This Might Have Been The Weirdest Chip Flavor In History

Taste may be subjective, but a number of chip flavors make us feel as if the manufacturers are trolling us. I mean, I love trying some unconventional flavors; for my high school graduation I was thrilled to receive a bag of Utz crab chips (which sadly don't seem to be available outside Maryland). Through the years, I've also enjoyed haggis chips (British) and hot squid chips (Thai). I'd say the weirdest chips I've ever experienced were the cappuccino-flavored ones that Lay's (briefly) introduced in 2014. That being said, I missed out on trying the strange chip flavors released by Illegal Chips. While I'm devastated I never got to try horse meat, maggot cheese, or fugu chips, I am as equally disappointed that I haven't had the chance to try another oddball flavor: Cajun squirrel potato chips.

Cajun squirrel chips sound like the most American thing ever — something Daniel Boone would chomp on in a log cabin — but it seems they were actually British. The flavor was suggested by a marketing executive who noted that he'd seen squirrel on the menu at chic bistros; he thought it might be the next big thing. The flavor was launched in 2009 as part of a contest by Walker's along with other flavors including onion bhaji, chilli and chocolate, fish and chips, and crispy duck and hoisin. The winner was a chip designed to taste like a builder's breakfast (bacon, egg, toast, and ketchup). The non-winning squirrel chips, along with the other losing candidates, were unceremoniously dropped from the company's roster.

The question of whether the chips did or did not taste like squirrel proved to be surprisingly difficult to answer because, despite British chefs championing squirrel's sustainability, it never became a hipster food fad. Most reviewers (and the man who proposed the flavor) admitted they'd never even tried squirrel, meaning they had no basis for comparison. As it so happens, I have eaten squirrel, and, for the most part, it tasted of lead pellets. (I also shot and prepared said squirrel, and none too skillfully at that.) Since it came from a pine forest, the squirrel I ate also had a hint of Christmas tree about it. Other, more helpful food reviewers say squirrel tastes like gamey rabbit (I'd concur) or the dark meat of a turkey.

The chips' flavor seems to have been dominated by an odd and not entirely Cajun spice blend that included allspice, cardamom, chile, coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, thyme, and lemon. The mixture was said to taste mildly spicy and vaguely meaty. Some people likened the chips to a Thanksgiving dinner. However, writer and producer Charlie Brooker said they tasted like cat farts. Perhaps, it shouldn't come as a surprise that these chips did not win the Walker's competition after all.