The Lay's Potato Chip Flavor You Can Just Leave On The Shelves

Lay's produces hundreds of flavors of potato chips across the globe. So many, in fact, that it would be difficult to try them all even if Lay's international flavors were easy to come by. Not long ago, a contributor to The Takeout ranked 22 Lay's potato chip flavors to see how some of the more popular varieties stacked up to each other. As in any ranking, there was a clear winner and one that flopped. The distinction for the latter was awarded to Lay's Wavy Original, which fell short for missing the mark on crunch.

It isn't that Lay's Wavy Original potato chips are horrible; just forgettable. The mediocre flavor was respectable enough for a plain chip, but what really dinged it in the rankings was the "puffed-up" texture. Instead of that crispy bite most people anticipate when eating a potato chip, this variety of Lay's ate more like a cheese puff. It was more aerated than one might expect and continually left unwelcome bits of the product stuck to our tester's teeth as they dove in for another nibble. With all the choices folks have when selecting a flavor of Lay's in a convenience or grocery store, this is one that's best to avoid unless you relish the idea of having pieces of potato chip annoyingly clinging to your chompers after they're gone.

Ranked lists are by nature subjective. One man's trash is another's treasure, as they say. But our tester did employ a solid methodology by which they chose where each flavor landed. Texture was rightfully the primary concern because what's a potato chip without that satisfying crunch? A dud, that's what. Flavor followed in factors of importance followed by how accurately the taste lived up to the name. The most subjective determinant, overall satisfaction, was considered last to keep things as unbiased as possible.

That said, many folks don't share our tester's opinion that these chips are subpar. Online reviews of Lay's Wavy Original are actually favorable. Out of over 7,000 ratings from Walmart customers, 82% gave them five stars. Target shoppers showed a similar adoration of the potato chips, with 83% of over 2,500 ratings giving Lay's Wavy Original top marks. CVS, with a much smaller data pool of just over 200 reviews, shows an impressive 94% of customers think they're first-rate.

Still, if you agree with our tester that Lay's Wavy Original is an inferior potato chip, there are ways to improve the eating experience. A flavorful three-ingredient onion dip can mask many of its drawbacks, for example. Alternatively, you could crush the chips onto a chile queso hash brown casserole, as Lay's recommends on its website. If neither of those ideas sound appealing, another tester at The Takeout indicated Lay's Wavy Original is one of the best potato chips to pair with caviar. Extra saltiness and a gourmet feel might be just what you need to make them palatable.