The Search for the Perfect Chip

The envelope was slipped under my door in my absence and when I returned to my room, it was a welcoming surprise. So after I took care of some chores and settled in with a drink and a bag of local "crisps," (ingredients: Potatoes; oil; salt) to open the brown envelope, I discovered a nifty and happy surprise! My friend Margi had responded, as only she can, to my email and picture of a colleague munching on a local Tanzanian potato chip/crisp. I had assured her in the email
that the search for the perfect chip/crisp would likely not end in Tanzania, but I was valiantly munching on despite the slim odds of success.

Margi had enlisted her first graders in the search. I can just imagine the classroom, with bowls of chips, (labeled, of course) on the tables and the tasters giving each chip the thoughtful appraisal required. She sent me the graphing exercise to document their efforts, proving that barbecue beats out sour cream and that, as expected, the new enlistees have wide-ranging tastes.

With oily hands (remember, I was munching on chips as I was reading), I carefully and seriously read each child's "Recipe for the Perfect Chip."

I can only imagine a salty taste. But quite a few of the recipes involved chocolate and ice cream. Sean, Gabriella, Danielle, Jackson, Chase (who commented, "test on dad and mom") and Jenna (who included "seaweed and gramcracars") were in this category. Nate started off well, requiring "60 potatoes" and concluded, "dip them in chocolate." Alan included oreos. Emmie flavored hers with "venila," which , having just returned from Zanzibar, the island of spices, , I gave careful consideration. Another sweet version was concocted by Charlie, who used doughnuts as a base, along with cookie dough. There were several fruity varieties. Lauren's recipe included apples ("I will make my sister test it.") as did Jake's, who priced his at $699. Katie included salsa, along with moderate amounts amounts of vinegar, salt and lemon, and Juan's recipe called for "7 tbsp of hat sauce," to be added after the first step in the preparation, "wash, peel, slice the potatoes." Sarina's chips had the great advantage (in my opinion) of including "gwackamole." Yum. Elli's recipe and preparation was straightforward and included, "you fry in the pan" adding sour cream and salt. Yes, I like the frying part.

And the recipe that I can't wait to taste, and has a real chance at being my personal favorite, was Gabriel's. To a lover of spicy foods, this chip is tempting. Just think! The ingredients included "2 cups red sauce" and "100 teaspoons of all the spicy red sauce in the world." And, gratefully, no chocolate.

I am sorry that I missed the chip tasting day at home. (Did Nicholas miss the day, too?)

But just reading about it was mouth-watering. So descriptive were the recipes that I could almost taste them, and I certainly preferred them (even the chocolate ones) to the ones I continued to munch on.