CAPSULE REPORT: PotatoFinger Potato Chips are crisp, light chips made from chipper potatoes (smaller and rounder than baking potatoes, with less starch and lower sugar) using an old family recipe. The entire line is kosher and available in four varieties: Barbecue, Lightly Salted, Salt & Vinegar and Sour Cream & Onion. Marketed as “chips with an attitude” in their retro-style packaging, they have no hydrogenated oils or trans fats. That means less grease and salt than other mainstream chip brands, and along with the quality potatoes and small-batch production, puts them in the “gourmet chip” category.
‘Tis the season for barbecues, and no barbecue is complete without a bag (or two, or three…) of potato chips. And while we tend toward the thick, crunchy variety during most of the year, there’s something about summer barbecues that pulls us toward the other end of the spectrum: thin, crispy, light-as-air chips that you can eat by the bagful. We observe that Lays® potato chips, with their jumbo-sized economy bags and national pervasiveness, have become the go-to chips for barbecues; and while we’re happy to munch on them when they’re around, we’ve always hoped for hosts who see room for improvement. A little less grease, for example, and a bit easier on the salt. A standard gourmet potato chip that still speaks to the masses who don’t want Basil Goat Cheese or Honey Curry chips.
PotatoFinger Potato Chips are made with natural chipper potatoes. During the regular growing season, Atlantis chipper potatoes are freshly harvested from fields in Florida, and Snowder chipper potatoes come from Michigan. Once the potatoes are harvested, sorted and cleaned, they are packed and driven to the Ohio chip factory, where they are immediately sorted and cleaned again. The finer taste comes from close inspection to detail: buckets from every arriving truck are inspected, and potato lots deemed to be too soft, too irregular or otherwise blemished are rejected (unlike mass chip manufacturers, where sheer volume of operation prohibits such attention to detail). Within 11 minutes of arrival, the potatoes go from the truck to the cleansing tank to the cutter and the fryer and into the bag—yielding fresh potato chips that have a tastable freshness.
PotatoFingers are delightfully thin and crispy and have just enough salt to bring out the potato flavor—but not so much that your mouth feels parched after the first handful. Best of all, they’re remarkably light on the grease (proof: we polished off an entire bag without feeling that urge to degrease our fingertips by wiping them on our jeans). Each flavor also has fewer fat calories per one-ounce serving than the average fat calories for potato chips.
Flavor
Average Fat Calories for Potato Chips*
Fat Calories for PotatoFinger Potato Chips
Barbecue
83
80
Lightly Salted
95
90
Salt & Vinegar
90
80
Sour Cream & Onion
86
80
*Average fat calories of potato chips per www.CalorieKing.com.
Unlike the vast majority of potato chips out there, PotatoFingers have no hydrogenated oils or trans fats. We wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re healthful— they are potato chips, after all—but they are certainly less guilt-inducing than most of their counterparts. An added bonus: they’re kosher, certified by the OU.
We became equally addicted to each of the four flavors. The Lightly Salted flavor has the perfect amount of salt, the Barbecue is nicely tangy, the Sour Cream & Onion has great zing, and the Vinegar & Salt is perfectly mouth-puckering.
We’re even fans of the PotatoFingers packaging: a contemporary twist on old-school packaging and a perfect showcase for the “Old School Thin & Crispy” tag line. Will we personally stop eating our beloved thick and crunchy potato chips in favor of these slender contenders? Not immediately. But if you prefer them thin—or are looking for a gourmet chip that happens to be kosher—PotatoFingers are waiting to make your acquaintance.
POTATOFINGER POTATO CHIPS Lightly Salted, Barbecue, Sour Cream & Onion, and Vinegar & Salt
Kosher Certification: (U) Pareve
Named Best New Snack Item at Kosherfest 2003
Potatofinger Potato Chips Pack of Twelve 8-Ounce Bags
$18.15
Click on flavor to purchase: Barbecue Sour Cream & Onion
Potatofinger Potato Chips Pack of Thirty 2.5 Ounce Bags
$19.13
Click on flavor to purchase: Barbecue Sour Cream & Onion
For more information, visit
PotatoFinger.com or telephone
1.800.446.0947
PotatoFinger Potato Chips are available in four delicious flavors: Barbecue, Lightly Salted, Salt & Vinegar and Sour Cream & Onion. The traditional 8 ounce size is ideal for entertaining, and the mini 2.5 ounce size is great for a snack on the go.
Books on Finger Foods & Snacks
Nibbled: 200 Fabulous Finger Food Ideas, by Katy Holder. An extremely stylish and innovative guide to finger food. More than just recipes for bite-size food, the book is a primer for entertaining ideas as well. Full color photography seals the deal. $19.95. Click here for more information or to purchase.
1001 Snacks: For Instant Gratification, by Gregg Gilles pie. A veritable gold mine of simple snack ideas. Though far from gourmet, the recipes are well organized with easy to follow instructions. This book will have you making your own potato chips in no time. $19.95. Click here for more information or to purchase.
The Fat-free Junk Food Cookbook: 100 Recipes of Guilt-Free Decadence, by J. Kevin Wolfe. A huge fan of potato chips, but not their nutritional facts? Slim your snacking with these innovative takes on junk food classics. The Fat-Free Junk Food Cookbook puts an irresistibly fresh spin on healthy cooking for the whole family. $15.00. Click here for more information or to purchase.
More Ways to Enjoy Potatoes
One Potato, Two Potato, by Roy Finamore and Molly Stevens. With three hundred potato recipes running the gamut from croquets to vichyssoise to chocolate sauce, the humble spud is elevated to new heights. The authors also include contributions from celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio and Martha Stewart. $23.10. Click here for more information or to purchase.
The Potato : How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World, by Larry Zuckerman. A popular history of the potato that chronicles its journey from peasant food to the most consumed vegetable on the planet, and the influence on Western civilization the spud has had along the way. A truly fascinating narrative about one of our favorite foods. $10.78. Click here for more information or to purchase.
The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Potato, by Selma Brown Morrow. Layered in a creamy gratin, shaped into rustic gnocchi with pesto, or puréed into a comforting soup, potatoes are a versatile ingredient in any cook’s kitchen. An informative glossary and extensive basics section round out this valuable collection that will elevate the simple spud to new heights. $11.02. Click here for more information or to purchase.
Shipping and tax additional. Prices and flavor availability are verified at publication but are subject to change over time.
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there’s something about summer barbecues that pulls us toward the other end of the spectrum: thin, crispy, light-as-air chips that you can eat by the bagful. We observe that Lays® potato chips, with their jumbo-sized economy bags and national pervasiveness, have become the go-to chips for barbecues; and while we’re happy to munch on them when they’re around, we’ve always hoped for hosts who see room for improvement. A little less grease, for example, and a bit easier on the salt. A standard gourmet potato chip that still speaks to the masses who don’t want Basil Goat Cheese or Honey Curry chips. 
