- 2 days ago
Today on Epicurious, we’ve asked professional chefs Bret Lunsford, Darrell Holder, and Brittney “Stikxz” Williams to give us their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent potato chip brands found on supermarket shelves. Which chips pack the most bang for your buck, and which should you avoid at all costs?
Discover more from Darrell Holder and find Leland Eating and Drinking House here:
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Website: https://www.lelandbrooklyn.com/
Discover more from Darrell Holder and find Leland Eating and Drinking House here:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/lelandbrooklyn/
Website: https://www.lelandbrooklyn.com/
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00We've gathered three potato chip experts to blind taste test every bag of potato chips
00:05we could get our hands on to see which ones meet their standards.
00:13Lay's Classic. I smelled that like classic potato chip smell the second this came out.
00:18You get the aroma of canola oil for sure. These chips look like they're quite porous.
00:24Color's good, kind of pale. So for me the perfect potato chip has to be crispy.
00:29Super thin, has a nice crunch to it. Not overly hard and difficult to chew but not so brittle and
00:36flaky
00:36that it turns into like potato powder before you eat it. You always want to make sure with your chip
00:40that you're looking for a great potato flavor. I want that natural earthy like right from the ground
00:45potato to come through. You want to make sure that you have a balanced flavor. As a chef salt is
00:50one
00:50of the most important ingredients that we have in our pantry. Just the perfect amount of salt
00:55really highlights and enhances that potato flavor. You're frying potato chips so there is a grease
01:00factor obviously but you don't want them overly greasy. I don't want to feel like I'm gonna ruin
01:04like a good shirt if I get it on me. We want to be able to thoroughly enjoy them with
01:08clean fingers.
01:10Okay, chip is not bad. This feels like a very standard potato chip, something I would expect to get all
01:15the time. Right off the back you get the crispiness. Pretty thin, begins to almost melt and evaporate in the
01:19mouth. Very potatoey. The salt flavor and balance is there. It's not overly salty. Not too much grease.
01:24I don't need to use my Jacquemus to dab off this oil. Could be a Lay's potato chip. I think
01:29these are Lay's.
01:31Lay's! I was right. America's classic. You can't really mess this one up. The industry giant when it
01:36comes to potato chips. So if you see like these little tiny bubbles, that's how I know that this was
01:41fried
01:41at a very high temperature for a short period of time. If you have too thick of a chip, it
01:46will absorb a lot of
01:47oil and become soggy. If you have too thin of a chip, it will curl up and fold upon itself
01:53and you
01:54won't have a nice flat chip like this. When making chips, you have a slew of potatoes that you can
02:00choose from. Most commercially produced potato chips are gonna be using the standard potato, which is
02:04the russet potato. Why? Because easier to grow, disease resistant. High starch, low sugar. You want
02:11the starch because that's gonna get nicer than that. It's like crisp factor you're looking for. But sugar,
02:14you want it there for flavoring and a little bit of coloration. So the russet is kind of that
02:18perfect golden child for potato. It's pretty much bred to be a potato chip. Lay's is that golden
02:23standard of chip. While they do use the russet potato, this is gonna be a little different than
02:26one we get in the grocery store. It's a variety of the russet potato. It's specifically made because
02:31this is what they want to use and it gives them the end product they're looking for.
02:39These slices are really big. It's definitely thicker than
02:42most chips that you will get in bags. Not as good as a snap. A little saltier.
02:47It melts in the mouth immediately. It's actually a very well-balanced chip. The saltiness,
02:51the potato flavor is actually counterbalancing really well with each other. If I had to guess,
02:56I would say this is probably Utz chips. UTZ. Utz. Utz. One of my favorite brands. I love their
03:02little mascot. This little girl, I've always liked her. Something about her kind of just like,
03:07like eat me, eat me. They are an umbrella company for so many other different brands of chips. This
03:12is a lot of different oils at one time. You got your cottonseed, your corn, and your sunflower.
03:16Whenever you're frying something at a high temperature, what you want is an oil that can
03:21withstand the temperature for a very long period of time without dipping or fluctuating because that
03:26can interrupt the cook and the doneness of the chips. At the end of the day, it's a consistent
03:31product and it tastes pretty great too. Wise original. It didn't get that initial like potato
03:39smell. Smaller potato. Probably a slightly thinner as well. Has a great crisp. You have some folded
03:45bad boys here too. That means like either the starch wasn't rinsed off as thoroughly as to where they
03:50kind of fold and they can stick to each other or the cooking vessels they're using is having a little
03:53bit more crowded so there's not much room just to lay flat. Great mouthfeel. Grease level minimal.
03:59We like a Picasso. Seeing that it's on the thinner side, I think that's why it's not as crispy because
04:03they would have to fry it longer which would make the chip a lot browner than it should be. It's
04:09not
04:09as dense as the last chip. Potato flavor. It's there but it's not super prominent. But it has this
04:15subtle sweetness that I really appreciate. I'm guessing Wise. Wise? Yay! So I was right. It's Wise original.
