Double Dutch Ridgies – Sour Cream, Green Onion & Bacon

Old Dutch is somewhat of an iconic brand in Canada. It actually started out in the US, but they branched out to Canada in the 50’s and ever since have kind of been a staple brand alternative to other heavy hitters like Lay’s and Ruffles. I never really was a fan of their products, until they bought out Humpty Dumpty, which was a Canadian chip maker that made a lot of the snacks I loved as a kid, like Ringolos. Sometimes though, they will release items outside of that brand that catch my attention or pique my curiosity, like today’s product.

This line known as Double Dutch is supposedly their attempt to create a slightly premium version of their chip that has better crunch and flavour. Incidentally the flavours I have seen usually try to emulate appetizers, like blooming onions and loaded baked potatoes. The packaging definitely gives off that appetizer feel.

Those who are familiar with the more common brand of ripple chips known as Ruffles will probably recognize immediately that these look very different from them. While Ruffles have larger, fewer ridges, these ones are a tad smaller and tend to be more plentiful. I’m not a food scientist so I couldn’t tell you if one is more superior to the other. If I were to guess, I’d say that more ridges help catch more of that flavouring powder. But I could be totally off.

If you’ve ever had sour cream and onion flavoured anything, these are very similar. The main difference is that it has the bacon flavour added in. Ruffles has always had a sour cream and bacon flavour, and this chip reminds me of that flavour. Well, it reminds me of the near perfect fusion of the two flavours, you get that nice onion-y tangy flavour, while also getting that distinct, savoury bacon flavour. I can see how that might not be for everyone, but for someone who likes bacon and green onions, this is quite the tasty combo.

Texturally, this chip is a bit less crunchier than I was hoping. The chip itself seems a bit thinner than the thick cut chips that I prefer. I haven’t had a bag of Ruffles in a while, but I feel like they have slightly less crunch to it. I’m not sure if this is due to the potato they use, or how they fry it, but it doesn’t have as much of a snap when you bite into them. These are still quite addictive, and I polished off my fair share a little too quickly, but if there was something I would want to see changed, it would be maybe a thicker cut to give it a heartier crunch.

I’d say overall, this one is in the middle of the road for me. The flavour is great, and is definitely something I’d recommend, but mostly to people who enjoy bacon and green onions. The texture though, was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn’t bad, but with a name like Ridgies, you would think the crunch would be the main selling point. Alas, it felt me feeling a bit underwhelmed.