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REVIEW: Lundberg Multigrain Chips – Mojave Jalapeno

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Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips  (lip-smacking)

Lundberg Multigrain - Mojave Jalapenof

Comments:

Dear Lundberg Family: we just want to know what exactly gave you the idea to take every grain from the family farm, and combine them all into one unusual chip?  Was it because you had an excess of flax, chia and quinoa this season?  Or, was it because someone made a mistake?  Or, were you simply trying to make a positive, health conscientious, innovative, hearty and most definitely tasty, multigrain chip??  We’re pretty certain that it is most likely the latter!

Two things we know for certain with these new chips from Lundberg Farms:

1) These multigrain chips are without a doubt the most grainy grainsters (it’s a word, trust us..) that we have tasted, probably ever.

2) These multigrain chips are without a doubt the spiciest chips that we have tasted in quite some time.

We could tell even before chomping into the thick, rectangular chips that they consisted of more than just the standard Lundberg brown rice combination.  In fact, according to the bag these chips include: rice, quinoa, amaranth, corn, millet, garbanzo beans, chia, flax, and the list goes on.  And while some may think that by including so many different grains into one chip that Lundberg Family Farms is just throwing grains in for the wow factor, but we’re going to tell you that the chip texture and flavor really works. The semi-thick chips have a really different mouth feel to them.  They have a crispy, soft-crunch, and almost crumble in the mouth like a cracker.  Then some of the more seedy, crunchy grains like quinoa, chia and flax act almost like a caviar embedded within the chips, adding a surprisingly nice textural pop to them.

Alright, we surrender.  Lundberg Family, what are you trying to do to us?!?  Holy tongue burning do these multigrain chips ever have an spicy heat that builds and builds and builds…..  Complete honesty here, we have not tasted any chips this spicy in….we have no clue how long.  On the back of the bag is reads “the spicy fusion of grains and jalapeno peppers make this chip unique,” and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!  However, to only describe, and refer to, these chips as spicy, would be doing them a grave injustice.  The chips are all at once earthy, spicy, herbal, sweet, and when paired with the grainy, heavy chip texture, really tasty!   The supporting team of rosemary and garlic really help to round out the flavor profile.

Plain and simple, these are some of the most unique chips we have tasted in a while, and let’s be honest here, we have tried so, so many jalapeno chips recently, that it is really nice to taste something that strays outside of the conventional jalapeno lines.  Do yourself a favor and give these a try if you see them at your local grocer.

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

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REVIEW: Food Should Taste Good – Ancho Chile Kettle Cooked Sweet Potato Chips

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Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

Food Should Taste Good - Ancho Chile Sweet Potato Chips

Comments:

What do you call a pepper that is not yours?  “An-cho Chile” (yes, you’re right, we won’t be quitting our day jobs).

As far as we know, Food Should Taste Good is the only brand that continues to use kettle cooked sweet potatoes as their vehicle of choice for trying out new flavors (maybe Terra could be comparable, except that they tend to stay more traditional with the sweet potato chips).  We can really appreciate Food Should Taste Good’s unique approach to chips, but we’re going to be completely honest, and tell you right now that we believe that sweet potatoes are definitely not as clean and perfect of chip canvas as other more traditional potatoes, nor corn tortillas.  That being said, sweet potatoes can and do work very well with certain seasoning flavors.

With these Ancho Chile flavored sweet potato chips, similar to their Barbeque flavored ones, Food Should Taste good has given us another flavor that both jives with the natural sweetness of these chips, but at the same time is also barring on being too overly sweet.  The flavors tread the sweetness line a little too closely for us to fully embrace them.  Unlike their two other sweet potato chip flavors – Salt & Pepper and Salt & Vinegar – which each juxtaposed, and countered the potatoes natural sweetness, and balanced the overall flavor profiles very well!

Ancho chile flavored chips are a new one to us.  In fact, we are pretty sure that these are the first ancho chile flavored chips that we can ever remember seeing.  Apparently, an ancho chile is……drum roll please………a smoked poblano?  That’s right, similar to the chipotle chile, which is a dried smokey jalapeno, an ancho chile in the dark red, dried version of the mild green chile pepper.  The ancho chile seasoning is very smokey, with a very mild heat and a heavy does of salt.  We’re not quite certain as to what really gives off the additional sweetness to these chips, but there is something there we know it.

In the end, these chips really just remind us of Food Should Taste Good’s barbeque version, just very, very, very smokey!

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

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Chip Review of the day…..

/ duthow / Leave a comment

Salveo – Southwest Ranch Baked Potato Crisps

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Salveo - Southwest Ranch Baked Potato Crisps

Comments:

Southwest Ranch?  Interesting.  We are familiar with Midwest Ranch, and we’ve had our fair share of East and West Coast Ranches, but what exactly is Southwest Ranch?!?  Well, according to someone, somewhere, Southwest Ranch is “ranch, with a kick!”  We can agree with that definition for the most part.