04:22Classic brand of chips. I mean if you're a 90s baby then you know Wise. I know that Wise particularly
04:27have a thinner chip than most companies on the market. You can tell that it's a Wise chip due to
04:33the curliness as you can see right here. When it's too thin it will fold onto itself. This one I'm
04:38already like kind of over it. Not for me. Pringles original. I think I know what these are just by
04:46look.
04:46The shape is a dead giveaway. It's way too uniform. The curl is extremely artificial. You can just see it.
04:54It's crunchy. Yes. I taste salt. I'm not getting potato. I remember.
05:03You have to do it right. Everyone did like the duck bill.
05:05You still look like a duck. You know?
05:09I don't love the process of how these chips are made. This chip has definitely been
05:13turned into kind of like a paste and put it through an extruder which shapes it into this
05:19particular shape and then they cook it. It's actually not greasy at all. Definitely Pringles.
05:23We're not going to lie about this one. I'm going to have a can thrown at me in any second
05:26with a
05:26little man with a little bow tie. Let's see them. Come here, buddy. I was right. It's Pringles.
05:31With the mustache man. Oh, not a bow tie. What is that effect called? The Mandela effect. I don't know.
05:35Are these actually classified as potato chips? They call them potato crisps.
05:40Crisps. Huh? Huh? They're all the exact same shape, the exact same size, the exact same color. This is
05:45like an Orwellian kind of like nightmare a little bit. You lose the identity of whatever product you're
05:49making when you put it through such a vigorous production as you would to make a Pringle. You are
05:54gaining things like they stack well, they travel well, they have cute little cases you can put them in
05:58your lunchbox with. I'd just rather a real potato that's been sliced, fried, and salted. I hate these.
06:07Kettle sea salt. These are thick. If I had to guess, I would say these are kettle cooked. Kettle
06:12cooked tend to have a harder, rigid surface. This has a little more personality again. Fold it over
06:17here and a brownie on the side a little bit. Nice crunch. Not too salty. And not too big on
06:24the
06:24potato either. Slightly oily. When I'm eating a kettle chip, the first thing that comes to mind is that
06:28this is stale because of just how hard and crispy it is. Kettle cooked chips are cooked in a very
06:33particular
06:33manner. A kettle is like a large bat, typically made of copper. Copper can hold heat exceptionally well
06:40and for a longer period of time. When you're kettle cooking something, the temperature dips, rises,
06:46changes constantly. These are thicker chips. You want that thickness because it will be able to withstand
06:54the varying degrees of temperature. I'm not too sure on brand, but I would 100% say that this is
06:59a
06:59kettle cooked chip. Kettle, obviously. Great. Our first kettle chip would be kettle. Kettle brand potato chips,
07:05sea salt. The chips themselves, since they're cut thicker, will be heavier, but also when that oil
07:09temperature changes so much, the grease will cling on to the potatoes more than if it was just a standard
07:14frying the entire time. It definitely results in a harder texture. Cape Cod original sea salt. These are
07:23really cutesy. Much smaller. They're not too oily. This is not a bad chip. Potato flavor comes to the
07:29forefront. Crunch is good on it. Saltier than most kettle chips, which is amazing to me. The oil is not
07:35overwhelming my palate. You want your chip to be crunchy. You want it to have that nice loud crunch. Is
07:40this a loud crunch? The answer is yes for me. Like you want that type of audible like ASMR like
07:46moment. Are
07:48these Cape Cod? Cape Cod kettle chips. The perfect kettle chip. With sea salt, so you know it's fancy.
07:55Crunchy, potato-y, perfectly salty, not too much oil. Their oils are very, very pure in this one.
08:00Vegetable oil, canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, and then sea salt. The oils themselves aren't going to
08:05come through and overpower this chip, which is why you're tasting the potato on it. Very good. They are
08:09made with the kinnebak potato, which is a russet variety. They have a more pungent potato flavor. It comes
08:15through a lot better than your normal Idaho or Atlantic style spud. My first kettle chip was
08:23Cape Cod, and it's what made me a believer in the first place. I'm not saying I would go out
08:27and buy
08:28these, but they're in front of me. I would eat them. Market Pantry, classic potato chips. These have
08:35a lot of personality to them. Has those air pockets. Which will tell you that this was actually thinner
08:40and it puffed up during the frying process. Great crispiness. It's pretty perfectly salted.
