30 June, 2010

Terra Kettles Arrabiata Flavored Potato Chips

Terra Chips are not new to us.  They made their name with high-quality vegetable chips, and we've enjoyed many of the varieties.  Terra Chips has earned our trust for consistent quality as well as unique and unusual products.

I like many kinds of flavored potato chips, and I'm always open to trying a new brand or variety.  On a recent trip to Ocean State Job Lot, Lynnafred discovered these "arrabiata" flavored kettle-cooked chips from Terra Chips, under their Terra Kettles line.  We bought a bag.

Arrabiata is an Italian tomato sauce, Roman in origin, flavored with garlic and hot chile peppers.  Relatively obscure a few years ago, it's steadily been building in popularity, and it's no surprise that Terra would be the first to attempt to flavor a chip with it, given their upscale image.

The chips themselves are everything you'd expect from Terra.  Fresh, flavorful, perfectly cooked.  Unfortunately, "arrabiata" as applied to potato chip flavoring is pretty much simply a fancy name for "BBQ."  There is no chile heat to distinguish it from any other of dozens of less expensive and less celebrated brands.  We were very disappointed since none of us are big fans of BBQ flavored chips, but Lynnafred and I also realize that we took a chance on a tomato-flavored chip and should have known that they'd be similar to BBQ.  Live and learn, right?

Terra Kettles have several other varieties on the market right now, which include such interesting flavors as Chesapeake Bay and Beer, General Tso, and Pesto and Smoked Mozzarella.  I haven't seen any of these in my area yet, but when I do I'd like to give them a try.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dave- the pesto and smoked mozzarella ones are really good! I had a "serving" and Putz ate the rest of the bag!

cheezmaker

J. Astro said...

I'd have to say my fave "unique" potato chip flavor comes courtesy of Herr's 'Sweet Corn' flavored ripple chips. Fuckin' buttery as hell and salty and everything a fatso like me loves about sweet corn. The chips tend to get a little cloying after a few handfuls, but MAN - those first several bites sure are keen. They're fairly seasonal around here in the Midwest, although I've found several of Herr's other flavors (Pizza, Baby Back Ribs, Steak), the Sweet Corn variety has so far eluded me. Bummer.