Kettle Brand Honey Dijon chips are one of my longstanding favourites. If I’m tasked with bringing chips to an event/BBQ/picnic/gathering, they’re the ones I pick. They’re great as a side to a sammich or served with hot dogs (also arguably a type of sammich, but that’s a different fight for a different day). I love how they’re soaked in flavour, making them both great on their own or paired with assertively seasoned food. And even if you don’t dig Dijon mustard, they’re still great.
But I also like the Miss Vickie’s line. In fact, one of my other favourite chips is the Balsamic Vinegar and Sweet Onion flavour. And damn, the Applewood Smoked BBQ chips are also easy to like.
Cue the introduction of Miss Vickie’s Honey Dijon potato chips. Just about my favourite chip flavouring meets my favourite line of crunchy potato chips. How is this possible?
By calling their flavour the exact thing (Honey Dijon) instead of letting their marketing department make up a fanciful new name, Miss Vickie’s is begging to be compared to the Kettle original. So, in the spirit of giving back to the internet, I’m going to do just that. Because that’s just the kind of benevolent, audience-serving website this is. (We love you. Please keep coming back? It’s not like we make any money.)
The Contenders!
Miss Vickie’s Honey Dijon flavour chips
Price: $4.19 for a 220-gram bag at Save-On Foods in Edmonton
Availability: They’re newly available, at least in Canada, so they’re still a bit rare. That said, lots of supermarkets carry Miss Vickie’s chips, so expect widespread distribution to roll out over the next few months.
Calories: 260 calories per 28 chips (50 grams)
Kettle Brand Honey Dijon potato chips
Price: $3.69 for a 220-gram bag at Save-On Foods in Edmonton
Availability: They’ve been around for years, and they’ve become one of the easiest Kettle Brand chip flavours to find. They’re also available in small bags, which is a big plus for adding to a lunch or afternoon snacking.
Calories: 210 calories per 18-20 chips (40 grams)
The Battle!
The Look: The Kettle chips look far more earthy and varied in appearance. They’re not all cooked to the same degree of perfection, and they have a duller, less vividly orange/yellow hue. For lack of a better word, they look more natural.
The Aroma: The Kettle chips are more oil-forward than the Miss Vickie’s, with some clear vinegar sharpness in addition to the mustard. They smell like oil-fried potatoes with seasoning, which makes sense. The Miss Vickie’s have a more prominent seasoning scent, with something that almost smells like nacho cheese above the oil or mustard. Neither one smells particularly sweet with honey.
The Taste: The Kettle chips have a great crunch. The oil is noticeable, with mustard, onion/garlic and sweetness on top. The darker, more cooked chips (of which there are plenty) have a deeper roast potato flavour that reminds me of baked potato skins. There’s no getting away from the oil, though. The seasoning is lighter than I remember it being, but there’s still plenty and it’s nicely intense. These will linger on your breath.
The Miss Vickie’s are less crunchy, and they have a gummy potato texture and taste as you chew them. The oil isn’t as noticeable, and the potato doesn’t taste as cooked. I’m tasting the seasoning a lot more than the potatoes, which isn’t necessarily either bad or good. There aren’t as many obvious natural flavour notes as with the Kettle chips, though the sweetness is apparent and the seasoning is an intriguing mishmash of things. Still, they’re not as assertive in flavour or texture as the Kettle chips, and they suffer as a result.
The Verdict!
I prefer the Kettle chips. They taste complete and rounded, like actual potato chips seasoned with mustard, onion, garlic and honey, cooked in actual oil. The Miss Vickie’s are a worthy challenger, but they’re not quite on par.