French Fry Diary 668: Chipos

There are holes in the Internet through which sometimes things slip through and vanish, except in our memories. I speak of things that not even Google can find. One we have previously talked about here at French Fry Diary is Tasti-Fries. I think I've found another - Chipos.

My recent affection for Herr's Lattice Cut potato chips brought this memory of my 1970s youth to light, as their very design is similar. Known as Chipos New Fashioned Potato Chips, they were, as described on the box, "fashioned from dried potato granules" and "flash fried." They had a criss-cross waffle pattern and texture and were relatively the same circular size.

If memory serves, this early seventies snack predated both the similar Munchos and the later Pringles, at least in my area, and memory. They came in a red and yellow box with a foil bag inside, just like Bugles do today. The back of the box detailed how they were made I recall, and I'm pretty sure they were made by Betty Crocker. Or was it General Mills? Or are they the same company?

Check out the video below for a TV commercial for Chipos, definitely from Betty Crocker.



They made a big deal of them having less grease than regular potato chips. Hmmm... So why aren't they still making them? The other thing I remember about them is that Chipos were delicious.

French Fry Diary 570: Herr's Baked Ripple Cut Potato Crisps

I like Herr's products a lot, but I don't think I've actually tried any of their baked chips. Oh, excuse me, crisps. It's notable that the words are very precise. Made from dried potatoes, vaguely hexagonal in shape, and baked, these are potato crisps, much like Pringles or Munchos.

And they have that same taste as well. Not to say that these crisps couldn't be better with some seasoning, barbecue maybe, but that's not really the selling points on these. Dipping, baby. The ripple cut makes these crisps perfect for dipping.

Of course that perfection only lasts as long as you have big full chips. The small pieces at the bottom of the bag are useless. This is a good dipping chip, not snacking chip. For the health folks, this is a good choice - no saturated fat, no transfats, no cholesterol, and gluten-free. Good stuff for the dippers and the health folks, and a good chip.

French Fry Diary 563: Roller Coaster Potato Rings

Another selection from the Christmas gift of chips I got from friends and frequent FFD contributors Dom and Cindy, these Jack 'n Jill Roller Coaster Potato Rings are a 'cheddar cheese flavored potato snack.' I've had Jack 'n Jill chips before, not bad, but never like this.

Looking at the bag, the first thing that struck me was more than a little disturbing. There was a sticky label over the ingredients. One has to wonder. Was there a typo? Did they try to slip something by and got caught? I guess I'll never know.

The rings themselves are flat half-inch bands in complete circles, a little smaller than a dime in diameter. The potato part comes in the Munchos and Pringles realm as they're made from potato starch and dehydrated potatoes. I have to be honest, when I opened the bag, the smell was not pleasant.

I made The Bride try one first, not because I dislike her, but because she's big on cheese, especially cheddar. She put one in her mouth, made a decidedly unhappy face, and said simply, "No." Uh oh. I tried one. They have a taste like a thick potato chip that's gone stale, and then with a weak cheddar aftertaste.

These are not good. At least they didn't taste as bad as they smelled, but still they didn't smell good either. Thanks, Dom and Cindy, but not recommended.

French Fry Diary 557: O!Karto

These 'Italian Potato Chips' were part of my Christmas present from friends Dom and Cindy, a selection of rare and exotic chips.

They are not really chips, more a potato concoction like Munchos or Pringles. Made from dehydrated potato flakes, starch, and granules, they are square shaped tubes, looking like regular cut French fries at a distance. This is apparently 'Italian style.'

The fact is they are not Italian at all. These Orion O!Karto Italian Potato Chips are Korean. They come in this flavor, Italian Gratin, and Chili Chili. The cartoon mascot on the bag, Mr. Karto, says, "O!Karto is unique and amazing type of potato snack. This Italian style snack 'O!Karto' is from high quality potato and fit for everyone."

The bag says they're cooked in sunflower oil, I guess that's the fit part. Although it's worth noting the ingredients also list vegetable oil, as well as palm and soybean oil. Your guess is as good as mine - much like the best by date, which is in Korean.

The Bride expressed interest in trying them, so I made her taste one first. She commented on how sweet they were. There's that, they are sweet, but I wasn't really getting the gratin. They could have used a bit more seasoning, even though I suspect the Chili Chili might have been too seasoned.

Because of their shape, these 'chips' might be interesting for dipping, especially in milkshakes or ice cream. They're a bit thin so maybe not. Taste wise, not bad, I would definitely try these again. Thanks, Dom and Cindy!

French Fry Diary 463: Ole Salty's Regular Salt

Next up from the Bag o' Chips, that The Bride got me for Christmas this year, a selection of rare potato chips from Anchor's Food Finds, we have the scariest bag of the bunch - Ole Salty's Regular Salt.

This is a silver bag of chips with just a label, almost as if it was astronaut food. Not even an expiration date. Folks, it does not even say 'potato chips' on the bag. The ingredients however assure me whatever it is, it's made of potatoes, soybean oil, and salt.

