Chip Review of the day…..

Popcorners – Twisted Salt Popped Whole Grain Chips

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Comments:

“The New Shape of Popcorn Whole Grain”

What exactly was the old shape of Whole Grain?

Maybe to answer that question, we must first understand what whole grain represents in this case.  According to the ingredients list on the back of PopCorner’s bag, the whole grains in this instance are none other then the infamous sorghum grain?  That’s right, sorghum; and we’re not talking about what you get from eating too much beef jerky.  According to Wikipedia: sorghum “is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants, either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide.”  As far as we know, these are the first chips that we have ever tasted made from a species of grass….

PopCorners have been a consistent player in the popped chip market for a good while now.  Up until now their original line of popped chips have consisted of popcorn chips (which is a grain we are much more familiar with than sorghum).  However, being the professionals that we are, we did not hesitate for one second to give these grass/grain popped chips a taste.

First impression – the chips consist of a unique monotone mixture of colors, that includes hues of light greys and steely blues in some spots.  Their mouth feel is light and crispy, without being too hard and dense.  They work quite adequately as crunchy flavor delivering devices.

What really set these chips apart for us was their flavor name (and taste).  We just love the name Twisted Salt.  The best part, we didn’t quite know what to assume we were about to taste?  Would the salt include a twist of lime?  Or, might it be spicy??  Well, as it turns out, Twisted Salt appears to be PopCorners variation of a seasoned salt, or salt with a flavorful supporting cast.  Either way you shake it, these chips are not lacking in flavor one bit.  Each chip was liberally coated with plenty of salt, as well as, onion, garlic and some unnamed spices (one of which we are fairly certain was rosemary).

In conclusion, let us just tell you that the Twisted Salt flavor pairs very well with the crunchy whole grains, even when those grains are really actually grass chips in disguise.

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 from PopCorners for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Salveo – Buttery Caramel Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs

Rating: ©©©© chips  (lip-smacking)

Comments:

Salveo is the Latin word for “In Good Health”, and Salveo’s Puff are yet another addition to the world of healthier popped chips.  To be completely honest with you, despite all of the tasty popped snacks coming each day, we still seem to hold a slight bias towards this genre, and more often than not we assume that each new popped chip that we taste will not be very good.  Luckily, and to our surprise, Salveo’s Buttery Caramel Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs were actually quite lip-smacking.  In fact, we have been happily surprised with many of Salveo’s popped chips.

Snackin’ Puffs’ texture reminds us of a cross between rice cakes and corn flakes.  The puffs flavor is predominantly corn forward, which compliments and combines well with the buttery caramel seasoning.  Speaking of butter and caramel, were fairly certain that these are the first “chips” we’ve ever tasted with this flavor combination that’s normally used on delicious popcorn.  Everyone at Chip Review was immediately pleasantly surprised with how commanding the buttery caramel flavor was.   Intense, sweet-sweet caramel notes instantly hit our tongues, as they mingled quite nicely with the subtle salty butter seasoning.  Some of the tasters said that the puffs reminded them of eating a slightly salty cereal – minus the milk.  Speaking of salt, if we had one big gripe, it would be that they could use a bit more salt.  The puffs just needed something (salt) to counteract all of the sweetness, and mix-up the monotony.

Overall, we enjoyed these puffs quite a bit, and they are definitely among some of the the better popped “chips” we have tried.  The best part was that we felt so healthy after eating them that we were able to also enjoy some good old fried ones as well!!!

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

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Pan De Oro – Multi-Grain Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips  (lip-smacking)

Comments:

Pan de Oro – “bread of gold”.  However, in this case the “bread” appears to be made of precious grains like corn, rice, and poppy, flax, and sesame seeds rather than precious metals.

Pan de Oro’s Multi-Grain Tortilla Chips are among the minority of chips in the market today, that even without them indicating that their chips are all natural on the packaging, we could tell with just one bite.  These chips proudly carry just about every healthy label that one chip can support.  To top it all off, they are loaded with whole grains and seeds that add great texture and flavor to the chips.

