Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)
Comments:
Can we be honest with you for a moment? Which is not to insinuate for even one second that we aren’t always being honest with you! Maybe, we should have started with something more along the lines of – ‘Can we let you in on a little secret of ours?’ Yeah, that sounds better.
Well, whenever we are sent a variety of different flavored chips from some generous chip company (as was the case here with North Fork), we like to examine the entire lot, and more or less, determine our munching order right from the get go. We take a multitude of factors into consideration during this process (ie. are there certain flavors trending more than others, what time of year it is, close to any holidays, etc,); but more than anything, we take our own personal preferences into account. We almost always pick out the one bag that sounds the most delicious to the majority of us, and declare that we will save it for last!! Our theory being, saving the potential best for last gives the other flavors a more fair chance. On the flip-side, sort of like ripping off a Band-Aid, we like to simply get the “hard work” of eating those less desirable flavors out of the way!
Lets assume you caught onto the introductory picture we just painted, and no doubt understand how this is all leading up to the fact that we did not have very high hopes for this initial bag of North Fork’s Potato Chips. As a whole, we have discovered that we are not the biggest fans of sweet potato chips. In fact, we sort of have a love-hate relationship with the reddish hued tubers. We love the potato’s natural sweetness, especially when combined with oil and salt; but we can’t seem to forgive their all too dense and crunchy texture.
North Fork’s Sweet Potato Chips emit pure, unadulterated sweet potato essence. In fact, these chips only have two ingredients – sweet potatoes and oil (for kettle cooking). Wait…that has to be a typo right? Where is the salt?? Sure enough, North Fork for one reason or another, has gone against all rational thinking and opted to completely embrace, and highlight, the natural sweetness. We understand the theory and really do appreciate the notion, but most of what makes sweet potato chips good in our opinion (when they are good), is the yin and yang of the sweet and salty. Throw that out the window and we might as well be eating dessert!
All that being said, we honestly can taste the terroir of these chips. Much like the way the ocean effects, and resonates within, great seafood, we felt like we could taste the earth in these chips (unfortunately, not even the taste of dirt could cut through their sweetness!). And on that note, we have no more to say, and we will simply leave you with a snippet from North Fork’s website that further exemplifies what this company and their chips are truly about:
“In case you’re wondering why North Fork Potato Chips have such an authentic potato flavor, it’s no secret. We’re one of just a handful of potato farmers left who make their own chips. Plus, the north forks abundant sun, ocean precipitation, and great soil make for great flavor. We only use the very best chipping spuds. And, while some suggested cooking with cottonseed oil like the bigger chip makers do, Carol insisted on using only real sunflower oil. It costs more but nothing tasted quite as good or lets the flavor of the potato come through as much. Plus it’s as healthy as olive oil.”
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 North Fork of Long Island for review
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 