08:46You're not getting a big potato punch when you, when you bite into your chip. It's a little bit
08:50greasier than the rest of them. I can feel the coating of the oil on my tongue. I would say
08:54that
08:55this is definitely a store brain chip. Maybe a Target. Market Pantry, classic potato chip. It is the
09:02Target brand. Even though this is Target's budget brand, this is a decent chip. I think with store brands,
09:08they always are looking for some type of value thing. So sometimes you can take cuts. In a place
09:12like Lay's, they have the ability to really have like gigantic spaces. They're fully invested. They
09:16make sure all the potatoes are the same, which gives you a more consistent product. This one,
09:20I would say like they're probably not as invested. And so you get to have a little bit more personality
09:24in the chips. There's like folds. They're using larger potatoes. So maybe they're getting a better
09:28deal. The oil tastes fine to me. Corn is one of the most neutral flavored oils and it has a
09:33high
09:33smoke point. It has great texture. It has great crisps. Just not too salty and it's underwhelming
09:39as far as potato flavor. San Carlo classic. Different shapes. We got big ones. We got small
09:47ones. So a little variety, which sometimes that can affect the cooking. Hi guys. They have a great
09:52crisp to them. It dissolves pretty easily because of how thin they were sliced. The potato flavor of this
09:58guy. I don't love. Salt content is okay. It could be a little bit more for me. Yeah. This is
10:04a very
10:04bland chip actually. But what I don't like is how they each eat differently. It's not a consistent
10:09bag of chips. And you can kind of see too, that's some real caramelization happening on the edges
10:12right here. A lot of browning. This is from like either overcooking. It could just be oxidation from
10:16the potato before they cooked it, or it could be the sugars that overcook and leave a bitter taste. I
10:20would
10:20say that this company is definitely using a different oil blend. This is San Carlo. Rome,
10:27an Italian brand potato chip. It says Italy's number one potato chip. Doesn't taste like a
10:32potato chip to me. Using palm oil. So palm oil is just another one of those very neutral oils that
10:37a lot of companies use. It's on the cheaper side, but one of the downsides of using palm oil is
10:43that
10:43it's not as stable as using a canola or vegetable oil. Bonilla alla vista, patatas fritas. The air
10:54pockets and these are outstanding. These are very like little delicate little butterflies. Oil is
11:00light. Even in color. Great crisp. One of the best crisps we've had on a chip so far. Something almost
11:06tasted lemony to me for some reason. I don't know what that was. Terrible tasting chip though. Not as
11:10salty. You don't get that much oil on your fingers, which is great. Everything about it has this like airy,
11:16very like quality to it that I kind of want a little bit more like to my chips I think.
11:20This chip is highly flavored from whatever oil is being used to fry it. I want to say that it's
11:26olive oil. When a potato chip is like a pure potato chip that like the factors are just so small
11:30between like the oil and the potato variety and the salt. Any little tweak could change the flavor.
11:35I don't think this is an American made company. Oh my god. Oh my god. Like I'm going painting with
11:41this
11:42thing. What is this? Bonilla alla vista. Our main ingredient is enthusiasm. Maybe that's what I was
11:46tasting. Ah, sliced potatoes, olive oil, salt. That is it. Unfortunately, all you get is olive oil when you
11:53eat these. Maybe that's what lemony flavor I was tasting is like fruitiness from like an olive oil will
11:57give you that. So this brand uses glycine potatoes, which is a Spanish potato. That is going to impart a
12:03lot of differences from what we're used to. That's a very rural potato that's not used commercially
12:09around the world. This is obviously a fancier potato chip with the olive oil and like look at this
12:14packaging and like, you know, it's like trying to portray this elegance to this potato chip for
12:18sure. The high price point is probably due to the fact that they're one, they're using a locally produced
12:22potato and also they're using olive oil. I mean, that's a very expensive oil.
12:28Lay's Kettle Cooked Original. These look at first glance like another batch of kettle chips.
12:34Extremely crispy. The other ones were cooked a little bit harder. I think this
12:39Kettle Chip is a little lighter in flavor overall. Thinner than your normal Kettle Chip. This one
12:44tastes a little bit more potato forward overall. I think the balance of salt is a little bit better
12:48in this option. These are not as oily as the others. Lay's Kettle Cooked. They're the potato chip giant,
12:55so it makes sense that they making Kettle Cooked chips. Why not tap into every market so that you can
13:00be
13:00relevant in every market? One of the things I hate about Kettle Chips is their thickness.
13:04So the fact that Lay's took that into mind and made a thinner Kettle Chip, I think they're doing
13:09right. I think they broadened their audience by doing that. They're good, not gonna lie. But I do
13:14prefer the classic Lay's chip for sure. Not as bad. I mean, I'll have more than one.
13:19So what you're saying is you love Kettle Chips?
13:22No.
13:27Vandy. Classic Potato Chips.
13:30These are obviously a little darker than the other ones we've had so far.
