[subego]

[ghporter]

I like Zapp’s Salt & Vinegar, and the Cajun Dill Gator-Tators are good, but the salt and dill content make that “kick” a little harsh if I eat them alone. I guess I’m just the sensitive type….

[reader50]

I like Zapp's Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeno. Every couple years, I'll order up a case - Zapps are not sold in this area. At least, not anywhere I've found.

[subego]

Yeah. They’re made by Utz, which is in Pennsylvania, so it’s quite a hike to the west coast.

Chicago’s in range, but lots of shelf space is taken by our own local brand, Vitner’s. Jay’s is from here, but they were bought out by Snyder’s of Hanover. Snyder’s tried to buy out Utz (also in Hanover), but the FTC torpedoed it.

I stay away from any snack labeled “hot”, so I’ve never tried the Hotter N’ Hot, but the Voodoo has a nice, mild heat to it.

Not mild in taste, though. Like the dill. Those are about right at the edge for me in terms of how much flavoring I want. This was my first try with dill, so I wanted to shoot it straight, but it’d go well with a French onion dip.

The crawtators are good too. I haven’t really found a better chip than Utz when it comes to “large regional” size brands.


What are the local chip brands out west?


Phun chip fact: Jay’s was originally “Mrs. Japp’s”, but they rebranded in... 1941.

[dav]

these are still my favorite hot potato chips...
Mama Zuma's Revenge
not salty, not vinegary, a touch of sweet but not quite bbq, hot enough to make my forehead perspire.

[subego]

IIRC, there was a tiny cheese shop near me which carried Route 11. It’s been so long though, I don’t really remember how good they were.

Cheese shop’s gone now, so I can’t test.

They had great goat milk caramels.

[ghporter]

My son informs me that pork rinds are “keto friendly,” and make a great “breading” for all sorts of things. He’s made, for example, “fried” chicken strips that are “breaded” with crushed pork rinds. I must investigate this, because he indicates that the results are “highly not bad.”

My own not bad, from last night, is pre-cooked, frozen, very lean hamburger patties. These guys are grilled before freezing - they even have real grill marks. You can heat them in whatever manner you desire. We microwave them, which means they’re ready to put on the bun about the same time I’ve finished slicing onions and tomatoes. Top with sharp cheddar on a toasted whole wheat bun, and you have a “really not bad at all” burger with less than 10 minutes of prep work.

(Of course my wife’s home made guacamole, which had aged overnight, and some fresh blue corn chips didn’t hurt the whole meal’s “not badness” at all. )

[subego]

Yup... pork rinds are pretty much the only low carb option in the snack aisle other than jerky.

Never used them as an ingredient, though.

[OAW]

There can be no discussion of hot potato chips without mentioning this STL classic …



OAW

[subego]

Do they have “Farmington Chips” (a/k/a “Kitchen Cooked”) in STL? Their hot chips are good, but not mega-hot. Regulars are great. Never broke into the Chicago market, but they’re a central Illinois staple.

Apparently, Utz bought them 2 years ago.

[OAW]

^^^

Don’t recall seeing those.

OAW

[subego]

I was going to suggest trying them if you came across a bag, but talking to locals, I’m sadly getting the impression the buyout is responsible for a nosedive in quality.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

I like Zapp's Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeno. Every couple years, I'll order up a case - Zapps are not sold in this area. At least, not anywhere I've found.

Looking at my fresh bag of Gator-Tators (which do in fact pair well with French onion dip BTW), and what do I see?



Your state has literally made the shit illegal.

[reader50]

Prompted by this thread, I ordered a case of Zapps Jalapeno a couple weeks ago. It should be delivered tomorrow. I'll look for that label.

[subego]

Look for a SWAT team too.

[reader50]

No SWAT team. But my chip bags have the same label. No idea what would prompt that. CA doesn't have laws against good chips. I don't see anything unusual in the ingredients. Maybe Utz Foods is in a tax dispute with CA or something.

Edit: it appears to be a Prop 65 cancer-warning thing. Looks like Prop65 wants a cancer warning on the bag, and Utz doesn't want to print that. Instead, they have a click-link on their product page, before ordering. I agree with the linked story - there are Prop65 cancer warnings on just about everything, because it doesn't establish acceptable thresholds. And most everyone has learned to tune them out.

I'm good here, as the sale wasn't in CA. Internet sale, with product in PA.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

No SWAT team.

Woops! Gave them the wrong address.

[ghporter]

In large enough quantities, EVERYTHING will hurt you, and probably kill you.

Air Force Basic Training had a number of incidents of water intoxication resulting in death. If you drink too much water, you can dilute your electrolytes enough to make your heart stop. Oops.

They have a HUGE research facility on Lackland, and it took a couple of weeks to come up with a definitive, DIRECTIVE fix. Training Instructors (not any of them physiologists) had been ordering trainees to drink and drink and drink. Now they have quantitative limits, and the TI is responsible for not letting his trainees overdo. It’s been pretty good for years now.

So many things are mutagenic at massive doses, but absolutely benign at levels most humans could reasonably come in contact with. I think California “knows” this, but they have their list, so they make every vendor add a warning as if you’re snorting asbestos when you eat potato chips…. Doofs.

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by OAW 

There can be no discussion of hot potato chips without mentioning this STL classic … OAW

You from St. Louis or just a fan of the flavour?

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

In large enough quantities, EVERYTHING will hurt you, and probably kill you.

Not cowbell.

[Paco500]

You got these stateside?



Would be Lay's In the US. Surprisingly tasty and, for a crispy snack, surprisingly low calorie.

