The 7 Best Chip Flavors You've Never Tried

The humble chip is much more than a mere snack: It’s an art form, a vehicle for deliciousness that offers endless possibilities. It is nostalgic, it is novel, and sometimes it is both. Not to sound grandiose, but the chip allows you to explore the world and other cultures without ever having to leave your own house, and these days, that’s really the only option we've got.

For myself and many others, memories are found in the Frito-Lay classic mix snack pack lineup. I’d always get so excited when my parents would bring home the big blue variety box from Costco. I’d stick Lays in my turkey sandwiches. I’d hide and hoard the Cool Ranch Doritos from my siblings. I’d lick my cheesy neon-orange-stained Cheetos fingers, and I wouldn’t even wash my hands after doing it.

But there are so many options out there beyond these classics. Chips come in all forms, shapes, and sizes. They’re made with sea creatures and animal skins and so often, the best ones are cooked up abroad. With the internet and the global food market, we have access to a seemingly infinite amount of chips—there’s just so much more to explore that isn't readily available at the grocery store. As you’ve been practicing shelter-in-place like the good citizen of humanity that you are, here are a few interesting and delicious chips to start you off on your elevated snacking journey.

Rotisserie Chicken Chips 

Flock Foods

Fried chicken skin is one of life’s purest pleasures. The geniuses at Flock Foods in San Francisco realized this, and decided to bag them up in a snack form and call them “chicken chips”—brilliant. And it gets better: They come in a salt and vinegar flavor. flockfoods.com

Shrimp Chips

Calbee

Japanese-based Calbee Foods released its flavorful shrimp chips in Japan in 1964, and they’ve been a hit since. Made with real shrimp, they’re fragrant but not overly seafoody, and are baked until crispy yet still light and airy. amazon.com

4505 Chicharrones

4505 Meats

Started by famed chef and butcher Ryan Farr, 4505 Chicharrones feature fried pork rinds from sustainably raised pigs and come in three flavors: smokehouse BBQ, jalapeño cheddar, and classic with chili and salt. They're the perfect keto chip. amazon.com

Jagu Pokkuru

Calbee

Made from premium potatoes from Hokkaido, these look and taste just like crispy french fries. What could be better? They're also recommended by Noelle Cornelio, curator of Momofuku Peach Mart’s snacks and dubbed Snack Master by Dave Chang himself. “If I could only eat one chip, it would probably be these,” she says.  amazon.com

Salted Egg Fish Skin

Irvins Salted Egg

You might be noticing a theme here, but let me spell it out for you: fried skin is delicious. This version is from Singapore and features fish skins covered in a savory, salted egg yolk sauce that’s fried until crisp and seasoned with spices. In their words, it’s “dangerously addictive.” irvinssaltedegg.com

The Crab Chip

Utz

Unlike chicken, fish, and pork chips, you won’t find any actual animal in the ingredients; rather, the chips taste much like the Old Bay Seasoning commonly used in East Coast crab boils. They're salty and savory and just ever so slightly spicy. amazon.com

Masala Munch Chips

Kurkure

Kurkure is like Indian Flaming Hot Cheetos. In fact, they're made by the Indian division of PepsiCo, whose subsidiary Frito-Lay makes Cheetos, for all you chip nerds out there. They've got a similar texture, but include many more spices (think turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, and more).  amazon.com

This story originally appeared on Esquire.com. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.

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