I’m having a REALLY hard time trying to figure out how someone is supposed to bake chips in a kettle, but maybe that’s just me. In any event, these new honey-hickory-barbeque baked Kettle Brand chips have been around at Planet Organic for awhile, and I finally bought a bag.
The Pitch: “65% less fat than regular potato chips.” “Made from REAL sliced potatoes.” Plus the usual Kettle eco claims on the back of the bag. Solar power, sustainability, “real food ingredients.”
The Look: The bag has the familiar Kettle logo, but it looks a bit more fancy. The bag is an in-between size: it’s not big enough to be a regular bag of chips, nor is it small enough to be an individual-serving bag. The chips themselves look like flat slices of potato, not all gnarled and curled up like regular kettle-cooked chips. They’re not as uniform as other baked chips. They look like they came from a potato.
The Taste: Sweet, smoky barbeque and baked, crispy potato. Not very oily. They’re only lightly spicy, so the sweetness stands out. When you get a good, well-seasoned chip, they’re bliss. But too many of the chips lack adequate seasoning, which hurts their overall flavour. The potato taste isn’t bad on its own, but the flavouring makes up for any weakness in the potato department. Whereas other baked chips (like Old Dutch Baked Ketchup chips) have a mushy, reconstituted potato-flake texture, these have a crunchy kettle-style bite. Also, I’m getting a hint of simulated bacon bits, but that might be the hickory smoke.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $3.29 for a 113-gram (4 oz.) bag at Planet Organic in Edmonton.
Value for cash money: Not bad.
Availability: So-so. Less widely available than other Kettle Chips varieties.
Nutrition?: Per 40 grams (about 30 to 32 chips): 170 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 220 mg of sodium, 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of fibre. Also, 20% daily value of vitamin C, and 8% daily value of iron.
The verdict: Better than I thought they’d be. If they had a bit more seasoning on them, they’d go from good to great.
Yah, I quite like these. I’m also a fan of the salt and pepper ones. They have a nice pepper hit. Really, hard to go wrong with potato chips. Best. Snack. Ever.