13:32I like the caramelization look of them though. Caramelization is whenever heat activates in
13:37sugar. So the sugar granules themselves become brown is the browning of sugars, which creates
13:41a sweeter flavor. But if you go too long, it becomes very burnt and not delicious. This is a
13:45very thick cut chip. So just by the feel that's like super crispy. I do not like these. This one
13:52has a little fattier content to it, I think. This has such an astringent flavor. Kind of like a
13:57roasty, smoky taste. It almost tastes like a weird like old fried chicken. It breaks down very easily
14:03in your mouth. Don't really taste potato flavor with this one. So far, this is definitely my least
14:07favorite potato chip. I definitely think that this chip is probably on the higher end of chips. Does
14:13KFC make potato chips? Vandy. More on the fancier side. There's even a little butler on the back.
14:19Cornelius Vanderbilt accidentally invented the potato chip. Lies. So this is fried in beef tallow.
14:25Oh, that's the flavor I'm getting. Beef tallow is pretty much just, you know,
14:30rendered beef fat. This is what we're talking about, like when you have those three factors
14:34only, potato, fat, and salt. If you move one of those levers in a weird way, it kind of overtakes
14:39everything. Beef tallow will change the flavor of your chip because you're imparting actual animal fat.
14:45You have some fat that's like really good for you, like close to the muscle, like on a ribeye,
14:49you want that fat on it. But all the excess fat, you're going to trim off and it kind of
14:52has like,
14:53kind of like cloudy, like ripply to it. You grind it up, melt it down. And that's like really
14:57sought after because that fat does also have a high smoke point. The fried chicken I was tasting
15:03is because of this beef tallow. I'm going to guess that this company is not producing any beef
15:08products of any kind. So that means they're bringing in the beef tallow. So that makes it kind of a
15:13little more on the pricier side of things. You can also just see like how greasy this is in general.
15:17Oil is getting all over the bag at this point. So their beautiful packaging is now covered up in my
15:21little fingy grease and beef tallow. Look, it's like like almost like a little Jack and Rose in
15:26the Titanic moment of like the hand on the thing. It's kind of happening on this bag right now.
15:29This bag, like the heart of the ocean, can sink to the bottom of the Atlantic. Not for me.
15:36Taurus Selector, Mediterranean salt. These chips are like beautifully golden. Seems to be very small
15:42potatoes being used at this company just because. Pretty much see through this chip. Definitely like a
15:47little higher on the grease content for sure. Definitely can feel it. It's actually crispier
15:52than expected. It chew, it melts, it evaporates, which is nice. You definitely get that potato flavor
15:57in there. The more I eat it, like the more I can feel the oil coating my tongue. If I
16:02had to guess,
16:02I would say maybe sunflower is being used in this. Taurus! Another European chip. Mediterranean sea salt,
16:10premium potato chips. Is this also a Spanish potato? It's from Barcelona, Spain. The same other Spanish
16:15potato we had earlier. Potato almost tasted different. Ingredients, potatoes, sunflower oil,
16:21salt. I was 1000% correct. It's using solely sunflower oil. You kind of get that nutty, buttery kind of
16:28flavor profile. This particular brand is using Mediterranean sea salt, which has a more pungent
16:35flavor to it. So it's like tapping into its terroir. While we're getting these potatoes here, we're using
16:40the sunflower oil. We're actually using the salt from the Mediterranean. It's kind of like a
16:45all-encompassing chip. Lase-baked original. We are now in the bake zone. These are baked potato chips.
16:54This is not a real potato. I can just tell by the way it looks. Pringle-esque. A very uniform
16:59shape
17:00amongst all the chips. They just kind of look how they're going to taste, which is going to be
17:04healthier, but also like kind of cardboardy. Not crispy at all. Virtually no oil coming off of this.
17:10The baking process is you're going to leave it with a more of a dry mouthfeel.
17:14That is sweet. That's not what I look forward to when I'm eating a chip.
17:19It turns into like dust almost a second. It goes to the mouth.
17:21Crunchy, yes, but dissolves extremely fast. Not a lot of potato flavor.
17:25I don't think these were fried. There's like an absence of oil.
17:28With a fry, you're going to fully submerge your potatoes into oil. And it's a hot temperature.
17:33This is a pure dry cooking method, baking. It just has radiant heat that hits it,
17:37usually in convection, which means airflow is also added to the process.
17:40Is this the Lase-baked chips? I would say this is a Lase-baked.
17:43Is this the Lase-baked? I was right! Lase-baked chips.
17:47100% crispy goodness. The great benefit from baked chips is that you get less fat.
17:52This one is like health conscious and worries about you, but is not going to be fun at parties.
17:56I personally would just eat a regular bag of chips, but just in lesser quantities.
18:00It's a no for me, dawg.
18:06Surprise, surprise! More kettle cooked chips.
18:08So many different shapes of chips here.
18:10Definitely on the thinner side for kettle cooked chips.
18:14These are tasty.
18:15Super crunch on these guys, for sure.
