Slog Comments
Dag I Like Tortilla Chips
2
When will this idiotic and pointless gluten free trend die out?
Unless you're truly allergic to it, it's just a fad.
Unless you're truly allergic to it, it's just a fad.
3
They are seriously the best- esp. with mexican sour cream. Delightful bites! I'm sure they're not as "healthy" as, say, Que Pasa's- but, they are our family's guilty pleasure.
4
less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the population have a legitimate gluten allergy.
ps - they don't all fucking live in seattle. aka, can we ban new gluten free bakeries?
ps - they don't all fucking live in seattle. aka, can we ban new gluten free bakeries?
5
I love Juanita's with a passion. I went to a party last weekend and everyone who brought chips brough Juanita's! I ate about three pounds of 'em before passing out in the guest room. And I could've eaten more.
7
San Juan Salsa Co tortilla chips are actually the best, and are made relatively locally, in Arlington. I'd encourage you to try them.
8
Wait, they're made with "stone-ground-corn masa flour"? Why not just masa? Why go to the trouble of making flour out of it -- an industrial process? Masa can be a pain to procure for the home cook, but a big company like Juanita's should be able to make their own.
My favorite chips are the ones I make myself, baking tortillas in a hot oven with a light brushing of oil. They're far from perfect, and indeed every third one is chewy or too hard, but I like the process. Drench in ultra-hot habanero salsa, just a little bit beyond your tolerance level.
I'm also confused about this Portland dweeb bragging that a bag of corn chips only lasts him three days. A fifteen ounce bag? Even if the chips are mediocre, it should only take you thirty minutes tops. I guess those Portland folks are too stoned to even eat chips properly.
My favorite chips are the ones I make myself, baking tortillas in a hot oven with a light brushing of oil. They're far from perfect, and indeed every third one is chewy or too hard, but I like the process. Drench in ultra-hot habanero salsa, just a little bit beyond your tolerance level.
I'm also confused about this Portland dweeb bragging that a bag of corn chips only lasts him three days. A fifteen ounce bag? Even if the chips are mediocre, it should only take you thirty minutes tops. I guess those Portland folks are too stoned to even eat chips properly.
9
I lied; San Juan Salsa Co tortilla chips are apparently also made in Oregon. But the company is based in Arlington. So.
12
They are indeed fantastic. Dangerously so. Often on super sale at Central Market in Shorline, and also can be found (THE HUGE BAG) at Grocery Outlet!
14
They're almost too good to be trusted. Somehow it's like they are right out of the fryer, minus the heat. How did they do that?
15
David, why are you addressing this post to the late UN Secretary-General Hammarskjöld?
@2:
"Gluten-free" corn is just a continuation of the anti-scientific advertising gimmicks like "cholesterol-free" shortening. (Of course it is ... no vegetable product, not even Crisco, contains cholesterol.)
Then again, I object to the idiotic "organic" mania as well. In the scientific world, vegetables grown using pesticides and herbicides are just as organic as any others. Hell, the pesticides and herbicides are organic as well.
[organic = a compound of covalent carbon]
@2:
"Gluten-free" corn is just a continuation of the anti-scientific advertising gimmicks like "cholesterol-free" shortening. (Of course it is ... no vegetable product, not even Crisco, contains cholesterol.)
Then again, I object to the idiotic "organic" mania as well. In the scientific world, vegetables grown using pesticides and herbicides are just as organic as any others. Hell, the pesticides and herbicides are organic as well.
[organic = a compound of covalent carbon]
16
By eating corn you drive up the price of US ethanol.
Of course, if we just stopped requiring corn-based ethanol in the US and lifted the embargo on cane sugar based ethanol at the same time, we'd have plenty of corn, but stupidity is a requirement in DC.
Of course, if we just stopped requiring corn-based ethanol in the US and lifted the embargo on cane sugar based ethanol at the same time, we'd have plenty of corn, but stupidity is a requirement in DC.
18
As to duration, I find the bags of tortilla chips I get at Costco or Fred Meyer last me a couple of weeks.
They are really big bags, less than $2 each.
They are really big bags, less than $2 each.
19
I think they may not mean "flour" at all, really:
Also, from the FAQ:
To obtain our special masa mix, we drove a family van to a flour factory in Madera, California. making a twelve hour drive to pick up the sixty 50 pound bags of masa (all the van would hold); seeing truck load of Corn Masa we wondered how anyone could make that many tortillas. “Just keep at it,” we were told “and some day you’ll make it.” The sixty bags of masa mix would supply the family business for two months in those days.http://www.juanitasfinefoods.com/compHis…
These days we utilize over 30,000 bags a year, and Juanita’s buys masa by the truckload just like those tractor-trailer rigs we saw back when we were picking up six bags every two months!
