Snacksare one of the most underappreciated categories of food, in my humble opinion.
But, there is no other snack that holds quite as much weight and importance aspotato chips.
Annually, Americans consume about1.85 million poundsof the golden crisps, according toSmithsonian.
Photos: The brands. Design: Eat This, Not That!
There’s also a potato chip flavor for almost everything nowadays, as brands attempt to one-up each other.
I rounded up eight bags from major brands like Lays, Utz, and more, for find out.
Here are the final results, ranked in order from my least to most favorite.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
First off, it has no ties to Germany as I originally thought.
It is instead named after the city of Berlin, Penn., where its first factory stood.
The two companies have shared ties in the past, but are no longer affiliated.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Like any worthy chip manufacturer, the company carries a myriad of flavors including aclassic Bar-B-Q.
A 7.75-ounce bag cost $3.99.
The look:Almost like traditional thin-sliced potato chips with no added seasoning.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
They come in a muted canary yellow color and there were a few burnt areas that stood out.
The taste:The faintest taste of barbecue I encountered.
I had to dig deep to detect it at all.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
They do have a nice level of salt and aren’t overly greasy.
But, there isn’t nearly enough flavor here for them to be competitive with other top brands.
I’ve even picked up the store’s classic potato chips from time to time.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
But somehow, I’ve never before bought theBarbecue variety.
A 7.75-ounce bag cost me just $1.99.
The look:Each chip comes in a standard size.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:More soft than crunchypossibly from lingering vegetable oil.
The taste isn’t displeasing by any means.
As a whole, I would say these chips are satisfactory, especially at their price point.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
And, they are additionally very Lay’s-esque, if that’s the taste you’re trying to replicate.
A 7.75-ounce bag rang up at $4.29.
These razor-thin chips offer a balance of sweet and smoky that can be found in every bite.
Photo: Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
These cost me $5.49 for a 7.5-ounce bag.
The look:More compact and folded over than previous chips.
But, each one is approximately the same shade as the next.
The taste:A bit airy and not excessively crunchy for a kettle-style chip.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it wasmaybe something to do with the chili pepper or included smoke?
A smaller 6.25-ounce bag rang up at $4.79.
The look:Flat and almost hexagonal.
It’s also very obvious that these are much less oily than most potato chips on the market.
The flavor is mostly subtle, but still detectable on every single piece you pull from the bag.
It also pairs really well with the brittle texture of the crisps.
The latter is the bag I picked up at a price of $3.49 for 7.5 ounces.
The look:Mammoth-sized with bold ridges.
A tangerine-colored dust fully coats about half the pieces while some others are rather bare.
The taste:In my book, these were already a step ahead just because they are wavy.
The natural hickory smoke flavor is also impressive.
Both the salt and grease levels are also manageable, making for a very enjoyable snack indeed.
The look:A few of the Utz chips are immense and comparable to Conn’s in size.
But, the rest are quite literally a mixed bag.
The taste:Sweet and addicting.
Cape Cod’s chips are maybe just a pinch smaller, however, and are thicker set.
The taste:The award for boldest flavor goes to Cape Cod.
Then, as you bite into one, the taste is smoky and tangy but not completely overpowering.
