Let me admit this right upfront. I used to be a potato chip purist.Yup, I was never fond of flavored chips. Oh, I'd nosh on the occasional flavored chip if someone else was serving. But I pretty much only bought plain chip. Boring, right?
But recently, I've become acquainted with flavored chips that I like, so when I got the opportunity to sample Kettle Chips and write about them, I got my dip ready (recipe below) and eagerly awaited the testing.
Kettle Chips aren't exactly new - they've been made in Oregon for over 30 years. That's a lot of spuds. Many, many, many spuds.
Here's what they said about themselves, "Thirty years ago, we pioneered the kettle cooking style that’s become the gold standard for all-natural hand-cooked potato chips. We cook real, unpeeled potatoes in small batches for a superior taste and a signature crunch. And we continue to pioneer bold, unique flavors that people really seem to love. Did we mention we got our start selling our chips out of a van? It doesn't get much realer than that."
So no wonder I didn't know about them years ago. That potato-chip-selling van probably never cruised my neighborhood.It must be a popular product, because apparently there are a lot of copycats on the market, playing off the "Kettle" concept. But the folks at #TheRealKettleChips say, "We’ve been making great-tasting, all-natural chips since 1982. When you open a bag of Kettle Brand Potato Chips, you know you’re getting real chips made with real ingredients by real people."
@KettleChips is encouraging everyone to answer the question, "Why is real food important to you?" over here. Everyone who answered will be entered to win $250 on that site.
And if you're concerned about such things, they had the first potato chip verified by the non-GMO project and will have 16 of them verified soon. They're working on having all of their products verified as soon as possible.
Also, there are no trans-fats, no preservative, no MSG, and no artificial flavors or colors. You can also find lower-fat and baked chips, as well as organic chips and even an unsalted chip. Something for everyone.
But what about the flavor? I didn't try every flavor they make - there are 24 different flavors - but I did some serious sampling with help from my chip-munching husband, and so far we've liked the flavors we tried. It's not just the flavor, though. I like the texture. Solid enough to hold some serious dip, but not tooth-breakingly hard. Just enough crunch.
And a nice amount of flavor without making you feel like you're dipping straight into a spice jar with a spoon. I mean, yeah, I want a lot of flavor, but I also want to know I'm eating a potato chip.
Want to know what the 24 flavors are?
The regular chips are:
- Sea Salt & Vinegar
- Sea Salt
- Jalapeño
- Backyard Barbeque
- Spicy Thai
- New York Cheddar
- Honey Dijon
- Sour Cream and Onion
- Sweet Onion
- Fully Loaded Baked Potato
- Unsalted
- Cheddar Beer
- Jalapeño Jack
- Red Chili Salsa with Mesquite
- Zesty Ranch
- Buffalo Bleu
- Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
- Cheddar & Sour Cream
- Classic Barbeque
- Sea Salt
- Reduced Fat Sea Salt
- Reduced Fat Krinkle Cut Sea Salt & Vinegar
- Reduced Fat Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
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- Bakes Sea Salt & Vinegar
- Bakes Honey Hickory Barbeque
- Bakes Sea Salt
- Bakes Cheddar & Roasted Tomato
- Bakes Sour Cream & Onion
- Organic Country Style Barbeque
- Organic Sea Salt
- Organic Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
- Organic Sweet Chili Garlic
Avocado Dip
1/2 avocado
1 teaspoon dry chopped chives or 1 tablespoon fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lime juice
Combine all of the ingredients and blend well, mashing the avocado until the mixture is smooth. It's fine if you have a few "bumps" of avocado, but this isn't meant to be chunky.
Serve cold or at room temperature and keep unused portions refrigerated.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kettle Brand. The opinions and text are all mine.
