It's A New Chip Review, And It's Not Great - Lay’s Cooling Sensation "Melon Bingsu Flavor"

Today's new review is one that you'd think would be obvious. It's obvious that it shouldn't work, I mean it's melon flavoured, menthol potato chips. Sometimes I get snacks like this and I'm surprised that it does actually work, this was not one of those times. I ate these chips, and they were pretty gross. They're so gross that I couldn't finish the entire bag (it was a small bag as well). I didn't throw them out though, I have some friends coming over this weekend for a round of Pandemic, and they're going to get to sample the worst chips ever made.

As an added bonus, this Thursday I'll be posting another review of another "cooling sensation" flavour of Lay's potato chips. I have a little more hope that these won't be nearly as gross, but I'm not totally confident.

Click here to read about the worst chips I've ever eaten.

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Memorable Japanese Kit Kats I've Reviewed - Part 4 - You Say Potato?

We're still in Japan, and if you're following us on Facebook and Twitter you may have caught wind of some of our treat adventures. This week on the site we've been talking about some of the more memorable Kit Kat bars that we've ever reviewed. I'm sure hopping that we're getting a few more to add to the collection right now.

Today we're going to talk about potatoes. Potatoes are not something that most westerners would associated with dessert or in particular candy. Japan, and many other countries in Asia however feel that potatoes (both sweet and regular) make for wonderful sweet treats. The most popular form is sweet potato, and there are several sweet potato sweet treats available all over Asia. In fact a regular treat in Japan is simply a baked sweet potato, they sell them in trucks that roam around neighborhoods and kids line up like they were buying ice cream.  Regular potato is not as common, but it's surely available.

If you know about the Asian love of potatoes, than this potato Kit Kat bar isn't that strange. Put into a western context though, and it's pretty weird indeed.  Personally I'm pretty fond of potatoes (both sweet and regular) and I have yet to find them in a sweet treat where it didn't really work.

Click here to read this potato review.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out if we found a sweet potato Kit Kat.

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Candy In The Media - Apparently Clear Potato Chips Are A Thing

While it seems a little weird, this recipe seems like it'll make something kind of tasty.

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When Great Ideas Fail - Inafcn "Salt & Sour"

If you're a regular reader of this blog (than you're not my my mother, seriously mom, you could check it out now and again), then you'll know that I love innovation. If you ask me what my favourite candy or snack is my answer is almost always "something new and creative that I haven't had before". There is however a second part to that answer, "it's also important to pull off your new idea". This is an example of what should have been an amazing idea, but they failed so badly at pulling off the goal that disappointment was all I had.

Click here to find out how these chips failed me.

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Most Notable Candy We Ate In 2017 - Chocolate Potato Snacks

On Friday I was just going on about how my favourite kind of snacks are creative ones. This is often the case, but in some cases it can lead to bad ideas. This is just such an idea. Strangely it's based on a good concept, chocolate and potato chips go really well together. The thing that turns a good original concept into a bad idea is execution. This is probably the worst salty snack we had all year, it was not only gross to eat, but disappointing as well. I'm divided about weather I hope other candy companies attempt something like this again in the future. I'd love to see it work, but I'm afraid of eating something like these again.

Click here to find out why this creative idea didn't work at all.

Also, follow us on Twitter and Facebook and let us know about any creative candy ideas you might  have.

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It's A New Sweet and Savory Review

The problem with sweet and savory foods is that there's a balance. The balance is obvious, sweet and savory, however how to do it right is not so obvious. That's very apparent in today's review, and the saddest thing is it could have worked perfectly.

Click here to read why these potato snacks didn't work.

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Best Variety - Lay's

All this month we've been looking  at treats  that offer huge varieties.  These varieties are all about taking the original treat, often a classic, and changing it slightly, or dramatically, to create something similar but with a twist.  So far we've covered, M&Ms, Kit Kat, Pocky, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, for our last installment we're going a little bit out of the box, in fact we're heading into a bag, a bag of Lay's Chips.

This installment might be a bit of a cheat, for two reasons.  First of all many people get on my case for reviewing chips on a site called Candy Critic, I have no honest justification for this, but I won't change it either.  Secondly, almost all of the varieties of Lay's chips has something to do with geography. Almost all of these chips are flavoured with common spices and flavours found in the  countries where they are sold.  There is one exception to this  rule, and that's Canada (my home and native land). This is because of a strange history that Canada has with potato chip flavours.

Canadians are very proud of the fact that we're crazy about crazy flavours of chips.  Most countries, as I said above, are tolerant of flavours, but only if they're based on common savory foods that they enjoy.  Canada on the other hand makes chip flavours for just about anything, and it doesn't even have to be savory.  While a few of these flavours do disappear and are only really gimmicks, several "strange" flavours have stuck around, and one in particular, Dill Pickle, remains a classic popular flavour in Canada today.