Like we’ve said in regards to all of Salveo’s crisps and chips; they may be brought to us “In Good Health” (which is what Salveo technically means), but in the end, what really matters to most of us (especially here at Chip Review) is if they were brought to us “IN GOOD TASTE”  Well, we are happy to report that these crisps are rather tasty, as well as, being healthy.  We really love it when we come across some baked potato crisps that happen to actually taste better than a lot of the fried potato chips on the market.

OK, back to that confusing Southwest Ranch flavor again.  Like we indicated above, this particular ranch seasoning does get a bit of a lovely kick from the addition of jalapeno peppers.  And, come to think of it now, the combination of jalapeno and ranch, isn’t really that uncommon to us – just calling it “southwest ranch” is!  In fact, now that we think about it, southwest ranch is a little more complex than just chili heat combined with traditional creamy garlic and onion ranch flavors.  There is also a hint of some cheddar cheese notes that add to the overall tangy creaminess.  As well as, the slightest smoky hint (adding even another layer of dimension).

All and all, the flavor really works, especially paired with the light and crispy potato crisps.

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

Chips provided to Chip Review by Barrel O’Fun for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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REVIEW: The Original Saratoga Chips – Rosemary Garlic Potato Chips

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Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips  (lip-smacking)

The Original Saratoga Chips - Rosemary Garlicf

Comments:

Earlier this year we had the tasty opportunity to review Saratoga Specialties Company’s Original kettle cooked potato chips, and to say that we were impressed, would be an understatement (you can find our review for those right here).  In case there are a few of your out there who happen to have missed our original review, let us provide you with a little bit of back story for the iconic Moon Brand potato chips.  According to Saratoga Specialties Company’s website, in 1853:

“A patron at Moon’s Lake House ordered fried potatoes with his meal. The diner complained that the potatoes were too thick and sent them back to the cook.

The cook at the restaurant was George Crum, who is described as Native American in some accounts and an African American in others. There is agreement, however, on Crum’s disposition—he was generally ornery. Upset that someone would criticize his cooking, Crum sliced a new batch of potatoes paper-thin, fried them in boiling oil to a crisp, and then salted them.

But what was intended as a stunt turned into an instant hit – the fussy patron and his friends loved the “crunch potato slices.” Soon the chips became known as Saratoga Chips. At first they were served in restaurants throughout the region. When George Crum left Moon’s Lake Inn to start his own restaurant called “Crumbs House,” he placed large baskets of the chips on every table. It was not long before Saratoga Chips could be found in restaurants up and down the East Coast. Soon they became known as potato chips.”  www.originalsaratogachips.com

That’s right, you are not mistaken, and you read that correctly, Saratoga Chips Original Kettle Cooked Potato Chips are modeled after the FIRST POTATO CHIPS EVER!!  And, as the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  Well, as much as Saratoga Specialties Company may believe in that saying, they have also decided to try and improve, and expand, upon their original potato chips by completely revamping their packaging, along with adding a couple of new flavors to their potato chip arsenal.  You can stay tuned for our review of the new Honey BBQ flavored potato chips soon, but the wait for the Garlic Rosemary flavored chips review is no longer (which is lucky for you, but even luckier for us!)  Now our only problem is finding another bag!

So, what do you get when you combine some very delicious, thin and extra crispy kettle cooked Yukon Gold potato chips with a salty, and savory, garlic and rosemary seasoning??  Well, the answer is simple, a bag of chips that disappears quicker than that other sock on laundry day!  These are very solid chips.  First and foremost, what we noticed was the powerfully rich garlicky punch that lingered with a slow burn on the backs of our palettes for quite some time.  The garlic on these chips is no joke.  Then our lips informed us that these are some fairly salty potato chips, as they began to burn a little bit more with each delicious handful we shoveled in!  After a quick cleansing sip of water, our next handful was THE ONE.  That perfect, harmonious collision of rosemary, garlic and salt covering a light and crispy chip!

A little while ago we noticed that Eric from Junk Food Guy had the opportunity to also review Saratoga’s new chip flavors.  And while he also seems to be a huge fan of Saratoga Potato Chips, we definitely seem to like these Rosemary Garlic ones more than Junk Food Guy.  We have to admit that once we read JFG’s review that his bag of chips did not emit the level of rosemary-ness that he had hoped for (our second favorite herb behind thyme), we were a bit worried.  However, we’re not sure what to make of it, but all we can tell you is that our bag appears to be a bit…….different, and definitely imparted a lovely rosemary essence.  So much so, in fact, that one of our tasters thought it was barring on nearly too much pine-y herbal flavor (that taster has since been exiled).

So, if you get the chance to take Saratoga’s new kettle chips for a ride, we highly suggest you do so!  We are confident in saying that Saratoga Chips new Garlic & Rosemary chips, are the best rosemary flavored chips that we have ever tasted.  We are beginning to get a little worried that we should have started out with the Honey BBQ flavor, and worked our way up to these because the Honey BBQ ones now have a lot to live up to.

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

Chips provided to Chip Review by Saratoga Specialties Company for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

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