#6
Trader Joe’s – Potato Chips with South African Style Seasoning
Trader J’s Triple S (South African Seasoned Smoked) Potato Chips, may not take our top spot for the year, but if we were doling out awards they would certainly win our ‘most surprising & daringly unique’ trophy! A challenging flavor unlike any other we have tried this year.
Rating: ©©©©-3/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Looking back on it now maybe we would have acted differently, and filled our tiny shopping cart to the brim with those glossy black bags of goodness. In our defense, at the time there was simply no way of knowing that the single most daring and most uniquely flavored potato chips we had encountered this entire year were about to flood our taste buds with a sensational river of complexity! Forget about 2014’s Lay’s ‘Do Us A Flavor’ Cappuccino flavored potato chips, in fact forget about them all! And never mind Larry The Cable Guy’s Biscuits & Gravy Tater Chips (remarkable chips to say the least) but in our opinion Trader Joe’s Potato Chips with South African Style Seasoning take us on a flavor journey unlike any we have traveled thus far this year!
So, what exactly is South African Style Seasoning? Well, according to Trader Joe’s crew they “…start with paprika that is slow-smoked. This method infuses a roasted flavor, reminiscent of the South African braai (“barbecue”). We then, blend the smoked paprika with chili pepper, sea salt, garlic, basil, and parsley. This combination of flavors is traditionally used on grilled meat, fish, or poultry.” Luckily for us, tradition has been brushed aside and T.J.’s has splattered those flavors all across their light as air potato chips! The best way that we can describe the South African Style Seasoning to those of you who haven’t had the pleasure would be a cross between a smoky and savory barbecue chip, and a zesty, garlicky-onion, salt and pepper chip. Yes, it sounds like a lot going on, but somehow the seasoning mélange is extremely well balanced!
To top it all off, Trader Joe’s is delivering some really great potato chips too. These chips are seriously huge! Non-GMO, we bet not, but still great loads of potato flavor, solid crispy crunch, and super thin, but sturdy. The chips provide a perfect canvas for showcasing the seasoning.
In the end, we really must tip our hat to Trader Joe’s. It is not very often that we taste something really original. And it is even less often that we see a company will to gamble on a flavor like this. Most “new” flavors are really just reincarnations of an already established and accepted flavor, or sometimes just a combination of a couple of traditional flavors. Trader Joe’s took a big swing, and knocked it out of the park.
Wow! Really, wow! Practically perfect chips. We just have to ask, anyone out there know who is making these chips for Trader Joe’s?
For another take on these chips check out Eat at Joe’s review (which we couldn’t disagree with more, but hey, to each their own!).
These are our thoughts, agree or disagree, make sure to let us know!
Chips discovered at Trader Joes; La Grange, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 