These Are The Potato Chips Andrew Zimmern Loves The Most

According to Smithsonian Magazine, Americans consume 1.85 billion pounds of potato chips annually, equating to almost 7 pounds per person – 11.2 million pounds of chips are eaten during the Super Bowl alone (via Tiger Fitness). Salty and crispy, it's easy to see why Americans not only grab the fried potatoes by the handful but add them to sandwiches and crush them to coat fish or chicken. The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond even adds them to cookie dough for irresistible potato chip chocolate chip cookies, per Food Network.

While Lay's is the nation's top-selling brand (per Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery), consumers now have dozens of other options and many potato chip flavor combinations to choose from. In response to consumers' increased health awareness, some food manufacturers are producing reduced and non-fat chips, chips made with alternative root vegetables, and have eliminated artificial colors and ingredients, Research and Markets reports.

Other manufacturers are differentiating themselves by expanding flavor profiles beyond the old-school barbecue potato chips, sour cream and onion, and sea salt. Just as chip preferences differ from state to state, per Insider, food professionals like chef Andrew Zimmern have favorites they grab when craving something salty and greasy.

Andrew Zimmern, known for exploring different food cultures on his show "Bizarre Foods," has revealed his favorite potato chip flavor. True to Zimmern's style, the flavor profile is bold and international. According to HuffPost, Zimmern's favorite chips are Spanish brand Torres Jamón Ibérico flavor. "They're incredibly crisp, they taste like a real fried potato, and they're deeply redolent with a cured ham flavor," says Zimmern.

Jamón Ibérico, the expensive, salt-cured ham from Spain, dates back to caveman times (via Jamon.com). Prized for its high-fat content, the ham from free-range, pata negra (black hoofed) Ibérico pigs is cured for two to five years to develop a complex flavor that's sweet and nutty due to the acorn diet used to fatten pigs. Sliced paper thin, Jamón Ibérico is designed to melt at 75 degrees in your mouth.

According to its website, Torres has humble beginnings tracing back to a potato chip stand in Premià de Mar, Spain, in 1969. The company's artisanal potato chips line offers foie gras, black truffles, caviar, and other high-end flavors. Torres potato chips can be purchased through the company's website or in select gourmet markets.