Are you ready for some football? Most of us are (boy, are we ever) and card tables across the nation will be groaning under the weight of assorted nibbles, especially potato chips. We’ve done our share of taste tests with this quintessential snack food, but never that popular favorite, sour cream and onion.
A lot of folks serve sour cream and onion dip with potato chips–and frankly, if that’s the flavor you’re looking for, you’ll still want to have some when you pull out these chips. We expected over-the-top flavor, and we got subtly nuanced instead. We didn’t dislike any of the chips we tried–the last-place brand still scored more than 5 points–but those with more pronounced flavors (such as they were) earned the most cheers. Vitner’s, based in Freeport, Ill., was the overwhelming favorite. Ruffles, which also passed a 7-point average, took second place.
Here are the winners with voters’ comments. The remaining chips are listed in order of finish.
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The results
1. Vitner’s Sour Cream ‘n Onion (7.8 points. 14 ounces, $2.99; 21 cents per ounce) “Nice tang of sour cream; not very oniony. Mild and good!” “Great flavor, crispy and fresh-tasting.” “Mild flavor ends with a salty zip.”
2. Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion (7.1 points. 11 1/2 ounces, $3.19; 28 cents per ounce) “Tangy and sharp but balanced.” “Great fried-chip flavor and tanginess from the sour cream.” “Potato flavor dominates with subtle sour cream and onion accents.”
Also tasted
3. Jays Sour Cream ‘n Onion (6.8 points.) 4. Lay’s Sour Cream & Onion (6.5 points). 5. Bonanza Sour Cream & Onion (Aldi; 5.1 points).
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Products are scored on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being highest. Prices are based on what we paid for them at the supermarket and may reflect sales or discounts from frequent-shopper cards.
renna@tribune.com
