For most people, tortilla chips are just a vessel for shoveling as much dip as possible into their faces. We're not most people. We appreciate the art and craft of a well-made tortilla chip, as much as the next Mexican. But who the heck has time to slave over hand pressing masa all day? Not us. So we did what must be done. First, we fought off hordes of snack fiends in the salty-highway-to-heaven aisle at the supermarket and zeroed in on a select few favorites among the bagged tortilla chip selection. We found 20 hungry volunteers and put the three top brands of tortilla chips to a head-to-head blind taste-test. Only one could be named victorious in this battle for top dipper, a.k.a. the most essential food group of a winning game-day party. Here are the results: tostitos_chips.jpg
Tostitos Restaurant StylePrice: $3.29 Flavor: 3.8 Chip Integrity: 3.7 Texture/Appearance: 3.8Overall: 3.8 Our chip champion Tostitos Restaurant Style crunched the competition. "Now that is one quality chip!" exclaimed one taste tester who consequently gave Tostitos a perfect score. The flavor was a clear crowd pleaser as comments ranged from "Pure corn taste..." to "The best one. Salty and crunchy!" Concerning Chip Integrity, one lone dissenter questioned the necessity of such large chips--he was quickly overwhelmed by fanatics. "The bigger the better," declared one such supporter. Another, who gave the chip a perfect Texture score, wrote, "Love the shape, size, and saltiness!"
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365 Everyday Value Restaurant Style Lightly Salted White Corn Tortilla ChipsPrice: $2.99Flavor: 2.3 Chip Integrity: 2.7 Texture/Appearance: 2.6Overall: 2.53The 365 Corn Chip did not appease the crowd. We found the chip only middle-of-the-road, as one anonymous editor termed it, "blah taste." A few chip connoisseurs showed less restraint; one cringing critic thought the 365 Corn Chip tasted like baked bread, while another commented on a funny aftertaste. We also received several complaints about lack of salt, which leads us to believe they might be a good match for a quality salsa.
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Mission Restaurant Style Tortilla ChipsPrice: $3.69Flavor: 2.2 Chip Integrity: 3.1 Texture/Appearance: 2.2Overall: 2.51 Finally, at the bottom of the pile we encounter the Mission Chips who missed second place by a mere .019. In the flavor category, Mission bombed. Comments ranged from simply "not good," to many questioning the expiration date. One such critic summed up the general consensus, "tastes fine at first, but then really bad--like cardboard." (Note: Dates on each package confirmed freshness.) The only redeeming quality for this chip was its Integrity, which tasters deemed "sturdy," but narrow.
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Like bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, the perfect tortilla chip was meant for the perfect salsa. Don't worry we took care of that part, too. Check out the results of our salsa taste test here. For even more mouth-watering photos visit our Facebook Page.
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