The British, Japanese and other nations seem to have a wild streak when it comes to the humble potato chip (or crisp as they're called in the UK and, more and more, in the US). Most of the truly madcap chip sensations are British and Japanese but the US and India are moving up strongly. Americans eat 6.3 billion dollars in potato chips each year but we Yanks have always preferred our chips on the mild side, rarely straying outside the safe circle of Sour Cream and Onion, Barbecue, Cheddar Cheese, and a tiny handful of others. But since #1 on our list is an American chip, we are becoming truly competitive in the field of taste bud terrorism.
Well-known for truly bizarre potato chip/crisp flavors is the legendary Walkers company of the UK and Ireland. They recently had a "Do Us a Flavour" contest for the craziest sins to commit against the humble spud. Among the entered flavors (all produced for incomprehensible consumption) were Crispy Duck and Hoisin, Cajun Squirrel, Chili and Chocolate, Onion Bhaji (Bhaji is an Indian dished made of onions mixed with chickpea and gram cracker flour then deep fried ... one assumes the chips taste like it), and Builders Breakfast, a crisp and light little crisp tasting of eggs, bacon, sausage and ... beans? Must be a UK thing. Anyway, the Builders Breakfast was the winner and is now a permanent part of Walkers' mutant brood. Cajun Squirrel and the others are happily no more. Since that was a contest, those flavors have been placed in their own category of weirdness. We're not finished with Walkers yet though. More chip perversion to come.
Beyond those, the top ten weirdest chips:
1) Cajun Crawtator! Our number #1 is American, oddly enough. A Louisiana bayou blend of boiled seafood-ish gastronomical bombast. Straight from Zapp's, it's hugely successful and apparently much beloved by everyone in creation other than this writer.
Now, let us try to make one. Watch and learn.
Hypermedia?
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