My mother used to make the most wonderful dinner rolls, topped with a honey-butter mix. So the phrase "honey butter" immediately gets my mouth watering with delectable memories. When I saw the first excited tweet from somebody discovering this new product on their Trader Joe's store shelves, I couldn't wait to try it.
Nina predicted that it would be either wonderful or terrible--nothing in between. I agreed.
We were wrong. It's in between.
The honey and butter flavors are strong and distinct, no shyness or subtlety to them. Which is sort of nice, considered alone. But in this particular context, it's wrong somehow. For me, I think it's the powerful sweetness. It just doesn't belong on a salty potato chip. The result is a pretty serious clash. It might work better if they toned down the honey to more like just a hint or a whisper.
I'm not saying they're terrible. They're not. They're just...off.
If TJ's added these same flavorings to dinner rolls, I'd be at the store waiting to hijack the delivery truck and stuff myself full of them until I exploded. But on a potato chip, the intensely sweet/salty combination just doesn't work.
Will I buy it again?
No.
This sounds awful to me. Yes, chips should be salty.
ReplyDeleteThis flavor is such a phenomenon in korea, i really wonder what the flavor difference is between these and the hard to find in the US korean versions. I had a version made with fresh fried chips at a modern korean restaurant and they were not too sweet and had a nice hit of salt that made them addictive. Too bad TJs couldn't capture that
ReplyDeleteTtrockwood
I just devoured half a bag. They were delicious!
ReplyDeleteActually, Trader Joe's nailed it! And that's coming from someone who's a lover of Calbee's Honey Butter Potato Chips. My only complaint is they're seasonal at Tv's! Now I'm back to the original!
ReplyDeleteJust tried these and they taste like popcorn: salt, butter and no honey :/
ReplyDeletesooooo good
ReplyDelete