18:17I'm actually surprised at how much flavor it has.
18:19Very natural flavor, too. I'm tasting a lot of potato.
18:21Perfectly salted for my taste buds. I love these.
18:24Definitely not over oily.
18:25I definitely would say that they're using a different oil on the Fridays.
18:28I think this is going to be some sort of like vegetable or seed oil.
18:30Delicious and buttery.
18:32Oh my god.
18:33I'm embarrassed.
18:34On behalf of all of my family back in New Orleans, I'm so sorry.
18:38I should have done this one right away.
18:39Zapps. I know these guys.
18:41A little crawfish baby up here, holding a little potato chip.
18:44Fleur-de-lis all over it.
18:45Oh, peanut oil!
18:46Utz ended up buying the Zapps potato chip.
18:49How many chip brands do you guys need, Utz?
18:51This is, for me, like my benchmark on a good kettle chip.
18:56Kitchen cooked classic.
18:59These look strange to me. I don't know what it is.
19:02Not too oily, which is always a good thing.
19:05It kind of has like this dull crunch to it, which I'm not a fan of.
19:08So these like melt nicely. Very salty.
19:10I feel like the potato flavor kind of gets lost in the kettle cooking process.
19:14These feel a little bit more, I don't want to say lower quality, but I just did.
19:19Classic potato chips, kitchen cooked. Never heard of this brand.
19:22They got absorbed into the Utz company.
19:25Should I start my own chip brand for Utz to pick me up too?
19:28So with cotton, palm, peanut, a lot of oil flavoring is kind of overtaking things over here.
19:32It's a hard no for me on these.
19:34I'm not like angry at this guy.
19:36Anytime there's a little mascot on it, I'm not gonna be mad at it.
19:38And they got a little cute little kettle who's like feeding himself potatoes.
19:41I think we're all this little potato kettle at some point in our lives.
19:45Terra Blues with sea salt.
19:47They're so different.
19:48So these are definitely purple potatoes.
19:50Sweet potato varietal.
19:52A chip like this using a sweet potato or another type of tuber kind of makes you feel like you're
19:56doing something fancier.
19:57Virtually no oil is coming off on my finger, which is great.
20:01The sweetness for me gets a little bit overwhelming and overpowering.
20:04It's not as earthy as a russet potato would be.
20:07This is a super bland chip, extremely under seasoned.
20:10I forget the name of the brand.
20:12I can see the bag right now.
20:13They come in the black bag.
20:15Terra vegetable chips, blue potato.
20:18Real vegetable chips with sea salt.
20:20I barely taste any salt on these chips whatsoever.
20:23The color kind of throws me off.
20:24When you see a purple blue potato, you automatically think it's gonna be sweet.
20:28I would not be mad if someone handed these to me, but it would not be my first pick.
20:34Miss Vicky's sea salt potato chips.
20:37Back to regularly scheduled programming.
20:39These first glance look to be kettle.
20:41I've never smelled a chip that smelled burn before this.
20:46Whoa, powerful crunch.
20:47I can almost like not really taste potato in these because it's so salty.
20:51Slightly oily, nothing too bad.
20:53I can't use it as lip gloss, so that's a great sign.
20:56Not a fan.
20:56These might be the saltiest ones I've had so far.
20:58I do need some water though.
20:59Sometimes I feel like companies would use over salt in their product to kind of
21:03hide the fact that it's not a very high quality product that they're using.
21:06What you trying to hide?
21:09Miss Vicky's sea salt original.
21:11We can ease up on a salt, please.
21:13These have this like nice golden color throughout them.
21:16Higher temperatures in the oil and the longer time the chip is in there can lead to more browning
21:20in color.
21:21I usually love Miss Vicky's.
21:22This is so sad for me.
21:25Howl's New York.
21:26Kettle chips original sea salt.
21:28Seems like a standard crispy chip.
21:30Larger in size.
21:31Almost as big as my head.
21:33Very strong crunch.
21:35Of all the chips I've had, this one has the most flavor.
21:39This one kind of reminds me of that Lay's kettle we had earlier.
21:42Salt is pretty balanced as far as with the chip.
21:44Not too big on the potato flavor.
21:46Not getting a lot of residue on me, so like oil-wise is not bad.
21:50Howl's from New York, baby.
21:51You see these in just about every bodega in the city.
21:54Howl's, it's like no frills, no hiding, no excess anything.
21:58It's just pretty straightforward, but like done well.
22:01I respect Howl's.
22:04Good & Gather, kettle cooked.
22:07I know these are kettle.
22:08Nice snap for sure.
22:09These are a lot more golden.
22:11So either sugar content or frying time or temperature on this guy.
22:15Not too greasy.
22:17The crispiness is nice.
22:19Another salty one.
22:19Potato flavor is there.
22:21It's not as pungent as I would like it to be.
22:24Weird aftertaste.
