! Flavors as I recall were plain, BBQ and hickory smoked (my favorite).

I put in a vote for plain Lay's. Hate the baked ones.

Yeah, those baked ones I don't like either. I should've known because I'm generally not a fan of "health-ified" foods (fat free stuff) anyways. That is, I don't doubt they're "healthier" but I can also taste where the fat/flavor has been compromised in most diet foods. Yet for some reason, baked chips seemed like a potentially good idea when I first heard about them and seen them. I tried one of those dollar bags of one of them (I think it was a Lay's) and, boy, was I wrong! I don't know what I thought was going to be "good" about them. Maybe I thought the baked concept would give them a hard texture like kettle chips and yet still taste as deliciously sinful as the "bad" chips. Thus I figured they'd have to be decent. But the taste, as I should've known, was a whole other story. Just didn't taste right at all to me. Guess I'll just cross my fingers in regards to my arteries and take the "unhealthy" kettle cooked bag, thank you.

Jeff

Jeff -

If you think we have too many flavors here, you should see what they have in England. My wife and daughter were back there a year or so ago and they brought back flavors like roasted chicken, onion bhaji, beef and onion, and (yes) Cajun squirrel.

Wow, that does sound like an interesting variety! I had no idea there were that many on the other side of the Atlantic.

Then again, as long as the flavors over there are vast and yet differen't, then that might not be such a bad thing (at least in theory). Variety itself is always a positive thing I suppose. I think what puzzles and overpowers me with chip flavors here is that there's actually just a handful of general "flavors" but about 50 varieties of each theme. And most of them all seem to revolve around some kind of hot, bold, southwestern or "screamin" label.

Jeff

Anyone here remember when Charles Chips were delivered to your home in those big cans? Those were the best! Flavors as I recall were plain, BBQ and hickory smoked (my favorite).

No I've never heard of those myself, not around here anyways. The hickory smoked sounds possibly delicious though!

Jeff

Classic Lay's for me, thank you! Oh, and the Tostitos Restaurant Style White Corn Chips are very yummy. I buy a bag of the salt and pepper Kettle chips now and then but never finish them. After a few chips, they seem too heavy for me too.

Classic Lays here too, Karen.

Although I do admit to a lust for the Lay's Limon chips out now. But I figure they are just classic Lays with some lime flavored dust, and since I am a total sucker for lime..

If I were to pick a favorite, it would be Miss Vicky's Mesquite Barbecue. They're the thick, "kettle" variety with a very tasty artificial food-like powder coating. Any bag of any size qualifies as a single serving.

I put in a vote for plain Lay's. Hate the baked ones.

Last time I went to buy Lay's, the bag said "new improved flavor". Uh-oh, was my mental comment. They were inedibly salty. I switched to Utz and have never looked back. But I can't argue too much against plain Lay's.

-Paul W.

I'm partial to two kinds of potato chips (or crisps, if you're from the UK).

First the plain ones. I favor Utz brand, with Wachusett and Lay's coming in second place. Wise I find too greasy.

I equally like the New England kettle-style chips. Of these, my favorite is Mystic chips, made by Utz. The Utz home brand kettle-style chips I'd rank second, Anne's Nantucket potato chips third, and Cape Cod chips fourth.

I prefer to add salt and vinegar, or barbecue flavor, or ranch dressing, or whatnot, myself as a dip or garnish while I'm eating the chip, rather than buying chips that claim to have those flavors.

-Paul W.

I put in a vote for plain Lay's. Hate the baked ones.

Last time I went to buy Lay's, the bag said "new improved flavor". Uh-oh, was my mental comment. They were inedibly salty. I switched to Utz and have never looked back. But I can't argue too much against plain Lay's.

-Paul W.

Utz chips are the most delicate, simple chips I've ever tasted. That stated, I loved the Lay's dill pickle chip that was out last year but I think it was discontinued.

Drew

Anyone here remember when Charles Chips were delivered to your home in those big cans? Those were the best! Flavors as I recall were plain, BBQ and hickory smoked (my favorite).

I remember Charles Chips. I grew up in central Pennsylvania and they were made in southern Pennsylvania (est. 1942).

My favorite chips are Middleswarth BBQ chips (another regional Pennsylvanian chip), so favorite I'm afraid to visit home because I tend to eat them morning, noon and night. I could eat barrels of them. Please stop me before I eat them again....

I read the ingredients on the bag of the best potato chips I ever tasted: potatoes, lard, salt.

Oyez, oyez!!!! The only time I'll go for the flavored chips is when I'm at a railroad station buying a snack to hold until the moment is right and most of the damned rail stations in the world don't even know that non-flavored potato chips exist.

Best
Rogov

I equally like the New England kettle-style chips. Of these, my favorite is Mystic chips, made by Utz. The Utz home brand kettle-style chips I'd rank second, Paul W.

These are our current favorites as well. The best we've ever had were the Maui Chips found in Hawaii. I grew to my blinppest on them when stationed over there.

I equally like the New England kettle-style chips. Of these, my favorite is Mystic chips, made by Utz. The Utz home brand kettle-style chips I'd rank second, Paul W.

These are our current favorites as well. The best we've ever had were the Maui Chips found in Hawaii. I grew to my blinppest on them when stationed over there.

25th Infantry?

25th Infantry?

Air Force; Hickam AFB.