This might be why I appreciate tasting local chip flavours whenever I'm traveling.  From Spanish "Sabor Jamon Presunto", to Asia Nori Seaweed, to Pakistani street food, there are so many local flavours that can be found spicing potato chips.   Lay's is probably the largest maker of potato chips in the world, and I've seen their logo in just about every country I've ever visited.  While they always have a simple salt variety, there's inevitably a few other flavours worth trying as well.

I've tried 14 different flavour of Lay's potato chips, and the  diversity is pretty amazing.  The strangest flavour would have to be Cinnamon Bun, out of Canada.  Some flavours however are common in many countries.  Cheese, Onion, and Vinegar are very common flavours used in chips.  In just about every place I've visited there is one variety that will contain at least one of these three ingredients.  One of the other interesting features of chip varieties is the heat, or spiciness of the chips.  As you might imagine, in many Asian countries like India or Pakistan, the flavours are often very spicy, while in places like Greece or France it's more about subtle herbs.

The variety of Lay's chips available around the world are a great example of cuisines from around the world.  While being a simple snack, chips reflect a culture a lot more than most people would  think about.  This is likely because the potato gives you a blank canvas where you can add just about any flavour you'd like.  They can even be really strange flavours, like I find at home.

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Hey Everybody, It's A New Episode Of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!

In this episode Chris tries some very dodgy snacks that claim to  be Italian, and made of potato.  At this point we're not even sure they're supposed to be food.

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Hey Jelly Belly!!! Some Flavour Ideas - Salty Snacks

Salty Snacks

For our last entry into our week long look at ideas for Jelly Belly flavours we're going to look at salty snacks.  Check back on some of our past ideas including Creams, Middle Eastern spices, candy bars, and Japanese snacks.

When I talk to people about Jelly Bellies, there is inevitably at least one person in any group that loves buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies.  I would probably fall into that group as well.  There's something rather strange about eating a savory Jelly Belly, particularly with the butter flavour.  This is why I think Jelly Belly should take a few more steps forward in this area.  Why stop at just popcorn when there are so many other savory snacks that would make great flavours for Jelly Bellies.

The first savory snack that came to mind when I thought up this selection was pretzel.  I think for the sake of this bean they should go for a German soft pretzel rather than a hard small pretzel.  The key to making this flavour work is the slight sweetness of the bread mixed with the subtle salty flavour of the rock salt.

The next flavour is one that could expand, and is probably the most vague of all of the Jelly Belly flavours that I've thought of.  In Canada we're well known for our many varieties of flavoured potato chips, and this trend is starting to spread widely.  I think a whole line of flavoured chips would work, however you could start with a classic (in my Canadian mind) salt and vinegar potato chips.  This chip would be a great sour, with a slight hint of sweet, and just a dash of salt flavour.  It would be one of the most complex of all of these flavours, but I think it would be pretty tasty.

I'm not sure how well this last of these savory snack themed Jelly Bellies would actually work, flavour wise, but I'm pretty sure it would be the one flavour to get headlines.  Doritos have been licencing their brand a lot over the last ten years or so, and Jelly Belly would be a great fit.  I imagine that the cheese flavour would either be a surprising success, or a disgusting failure.  Either way, I think many people would at the very least want to give them a try, myself included.

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Daily Rations - Part 3 - Sausage and Hash Browns

Everyday this week I'm posting a review of a ration pack meal.  So far this week I've reviewed wieners and bean and cabbage rolls.  Today I'm going to look at a "yummy" breakfast ration, sausage and hash browns.  My first impression of this ration pack, when I dumped it into my bowl was confusion.  I was always under the impression that hash browns were potatoes either grated or chopped into small cubes, then cooked in a pan or on a flattop grill.  The hash browns in this ration pack seemed more like large chunks of boiled potatoes.  There was nothing grilled or fried looking about these potatoes at all.

I was also a little shocked to see the sausages already chopped up into little pieces.  I'm assuming that this is to keep everything bite sized, just in case you don't have a knife and a fork available when you’re eating this pack.  The thing is, why not then just make tiny little sausages, which you can eat in one or two bites?  It would look nicer, and might hold in the meaty flavour a little better.

As far as quality of this ration pack, it was OK.  The flavour of the sausage was the clear winning attribute to this ration pack.  The potato was just as I'd imagined, just boiled potatoes with no fried flavour at all.  Fortunately the flavour of the sausage did mix around into the potato, so it added just a little bit of extra flavour to the bland potatoes.  I'm also really happy that the sausages weren't just hot dogs, similar to the wieners and beans, that would have made this meal really disappointing.

