Why You Might Start Seeing 'Wet' Potato Chips On Store Shelves
A ton of food trends have taken Japan by storm over the years. According to Statista, fried chicken and Italian desserts have both made a strong impact back in 2021. Some trends, like fresh fruit sandwiches, have yet to make a strong impact in North America, while others seem destined to find their way across the Pacific to become a hit with American taste buds.
SoraNews24 reports that one Japanese snack manufacturer has recently turned the potato chip formula on its head by introducing wet chips. The curious snack item is meant to emulate "nure senbai" a kind of damp rice cracker, and feels moist to the touch right out of the bag thanks to a soy sauce coating. Shoppers love the look, texture, and taste of the new item. At first glance, these chips look almost interchangeable with other snacks, but the taste and texture are apparently utterly unique.
A new era for potato chips?
According to a post on Steemit, snack maker Calbee has produced the moist chip, which features a wider-than-average cut and retains a bit of crunch when bitten into, despite the soy soaking. Some shoppers haven't warmed up to the idea of a wet chip, and the fact that the design of the product allows the chips to expire faster has presented some problems for distribution. Nevertheless, Calbee has plans to expand the product throughout Japan soon.
SoraNews24 states that Calbee intends to start selling the moist chips at 7-Eleven soon, opening up an even wider snack market. While Americans will have to wait before they're officially able to get their hands on a bag of these chips, some have started making the snack at home. One ingenious snack fan whipped up their own soy glaze by combining sake, soy sauce, and sugar together, then ladling the mixture over thick-cut potato chips. They then microwaved the concoction together to soften and blend the flavors. They found that their take on wet chips closely matched Calbee's version of wet chips, seemingly making their culinary experiment a success. While you might not find these chips at your local corner store anytime soon, the DIY method seems poised to take social media by storm.