REVIEW: Ruffles Ultimate – Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips  (notable)

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Comments:

“Now With Deeper Ridges”?!?!?

Ruffles Ultimate wavy ripple potato chips were already what Chip Review has declared the deepest ripple-y-ridged potato chips we had ever laid lips on, and now they are supposed to be even more wavy???  Wow!  That’s all there is to say about that “WOW!”.  Sadly, upon opening said ‘Deeper Ridged’ potato chip bag, we came to discover that these Ruffles were no Ultimate, or deeper ridged, than any of the other flavors we had tasted.  That being said, the Ruffles chip ripples are so deep that our tongues could barely reach the bottoms of their potato chip canyons!

These Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins mark the fourth flavor of Ruffles Ultimate potato chips that we have tasted and reviewed.  So far, we would rank them as number three, among the four, right behind Kickin’ Jalapeno Ranch and Sweet & Smokin’ BBQ, and ahead of Tangy Honey Mustard respectfully.  Like all of the flavors before them, these chips do not go lightly on the seasoning, however, the flavor recipe is only satisfactory at best.  All of the necessary flavor components are present, but together, the combination, underwhelms.  We taste a lot of smooth sour cream, some bland cheddar cheese, some onion, representing the chives, and then of course, the fake, sweet, smoky and salty bacon aspect (that always reminds us of Baco Bits).

One small detail, or issue, that a handful of us at Chip Review had with these chips, was something we like to call “false advertising”.  Maybe more accurately, “slightly misleading advertising”.  You see, there has to be some reason that Ruffles would deliberately enlarge and highlight the two ingredients BACON & CHEDDAR apart from the Loaded Potato Skins flavor name.  Why?  Because those two ingredients are the best!  And, Ruffles had us believe that were to be accentuated and emboldened, but alas, the chips are simply fake smoky, sour cream and cheddar potato chip.  Eatable yes, but not very reminiscent of the warm, fatty, cohesive, and ultra comforting loaded potato skins!

In the end, at the very least, Ruffles Ultimate chips sure are a lot of fun for our mouths to crunch on.  However, we will forever prefer a bag of Ruffles good old original ‘The Works’ over these any day of the week!

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

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©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

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REVIEW: Ruffles Ultimate – Tangy Honey Mustard Potato Chips

Rating: ©©© chips  (notable)

Comments:

Does everyone remember the old catch phrase “Ruffles have Ridges”?  Well, with Ruffles Ultimate line of potato chips they are definitely delivering on that promise, and holding nothing back.  In fact, these potato chips have the deepest, most wavy ridges that Chip Review can ever remember having.  Careful, these ripples are so deep that your tongue could possibly get lost in their potato chip canyons!

Similar to the first two Ruffles Ultimate chip flavors that debuted a while ago now, these Tangy Honey Mustard chips most definitely do not skimp on the seasoning.  However, if we are being completely honest here, we did not like these nearly as much as the Kickin’ Jalapeno Ranch or the Sweet & Smokin’ BBQ flavors.

The reason for our aversion towards this flavor has much more to do with flavor integration than it does with execution, because truth be told these do taste like good honey mustard.  We really appreciate that Ruffles has chosen a more pungent, dark yellow mustard to pair with the honey rather than the far too tame, and mellow bright yellow mustard that most of the U.S. associates with mustard.  Combined with a soft, and not overbearing or cloyingly sweet honey flavor, what results is a tasty honey mustard flavor.

In our opinion, most potato chips are not a very good medium for honey mustard flavor.  Like we said above, we like the flavor, and these Ultimate, thicker and crunchier potato chips are great to crunch on, but the combination does not work well at all.  There is a reason why pretzels are always served with mustard.  A pretzel’s hearty, sourdough body is able to counterbalance the powerful honey mustard flavor, but the docile potato chips are too meek of a vehicle for the flavor, and in our opinion it felt like we were shoveling honey and mustard into our mouths using potato chip spoons.  And maybe some of you would like that, but not us.

As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list