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Candy In The Media

I figured the best way to cap off potato chip week here on candycritic.org, I'd find a fun potato chip commercial to post on this week's edition of Candy in The Media.  This commercial for Lay's potato chips might disturb some. I always find it disturbing to watch food based snack characters cannibalize themselves.  It's been done before, but each time it shocks me, and also makes me want to eat what they're eating. I guess I figure if popular food based characters are willing to resort to eating their own kind, it's gotta be tasty.

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This Week In Candy

It's chip week here at candycritic.org.  To start things off, we're having a potato chip review-a-thon.  That means that instead of just one review (posted today), you're getting a review ever day this week.  Best of all, each of these reviews will be a potato chip review.  We'll feature flavours from all over the world, some are great, some are horrible, but all make me want to drink copious amounts of cola (because that's what chips do).

Along with our potato chips review-a-thon, we're also featuring the glorious potato chip on our Intstagram feed Snack Facts.  That means that not only will you get a new chip review every day, but you'll also get a fun potato chip fact as well. If you're not on Instagram, then you can check out Snack Facts on our Facebook and Twitter feeds as well.

As far as projects that we're still working on: You can keep up with our Giant Jaw Breaker challenge on our Twitter, and Facebook feeds.  We're also finishing up a long  time second part of an article we wrote over 4 years ago about the Cadbury/Kraft merger, which should be posted next week.

To start off this week's review-a-thon, we have a potato chip from Greece, it's a typical Greek flavour, but it's a little cheesy.  We'll be posting new chip reviews all week, make sure to follow our Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter feeds to keep up with the latest reviews. Click here to read today's chips review.

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Canadian Candy List - Part 3 - Best Local Treats

Over the last few years I've been living away from my home country, Canada.  I've been traveling the world exploring all kinds of snack foods, junk foods, and sweets, but my heart is still in Canada.  I'm going to be back home for an extended period, and I've decided to compile various lists on the theme of Canadian candy and snacks.  Each week, for the next several weeks, I'll be posting a different list of Canadian candies I've reviewed in various categories.  Some of these treats may be available in other parts of the world, some are exclusive to the Great White North, but in my mind all of them are Canadian.

Above I've mentioned that I wasn't really sure if all of the treats on these lists are in fact exclusively Canadian.  Today is the exception, today all of these treats are Canadian, and I know it.  I know this because I bought almost all of them directly from the people who made them, and I bought these all in Canada.

 Nothing is more Canadian than the idea of eating a bear.  For some reason Canada has this reputation with wild animals, and many of our candies are themed with nature.  Lanark Village treats is a fun little candy store in Ontario that capitalizes on this trend with a really tasty, chewy treat.

Click here to read the Bear Paw review.

Cocoa West, a candy store recommended to me by some friends from British Columbia, makes an egg that has the most peculiar name.  It's called the "Unbelievably Good Egg" and it lives up to its name.

Click here to read the Unbelievably Good Egg review.

My friend Carrie is a proud Canadian, one of the things that proves her Canadianess is her love of cranberries.  While she has a normal day job, annually she heads out to the cranberry marsh to work the fields.  She also always has some cranberry treats for me to try.

Click here to read the Dark Chocolate Cranberries review.

The last two entries in today's list are all about potatoes.  Prince Edward Island is famous for some of the best potatoes in the world.  They're also not shy about promoting their amazing products, and this bag of chips is a great example of that.

Click here to read the Prince Edward Island Potato Bag Chips review.

This treat on the other hand, is a great example of how the people of Prince Edward Island like to innovate with their potatoes.  Not only does this ball of fudge look like a baked potato, but the fudge itself is made of potato.

Click here to read the Spudge review.



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Remembering 2013 in Treats

Best chocolate bar that should be an international classic.

It doesn't happen often, but once in a while I sample a bar that seems like it should be an instant classic.  Sometimes this bar is something brand new, and sometimes it's only new to me.  In this case, the Catch bar is only new to me.  Apparently these have been a classic treat in Ireland for a while, they just haven't caught on in the rest of the world.  But that may change, the company that makes these informs me that they're trying to spread them all over the world.  If you're lucky enough to find one now, make sure to give it a try.

Click here to read the Catch bar review.

Best new chocolate bar idea.

As candy fans, we are generally inundated with variations on chocolate bars.  I've complained countless times about the poor choices candy companies make with these variations, most of which are uninspired and lazy.  This variation on the other hand is not uninspired at all, although it could have been executed a little bit better.  This is an idea that is very strange, yet it makes perfect sense at the same time.  Next year when I post this list again, you may not find the category of "best bar idea" because it happens so rarely in the candy industry.