Pan de Oro’s tortilla chips are semi-thick, but not very dense, with a hearty, and yet crispy and airy crunch.  You can definitely taste the difference in the quality of grains and seeds being used, as well as, the cooking technique.  These multi-grain chips explore a wonderfully rich nuttiness that seems to pop with toasty baked flavor.  They remind us an awful lot of some other really great multi-grain chip – Wild Riceworks.

Another fine tortilla chip from Pan de Oro. We sure wish these chips were available locally, they would definitely be a part of our standard tortilla chip rotation.

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 from Pan de Oro for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

Chip Review of the day…..

Salveo – Southwest Cheddar Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)

Comments:

When you are popular, you’re popular….and right now, popped chips are POPULAR!  Every where we look we see popped this and popped that, and more often than not, we associate this style/technique with two things: 1) a healthier alternative to the more traditional fried version, and 2) (therefore) quite often a less tasty, and desirable product.

Salveo is the Latin word for “In Good Health”, and Salveo’s Puff are yet another addition to the world of healthier popped chips.  To be completely honest with you, we still seem to hold a bias towards this genre, and more often than not we assume that what we are about to taste will not be very good.  Luckily, and to our surprise, Salveo’s Southwest Cheddar Multigrain Snackin’ Puffs weren’t half bad.

Their texture reminds us of a cross between rice cakes and corn flakes, and are very reminiscent of some other cheddar popped chips.  The Snackin’ Puffs flavor is predominantly corn forward, which compliments the cheddar seasoning very well.  Speaking of cheddar, were not quite certain that we would label these chips as Southwest Cheddar, but probably more like Sour Cream & Cheddar, or Smooth Cheddar.  We did not taste any of those typical spicy and tangy southwest seasonings, but rather a smooth, sour creaminess that played well with the salty cheddar cheese, but just wasn’t what we were expecting based on their name.

Overall, we enjoyed these Puffs quite a bit, and they are definitely among some of the the better popped “chips” we have tried.  The best part was that we felt so healthy after eating them that we were able to also enjoy some good old fried ones as well!!!

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

©©©©© – “A” list

RATING: Sun Chips – Monterey Jack and Sundried Tomato

Rating: ©©©-3/4 chips  (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

RATING: Tostitos Artisan Recipes – Toasted Southwestern Spices Tortilla Chips

Rating: ©©©-3/4chips  (notable)

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list

REVIEW: Deep River Snacks – Nacho Kick Multigrain Tortilaa Chips

Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)

Comments:

Chip Review recently reviewed a very similar multigrain nacho cheese chip from Salveo, but this one from Deep River is a bit tastier, and definitely more flavorful.

Right off the bat – WAM! In your face flavor punch!  To say that these chips are very well seasoned would be a grave understatement.  These chips are the definition of flavor coating.  If Doritos were describing these chips, they would call them ‘JACKED‘!  The weird thing is though that these chips remind us much, much more of taco flavor, than of a nacho cheese flavor.  The seasoning doesn’t only encompass the super cheesiness that is nacho cheese, but instead exudes and includes other flavors – onion, garlic, tomato, and of course the typical generic ‘spices’ – that make up the usual taco seasoning.  The flavor is decent, but doesn’t taste like any nacho cheese we’ve ever tasted.

Deep River Snack’s multigrain tortilla chips are extra crunchy, and thicker-rustic style chips.  Each triangular chip included plenty of flax seeds scattered throughout its body.  Despite having plenty of nutty whole grain taste, the chips could not distract from the flavor-packed seasoning that coats them.

As always we would love to hear what you think.  Agree or disagree.  Let us know.

Chips provided to Chip Review from Deep River Snacks for review

Chip Ratings Scale:

(1/4 increments)

© – return to sender

©© – tolerable

©©© – notable

©©©© – lip-smacking

©©©©© – “A” list