Salty, crunchy, tasty: What makes the perfect potato chip?

What’s the one food that appears at nearly every picnic, summer BBQ or beach picnic? What’s the one food that shows up as you’re watching the Olympics, the latest TV series, a movie or ball game? You grab a cold drink and… a bag of potato chips, of course. Salty. Fatty. Crispy. Curly. The wonder of fried potatoes is there for every occasion.

The American love of potato chips knows no bounds. In fact, Americans eat about 1.85 billion pounds of potato chips annually, or around 6.6 pounds per person. They are the number one snack food in the U.S. (and that’s saying a lot for a country that loves its snacks.) When you poke around to learn about the beginning of the potato chip, the story that swirls around the internet involves Saratoga, New York, in 1853. It goes something like this: Cornelius Vanderbilt was dining out and placed a request for a “better-fried potato.” George Crum, the chef at a place called Moon’s Lake House, thinly sliced potatoes, fried them to a crisp, and they were a big hit. Originally, they were referred to as 'Saratoga Chips.' The rest is history.

It got me thinking about the number of regional brands of potato chips I've spotted recently in grocery stores, gourmet food shops and convenience stores. It seems more and more companies are frying or baking potatoes and sprinkling them with salt and other flavorings.

In order to find an ideal potato chip, I decided to hold a potato chip tasting at WBUR’s headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, the home of Here & Now. To narrow down the field, I tasted close to 40 potato chips with a group of friends at home (and you thought being a food writer was all fun and games!).  I then selected the top 10 varieties of chips — both plain and flavored chips — from across the country to bring to the station.

We asked the WBUR staff to taste each of the ten chip varieties and vote for their favorite. People were asked to pay attention to the crunch factor (half the appeal of a good potato chip is the quality and level of crunch), appearance, and overall taste and write their thoughts if they wanted to share them. It turns out that public radio people, like much of the country, like their potato chips with a big, bold flavor. Our tasters had many thoughtful comments and strong opinions. The results were not quite what I expected, but they were overwhelming.  Here are some of the favorites along with a few of the more insightful comments:

And the winner is…..

The Whole Shabang is flavored with, well, just about everything. We’re talking about a chip coated with onion, garlic, vinegar and BBQ spices. Despite the fact that it won (it was not my favorite by a long shot) the story behind this chip is as intriguing as the flavor bomb of taste it provides. The Whole Shabang was originally produced as prison food. It was sold in prison commissaries across the U.S. When inmates were released from prison they looked for the chip and found that it was sold only in prisons. Eventually they started making the chip for the general public and it has since found a kind of cult following.

Made in Old Lyme, Connecticut, the motto of this chip company is, “Because we give a chip.” The big, bold, undeniably dill pickle flavor won over our tasters. “Salty, dilly and addictive,” wrote one taster. “Clear winner based on flavor, spice and crunch,” wrote another. The words “fun, intriguing and salt” were also common refrains. A donation from every bag of Deep River chips sold is made to No Child Hungry, a national campaign to address childhood hunger issues.

These chips are made in Hyannis, Massachusetts, from potatoes, oil, sea salt, and “the good vibes of the Cape.” This dark, crisp, salty chip hits all the notes. It’s slightly sweet, a touch buttery, with chips that range from light to dark brown. Made from Russet potatoes, they are on the thicker side with a great salt ratio. “Great visual appeal,” wrote a taster referring to the brown color and curled, doubled-over chip. “Would be great for the beach! Great combo of salt and char.”

There was less agreement with the other chips in the competition. Here they are in alphabetical order:

“Marcelled” means wavy and this chip, now made by the 4th generation of the Ballreigh family, has a good salty flavor, but many found them “too basic with not enough crunch.”

These chips have been made since the 1930s when Detroit was considered the potato chip capital of the world. “They have a pronounced salty flavor, but not enough personality.” One taster stated: “Addicting but not for any legitimate reason.”

Sold in distinctive brown tins, this chip has been made since 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. I grew up eating these chips, and they weren’t quite as good as I remembered. They have a nice amount of salt, but they're not distinctive. Some called them “light and airy, but a bit bland.” Others compared them to a “Lay’s potato chip but with more substance.”

These chips are made from Maine russet potatoes and no preservatives. This somewhat thin, crispy chip is “nice and crisp but a bit greasy,” wrote one taster. “Great potato flavor,” wrote another.

Mikesell’s calls itself the “oldest continuing potato chip company in the U.S.” Opened in 1910 its chips have ridges and plenty of salt, but many found them “oddly flavorless.”

Utz began making chips in 1921 and is now a publicly traded company with branches all over the country. Many tasters loved their chips' light, flaky texture,” but others found them “burnt tasting and somewhat flavorless.”

A big brown bag contains these thick, slightly sweet chips. Some found them “too thick,” while others loved the sweet, crunchy flavor and texture. In a truly original comment one taster claimed “too much chewing required!”