Bad food
I like food. I am not a fussy eater. Obviously I have preferences, likes and dislikes, but I will give most things a try. That willingness to give something new a fair chance has led me to discover the Worst Food Product Ever Created during a visit to the US …
So, what is this foodstuff that has failed to impress me in such a monumental way? The answer: a humble potato chip [or crisp to my British Brethren]. It is not the chip itself that is the problem; it is the flavor. I am fine, conceptually at least, with any number of flavors: Cheese and Onion, Roast Beef, Salt and Vinegar – even Sour Cream is reasonable. But the offensive content of this innocent little bag are flavored with lemon! That is: lemon as in gin and tonic; lemon as in “-ade”; lemon as in toilet cleaner. What possessed someone to even conceive the possibility that lemon flavored potato chips could even be remotely nice? It is just wrong on so many levels.
OK, they actually call the flavor Limón, but spelling it in Spanish does not make it taste any better. There are a number of inspirational phrases that start: “When life hands you a lemon …”, but none of them end with: “… consider using it to flavor potato chips.”
Please excuse my outburst. I just needed to get that off my chest try to avoid unnecessary suffering.
Colin, I understand your bewilderment over bizarre food-taste pairings. I don’t know if anyone outside the United States ever had Pepsi Crystal inflicted on them, it was a horrendous cinnamon-tinged swill that should have never made it out of the lab (they say it was “citrus infused”).
Anyway, regarding the Limón chips — assuming it’s something like these:
http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?snack_code=550
I think they’re actually lime, as opposed to lemon. Only marginally more acceptable on a potato chip.
It’s not uncommon for tortilla chips (corn, not potato) to have this flavor, especially as a lot of Mexican food is served with lime.
But I can’t defend its usage on a potato chip.
By the way, I mentioned awful-tasting Pepsi earlier. If you want to see just how bizarre it can get, check out this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pepsi_variations
CUCUMBER FLAVORED PEPSI?!?!?!?
Colin – good to meet you in person at ARM TechCon yesterday.
I was going to apologize for lemon-flavored chips, but then I realized that you have barely scratched the surface in horrid American cuisine. I must refer you to Coca-Cola Casserole: http://www.about-recipes.com/recipes/302235-coca-cola-shipwreck-casserole.html
That does sound pretty vile Jefro. However, I seem to have come across a number of recipes involving Coke lately – must be a [worrying] trend. I guess though, if you think of it as a sugary liquid, then it’s not so different from some traditional marinades.