And the best salt and vinegar chips award goes to…
- Replies 3
There is no shortage of salt and vinegar chips in the market. There’s Smiths and Kettle, to home brands and Samboy. People who like them also exist on a spectrum – some want it mild, while others prefer them so acidic it’s like the chips are burning a hole in your tongue.
Enthusiasts who like their salt and vinegar chips strongly flavoured might have debated amongst themselves which of the brands available in Australia is the most intense. One Aussie attempted to determine which has the strongest flavour once and for all by putting 11 options to a taste test.
Posting on the social news website Reddit, they said: ‘We were looking for which chip had the strongest flavour initially and the strongest aftertaste. [...] All the chips were bought on the same day and were eaten by myself and two others.’
They continued: ‘A chart was made, dividing the brands into low, medium and high. We ranked which chip belonged where, changing what needed to be changed after all chips were eaten. We then analysed our results to see which ones had the most highs and worked our way to the ones that had the most lows.’
One chips fan shared the verdict of their salt and vinegar chips taste test on Reddit. Credit: reapingsulls123/Reddit
The Redditor’s ranking is as follows:
A top comment said: ‘My tongue is splitting just thinking about this.’
A Redditor responded to the comment, saying: ‘It made me “gleek”. Proposing this as the word of the day.’ Gleek, a term that became popular on the short-form video-sharing app Tiktok, means ‘shooing saliva out from under the tongue’. (Gross.)
Many Aussies noticed a glaring omission: Samboy. Comments asking the author where the national favourite is (‘What? No Samboy chips?’) are repeated multiple times on the post.
One Redditor said: ‘Samboys is the king in exile of this list!’
Another reminisced about the good ol’ times: ‘Remember when Samboys came with a little sachet of extra flavouring? The 90s were a wild and wonderful time for chips.’
Some Aussies mentioned that Samboy S&V wasn’t as good as it once was, while others wondered if they are still available for purchase. One comment said: ‘Do Samboys S&V still exist? Those ones were the top, for sure. Especially when they had the extra flavour bomb packet. My mouth would be practically bleeding by the end of it.’
Another response spoke of the brand’s legacy: ‘Where the f**k are the Samboys? Missus opens a bag of those f*****rs and I can smell the bas****s two rooms away!’
Commenting on the popular chips’ absence, the chip flavour evaluator said: ‘I really wanted to include Samboys as they seemed awesome, but as they seem to be very difficult to get where I live, they could not be included. Put them at the top of the list in your heart if you wish.’
One Redditor with insider information on Smiths and ALDI chimed in: ‘I worked for Smiths, which makes the ALDI brand too. I can confirm that the ALDI version has a higher flavour specification on all their chips. I once took home a packed latex glove full of vintage cheese and mustard flavour powder – on potato bakes, it was like crack.’ Both Sprinters and Blackstone are ALDI brands.
Another wrote about the Red Rock Deli chips: ‘It has the perfect vinegar to salt ratio. I used to go at least a few packets of them when the work cafeteria had them.’
However, another Aussie begged to differ: ‘I really don’t enjoy Red Rock salt and vinegar flavour, and I never thought there would be an S&V I didn’t like. It’s the balsamic.’
A Smiths fan wrote: ‘I personally prefer the Smiths as the thicker chip helps offset the flavour a little bit. Sweet chilli red rock and jalapeño kettle, though, are fu****g S-tier chips.’
Whether or not you believe S&V chips are the best, there’s no doubt that the flavour leaves quite an impact. A Redditor mused: ‘Why is salt and vinegar chips the only flavour that I can taste in my head?’
The packaging of the chips made others notice the dominant colour scheme: ‘Funny how magenta became the colour of salt and vinegar, except Pringles which said “f*** you, blue.”’ It’s a mystery why magenta (pink to others) is the colour of choice for S&V in Australia, but other countries do not share the association. In the UK, S&V chips come in green while others have them in blue. There is no universal consensus.
Salt and vinegar chips have been beloved around the world since they were introduced in the 1950s. However, take them in moderation – tasty as they are, they do not provide as many nutrients compared to unprocessed food.
If you want to satisfy your cravings, though, you can always make homemade chips that are slightly healthier than store-bought options. Baked potato chips have fewer calories and saturated fats. The process is simple, too, as explained in the video below:
Do you agree with the ranking? How do you like your chips? Let us know in the comments!