Ole Salty's of Rockford Illinois is a mail order only company, and this scary plain silver bag had no expiration date. Ole Salty also sells popcorn, dips, among other things, and also chips of lesser and more salt added. The packaging appears the same for that stuff. I guess it's a thing. Foil does keep sunlight out, which is not so good for chips in long exposures.

Only one thing to do. Open the bag. Not the easiest job in the world. So difficult, they could sell these things at Trader Joe's. Once open, this extra large snack-size bag yielded, as noted, a 1.25 ounce serving of chips, filling roughly the bottom third of the bag.

These chips are rather small but very crunchy, perhaps kettle cooked. Their taste is a bit of a cross between Munchos and Lays regular chips, a little greasy. Perhaps the Extra Salt might be better, because these are a little bland. For something called Ole Salty's, these chips needed salt.

French Fry Diary 329: Pop Chips

My first impression of Pop Chips is that they are crazy hard to open, without the use of a scissors, a blowtorch, or an AK-47. Wow, do you want us to have these things or not?

I have been hearing about Pop Chips for quite some time, from friends and family, from the Pop Chips Twitter, from strangers, and from ads. But it wasn't until recently that I actually saw them in a store. I snapped up a bag each of regular and barbeque.

Their big claim to fame is that they are not fried nor baked, but popped. Now I'm still not sure exactly what that means, I mean, potatoes don't exactly 'pop' like corn does - but I tried 'em anyway. My first impression is that they were like a natural version of Munchos. Yeah, that's it. If Munchos were natural potato chips instead of dehydrated potatoes. The difference would be that Munchos have that extra corn taste that Pop Chips don't have. The difference is more accurately the rice flour in the ingredients - which also adds a bit of a rice cake flavor to them, but it's all good.

The Bride was very happy with the calorie count, and also has become partial to the salt and vinegar flavor as well. They are all natural, with no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, no cholesterol, no transfats, no saturated fats, and gluten-free. The bags make a lot out of them being healthier. "Nothing fake or phony. No fake colors, no fake flavors, no fluorescent orange fingertips, no wiping your greasy chip hand on your jeans. No, really." And as you can see, they even have a sense of humor about it.

The barbeque flavor is what the folks at Pop Chips call "the tangiest barbeque taste this side of the Mason Dixon." This might not be true, but these are very good, and the brown sugar in the ingredients does give them a sweet kick.

Pop Chips are a great healthy snack, no scratch that, Pop Chips are a great snack. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 238: Trader Joe's Baked Hickory Barbeque Potato Chips

Yeah, I was at Trader Joe's again. I know that Whole Foods might feel that I'm cheating on them, but trust me, I'll be back. Whole Foods still have the best selection of potatoes for making homemade French fries, and the best butcher shop - where else would I go for meat during barbecue season?

Speaking of barbeque, the last time I was at Trader Joe's, I picked up some chips, and by either advanced aged memory or just bad eyesight I picked up the wrong chips. I wanted the Trader Joe's Hickory Barbeque Potato Chips but instead picked up the Trader Joe's Baked Hickory Barbeque Potato Chips, and didn't find out until I got home.

I'm not fond of the baked chip, and it's not because of any kind of healthy bias either. They usually just taste bland to me, and usually also look processed like Pringles or Munchos. I was very surprised once I opened the almost-impossible-to-open bag.

First, they didn't look baked. They looked like regular chips, and they tasted like regular chips. Wow. They tasted like really good barbecue potato chips. So they have all the good stuff - low calorie, less fat, gluten free, baked - and also taste. And the best part is no crumbs at the bottom of the bag, it's all chips, and it's all good. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 179: O'Boisies Sweet B-B-Q

One last potato-oriented hurrah from my vacation to the Disney regions comes from Philadelphia International Airport, while waiting for our luggage, I found a snack machine that had these happy chips in it.

While not strictly potato ships according to the packaging, their official name is O'Boisies Sweet B-B-Q light and crunchy potato crisps. I am always suspect when the word 'crisps' is used. They are thick, and excellent for dipping, sort of a mutant cross between Munchos and kettle chips, with a subtle bbq taste, slightly addictive.

They come with a "Flavor Caution"... "Although we advise against it, O'Boisies Sweet B-B-Q flavor snack chips are so yummy, you might catch yourself hugging random strangers on the street." I'm really not sure what that means, and I wouldn't go that far, but these are good chips.

French Fry Diary 99: Munchos

These potato crisps, or more accurately ‘potato snack,’ not chips, come from the Pringles school of design. Munchos from Frito-Lay are processed from dehydrated potatoes and are perfect circles before hitting the frying oil. Their selling point is their lightness. They have an almost fluffy texture as if they’ve puffed up during cooking.

Taste-wise they continue the fluffy light vibe. They also don’t quite have a potato taste. I guess that’s what it is. I’m not sure really. They get shapes like kettle chips, which make them excellent for dipping, especially with slightly melted ice cream or cheese.

The taste however gets old after a while. If I haven’t had Munchos in some time I will crave them, but if I’ve just had some – it will be some time before I want them again. Weird. Munchos are good once in a while, and great for dipping.