22:25This is a store brand.
22:26Good & Gather.
22:27Target brand again.
22:28Kettle cooked sea salt potato chips.
22:31Good & Gather is a little bit more elevated.
22:32Very similar to the Lay's potato kettle chips.
22:35I find that when they're on a thinner side, I tend to enjoy them more.
22:39This is, you know, standard, affordable, decent chip.
22:46Wegmans kettle cooked.
22:48Definitely crispy.
22:49You get a good break when you're breaking it.
22:51Natural type of cut.
22:52You can see some skin on it.
22:53It's not too oily.
22:56Good snap.
22:57Decent crunch.
22:57This is one of the first kettle chips that I've had where you can taste that it's actually a
23:02potato that you're eating.
23:03Could use a scotch more salt.
23:05Mouth wise, like I'm not getting a lot of like oil slick action happening by any means.
23:09I'm gonna go avocado oil perhaps in this.
23:11I feel like this could be an off brand.
23:14Weggies, AKA Wegmans.
23:16This bag is a lot of fun.
23:18It's tie-dye, which is a vibe.
23:20And it's made with avocado oil.
23:22The special things about avocado oil is when it has a high smoke point, it could take higher
23:27temperatures better than a lot of other oils, less saturated fat, stuff like that.
23:31And the taste is virtually non-existent.
23:34So you can use it in a lot of different applications without having to worry about the flavor of the
23:40actual oil in the dish.
23:41It's a good backup dancer, as it were, for the oils.
23:46Siete, sea salt.
23:47Natural cut on these guys, having the skin on.
23:51Texture feels really nice.
23:53It breaks really well.
23:55I love a crunchy chip.
23:57I'm not getting any potato.
23:59But it's kind of clean.
24:00Very lightly salted, not a lot of flavor.
24:04Siete!
24:04Sea salt potato chips made with avocado oil.
24:08It's not giving me that buttery richness that the other avocado oil kettle chip did.
24:17Kettle, sea salt with pink peppercorn.
24:19What are these speckles on here?
24:21They're seasoned with something other than salt.
24:23I might have potato hallucinations at this point, but I'm seeing little tiny things going on.
24:28Very hard textures.
24:29It breaks clean though, which makes me know that it was an even cook.
24:34That's what we like to call flavor.
24:36Wow.
24:37What a palate cleanser.
24:38That is not just sea salt.
24:39It's like oniony.
24:40There's like definitely some type of pepper action happening.
24:42It's definitely kettle cooked.
24:43It's not too oily.
24:44Salt, almost perfect.
24:46But the flavor, I'm not mad at.
24:48That's the moneymaker right there.
24:50There's a bit of umami flavor to it.
24:51Oniony, garlicky, if you don't feel greasy.
24:53Crunch is nice.
24:55Ah, the kettle brand.
24:56Made with avocado oil, sea salt,
24:59and a hint of pink peppercorn.
25:01So pink peppercorn, but also the garlic powder, onion powder, yeast extract,
25:04which kind of gives that umami flavor.
25:05But it doesn't taste peppery at all.
25:07I think the pink peppercorn part of this is more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
25:13For me, this seasoning is so subtle.
25:16It doesn't constitute like a flavor chip.
25:18Like if you were to have like barbecue where it just like really
25:21smacks you across the face.
25:23It's like these small little speckles.
25:26Whereas like if it's a flavored chip,
25:28you'd see the whole coating on one side where you could barely see the potato itself.
25:33When you have an aisle that's full of bags,
25:35you got to do everything you can to make people want to grab your bag or everybody else.
25:38Big fan.
25:41Trader Joe's dark russet.
25:43You burnt them.
25:44Y'all handed me burnt potato chips.
25:46They smell burnt.
25:47They almost smell like maple-y, which tells me that there is a high sugar content in this.
25:52It definitely fried this.
25:53But I hope that it doesn't have that weird burnt taste to it.
25:57Oh my god.
25:59Uh-uh.
25:59That tastes burnt.
26:00Sorry.
26:02Is there a brand purposely overcooking chips?
26:05Okay.
26:06Ugh.
26:07So this is what happens when you cook potato chips too long and the sugar begins to get burnt
26:12and not caramelized.
26:14I'm going to say it was on purpose, but yeah, I'm not a fan of these.
26:17I don't know if I had just one really bad chip.
26:19So hold on, before I say what I'm about to say, let me just eat one more.
26:23What's crazy is that it's getting worse as the time goes by.
26:28No, this is the worst chip I've had so far today.
26:31Burn it in a fire.
26:32I don't know if you can burn it more.
26:33Do people eat these?
26:34Issa, no.
26:35I'm so sorry to whatever company this is.
26:37Trader Joe's is going to be my guess.
26:41Dark Russet.
26:42Trader Joe's.
26:43So that was right.
26:44They are Trader Joe's.
