‘It’s my Kryptonite’: Good Food declares March Chip Month

We’ve never met a chip we haven’t liked*. You name it – fries, crisps, oven-baked, crinkle-cut, thrice-cooked, beer-battered, air-fried, roasted, corn, deep-fried, beef-tallowed, splashed with vinegar – we’ve enthusiastically shovelled them into our mouths.

Heck, we’ve even found we can’t stop smashing those weird fluoro corn chips, flimsy matchstick crisps, those I-don’t-know-if-I-actually-hate-these-or-they’re-good “wave chips”, and we even have (a smidgen of) time for those hunky steak chips that seem to divide friends and families along love/hate lines.

Which is why we’re devoting the month of March to the seemingly endless possibilities of chips, both hot and cold.

“Is there a more beloved food item than the chip?” asks Sarah Norris, head of Good Food. “We don’t think so.”

Good Food app editor Erina Starkey takes her love for chips one step further. “It’s my Kryptonite. Whether it’s hot blistered stubs, crunchy kettle-cooked rounds, or cheesy, flavour-dusted triangles – I can’t say no.”

Throughout March, we’re diving headlong into the vast chip universe. We’ll bring you the definitive guide to everything golden and crunchy – from where to find the best in town and how to master them at home, to the top-tier picks from the supermarket shelf and freezer.

From a blind taste test of the supermarkets’ “original” plain chips to a high-stakes power ranking of the best takeaway hot chips, we’re putting our cholesterol on the line to find the ultimate crunch – whether it’s from an independent local or a fast-food icon.

“I just discovered Dominos and Pizza Hut also serve chips, so we’re going to have to taste test them too,” says national restaurant editor Callan Boys.

“And, hey – maybe they’ll be great! I can’t imagine many people are asking for chips on the side of their Hot Honey Pepperoni Lovers Stuffed Crust – at least, I hope they’re not – which theoretically increases the chance of each batch being cooked to order.

“This is the kind of important chip research we’ll be undertaking over the next four weeks.

“Just don’t expect any wedge content. Wedges are most certainly not chips.”

Norris disagrees, saying wedges fall within the chip universe. Same with Cheezels, Burger Rings and cheese and bacon balls. Isabel Cant, Good Food’s social media editor, backs this up. “I don’t think crisps have to be 100 per cent potato these days.”

To kick things off, our resident dietitian, Susie Burrell, helps us navigate the freezer aisle to find the healthiest supermarket chips – and the ones best left behind.

Our monthly Sandwich Watch column pays proper tribute to the glorious carb-on-carb comfort of the chip butty, and we’ll look into “chipflation” – the steady climb of restaurant chip prices over the years – and we’ll explore the storied history of that great Aussie invention: the halal snack pack.

“It’s a month-long excuse to indulge in my favourite ingredient,” says Good Food recipe editor Roslyn Grundy. “Think of it as an invitation to bring a bit of high-low luxury to your dinner table or couch late on a Friday night, one salt-sprinkled mouthful at a time.”

*Curly fries excepted. Also, sweet potato fries are questionable.