Kettle Brand Potato Chips are a popular brand of potato chips known for their robust flavors. One of their most beloved flavors is Parmesan Garlic. This chip variety combines the sharp, nutty taste of Parmesan cheese with the pungent kick of garlic for a bold snack. But what exactly goes into making these zesty chips? Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients list and find out.
The Base Ingredients
Like all Kettle Brand potato chips, the foundation of Parmesan Garlic chips is simple: potatoes, vegetable oil, and sea salt. Specifically, the potatoes used are a combination of russet and red potatoes. Russet potatoes are known for their starchy, fluffy texture that gives the chips their crispness when sliced thinly and fried. The red potatoes add Some colour and a slightly waxy, dense bite.
The vegetable oil used for frying is non-GMO sunflower and/or safflower oil. This combination of oils has a high smoke point which enables the potatoes to fry up crispy and golden brown without burning. A touch of sea salt is added on the chips right out of the fryer to season them while still hot for maximum flavor.
The Parmesan Cheese
No Parmesan garlic chip would be complete without heaps of Parmesan cheese. Kettle Brand uses only real Parmesan made from cow’s milk, not any imitation cheese or powdered Parmesan. The Parmesan comes in the form of a hard Italian cheese made from cow’s milk, salt, and rennet. It has a hard, granular texture and intensely nutty, savory flavor that gives the chips a boost of rich umami. The Parmesan is applied to the chips while still hot and fresh from frying so its flavor gets baked right in.
The Garlic
To give their Parmesan garlic chips that quintessential zing, Kettle Brand uses real garlic. The garlic adds a pungent, zesty quality that perfectly complements the Parmesan cheese. Chopped garlic is sprinkled onto the hot chips along with the cheese so that its flavor infuses the chips. Just a little bit of garlic goes a long way in providing a kick of flavor without overpowering the other ingredients.
Natural Flavors
The last ingredients listed on the Parmesan Garlic chips are natural flavors. This refers to any flavor derived from natural sources like fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, or meats. The exact make-up of these proprietary natural flavors is unknown, but they likely include savory enhancers like onion, yeast extract, or garlic powder to reinforce the cheese and garlic taste. Natural flavors ensure each chip bursts with the classic tastes we expect from the Parmesan garlic combo.
The Full Ingredient List
Now that we’ve broken down the main components, let’s look at the complete list of ingredients that go into Kettle Brand’s Parmesan Garlic Potato Chips:
| Ingredients |
|---|
| Potatoes |
| Vegetable oil (sunflower and/or safflower oil) |
| Sea salt |
| Parmesan cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes) |
| Garlic |
| Natural flavors |
As you can see, it’s a fairly straightforward list with no unnecessary additives or artificial ingredients. The combination of real, simple ingredients is what gives Kettle Brand Parmesan Garlic chips their crave-worthy taste.
Nutrition Facts
In addition to the ingredient list, it’s helpful to look at the nutrition label to get the full picture of what’s in Kettle Brand’s Parmesan Garlic chips.
Here are the nutrition facts for a 1 ounce (about 16 chips) serving:
| Amount Per Serving |
|---|
| Calories 140 |
| Total Fat 8g |
| Saturated Fat 1g |
| Trans Fat 0g |
| Cholesterol 5mg |
| Sodium 180mg |
| Total Carbohydrate 15g |
| Dietary Fiber 1g |
| Total Sugars 0g |
| Protein 3g |
As we can see, the chips are high in fat and sodium, which is to be expected for a savory fried potato chip. There are 140 calories in a 16 chip serving. The chips provide 3g of protein thanks to the Parmesan cheese. There are no sugars, as potato chips get their flavor from fat, salt, and other seasonings rather than added sugars.
Special Diet Information
Here are some other key facts to know about the ingredients in Kettle Brand’s Parmesan Garlic chips if you are following a special diet:
Gluten-Free
The chips are certified gluten-free, meaning they contain no wheat, barley, rye, or other gluten-containing ingredients.
Vegetarian
The chips are vegetarian but not vegan, since they contain Parmesan cheese made from milk.
Dairy-Free
The chips are not dairy-free due to containing Parmesan cheese.
Kosher
Kettle Brand chips are certified Kosher Pareve.
Common Allergens
The chips contain milk as part of the Parmesan cheese. They do not contain any peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, eggs, fish, shellfish, or soy.
Quality of Ingredients
When looking at any packaged food product, it’s important to consider the quality of the ingredients used. Here are some things to note about the ingredients in Kettle Brand’s Parmesan Garlic chips:
- The potatoes are non-GMO.
- The oils used for frying are expeller-pressed from non-GMO seeds.
- The Parmesan cheese is made from pasteurized milk and contains no artificial preservatives.
- The garlic used is chopped fresh garlic, not garlic salt or powder.
- No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners are used.
Overall, Kettle Brand focuses on using high-quality, real food ingredients to create the robust flavors in their chips. This attentiveness to ingredient quality helps explain why their Parmesan Garlic chips taste so good.
Types of Parmesan Garlic Chips
Kettle Brand makes their popular Parmesan Garlic chips in a few different varieties:
Original
This is the classic Parmesan Garlic chip. It contains no other seasonings besides Parmesan cheese and garlic.
Aged Cheddar and Parmesan Garlic
This variety combines aged cheddar cheese with the Parmesan and garlic for extra cheesy richness.
Organic
Made with organic potatoes and non-GMO oils, this version offers an organic take on the famous flavor.
40% Less Fat
A reduced fat version that still packs in the taste but with 40% less fat than the original.
So in summary, while the original Parmesan Garlic contains just a straightforward list of real ingredients, there are some variations that add a twist depending on your preferences.
Conclusion
Kettle Brand Parmesan Garlic potato chips get their addiction, craveable flavor from a simple ingredient list of potatoes, vegetable oil, sea salt, real Parmesan cheese, garlic, and natural flavors. There are no artificial additives or shortcuts used. Just high-quality, real foods like aged Parmesan and fresh garlic that you can taste in every crunchy, savory chip. It’s this careful blending of quality ingredients that makes Parmesan Garlic such a beloved potato chip variety.