Click here to read the Lacta Sandwich review.

Most creative homemade/small candy company treat.

One of the joys of running this site is those occasional e-mails I recieve from small candy companies looking to promote their treats.  These independent candy companies often create some inspiring treats that taste great and/or can be super creative.  This lollipop is a great example of a small company treat that excels in both taste and creativity.  It's strange, it's tasty, and it works very well.

Click here to read the salted caramel lollipop review.

Favorite foreign treat.

As you may know, I travel a lot.  While all my travel isn't officially for Candy Critic, I never travel anywhere without tasting the local treats.  2013 started in Australia for me, and I also managed to visit Scotland, Northern England, Berlin, the Greek Islands, and Turkey.  Of all those places that I visited, the most memorable treat I sampled was Turkish Delight.  I've sampled many Turkish Delights in the past, but this pistachio filled, pomegranate flavoured, covered in rose (pedals and leaves), was truly one of the most creative flavour's I'd ever sampled.

Click here to read the pomegranate and rose Turkish delight review.

Worst idea that could have been good.

It's really fun to be creative with flavours.  Today the popular trend is to blend savory and sweet flavours together.  One of the best ways to do this is by using chocolate as your sweet flavour.  Chocolate is so popular that people are willing to try just about anything covered in chocolate.  Chocolate is also so versatile that it almost always works, no matter what kind of salty snack you mix it with.  Notice I used the word "almost" in the last sentence, that's because of the Tayto bar.  While potato chips and chocolate are a pretty sure thing, when you ad cheese and onion flavours into the mix, things don't work as well at all.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I tried this bar, I'm just glad that I won't ever have to try one again.

Click here to read the Tayto review.

Best classic treat that I had not tried before.

As I mentioned before, I love getting free candy from small candy companies, but I also love getting treats from big companies as well.  While I've tried many of the worlds most popular treats, occasionally one gets past me.  Every now and then someone sends me an e-mail, asking why I haven't sampled a particular treat, because it's a classic.  Walnettos was just such a situation.  I got an e-mail from a candy company asking me if I'd like to try a few treats, they also asked if I'd like a bag of Walnettos just to enjoy on my own.  I had no idea what a Walnetto was, and they were astonished.  I was promptly sent a bag of these wonderful little cubes, and devoured them immediately.

Click here to read the Walnettos review.

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Friday Candy Video

Last week I posted a video of chocolates being made, this week it's potato chips.  Potato chips hold a certain feeling of nostalgia for me.  Whenever I smell them, see them, or even think about them, it reminds me of traveling on the train.  My father used to buy us bags of chips before we would get on a train to visit our grandparents.  The smell and taste of chips always reminds me traveling on the rails in Southern Ontario.  Also, whenever I ride a train, I'm always craving chips.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate - Lay's - While I love chocolate covered potato chips, I'm not sure how well it would work out of a bag. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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A Cool Candy Thing

Since I've never tested this particular item, I can't say for sure that it works.  I can however attest to the idea that we need a better way to eat potato chips.  My fingers get pretty gross, even when it's just a bag of plain potato chips, don't even get me started about ketchup flavoured chips.  While I can see some possible faults with this particular invention, most of all the fact that you can only really eat full sized chips while the crumbs will remain, I think it's a step in the right direction.

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Wednesday Japanese Candy Review!

The Japanese people love fish, if you ever need proof of this, visit Tokyo and head over the Tsukiji fish market at around 5 am.  You'll see more fish than you could possibly imagine any city eating in a week, but all of it will be sold in a day, and the next day it opens again.  With this love of fish, fish flavoured snacks are very common.  Japanese people love fish so much, they even have non-fish flavoured snacks in the shapes of fish.  I guess that's what happens when you live on an island.

As always, I'd like to thank our friends at oyatsucafe.com for providing us with another great (and strange) Japanese treat to review.  Make sure to pay them a visit, particularly if you want to sample this week's review.  Also, enter the word "candycritic" in the coupon box to get a great discount.

Click here to read our latest Japanese candy review.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Ruffles 'Crispy Fries' - Ruffles - I'm not sure how revolutionary these are, but they might be tasty. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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It's National Potato Chip Day and Pi Day!!!

Today is a two for one holiday... sort of.  The most popular holiday event happening today is something called Pi Day.  I'm sure many would argue that today is not about slicing off a warm piece of apple pie, but instead a holiday celebrating a number with no known ending.  Fact is, pies are round, and pies are tasty, so many people celebrate Pi Day with a pie.  It's only logical.

Today is also National Potato Chip Day, and this day is far less confusing.  Potato chips have become one of the staple snacks all over the world.  It's pretty amazing to think that the potato chip was said to be invented only 160 years ago.

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