Nobody expected to see Aldi take out the top spot. Words by Rebecca Borg.
An Australian redditor believes they have cracked the code when it comes to which brand of salt and vinegar chips has the strongest taste, but it hasn’t come without strong debate.
In a post to subreddit r/australia, salt and vinegar fans have found themselves salivating at the sight of 11 chip brands ranked most to least strongest in taste.
Topping the list is Aldi’s Sprinters, followed by Red Rock Deli, Smith’s, Blackstone and Kettle.
Natural Chip Co sits safely in the middle at sixth place while French Fries, Thins, Tyrell’s, Pringles and Vege Chips respectively rank 7th to 11th.
The self-proclaimed “proud Australian” redditor drew the conclusion after determining which chip had the strongest flavour and aftertaste.
“All these chips were brought on the same day by myself and were eaten by myself and two others,” the redditor outlined in a comment explaining their method.
Using a three-category chart with the labels low, medium and high, the trio ranked each chip based on their assessments.
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French Fries were the exception, being judged by the handful opposed to a single fry due to their small size.
“We then analysed our results seeing which ones had the most highs and worked our way to the one that had the most lows,” they said.
While a humorous debate instantly kicked off over the non-scientific method used to draw the conclusion, others quickly added their thoughts on whether they believed the ranking was correct.
One redditor justified how they would rank each brand by specifically focusing on their ingredients.
“Kettle is the most intense by far and therefore superior in my view. Also they use Apple cider vinegar (based),” they said, followed by Smith’s in second place.
“Blackstone’s are fantastic but they use onion powder which means I can’t indulge. French Fries are great and the Vege Chips are good as well. Pringles are good for something different but hard to find.”
Meanwhile, another redditor argued Kettle should rank in third place opposed to Smith’s.
“Smith’s is wayyyy more chill. I go for Kettle when my mouth can handle Kettle’s intensity. Smith’s when I want the rich flavour but not the skin stripping,” they commented.
Others were particularly vocal about Samboy not even making an appearance on the list, with many arguing that the brand would have easily taken out the top spot.
“Missus opens a bag of those (and) I can smell the b***ards two rooms away!” one comment read.
To the experimenter’s defence, they wanted to include the brand in their research but were unable to find it in their vicinity.
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The unofficial experiment also led to debate about one brand not sticking to the status quo, with eagle-eyed viewers pointing out that Pringles have failed to comply with the colour code.
All other brands have some form of pink or purple design on their package to indicate that its salt and vinegar flavoured, while Pringles’ design in blue.
“Funny how Magenta became the colour of salt and vinegar,” one user pointed out. “Except Pringles which said f*** you, (let’s go) blue.”
Another user commented: “As long as I remember, S & V has always been in magenta packets.”
“Blue = Plain (salted), Magenta = Salt and Vinegar, Green = Chicken, Sun Gold = BBQ (and) Yellow = Cheese and Onion.”
In response, a third user said, “this is God’s law”.
While redditors have a semi-official list detailing the intensity of salt and vinegar chip brands, we may never know for sure which chip will officially take out the top spot due to our varying tastebuds.
And all debate aside, Vege Chips do not deserve to be ranked on the bottom.
This article originally appeared on news.com.au. It has been reproduced here with permission.
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