Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream

I've seen these around enough places that I'm not sure they qualify as 'strange', but I've never tried them before so I think that counts.  I usually don't like Ruffles that much (at least compared to other, similarly flavored chips) because they always taste greasy I think.  But... here goes nothin!

At first look they're practically neon which is a little unappealing.  I usually think of Cheetos as radioactive, but I suppose these are too.

But what do they taste like?
Wow.  They taste exactly like cheddar and sour cream, but also Ruffles.  Maybe off brand sour cream.  Or sour cream that's nearly past its prime?  They're pretty good, though.  They don't taste as greasy as Ruffles usually do which is a major plus.  It's just that the sour cream tastes a little off.  I realize that it's not actually sour cream so it doesn't matter, but a tiny part of me thinks 'wait... has this sour cream gone bad?'.  Maybe I just don't eat sour cream enough to know the taste properly?

Still... these taste pretty good.  It's kinda like I'm eating Ruffles that I've dipped in sour cream, but without needing a dip on hand.  The cheddar flavor is pretty subtle - kinda overpowered by the sour cream, but it's there.  I think these would be better with a stronger cheese to sour cream ratio maybe.  I dunno, but I am impressed how spot on the flavor is.  It's not the best cheddar or the best sour cream, but it does taste like what it says on the bag, plus a weird chemically flavor that I've come to expect from Ruffles.  Would buy again, but not often I think.

Rating

Ruffles Max Loaded Bacon & Cheddar

I've heard good things about these Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar chips so I'm pretty excited.  Also, bacon.  So... you know... my hopes are pretty high.

 

I'm guessing that the baked potato part is the chip, while the rest of the flavors are the seasoning bits.  Somehow I thought these would be orange-r, but they look more like sour cream and onion.  They also don't smell great.  I'm not sure what they smell like, but... maybe a little tangy?

But what do they taste like?
They taste like sour cream and onion with a hint of bacon.  And, as with all Ruffles chips, they taste strongly of greasy potato chips and they feel like it too.  Overall I'm pretty unimpressed.  They don't taste bad, don't get me wrong.  I'd happily eat these, but they're not very bacon-y.  Each chip is actually less bacon-y than the last.  They taste more like sour cream and onion than anything else actually.  If these had more bacon flavor they'd be pretty awesome.

Maybe it's just me, but the flavor I taste most when I eat Ruffles is grease.  The flavor is nearly always either drowned out, or at least muted, but it's never as strong as I'd like.  I just can't get over the greasiness to want to eat more of them.  Maybe I got a bad bag?  I really thought these would have a stronger flavor.  All I'm left with right now is a lingering taste of sour cream and onion.

Rating

Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ

I got these Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ at the same time I got the Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch chips.  Considering how crap those were my hopes aren't high for these.  The bag doesn't fill me with confidence as it has what looks like a bowl of brown sugar and some jalapenos on it.  Call me crazy, but that doesn't scream BBQ to me.  Oh well - here goes nothin.

It's more promising immediately because they don't smell awful.  They actually smell like BBQ and my hopes lift slightly.  A little sweet and smoky smelling which is what I'd expect given the name.  The chips themselves are practically neon orange - maybe they're radioactive.


But what do they taste like?
Well, just like last time the chips are too big and the oversized ridges detract from my enjoyment of the chips.  The taste, though?  No horrible Jalapeno Ranch experience here!  They taste pretty good for a few seconds - like your typical barbecue chips really, but the flavor is a little stronger which I like.  But then there's this weird spicy kick that I'm not a fan of.  Don't get me wrong - spiciness isn't out of place in BBQ sauce and I'm not surprised because there were jalapenos on the bag, but it's been at least ten minutes since I had one and I can still taste them, even after drinking water.

