"kettle chips" news and stories

I grew up in a household that was nearly devoid of junk food. My sister and I each got a single box of sugar cereal each year (on our birthdays), Halloween candy was strictly rationed and bread was dark and made from whole wheat. Potato chips were very definitely a special, once-in-a-very-great-while kind of treat.

Because of the chip control that went on during my childhood, the moments when they did appear on the scene remain present in my memory, even 20+ years later. They became especially associated with roadtrips for me, as my dad would insist that we have some "car snacks" and my mom, who actually loves potato chips, would cave to the special occasion energy.

We'd make a stop at Trader Joe's or some other local natural foods store for thick-cut, kettle cooked potato chips (Kettle Chips play a prominent role in my memories, but the TJ's Hawaiian-style chips also showed up fairly regularly). Handfuls would be carefully doled out to my sister and me in the back seat of the station wagon and we'd slowly crunch our way through our portions. Raina would suck all the salt off the chips before eating, where I'd nibble along the edges, trying to make the treat last as long as possible. We'd ask for seconds and would get them, until my mom determined that we'd all had enough (typically determined by her own salt/grease satiation level), and folded up the bag, tucking it down by her feet for safekeeping.

These days, I occasionally buy a bag of Kettle Chips (I had a salt and vinegar phase during college) but I am untrustworthy around open bags of potato chips. They call to me until I surrender and crunch my way through the entire bag. However, while I do enjoy them, potato chips now are never quite as delightful as those measured handfuls of chips that we'd eat while criss-crossing the highways of the west coast.

When I was growing up, we didn't get much in the way of junk food. My mother didn't believe in keeping chips, cookies or baked goods around the house. The only time we got the crap we craved was when there was a picnic or party. On those occasions, my parents would buy Kettle Chips, thinking that they were in some way healthier than all the others available.

Because of those once-in-awhile indulgences, I always think fondly of Kettle Chips (especially the Yogurt and Green Onion flavor). They've currently got five new flavors on the market and are asking consumers to taste and vote for their favorites. You can choose between Mango Chili, Orange Ginger Wasabi, Death Valley Chipotle, Wicked Hot Sauce and Jalepeno Salsa Fresca. What's your new favorite?

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Contest alert for all you potato chip lovers out there - Kettle Chips has teamed up with Smart Car and they are holding a contest to win free chips for a year. All you have to do is visit their website and guess how many bags of potato chips they have crammed into a "For Two" Smart Car. Unlike a lot of these "guess how many" contests, they provide a rotating picture of the car so that may make it a little easier for you to count/guess.

They are also taking suggestions for new Kettle Chip flavors, so while you are there you can submit your own ideas - you can come up with something better than Carrot & Coriander or Blue Cheese with Bacon, right?

(thanks, Erica!)

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This past December, Nicole let us know that Kettle Foods ,the makers of Kettle brand potato chips, was holding what I call their annual "Chip-Off." Kettle Chips introduces a new flavor, but lets the people decide by releasing "contestant" flavors to the public, and allowing them to vote online. Kettle says that it was a three-way tie among Island Jerk, Dragon Five-Spice, and Twisted Chili Lime for a while, but in the end, the Jerk won out.

I actually got to try all five flavors in the Party Pack, and I'm certainly not surprised that Aztec Chocolate wasn't even in the Final Three. The chocolate flavor was a little too weird and had a bitter aftertaste. I like chocolate-covered potato chips, but the Aztec Chocolate Chips were just flavored with chocolate without the accompanying sweetness.

Though Island Jerk wasn't bad, I am a little disappointed that Royal Indian Curry wasn't the winner. In fact, I'm a little surprised that it wasn't in the final three. With all the hype and food trend-casting of spice for 2007, I would have thought Twisted Chili Lime would have been somewhat boring. I ate the Royal Indian Curry Chips in on sitting because they were so good -- except of course, that they were so powerfully "fragrant" that I smelled like garlic and curry for three days. But all is not lost. Before the winning flavor goes into official production, you can still order the other flavors online. Royal Indian Curry Chips just might make it in time for the Super Bowl!

When Kettle Chips decides to introduce a new flavor, they often create a "party pack" of unreleased flavors and let you - the consumer - vote for your favorite. The downside to this is that if your favorite flavor isn't the one that is chosen, you know exactly what you're missing out on, but it's still interesting to try the experimental flavors. The Passport to Flavor Pack is their newest selection. It includes five 5-oz. bags of chips in Royal Indian Curry, Dragon 5 Spice, Aztec Chocolate, Island Jerk and Twisted Chili Lime flavors, as well as a world music sample CD ("A Taste of Putumayo: Music for Every Palate"), food and drink pairing ideas and a chip clip so that you can seal up any uneaten chips. The pack is $19.95 and after you've tried the different flavors, you can go to Passport To Flavor to vote for the one you'd most like to see on store shelves next summer.

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