There’s no snack more all-American than a bag ofpotato chips.
Salty fried potatoes are everywhere, from summer barbecues to school lunch bags to airplane snacks.
You’ll also notice two main varieties of potato chips: classic and kettle chips.
Photos: The brands. Design: Eat This, Not That!
The difference lies in how the potatoes are cooked.
Kettle-cooked chips are loaded into a giant oil-filled pot.
The oil temperature is slowly raised until the chips take on their signature golden hue and delightfully curly shapes.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
This method takes longer to cook the potatoes, leading to more variety in chip shapes and colors.
But there’s still the dilemma of which kettle chips are best.
There are dozens of brands and seasoning options, including potatoes cooked in different oils.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
I sampled nine different brands to help narrow down the best kettle-cooked potato chips at the grocery store.
The look:These chips have a slightly greenish-yellow cast.
The taste:I found these chips to be bland.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
I would have loved more sea salt flavor.
They have almost twice the sodium of Good Health chips.
The look:Herr’s potato chips are thicker-cut.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
They’re also the same size and shape with little variety in color or texture.
These chips are pale yellow without visible grease or oil on the surface.
The taste:These chips are happily salty and crunchy.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
These chips are cooked in corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil and seasoned with sea salt.
They also have a slightly more oily texture, giving them a richer, heartier flavor.
Unfortunately, the oiliness overpowers the savory potato flavor.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
With the eye-catching bold purple packaging covered in flames, I expected some serious flavor fromthis sample.
Then you get some back-of-the-throat heat, but it’s not overwhelming or painful.
The chips made my mouth water, maybe from the acidity.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
Utz Kettle Classics Original
Thisis the more mainstream kettle-cooked product from the snack brand Utz.
The chips are quite thin and delicate, but most were whole and had their natural oblong potato shape.
They seem lighter and more airy than some chips cooked in vegetable oil.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
The chips have a generous coating of large black pepper flakes.
There’s also sea salt, but it’s possible for you to’t see the granules.
These chips are darker than others and have the potato skin still intact.
Photo: Lizzy Briskin, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:I was surprised not to taste much of the black pepper seasoning on these chips.
The look:These chips are substantial.
They’re larger than most of the others I tested and cut thicker, which maximizes crunch.
There is also quite a bit of oil stuck to the sides of this chip bag compared to others.
The taste:These indulgent chips are all about saltiness and oil.
These were the heaviest chips I tasted.
They’re mostly large, whole, flat potato slices, with a few curly ones in the mix.
These were also the most thinly sliced chips I tested.
The taste:These kettle chips have a light flavor that’s not greasy or overly salty.
This snack won’t weigh you down but has plenty of satisfying crunch and saltiness.
The iconic brand’s original flavor is just missing a lobster roll.
The taste:These chips find the perfect balance between salty and satisfying.
They’re well seasoned without drying out your mouth, and the curly little snacks are so crunchy.
