Potato Chip Loving

We love them, don’t we? That little bit greasy, a lot salty, crispy slice of the lowly potato perks up any casual meal. We scarf them down with sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and soups. We dip them, crush them, crunch them plain and savor them slowly and alone. Millions of chips are consumed at lunch everyday.

Vending machines dispense them in tiny colorful bags. Moms pack them into school lunch boxes and their own fashionable lunch tote with matching water bottle. Dads take them to work in their briefcases or tool boxes. Americans eat chips.

And there’s no end to the ways we can eat them. The chip companies try to woo us away from the plain chip with various dry-applied flavors. Sea salt and vinegar, loaded baked potato, sour cream and onion flavorings attempt to lure us. Sometimes, they succeed and we cross into the realm of the impure chip.

But, somehow, we always manage to come back. We dance with the new kid and then we return to our best snack friend, the plain chip. It’s a romance that can’t be defeated. Americans love their chips.

Ah, I know. Plain chips are just that, plain. But, their very simplicity is the key to their charm. We must have them and we must have them on our own terms. No snack food has more uses, more diversity than the potato chip when we combine it with its best friend. And we get to determine that friendship according to our needs at the moment. What could be more versatile?

The plain chip begs to be dipped in a delectable mixture, spread on a casserole or added to a salad. No other side item compliments soup, salad or sandwich as easily as a potato chip.

They call to us to add things to them and to add them to other things. I wonder how many ways one can eat a chip. A plain chip, without all those added distractions, is the perfect vehicle for a wild variety of dips and additions.

Dips range from the decadent to the sublime. A potato chip calls out to the sour cream based dips. You know the ones. Add a packet of French onion soup or ranch dressing mix to a container of sour cream for that old familiar dip sensation. Or try something different and mix up the sour cream with some bottled chili sauce and a bit of dry mustard for a tangy fresh dressing. Want a little sweet to go with the salty? A quarter cup of brown sugar turns 16 ounces of sour cream into a perfect dessert dip.

In a hurry? Grab the ketchup or the vinegar. Your favorite steak sauce creates a flavor similar to a baked potato. Beef up your chip with a little mayo. Drizzle on a little melted butter and lemon juice. Go Asian with a little soy sauce. Then, there’s all the barbeque sauces, hot or mild, sweet or smoky, and they beg to make our chips more fun.

Don’t forget cream cheese! It’s easy to add wonderful things to room temperature cream cheese softened with mayonnaise. Try pineapple, chipped beef, refried beans, shredded cheddar or grated parmesan for taste treats that just cry out for more chips.

Then, there are the foods that need that bit of saltiness and crunch that can only be gotten from a potato chip. We all know about the tuna or chicken salads that are pretty sad unless accompanied by a handful of chips. But, have you ever tried them on meat loaf? Or baked beans? And broccoli casserole topped with plain chips goes from mundane to fun in a matter of seconds.

Ever tried a few chips with your apple slices? How about with that sliced avocado or some green grapes? Ripe and lovely cubed cantaloupe is spectacular served with potato chips on the side.

Okay, okay, I know. It’s easy to eat potato chips in so many ways that one person can’t think of them all. Look in any American pantry or refrigerator and you’ll find something that compliments or that is complimented by potato chips. But, is there anyone on earth smarter than your mom? And she was the one who served your grilled cheese lunch sandwich with a handful of chips and a glass of milk. Is there any food combination that is more indicative of the American chip?

I’ve met people who didn’t eat potato chips, but I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like them! No one says that they are good for you. Fat content alone stops us from having all of them we’d like to have. But, it’s easy to eat potato chips with healthy foods. And they just make the healthy foods taste better.

Long live the American potato chip.

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