Worth their salt: potato chips - test.(Buyers Guide)(Industry Overview)

The year 1853 swept Franklin Pierce into the White House as 14th president of a union of 31 states and 25 million Americans. But that same year may be better remembered for a milestone event at a Saratoga Springs, N.Y., resort. A noted guest, Cornelius Vanderbilt, carped that his french fries were too thick. Miffed, chef George Crum sliced a new batch paper thin, fried and salted them, and served them to the industrialist. The first potato chips were a hit. Initially served with meals, they were eventually sold like popcorn, scooped into bags or boxes. The next leap came in 1926, when Laura Scudder of Monterey Park, Calif., started selling chips in sealed bags. Today, what started as an act of culinary spite is a national obsession that rules snack aisles.

Each year, Americans put away more than 1.5 billion pounds of potato chips--the sound of $4.7 billion crunching--according to the Snack Food Association's latest data. Their closest competitor, tortilla chips, lags by 100 million pounds. Most potato chips still follow Crum's basic recipe--spuds, oil, and salt--though variations range from barbecue and sour-cream-and-onion chips to offbeat varieties flavored with ketchup, pepperoni, even dill pickles.

Because chips are perishable, bulky, and fragile, factories strive to ship them no more than 300 miles. Consequently, most chip makers are still regional companies, often named for their founders. The leading national outfit, Frito-Lay, has 35 plants around the country to get its chips to area markets whole and fresh.

As a result, snackers tend to be loyal to their local fare. "You grow up with a hometown brand," says Snack Food Association spokesman Tim McCook. "In Chicago, you might watch a Bears game with a Coke and a bag of Jays. In Philadelphia, it'd be Herr's."

We tested national, regional, and supermarket brands of unflavored chips, as well as some barbecue chips, the best-selling flavored variety. Our lineup included regular chips (both ridged and plain), kettle chips, and what the trade calls fabricated chips. Kettle-style chips are usually thicker and crunchier than the regular type. Fabricated varieties such as Pringles are uniform chips made from a dough of dehydrated potato flakes--which means they can't be called potato "chips," but must be labeled "crisps" or "snacks"--often with cornmeal, starch, and dextrose added to the usual oil and salt.

We also threw into the mix reduced-fat and fat-free chips geared to snackers concerned about the 150 calories and 10 grams of fat per ounce in most regular chips. (See "Crunching the Numbers," below.) Finally, we sampled gourmet chips made from out-of-the-ordinary potatoes and other veggies. (See "New Chips on the Block," facing page.)

SUPERIOR SPUDS