Enthusiasts who like their salt and vinegar chips strongly flavoured might have debated amongst themselves which of the brands available in Australia is the most intense. One Aussie attempted to determine which has the strongest flavour once and for all by putting 11 options to a taste test.
Posting on the social news website Reddit, they said: ‘We were looking for which chip had the strongest flavour initially and the strongest aftertaste. [...] All the chips were bought on the same day and were eaten by myself and two others.’
They continued: ‘A chart was made, dividing the brands into low, medium and high. We ranked which chip belonged where, changing what needed to be changed after all chips were eaten. We then analysed our results to see which ones had the most highs and worked our way to the ones that had the most lows.’
One chips fan shared the verdict of their salt and vinegar chips taste test on Reddit. Credit: reapingsulls123/Reddit
The Redditor’s ranking is as follows:
- Sprinters
- Red Rock Deli
- Smiths
- Blackstone
- Kettle
- Natural Chip Co
- French Fries
- Thins
- Tyrells
- Pringles
- Vege Chips
A top comment said: ‘My tongue is splitting just thinking about this.’
A Redditor responded to the comment, saying: ‘It made me “gleek”. Proposing this as the word of the day.’ Gleek, a term that became popular on the short-form video-sharing app Tiktok, means ‘shooing saliva out from under the tongue’. (Gross.)
Many Aussies noticed a glaring omission: Samboy. Comments asking the author where the national favourite is (‘What? No Samboy chips?’) are repeated multiple times on the post.
One Redditor said: ‘Samboys is the king in exile of this list!’
Another reminisced about the good ol’ times: ‘Remember when Samboys came with a little sachet of extra flavouring? The 90s were a wild and wonderful time for chips.’
Some Aussies mentioned that Samboy S&V wasn’t as good as it once was, while others wondered if they are still available for purchase. One comment said: ‘Do Samboys S&V still exist? Those ones were the top, for sure. Especially when they had the extra flavour bomb packet. My mouth would be practically bleeding by the end of it.’
Another response spoke of the brand’s legacy: ‘Where the f**k are the Samboys? Missus opens a bag of those f*****rs and I can smell the bas****s two rooms away!’
Commenting on the popular chips’ absence, the chip flavour evaluator said: ‘I really wanted to include Samboys as they seemed awesome, but as they seem to be very difficult to get where I live, they could not be included. Put them at the top of the list in your heart if you wish.’
One Redditor with insider information on Smiths and ALDI chimed in: ‘I worked for Smiths, which makes the ALDI brand too. I can confirm that the ALDI version has a higher flavour specification on all their chips. I once took home a packed latex glove full of vintage cheese and mustard flavour powder – on potato bakes, it was like crack.’ Both Sprinters and Blackstone are ALDI brands.
Another wrote about the Red Rock Deli chips: ‘It has the perfect vinegar to salt ratio. I used to go at least a few packets of them when the work cafeteria had them.’
However, another Aussie begged to differ: ‘I really don’t enjoy Red Rock salt and vinegar flavour, and I never thought there would be an S&V I didn’t like. It’s the balsamic.’
A Smiths fan wrote: ‘I personally prefer the Smiths as the thicker chip helps offset the flavour a little bit. Sweet chilli red rock and jalapeño kettle, though, are fu****g S-tier chips.’
Whether or not you believe S&V chips are the best, there’s no doubt that the flavour leaves quite an impact. A Redditor mused: ‘Why is salt and vinegar chips the only flavour that I can taste in my head?’
The packaging of the chips made others notice the dominant colour scheme: ‘Funny how magenta became the colour of salt and vinegar, except Pringles which said “f*** you, blue.”’ It’s a mystery why magenta (pink to others) is the colour of choice for S&V in Australia, but other countries do not share the association. In the UK, S&V chips come in green while others have them in blue. There is no universal consensus.
Salt and vinegar chips have been beloved around the world since they were introduced in the 1950s. However, take them in moderation – tasty as they are, they do not provide as many nutrients compared to unprocessed food.
If you want to satisfy your cravings, though, you can always make homemade chips that are slightly healthier than store-bought options. Baked potato chips have fewer calories and saturated fats. The process is simple, too, as explained in the video below:
Do you agree with the ranking? How do you like your chips? Let us know in the comments!
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