Why Can't Chips Be CHips

 Potato chips.It's simple - .A slice of deep fried potato flavored with salt. It's perfect.It;s what makes French fries taste like heaven. It should be the same for the basic chip. Yet it isn't. Now they come in a million flavors. The question is why.

This dawned on me when I made amy local  trip to the Acme yesterday and saw their brand Signature feature a stuffing flavor . I'm guessing it taste like sage and bread - possibly with hints of turkey and chicken broth, The problem with this is where would the potato flavor be? It's less of a chip than something else.Flavored chips are nothing new.They've been around for a whopping seventy-f9ve years first being made in Ireland(!!!!!!)  and not where everyone would guess - the US. it was Dublin based Joe Murphy who created the variant  - cheese and onion - along with the British favorite salt and vinegar. The last probably mimicked the taste of the French fries or chips themselves doused with salt and vinegar. He developed a way to season the chips during the production portion. His company Tayto gained worldwide recognition and soon copies followed. The United States quickly got on board and produced barbecue and sour cream and onion flavors. The last seemed a logical jump. Most Americans were dunking their chips into a sour cream based onion dip at parties.

However in those three quarters of a century , flavors seemed to have gotten out of hand. Lays alone has a large array of different ones and sponsor a  write in contest where fans can submit their sometimes wild suggestions. They even offer a chip that's layered with all the popular flavors - salt and vinegar, barbecue and sour cream. I'm not sure how the flavors would be mixed together , The original potato flavor would be smothered.Other snacks like Takis, the rolled tortilla chips snack has these Fuego or super spicy flavored crisps. Lays has taken a cue from them and produced a flaming hot chip . Other flavors reflect growing ethnic groups such as  Latinx. This gave birth to the flavor Chile limon which sort of is like a spicy margarita.  They laos have a Korean chicken flavor, as they cater to the growing Asian population. Here's is also on board with different  flavors too.There's an Old Bay one that is like  the famed crab leg dish along with ketchup and even steak. There is also a dill pickle flavors, ripe with dill for pickle lovers.

DO these flavors enhance the potato chip? Some fans might say yes. However they're missing the great tasty of fried potato with salt.

King of Pop Popcorn The Perfect Dad/Grad Gift

June is the month for celebrating. Dad has his day , so do grammar school and high school graduates A fun gift alng with party snack is popcorn. King of Pop knows this and has come out with some yummy flavors and fantastic gifts  sure to  please both . It also is a great snack for those outdoor movie nights by the fire pit..

King of Pop Popcorn is a three year old family run business coming out  of New Hampshire. The company has every flavor under the sun and then some. Of course they have the traditional butter,caramel and kettle but they verr off in both savory and sweet paths. One of my favorites is the dill pickle. ,Yes it sounds strange - pickles and popcorn  but the dill with a hint of vinegar is actually pretty flavorful.It's herby and tart,perfect with a summery drink like gin and tonic or mojitos. Their cheddars are yummy. The cheesy cheddar is like eating chunks od the cheese while the bacon cheddar is a tasty blend of everyone's two favorite flavors. For spice try the Cajun and the BBQ ones. There is also the honey mustard, perfect to serve with pretzels. King of Pop also has a range of sweet, from the traditional caramel to the sinful chocolate chip mint and the ever festive birthday cake. This last is dotted with fun sprinkles and tastes like a bite size cake.For a fun movie night order the confetti. This is a fruity mix of cherry, grape and raspberry and come in cute colors. Wanting a snickerdoodle but hate tobake then try their cinnamon and brown sugar popcorn.

What is great about King of Pop is their variety of gift options. They have a lot of dad-centric gifts that are perfect for snacking in the man cave. Any father would love the Father's Day Gift Tower that not only has the tangy buffalo along with the salt and vinegar corn but also hard candy , chocolate wafers and gummy citrus slices but also pretzels and snack mix. This makes for some fine snacking when watching all those sporting events.The tower is sweetly wrapped in paper that looks like a tie too. Another must get for dad is the Father's Day Junk Food, literally buckets of sea salt and cracked pepper corn , tempered by the sweetness of the cinnamon corn. Chips Ahoy and Mike and Ike are added in along with salted peanuts and strawberry Twizzlers. You could also just buy your pops a big bucket of Pub Picks,bacon cheddar, honey mustard and buffalo. Chi town dads would  appreciate
  the  Chicago classic mix of cheese and caramel corn, meant to be eaten together.Grads would love the signature samplers that feature a picnic themed (think watermelon,  buttered and sundried tomato) and the chocolate lovers.A tin is always fun too, especially for those grammar school grads planning parties and sleepovers.

The gift giving dilemma is solved. Get dad or the grad in your life a tower or bucket of King of Pop Popcorn. It's an unusual and tasty gift, perfect for celebrating