Paqui – Wild Wild Ranch
A while back, I did a not-so-scathing review of the brands other flavour, Cool Salsa Verde. Spoiler alert – it was tasty. I figure I’d try another flavour. This one is sure to draw some fire from a more well-established brand that also has a “ranch” flavour, and also comes in a blue bag. I’m sure we’re all thinking of the same brand. Bugles of course!
Jokes aside, it will be nice to see a different brand take on the infamous ranch flavour. I don’t know if this still holds true, but I remember a few years back reading an article that the Cool Ranch flavour is marketed as “Cool American” in some European countries. Apparently ranch is not a big thing over there, so ranch would only serve to confuse them. Either way, it will be hard for me to try these and NOT think about the long, rich tradition of triangles known as cool ranch. But I will do my best.
Would you be surprised if I told you that this doesn’t smell all that much like the infamous Doritos? Actually, it smells more like the Salsa Verde flavour than a Doritos. Off the bat, you can tell it was fried, and has that distinct smell that lets you know, “hey, I was deep fried dude.” There’s a bit of a herbs and spice smells? I’m not quite sure how to describe it other than it smells a bit like some sort of secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. If you put fried chicken that smelled like this in front of me, it would be done in a heartbeat.
While the smell of this chip is only a faint ranch-ish smell, the flavour is deceptive. That is to say, it smells nice, and subtle, but uncomplicated. Like a chip that has nothing to hide, and no reason to shout at you with a bold smell. It’s a confident chip. It has a nice, solid ranch flavour to it, much to my surprise. When I smell something so faint, I don’t expect much flavour to it. Guess it reinforces the whole, “don’t judge a chip by it’s smell” spiel. Unlike the ranch flavour we are used to, this one feels more well-rounded and authentic ranch. Whereas the other one is more about being salty, these ones won’t leave your throat feeling like scorched earth after a serving or two (or four). I’m guessing the flavour of the ranch is coming through strong because of the buttermilk enhancing it. The texture is very similar to the other flavours, in that it is a solid chip that won’t break easily, but still has a nice crunch without being hard. Again, it feels like they actually took tortillas and fried them up, instead of trying to reconstitute ground up corn into a triangle. Whether that’s the case or not, I don’t know. All I know is these are tasty.
If I was to compare them to Doritos, I’d say they are like the hipster brother of Doritos. You have to pay more for it, but if you’re looking for something a little less artificial and premium, it’s totally worth it. Assuming of course, you can get past that wardrobe full of lumberjack plaid and the long, fanciful beard. Like seriously bro, what is going on?!
Comparing this flavour to the Salsa Verde, it’s a hard choice for me. They are both really solid flavours in their own right, and are different enough that I could pick either one, depending on the day. That being said, I would have to give to the salsa verde flavour, just because it’s a more unique offering that not many other brands seem to do.
If you like ranch, go grab a bag of these. If you don’t like ranch, grab a different flavour, but give Paqui a try. You won’t regret it. And if you do, I hold no responsibility for that. But you probably won’t. Maybe.