26:46Trader Joseph, what are you doing?
26:47Are they calling it Dark Russet because they cook it till it's really dark?
26:51I ain't going to have therapy after this bag.
26:53Cooked longer.
26:54This must be one of those trendy things.
26:55Maybe I'm not hip bet, fam.
26:57You know, chat, smash it down in the comments below,
26:59which I'll think about Dark Russet chips.
27:01What happens when you burn sugar?
27:02It becomes bitter, right?
27:03And that's what you get in these chips.
27:06Thank you, but no thank you.
27:10Otz Dark Russets.
27:12This looks like another Dark Russet variety.
27:15No, thank you.
27:16Not as dark as the previous entry, but still on the way darker side than a chip should be.
27:23Ah, so this is what Trader Joe's Dark Russets want to taste like.
27:27Nice caramelization.
27:28That's good.
27:29Salt was nice.
27:30Good snap.
27:31This gives like the bottom of the bag french fries.
27:35Where it's like delicious, crunchy.
27:36You can still taste the potato.
27:38Fantastic.
27:39This is okay.
27:39This is still a good level.
27:40It's there without being crazy overdone.
27:43That's my guys.
27:45It's Utz.
27:46Dark Russet.
27:47Utz is one of the giants, you know.
27:48If they're going to do something, they're going to make sure and do it right.
27:50So this is the one from Utz and this is the one from Trader Joe's.
27:53To me, this was really, really too dark.
27:55You can see just by like the time you're cooking, like how much sugar begins to caramelize
28:00and how much that can change the flavor of it.
28:02There's a little sweet at the front, a little bitter at the end.
28:05I like it.
28:06I mean, there is a fine little tap dance between being burnt and charred.
28:09It's literally a five to ten degree difference.
28:15Graza, extra virgin olive oil.
28:17Very, very thin.
28:19Very, very brittle.
28:20Very crispy.
28:21I like it.
28:22So light, so airy.
28:23You're getting potato.
28:24This is my preferred level of salt on a chip.
28:26Definitely more oil forward than the last two I've had.
28:29Different oils can impart different colors.
28:31This is probably one of the prettier chips I've seen today.
28:33Is this olive oil?
28:35The name of the chip is called Graza.
28:39It's a huge, like very trendy olive oil right now.
28:42That I personally use in my kitchen.
28:43So this is an extra virgin olive oil potato chip.
28:47I mean, they're right.
28:48Extra crispy, it sure is.
28:49Product of Spain.
28:51Oh, it's slow fried.
28:52So the approach with this company might be very similar to cooking kettle chips, small batches.
28:58Only difference that varies is that they're doing theirs low and slow versus kettle chips,
29:04where they're doing it kind of like high and fast.
29:07So when you slow fry something, you're allowing the oil to pretty much seep in to that ingredient.
29:13No, it's not oily in texture, but when you eat it, it definitely comes forward more.
29:19These are those Galician potatoes, which is that same Spanish variety of potato.
29:22So it's going to have that same terroir of potato from Spain and the slightly different variety from our russets.
29:27I would recommend, and I would definitely try again.
29:32Snyder's of Berlin original.
29:34Very run-of-the-mill looking chip.
29:36It's a very light chip.
29:37Different size, got some folds on them, so they're not like perfectly made, which is nice, you know.
29:42Definitely back to regular plain chips.
29:44It's like lightly crispy, where you're not getting the loud crunches.
29:48Not very salty, not much residue coming off of my fingers.
29:51You can taste the potato.
29:52It has like a weird aftertaste.
29:54Maybe store brand regular plain potato chips.
29:58Danke, Sean.
29:59Snyder of Berlin.
30:01Of Berlin.
30:02PA.
30:02Oh, Pennsylvania.
30:03Interesting.
30:03Yet another brand that's been absorbed by big potato chip.
30:08So they're using a blend of cotton seed, corn, canola, sunflower, and safflower.
30:14It could be the mix of the sunflower and safflower that's giving it a little bit of a bitter taste
30:18to it.
30:19Unfortunately, a slightly forgettable potato chip.
30:21I don't know if I would even remember having this one.
30:25Whole Foods Organic Sea Salt.
30:27The color tone on these are perfectly golden.
30:30Great snap.
30:31Wow, look at that one.
30:33Like a little Pac-Man action happened.
30:36Not too greasy.
30:38It has a great crunch.
30:40The potato flavor is like kind of muted.
30:41It's there, but it's not there.
30:43But I also wouldn't say like it's like overly salty either.
30:46Aftertaste, this isn't for me a crushable chip.
30:49Sorry now, sorry.
30:50365 Whole Foods.
30:52Organic Sea Salt potato chips.
30:54You guys can do better than this.
30:56That's a very Whole Foods-y thing to do with saying like organic and sea salt.
30:59A lot of people, they see organic and they automatically pick it up because of that.
