by Steven Doyle
Lays announced their three finalists in their big hunt for the newest flavor where the winner would receive a cool ranch million. I suggested a flavor hoping to at least be considered for one of the third world nations; however it is quite possible that Lays already has Balut chips on the shelves in the Philippines. The finalists are instead Cheesy Garlic Bread, Chicken & Waffles, and Sriracha. A bit obvious if you ask me, but I do not sell billions of pounds of potatoes worldwide.
Doing some minor research for unusually flavored potato chips I ran across some flavors Americans might find unsettling, and a few that would do rather well if they were marketed properly in the States.
Jump with me for a look at a few packages I found.
Lays already has some of the more usual flavors that play up to local tastes. This only makes sense. however, how many of us would want at least one bag of a sushi flavored crisp?
Some other ususual Asian flavors include this Hot and Sour Fish Soup. I also spotted other Lays currently marketed in China such as Numb & Spicy Hot Pot and Italian Red Meat.
My Balut entry isn’t really all that far off. In Hong Kong you can find Garlic Soft Shell Crab. The Vietnamese are offered Beijing Roasted Duck chips. In Thailand the people go gaga for Spicy Chili Squid.
In Egypt look for a Rumi cheese flavored crisp, as well as one flavored with charcoal kebabs. South Americans have no doubt sampled the Lays Beef Carpaccio chip. Then there’s the Australian BBQ Kangaroo flavor that so many of us crave.
This Archer Farms can be found at Target. General Tso? Why not.
The closest thing to my Balut is the Haggis crisp made by Mackies found in Scotland. I so want their commercial tagline to say “If it’s not Mackies, it’s crap“.
With hot dogs being all the rage, at least in North Texas, Snyders needs to send us a few cases of their Coney Island chip. It has that nice mustard and nitrate flavor we all so enjoy, I am sure.
Yes to Herr’s baby back rib flavored chip.
There are so many flavors of potato chips around the world it makes me wonder why we are the ones eating cool ranch and bogus bbq flavors by the fistful. I leave you with this Detroit chippery Uncle Rays who makes a ketchup flavored chip. This would make Garrison Keillor happy.
Collecting odd potato chip flavors is a weird hobby of mine while I travel. America really has very few options…well, not counting the absurd number of chili pepper based flavors (spicy, spicy nacho, spicy sweet chili, tapatio, salsa verde, chipotle, chili limon,fiery, flaming, hot, etc. etc.)
Even our “boring” Canadian neighbors to the north outdo us. All Dressed, Dill (including Country Dill, Creamy Dill, and Spicy Dill), Bacon (including BLT, Bacon and Cheddar, etc.) and Ketchup are utterly common staple flavors. Go to a party in Canada and chances are All Dressed, Dill, and Ketchup are the generic “safe” and common flavors people will serve.
Get into the “weird” ones and you’ll find Sicilian Lemon Chicken, Chicken Tandoori, Roasted Chicken, Chicken and Gravy, Puri Puri, Thick Cut Pizza, etc. England has it’s Lamb and Mint, curry, and other odd flavors from their cultural links to India.
America really really lacks in comparison. You’ll see an odd flavor here or there (Cajun Crawtators being one I just saw 5 minutes ago), but your run-of-the-mill small store on the corner is going to have pretty boring options: BBQ, Nacho/cheese, Ranch, Sour Cream and Onion, etc.
Reblogged this on dawnspitfire's blog and commented:
Growing up, my sister and I really, really liked ketchup flavored potato chips. I believe they were made by Tom’s. AnyWHO, one CChristmas I decided to surprise my sister with some. We do not or didn’t have any in Arizona at the time, so I went online. They didn’t have what I remembered and most were from Canada. I decided to order four different brands, assuming she’d like at least one. Wrong! She said she didn’t like any of them (had these shipped from multiple companies btw). She said I could have them…a box, not a bag…a case of bags. Well, I figured i might as well get a lot. I liked them. I dont remember the different brands, but I can say with 100% certainty that her memory is faulty. She is 50…or tastes are not the same, not as our childhood memories go with tastes. So…it worked out to my advantage because I ended up with plenry of tasty chips 😉