Sun Chips – Harvest Cheddar

Sun Chips are a snack that has withstood the test of time. Even when it first came out 1991, it was a bit of an oddity in that potato chips were the ruling class. Corn chips were around sure, but based on product placement and variety, you could tell potatoes were the king. And then you had this weird brand called Sun Chips that was a multigrain chip. I can tell you that multigrain still had a big stigma around it in the early 90s, and most people tended to think it was too healthy and associated it with not-so-tasty and gritty. I think the fact that Sun Chips has managed to survive against that stigma and remained a staple since then is a testament to a winning formulation.

I also notice it’s rarely ever on sale when compared to other big brands, so there’s that. Sun Chips have always been something I think about fondly, but not something I tend to keep in my regular rotation. I suspect it’s mostly due to the fact that it’s rarely on sale, and I have a strong, cheap Asian gene.

So the flavour here is interesting because the seasoning is very distinct and strong, but so is the chip itself. The flavour of the seasoning is best described as a simple and straightforward cheesy, cheddar savoury flavour. it’s the classic cheddar flavour where it’s cheesy, salty and dairy, but not very sharp or complex in flavour. It’s just good ol’ fashioned cheese powder. The chip itself has a sweet, wheaty flavour to it, and once the cheese flavour passes you get the sweet flavour of the chip itself which compliments surprisingly well.

The texture is pretty distinct in that you sort of know you’re eating a multigrain or wheat based chip as you start chewing. It is relatively thin, but the corn and whole wheat are ever present. The best way to think of it is biting into a crispy chip and getting the same feedback you get from eating multigrain or whole wheat bread, where you can feel the grains and the grit. While that can be off-putting when something is soft or chewy, these are nice and crispy chips so it isn’t as noticeable. I personally like the experience that the grains add.

Overall I think these have a well-deserved classic, timeless status and unless something really crazy happens I suspect that will hold for at least the foreseeable future. It’s not flashy or anything crazy at this point, but sometimes you just want something stable, and this delivers on that.