It goes with out saying that folks love potato chips. These versatile snacks are scrumptious straight out of the bag or paired with sandwiches, salads, and even wine.

Typically, all potato chips are made with the identical primary substances: potatoes, oil, and seasonings. However regardless of their simplicity, traditional potato chips can fluctuate extensively in high quality. That can assist you buy the proper potato chips for social gathering bowls or solo snacking, we put 13 in style manufacturers to the take a look at. 

What makes a potato chip

To make potato chips, specialty potato breeds known as “chipping potatoes” are washed, sliced, and deep-fried. Chipping potatoes are larger in starch, decrease in water content material, and decrease in sugar than different varieties, which makes them nicely suited to frying.

Past that primary course of, potato chips fall into two common classes: traditional, aka common, potato chips, and kettle-cooked chips. Common potato chips are mass-produced and constantly fried at a gradual, excessive temperature,  which leads to a thinner, crispier chip. Kettle-cooked chips, alternatively, are fried in small batches. As a result of the oil temperature drops with every new batch, the cooking time is longer, which permits extra starch to interrupt down and create a chip that’s thicker, crunchier, and extra irregular in form.

How we examined

For our masked style take a look at, we chosen 13 “authentic” and sea salt taste potato chip manufacturers from grocery shops and on-line retailers primarily based on their reputation and availability.

To maintain issues as truthful as potential, we batched our tasting into two sections primarily based on these classes. We additionally tasted just a few model’s crinkle-cut varieties.

Earlier than we set out bowls of brand-concealed potato chips for our testers to pattern, we established standards for a peak potato chip. Traditional chips ought to have a crisp snap, whereas kettle-cooked chips needs to be properly crunchy. Neither ought to crumble instantly while you chunk into them. Each ought to have well-balanced seasoning, minimal greasiness, and — most significantly — they need to style like precise potatoes.

It was a potato chip social gathering, and the manufacturers under surpassed the usual for a superb potato chip. It’s protected to say, we ate — and left no crumbs. 

Greatest total: Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Potato Chips Unique Sea Salt

These chips earned good scores throughout the board. They tasted like precise potatoes, slightly than the oil wherein they had been fried, however additionally they confirmed a wealthy butteriness and good stability of salt that made every chunk extra satisfying than the final. One tester described the flavour as just like the “scrumptious crispy bits on the backside of a cup of french fries.”

“This little chip packs just a little little bit of mightiness. I actually wish to put a dollop of crème fraîche and caviar for a wonderful chunk,” stated one other tester. We additionally discovered the thicker, wonky shapes to be charming. Pay homage to the model’s namesake and serve these with a cooling lobster roll, or swap them for croutons for a brand new tackle a traditional Caesar salad. 

Greatest traditional: Dealer Joe’s Ode to the Traditional Potato Chip 

It was a real-life David and Goliath state of affairs when Dealer Joe’s model of a traditional potato chip beat out a number of big-name manufacturers in each taste and texture. These chips from the cult grocer had been skinny and completely crisp, and had a country potato taste. Fried in sunflower oil, that they had a refined nuttiness. However what actually set them aside was the aftertaste, which wasn’t in any respect greasy or oily. Layer these chips immediately onto an egg salad sandwich for additional snap, crumble them over mac and cheese, or end an omelet The Bear-style. 

Greatest crinkle-cut: Ruffles Unique 

If there’s one chip that reminds folks of summer season barbecues, pool events, or film nights, it’s Ruffles. Nostalgia apart, Ruffles continues to make the gold customary for a crinkle-cut chip with its signature ridges. “They’re the proper measurement and thickness. I may eat a complete bag,” stated one tester. These are the last word chips for dips like a tangy fried pickle dip, and would even be pleasant as a crackly pizza garnish. Or, pop the bag and open huge — we gained’t decide. 

Restaurant-quality: Siete Sea Salt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips 

Since 2014, Mexican American meals model Siete has been on a mission to share heritage-inspired merchandise like tortillas, seasonings, and sauces with a wider viewers, whereas additionally making them accessible to folks with grain- and gluten-free diets. The model’s sea salt kettle-cooked potato chips tasted like they had been made out of potatoes that had been harvested that morning, sliced by hand, and fried only for us. Testers famous that these had been a few of the crispest kettle chips out of those we tried. Though they had been a contact oilier than others we tasted (they’re fried in avocado oil), we didn’t discover it to be overpowering.

Honorable point out: Boulder Canyon Olive Oil Traditional Sea Salt 

Although one of the best kettle chip title finally went to Cape Cod, Boulder Canyon additionally acquired excessive marks. Testers significantly appreciated these chips’ buttery olive oil taste. They might be nice sprinkled with some black pepper and Parmesan cheese for a crisp cacio e pepe-inspired social gathering snack.