Overall these are actually pretty good.  At first I wasn't a fan of the extra spice, but it actually really grew on me as I ate them.  Unfortunately I still find the large Ultimate chip size annoying, but they aren't as greasy as regular Ruffles so that's a point in its favor.  The flavor is also very strong - nothing at all like the supremely mild Lay's Honey BBQ I tried.  There's something that both works and doesn't work about these chips.  I think if this flavor was on different chips I'd like them better - as it is, I like how they taste, but don't like the chip itself.

It's strange how much better these are than the Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch.  Why were those so bad?  There are so many BBQ flavors out there, but basically no decent ranch flavors.  Bummer!

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Ruffles Ultimate Kickin' Jalapeno Ranch

I'm going to start by saying I love ranch flavored things and ranch dressing in general.  I was tempted by the bag anyway since it's got rivets or something on it.  If these chips are so ultimate that they can only be contained by metal then I need to try them clearly.

But, when I opened the bag I smelled... cucumbers?  The hell?  These do not smell appealing at all.  This smells nothing like jalapenos or ranch and I'm already kind of nervous to taste these chips.  I can't even... what is this smell?  It's not quite like cucumbers, but it's close?  Urgh.  Well - here goes nothing.

But what do they taste like?
They taste better than they smell, but not by much.  The first bite is kind of a cucumber-y ranch flavor and then after a few seconds there's a punch of spice which I guess is the jalapeno.  The spice actually hurts my mouth a little and it sticks around.  The chips themselves are weirdly big and almost like styrofoam.  It's like eating styrofoam that has a little ranch, was rubbed with a cucumber, and then someone put hot sauce on.  It's about as terrible as it sounds.

There's something very unappealing about these.  They definitely don't taste enough like ranch to me - they taste like nothing good!  The signature Ruffles ridges are too big and just everything is wrong.  There is nothing close to 'ultimate' about these chips.

Wow - I am just all levels of disappointed with these.  I think they were at a disadvantage from the start since I always have high hopes for ranch flavored things, but these just completely missed the mark.  They're pretty terrible actually.  I definitely would not buy these again and, to be honest, I don't even think I'll finish the bag.  Yeah - just tried another one and nope - these are going in the trash.

I still have a bag of Ruffles Ultimate Sweet and Smokin BBQ, but after this debacle I don't have high hopes for them.

Rating

Ruffles Loaded Chili and Cheese

I picked these up because chili cheese fries are awesome, but I don't have them that often.  What if I could recreate the chili cheese fries experience in a potato chip?!  The possibilities are nearly endless.

The bag informed me that these chips are loaded with flavor.  "Chili? Check. Cheese? Heck yeah. Onions and peppers. Bingo."  I'm very interested to see how they handle onions and peppers when chili and cheese are strong flavors.  The chips are nearly orange in places with the same green onion flakes that sour cream and onion chips have.

But what do they taste like?
More like chili than cheese and they're kinda spicy!  To be honesty, despite these chips being practically orange, I didn't get to much of a cheese flavor in 'em.  What they do taste like is dipping a chip into chili and then eating it.  Chili that is kind of spicy!  Keep in mind though, I have the spice tolerance of a fetus - which is to say I am bad with spicy things.  Still, putting aside the fact that my mouth got a little burn-y, these are pretty good.    They don't live up to the 'cheese' part of chili and cheese, but they definitely get the chili part.  I also didn't really get the 'peppers' flavoring unless it was the spiciness.  Definitely tasted the onions though and maybe a hint of the famed cheese.  After eating a bunch of them I started to lose the distinct chili taste that I originally tasted and it took on more of a spicy aftertaste.  It was the only thing I could taste for awhile.

When asked, my roommate tasted them and said: "Yeah... definitely chili.  I can taste a bit of the cooked peppers, but... definitely chili".  So make of that what you will!

Would I get them again?  No, probably not.  I think Ruffles chips, no matter the flavor, always taste like greasy Ruffles chips, if that makes any kind of sense.  Basically, no matter what flavor it says on the bag, Ruffles chips will always end up tasting like greasy potato chips.  And that's not super appealing to me!  Still - they don't taste bad - they just weren't winners in my book.

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