French Fry Diary 647: IKEA Potatischips Saltade

Those of you who remember my first FFD adventure to IKEA know it's not my favorite place to eat. Hang out and shop? Oh yeah, I love it, but for eating? Um, no. On a recent shopping excursion I saw something in their grocery that caught my interest - potato chips - so I figured I'd try again.

Packaged and sold by IKEA, they're called Potatischips Saltade, assumedly potato chips salted in Swedish. I like the bag, 5.3 ounces or 150 grams, very colorful, and the ingredients are very simple - potatoes, canola oil, and salt, and a lot of that last one.

Once opened, the bag yielded small but thick chips. They have a big crunch that usually only kettle chips have, and they're very salty, perhaps too salty. Of course, that said, they're also quite addictive. Their thickness and saltiness might make them perfect dippers for something cold and seer like ice cream.

I liked these a lot, and definitely a lot more than IKEA French fries.

French Fry Diary 584: Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty Potato Chips

I am easily tempted by new flavors of potato chips, firstly for the opportunity to write about it here, and secondly because I like potato chips. It's nicer though when said new flavor also sounds like something I might like. Such is the case with Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty Potato Chips.

Being Kettle Brand they are appropriately healthy with no preservatives, no MSG, no transfats, and no GMOs. They also all natural, gluten free, and were cooked in safflower and/or sunflower and/or canola oil. That last part had me a bit worried… don't they know what kind of oil it is? …but I'll let it slide.

These kettle cooked chips have as flavoring the fairly obvious sea salt plus sugar and dried cane syrup. Hmmm, that should make for an interesting taste. They are salty but the sugar overwhelms the salt, but not unpleasantly. These are very tasty and addictive potato chips. I would say they would be good for dipping but I wouldn't want to take away from the actual taste of just the chip. The are very good, recommended.

Oil Change

Nothing as drastic as the shenanigans at Wendy's or Burger King, Chick-fil-A has made a change in the favorite fried food at their restaurants recently. They made an oil change. Chick-fil-A now cooks their Waffle Potato Fries in 100% canola oil, as opposed to the peanut oil previously used.

Guy Fieri's Yucca Fries

For this Food Network Friday we turn again to Guy Fieri, mostly because he's one of my favorite chefs, but also because he knows his fries - even when they're not made of potatoes! Here's his version of Yucca Fries:

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

Show: Guy's Big Bite Episode: Mojito Chicken

Prep Time: 15 min
Inactive Prep Time: --
Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients
•3 cups canola oil
•1 tablespoon fine sea salt
•1 teaspoon black pepper
•1 teaspoon paprika
•1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•2 pounds fresh yucca
•1 lime zested

Directions
In medium Dutch oven heat oil to 350 degrees F.

Place all spices in mixing bowl, and combine thoroughly.

Peel yucca tubes with heavy-duty vegetable peeler until bark is completely removed. Cut yucca into strips: 1/4-inch wide, 4 inches long. Add yucca into oil and fry until golden brown. With a slotted spoon remove the yucca from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Season hot yucca fries with spice mixture and lime zest and serve on a warm paper - towel-lined platter.