[subego]

I haven’t seen them.

For whatever reason, lentils have been the big go-to around here for a flour based-chip, pushing out pita chips.

Are they really thin and crispy like normal papadam? The lentil chips I’ve tried are slightly puffy, more like an (east) Asian shrimp chip.


Edit: I’m totally curious now how Frito-Lay would go about marketing these in the US.

[Paco500]

I eat a metric f*£k ton of lentil chips- love them. Too much perhaps.

As for the consistency of the poppadom crisps above, I would say they are roughly midway between the shrimp crips you tend to drown away that come free with your Chinese (oe in our case, feed them to the chickens) and actual poppadoms. it's really the seasoning that sells them. Really tasty.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Paco500 

oe in our case, feed them to the chickens

Those chickens would have to pull them out of my cold, dead hand.

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by subego 

Those chickens would have to pull them out of my cold, dead hand.

Our chickens were badasses. They would have done that.

[subego]

Well, they’re fools.

Shrimp chips are delightful, but I’m still the tastier option.

I have great marbling.

[subego]

Just… okay. Messy, a little too sweet, and kind of a stale texture.




These look like they have potential, but I haven’t tried them yet.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

Just… okay. Messy, a little too sweet, and kind of a stale texture.

I like jerky and I like bacon, but weird hybrid between the two seems...gross.

[subego]

Jack Links makes bacon jerky, which I thought was an awesome idea when I first saw it, but didn’t live up to its potential. It’s rubbery. This is a little better, but is still lacking. The quest continues.

What I really wanted was some dill Slim-Jim.

[ghporter]

Then there’s this: “Tactical Bacon” by CMMG (an actual firearms company)


No idea how it tastes, but it’s supposed to have a long shelf life. Personally, I’m not brave enough to be a field tester for this stuff…

[subego]

I’d try it, but I wouldn’t pay money to try it.

Sorta related, I’m told you can let cooked bacon sit out all day and it won’t go bad. Restaurants go heavy on it for that reason. They can make a giant pile and get that work out of the way all at once.

[ghporter]

Interesting, if slightly disturbing....

[subego]

So, the “home stlye potatoe chips” are good. Very thin and oily. So much so the potatoe regains a bit of elasticity.

Problem is the oil’s kind of Z-grade.

[ghporter]

Here’s an old Detroit staple: Better Made Potato Chips:


When I was a kid, eating these meant an automatic trip to the sink for a thorough wash. They didn’t seem to be concerned about fat content, but the chips were SO good. They also used A-grade oil (I have no idea what type back then) which tasted fine - and held that all-important salt on each chip.

Not at all a healthy snack, whenever or whatever, but good, fresh potato chips with just enough salt is a guilty pleasure I save for times when I really deserve a reward.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

(I have no idea what type back then)

My guess?

Lard.

[ghporter]

Back then, probably. I survived worse growing up then and there. For a hint at some of it, read this.

So far, except for wearing out one hip with the other just looking properly broken in, I’ve been healthy as a horse, so I’m not concerned about lard, PBBs or most other things. But I’m more careful about what I consume nowadays.

[subego]

Originally Posted by subego 

Lard.

I meant this as a compliment.

[ghporter]

As I took it. But the "L word" has a bad rep lately, so I explained...probably not well.

[subego]

I blame Big Canola.

[gorickey]

Mmmm!

[Brien]

Prop 65 is on everything and has lost all meaning.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Brien 

Prop 65 is on everything and has lost all meaning.

It's worse, I think than a carton of "half and half" having a label that says "contains milk." Really?

"The State of California" "knows" that a lot of things can cause diseases like cancer. But does "The State of California" even take into account that there's a "threshold" below which the body just eliminates or ignores stuff? I often wonder what "The State of California" is smoking...

[P]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

It's worse, I think than a carton of "half and half" having a label that says "contains milk." Really?

"The State of California" "knows" that a lot of things can cause diseases like cancer. But does "The State of California" even take into account that there's a "threshold" below which the body just eliminates or ignores stuff? I often wonder what "The State of California" is smoking...

Prop 65 is an absolute mess. Part of what I do involves checking for banned substances, and the difference between RoHS (EU Directive for more or less the same thing) and Prop 65 is huge. RoHS has a lower limit (anything below 0.1% by weight can be ignored), and anything that is added has been on a candidate list for years before. Also, if it is banned, no labels will help you - it is truly banned as in you can't sell it.

[Thorzdad]

These aren’t bad at all. Made in Turkey. Not real spicy, but definitely tasty. If you’re in a middle-eastern market, look around and see if you can find them.

[subego]

Umm… what is it?

[Thorzdad]

They're seasoned cracker/chip/crisps. For father's day, my daughter got me a three-month subscription to Universal Yums, and these were part of my first box of snacks this month, along with other snacks from Turkey.

[Demonhood]

The bag makes them look like over-starched rugs floating over the remnants of an imploded xmas tree.

[Thorzdad]

We in the marketing biz call that look "X-TREME!!!"

[subego]

I still don’t know what they are, though. Corn? Potato? Turkey?

Originally Posted by Demonhood 

The bag makes them look like over-starched rugs floating over the remnants of an imploded xmas tree.

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

We in the marketing biz call that look "X-TREME!!!"

To me, they look like X-TREME communion wafers. Body of TACO JESUS!!!

[Thorzdad]

Ah. I believe they are rice flour based. I don't have the bag anymore to check. They were not-quite-as-crisp-as-a-dorito crispy.