31:03But is it really good for you?
31:05Debatable.
31:08Haas, crisp and tasty.
31:10Your standard frying potato right here.
31:12It's a thin, thin, thin chip.
31:14Not too oily.
31:16Decent crunch.
31:17Not very big on the potato flavor.
31:19Salt is there.
31:20Could be balanced a little bit more.
31:22It's not hitting any flavor notes.
31:24Huh, hers.
31:25So I'm actually surprised this is hers.
31:27A lot of chips made in PA.
31:29Crisp and tasty.
31:30It's crisp, but it ain't tasty.
31:31I feel like hers was better than this when I was a kid.
31:34Another one of those like Lay's-esque potato chips, what they're trying to do here.
31:38I feel like this chip just falls flat on a lot of different criteria.
31:44Great value, salted original.
31:46Not as golden as I would like, but still pretty.
31:51A very plain chip.
31:53Instead of having a clean snap, it just like crumbles into your hands.
31:56The salt is there though.
31:57They salted nicely.
31:58I'm not getting a lot of like potato flavors when I eat this.
32:01It's a little oily.
32:02There's nothing standing out for this.
32:04It's just a regular chip.
32:05I'm stumped here because it tastes familiar.
32:07I think this is a great value.
32:09Walmart.
32:10Here we are.
32:11Great value, Walmart indeed.
32:13Classic chips, you have so much leeway with them.
32:16Like they don't have to be astounding.
32:18They don't have to stand out.
32:20If you have a lower quality ingredient, sometimes you will like raise the volume
32:22on something else to kind of quiet and hide the poor quality ingredients.
32:26So either by over cooking and making it darker flavors or over salting.
32:29Those are all practices used by potato chip companies in order to fix certain things
32:35that they might find that's lacking in certain departments.
32:39Trader Joe's, ode to the classic.
32:42Very fun in different shapes.
32:44Strong variety over here.
32:45A little bit light on the fry.
32:47It's not as golden.
32:48That was a weak crunch.
32:50I can taste potato.
32:50Good salt, but it's definitely flavored by whatever oil it was fried in.
32:55It's another unintentional chip.
32:57I'm going to go with the store brand.
32:59Is this Trader Joe's version?
33:00Just not burnt?
33:02Trader Joe's.
33:03I don't know, man.
33:03Every Trader Joe's chip I've had so far has just not been to my liking.
33:07Ode to the classic potato chip.
33:09So I think there's something to be said about staying the course of being in the middle,
33:13where you're not too salty or you're not too sweet or you're not too bitter.
33:18They're not revolutionizing the potato chip game.
33:20But yeah, this is down the road, classic, reliable.
33:23I'm not going to take it to prom, but it's solid.
33:26Yeah, good for you, Trader Joseph.
33:27Now let's see which potato chips our experts liked the most and the least.
33:32Tasted a lot of chips today.
33:33I think overall my favorite is how to stand by.
33:35You know, you can't beat your classic Lay's potato chip.
33:37It is like the gold standard of potatoes.
33:39Obviously Lay's is always going to be one of my favorites just for nostalgia purposes.
33:44Perfectly crisp, but has the density.
33:47Salt content is perfectly balanced.
33:49Not too greasy, but keeps you coming back for more.
33:52It's just a solid chip.
33:54They did a great job with their kettle chip too, honestly.
33:56Like I was surprised.
33:56I never had it.
33:57I'm a kettle chip guy and like I really, really appreciated that one.
34:00Cape Cod is a classic kettle chip as well.
34:02Salt contents there, crispiness is there.
34:05Another one of my favorites was the Kettle brand Pink Peppercorn.
34:09Flavor on top of flavor without really taking away from the chip itself.
34:12And for me, that's powerful.
34:14And it says a lot about the product that they pushed out there.
34:16So the ones that I didn't like the most was definitely the Trader Joe's version of the
34:22dark russet potato chips.
34:24Just way too dark.
34:25Couldn't taste the potato flavor at all.
34:27Get them out of here.
34:28I don't like overproduced things and Pringles is definitely in that category of being overproduced.
34:33Pringles aren't even a chip.
34:35It's just a hodgepodge of different ingredients molded together.
34:39Kind of tastes like, you know, potato powder in a can.
34:41Walking down an aisle of chips can be a little daunting and overwhelming, but three factors.
34:48That's all you really, really, truly need.
34:50You have your potatoes, you have your frying oil and your salt.
34:53They are one of those snacks that goes with every occasion, no matter what it is.
34:57Pick what works for you.
34:58For me, I would get the like a pure honest potato chip.
35:01There's nothing wrong with the classic Lay's.
35:02If you're looking for something more health conscious, they have that.
35:05But be aware and be careful of the gimmicky things they're trying to get you with.
35:09Honest, clean potatoes at the end is really what you're looking for.
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