Also, from the FAQ:
"Q Is there wheat flour in your delicious "Juanitas Tortilla Chips", which I recently tasted and love. I can only have "corn" flour chips, due to gluten allergy. "Corn Masa flour" confused me. Muchas Gracias!!!http://www.juanitasfinefoods.com/faq.cfm
A Juanita's Tortilla Chips are only made with Stoneground Corn Masa, no wheat flour.
20
SOLENA chips are my jam. Juanita's are pretty good too I guess, but man, Solena is just perfect.
San Juan Salsa makes the best damn salsa. Not quite as hot as I'd like but seriously delicioso.
San Juan Salsa makes the best damn salsa. Not quite as hot as I'd like but seriously delicioso.
21
@11 Thanks for the idea! Chips and guacamole sounds like a good combo. Anybody else ever try these two together?
26
@19, that's a bit more reassuring, but I still see "flour factory" there. Maybe they're getting the masa before it's made into flour. That's what I'll tell myself.
Who am I kidding anyways? I can't have corn chips, I'm on a diet. I just ate two Post-Its and a foot of Scotch tape. I am not lying.
Who am I kidding anyways? I can't have corn chips, I'm on a diet. I just ate two Post-Its and a foot of Scotch tape. I am not lying.
29
@26, avoid Have'A Corn Chips then. I can't stop until the bag is gone. The soy sauce is irresistible.
31
@20, @27: OK, so where can you find Solena and Penny's chips?
I found out about Juanita's a couple of years ago by chance. I could smell the difference without opening the bags. Probably not the healthiest chips, but hooboy, addictive enough for me.
Sounds like it's time for a Stranger Taste Test, David.
I found out about Juanita's a couple of years ago by chance. I could smell the difference without opening the bags. Probably not the healthiest chips, but hooboy, addictive enough for me.
Sounds like it's time for a Stranger Taste Test, David.
32
I mean, I googled it and it looks like basically sour cream mixed with half & half or heavy cream? That sounds... like something.
33
30: Mexican sour cream has hint of lime and salt, like crema fresca, and it is the only sour cream any sane person should buy.
34
@31, many grocery stores and markets around here have Solena. They're made in Seattle, I think. The Town & Country Markets stories definitely have 'em - they're the ones in a clear bag with just a smallish, rectangular, red-white-and-green label on the front. Metropolitan probably has 'em.
35
Okay. I really, literately haven't had chips in many years (a decade?), but all this talk now has me wondering if I should head to Bartell and pick up a *small* bag, just to see what all the fuss is about.
36
@35, Do it. Do it now.
When I found these chips in Montana after years of driving them home from the market in Seattle....well- I now have a regular stash at home and work.......
When I found these chips in Montana after years of driving them home from the market in Seattle....well- I now have a regular stash at home and work.......
37
These are indeed delicious chips, though I have had to return a bag or two because they contained so much grease that it actually pooled in the bottom of the bag. Still, nice to see a non-Frito-Lay brand gaining popularity.
@15, I think you're just parsing words, but it's pretty-well understood that "organic" isn't so much a literal definition as a catch-all term for a set of agreed-upon standards. From the USDA site: "Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity." That said, I used to work at a food co-op and smirked whenever a customer asked if we carried organic salt.
@15, I think you're just parsing words, but it's pretty-well understood that "organic" isn't so much a literal definition as a catch-all term for a set of agreed-upon standards. From the USDA site: "Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity." That said, I used to work at a food co-op and smirked whenever a customer asked if we carried organic salt.
40
We call them wedding chips because we bought them for my daughter's wedding 4 years ago. They were cheap! We only buy them now because they are the best! We are very experienced chip eaters;-)
41
Fnarf, I wouldn 't worry about Juanita's being made with corn flour rather than masa. I've cooked with corn flour many times and am certain that a tortilla chip would not be recognizable as such if it were made from corn flour rather than masa. The texture would be all wrong. Having had too many bags of them, I know Juanita's texture is not all wrong.
And to anyone who thinks San Juan Salsa is good: you clearly have never tasted good salsa.
And to anyone who thinks San Juan Salsa is good: you clearly have never tasted good salsa.
42
@38 Not me! To paraphrase Dan re. Terry: I could subsist on unlimited guacamole, horchata and Juanita's chips and not gain two pounds.
43
@30: Not sure what the heck Schmader is eating, but Mexican sour cream (crema Mexicana agria) doesn't usually have salt in it, and definitely not lime; it's just a cultured dairy product like regular sour cream or creme fraiche. Usually it's a bit runnier than sour cream, but taste and texture vary depending on brand. Darigold's version is actually thicker than regular sour cream, and does indeed have salt in it (tho no lime), and I find it delectable. If you live near any latin markets, try a few different brands/types of crema (crema salvadorena, for example). They shouldn't be more than $2 a jar/tub/bag, so there's no reason not to experiment and see what you like.
44
Darigold is what I was talking about! I just got the lime wrong, and have used the Mexi-cream for so long I no longer remembered it was thicker than regular sour cream....
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