Webmaster
02-02-2007, 08:54 AM
I saw the following article and it begged the quesiton: what is your favorite?
The Great Chip-Off
Twelve chippers, seven chips, two dips. That was the scene yesterday morning at the offices of washingtonpost.com, where the "Mighty Appetite Chip-Off" took place.
It was early for chips -- 10 a.m. -- but that didn't stop these connoisseurs. There was important business to cover, and as one chipper argued, a bagel-and-cream cheese breakfast is likely to be nutrionally comparable to this chip-n'-dip buffet.
The objective: To identify the "best in show" supermarket brand of plain potato chip, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
The methodology: A blind taste test, taking several criteria into consideration, including: salt quotient, crunch, mouth feel, dip-ability, freshness and authentic potato flavor. Chips were divided into two categories -- ridged and regular.
Panelists evaluated each chip individually, then rated them, in numerical order -- #1 representing "first place" and so on.
For the purposes of this taste test, plain, unflavored chips were evaluated. This was a discussion strictly for potato chip purists, so flavored varieties, reduced fat, fat-free and any other chip bells and whistles were excluded from this exercise.
In addition, chips were selected for their accessibility and availability in either regional supermarkets or national chains. I perused the chip offerings in the following stores: Harris Teeter, Giant Food, Target, CVS and Eckerd Drug Store. Of course, one person's Eckerd may be another's Walgreens, but you get the idea. The list below represents plain chip availability here in the Washington area. Had I done this test in my hometown of Philadelphia, just 130-some miles north, I would have had brands such as Herr's and Wise to choose from, for example.
I'm a big fan of chip brands that I can only find in different parts of the country, including Tim's Cascade Style, Pacific Northwest label (but strangely, owned by Bird's Eye Foods) and Zapp's, a Louisiana specialty. But the topic of local chips has enough crunch for its very own blog post, perhaps later down the road.
To rate the chips' dip-ability, two dips were provided: A Velveeta-free queso and an onion dip, minus the soup mix, as detailed in yesterday's blog. (I know, a queso is meant to be served with tortilla or corn chips, but it worked admirably and the panel didn't seem to mind.)
Read on for names and ingredients of the chip contestants and the Chip-Off winners:
the rest of the article: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/02/the_great_chipoff_1.html#more
The Great Chip-Off
Twelve chippers, seven chips, two dips. That was the scene yesterday morning at the offices of washingtonpost.com, where the "Mighty Appetite Chip-Off" took place.
It was early for chips -- 10 a.m. -- but that didn't stop these connoisseurs. There was important business to cover, and as one chipper argued, a bagel-and-cream cheese breakfast is likely to be nutrionally comparable to this chip-n'-dip buffet.
The objective: To identify the "best in show" supermarket brand of plain potato chip, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
The methodology: A blind taste test, taking several criteria into consideration, including: salt quotient, crunch, mouth feel, dip-ability, freshness and authentic potato flavor. Chips were divided into two categories -- ridged and regular.
Panelists evaluated each chip individually, then rated them, in numerical order -- #1 representing "first place" and so on.
For the purposes of this taste test, plain, unflavored chips were evaluated. This was a discussion strictly for potato chip purists, so flavored varieties, reduced fat, fat-free and any other chip bells and whistles were excluded from this exercise.
In addition, chips were selected for their accessibility and availability in either regional supermarkets or national chains. I perused the chip offerings in the following stores: Harris Teeter, Giant Food, Target, CVS and Eckerd Drug Store. Of course, one person's Eckerd may be another's Walgreens, but you get the idea. The list below represents plain chip availability here in the Washington area. Had I done this test in my hometown of Philadelphia, just 130-some miles north, I would have had brands such as Herr's and Wise to choose from, for example.
I'm a big fan of chip brands that I can only find in different parts of the country, including Tim's Cascade Style, Pacific Northwest label (but strangely, owned by Bird's Eye Foods) and Zapp's, a Louisiana specialty. But the topic of local chips has enough crunch for its very own blog post, perhaps later down the road.
To rate the chips' dip-ability, two dips were provided: A Velveeta-free queso and an onion dip, minus the soup mix, as detailed in yesterday's blog. (I know, a queso is meant to be served with tortilla or corn chips, but it worked admirably and the panel didn't seem to mind.)
Read on for names and ingredients of the chip contestants and the Chip-Off winners:
the rest of the article: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/02/the_great_chipoff_1.html#more