30 Bags of Chips Means No One is a Winner

The idea for #chipparty started when someone told me they could blindly identify all the common flavors of chips. I argued that modern Flavour Scientists have rendered such a feat impossible. Not even counting the “NEW!” flavors that pass by as limited runs we have more options for potato chips than any generation that has ever lived.

“We are living in the greatest era of chippery in human history.”

The idea of #chipparty was intended as a celebration of Chipdom. A quick facebook invite and a trip to just three stores (Fred Meyer, Whole Foods, and Rite Aid) and I quickly filled the entire kitchen counter with bags of potato chips.

Organization

I entered all the chips into a spreadsheet and looked at the style of chip, the brand, the location of distribution center/corporate HQ, the calorie count, and possible dietary restrictions. All the chips claim a 1 oz serving size which is between 140 and 160 calories (exept for Popchips, which was 120). The Lay’s/Ruffles empire constituted 40% of the flavors, Kettle took up 27%, and Pringles 10%. The remaining flavors were split among smaller brands.