Light and salty wins the corn chip taste testWednesday, July 9, 2003 Chips and salsa, Latin-born but truly all-American, are a snack for all seasons. But they go best with summer's frosty drinks and barbecues. So what are the best white corn tortilla chips and fresh store-bought salsas? This week, Taster's Choice rates the chips; next week, the salsas. The tasters tried 12 kinds of chips, from thick to thin. All but one were fried; the other was oven-baked and didn't fare well. Santitas Triangles ($1.99 for 18 ounces, Cala) were such a hit they won Taster's Choice Hall of Fame status, given to products that score 80 or more points out of a possible 100. "Salty, crispy and very corny," raved one taster. "Good thickness and crunch," "liked the coarser corn texture," "nice snap, tasty," said the others. All five would buy these chips. Ranking second were Trader Joe's Organic ($1.79 for 16 ounces). Tasters liked their griddle marks, and called the chips "well seasoned" with "good corn notes." But they split on the crispness -- two thought they were fine, but two said they "could be crisper." Three would buy them and two might. Third place went to Tostitos Restaurant Style ($3.29 for 13 1/2 ounces, many stores). The tasters liked their thinness, although they also noted that the "elephant ear" chips "wouldn't hold up to salsas and dipping." They are "loaded with corn flavor." Three tasters would buy them, one might and one wouldn't. Corn Cheaps ($2.45 for 14 ounces, Rainbow) came in fourth, winning praise for their corn flavor. "A nice lite greaseless chip," said one taster. Two thought they "could use more salt" or "taste a bit bland." One taster found them "too uniformly shaped" and another said "not quite crispy." Three would buy them; two might. Fifth place went to Native Kjalii ($3.69 for 14 ounces, Andronico's). Pluses were their texture and thickness, but the panel thought they looked as though they were made from yellow corn. One taster said "salt would help," while another detected a "perfumey aftertaste." Two would buy them, two might and one wouldn't. Also tasted were (in order of ranking): Garden of Eatin', Corn Cheaps Organic, 365, Safeway, Mission, Que Pasa and Guiltless Gourmet. (SEE CHART BELOW) E-mail Carol Ness at cness@sfchronicle.com. To look up past Taster's Choice columns, search online at sfgate.com/food/tasters/archive. This article appeared on page E - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
WHITE CORN TORTILLA CHIPS
Trader Corn Native
TASTERS Santitas Joe's Tostitos Cheaps Kjalii
Bennett 17 12 16 14 16
Carroll 18 16 17 16 13
Halperin 16 17 14 12 16
Handler 17 15 17 16 10
Katzl 16 16 9 10 8
TOTALS 84 76 73 68 63
Panelists were Lynne Bennett, Chronicle Food staff; John Carroll, cookbook
author; Marc Halperin, culinary director, Center for Culinary Development;
Shelley Handler, food writer and consultant; Donna Katzl, chef-owner, Cafe for
All Seasons. A perfect score for any product would be 100. All products are
tasted blind.
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