Herr's Chips

On a recent roadtrip, my son and I were able to take a tour of the Herr’s Snack Factory. And it was great! There’s a reason they were voted one of the best factory tours in the country!

The tour starts with a video about the history of Herr’s. It didn’t seem to drag on and I found it almost entertaining. Then, we were divided into 2 groups and taken to different parts of the factory. We went on a Thursday so they couldn’t guarantee that the factory would be in production.

The first place we went was the pretzel making area. It was not being used at the time, but we still got to see all the equipment, watch a short video about how they’re made, and listen to our tour guide talk about it. It was very interesting. I had never really thought about how pretzels were made before, but I’m glad I now know!

Next, we went to the tortilla chip making area. It was also not being used at the time. But again, there were videos to see, the tour guide to listen to, and equipment to see. Plus, it was great to hear that they don’t waste any of the fallen or broken chips. They’re sent to a farm and mixed with the food for the animals.

We were also able to walk through the packaging and storage area where there was a great view of the popcorn seasoning room. This one was in production so we were able to see the popcorn being coated in the seasoning drums. Plus, it was fun to see the storage area. It was HUGE! And to know that the entire warehouse is filled with completely new products in less than a week is astounding. People sure do eat a lot of snacks!

But my favorite place, by far, was the potato chip area. I loved learning how they get all the potatoes out of the trucks! I’ll let you learn that one for yourself though. My son’s favorite part was when our tour guide was able to walk onto the factory floor and retrieve a tray of freshly cooked chips for us to taste. They were still warm and very delicious. Clearly this area was in production. They were making kettle chips. We could have stood at the windows all day, watching chips go through the seasoning drums, get weighed into bags, travel on a belt (where the imperfect ones were blown into a box) to a machine that counted the bags and put them into boxes.

At the end of the tour, we were given a bag of kettle chips and a bag of either pretzels or steak chips. Then, we looked around the small store they had. I decided it would be fun to buy a vintage tin with 20 bags of chips inside. I was able to pick out whatever flavors I wanted to be put inside. They took the paper I filled out, and I had a tin full of chips about 10 minutes later.

Owen’s Notes: “Chips! My favorite part was trying the freshly baked, off the line chips! They were so warm and delicious. I loved it.”

Herr’s Chip Taste Tests:

Grill Mates Montreal Steak: At first, I found it a little strange that the chips tasted like the seasoning you would find on a steak, but as I ate more, I started to really like it! The chips are flavorful, but not too strong. They were pretty good, and while I wouldn’t necessarily choose to eat them all the time, they’re a nice change from your average chip flavors. 7/10

Buffalo Blue Cheese: I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I might hate this one. I mean, it has the word buffalo in it and while I like spicy, I don’t want it to linger on my tongue for hours. It also says blue cheese and I’m just not a fan. However, I’m really glad I tried it because it was delicious! The spice was nice, but not overwhelming. After eating a small bag, there is just a small hint left on my tongue. And while you can definitely taste some tangy cheese, it isn’t too blue. I would absolutely eat these again. 9/10

Cheddar and Sour Cream Ripples: These were pretty good, but they’re exactly what you would expect from cheddar and sour cream chips. I do think that ripples taste better than regular chips so they had that going for them. 8/10

Sour Cream and Onion: Now, some people may say “it’s just sour cream and onion, what’s new?” but I don’t agree. When it comes to sour cream and onion, everyone makes theirs different. These are a little sweeter (but not in a bad way!) than other brands. They’re wavy and seriously delicious. I may have a new favorite brand for sour cream and onion! 9/10

Barbeque: Most people are probably like “Oh, yeah, BBQ, classic” but I for sure think everyone’s is a little different. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s different about their recipe, but it’s good! 8/10

Baked Cheese Curls: Ok, so I know I’ve been saying that Herr’s products taste different from everyone else’s, but this time, they don’t. The cheese curls here are just the same as everyone else’s. Lucky for me, I love cheese curls. 7/10

BBQ Corn Chips: These were great! But I actually wish the BBQ flavor was a little stronger! It’s very mild and I want more. 7/10

Honey BBQ: I liked these, but you definitely need to be in the mood for sweet. They taste just like the regular BBQ chips, but with honey. 8/10

Baby Back Ribs: Personally, I wasn’t a fan of this flavor. But my husband loved it. I think it was too smokey and vinegar-y for me. 4/10

Tangy BBQ Popped Chips: These were fantastic! I liked the popped chips more than I thought I would. 9/10

Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips: I feel like I have to compare these to Doritos. They are far less cheesy and far more tortilla-y. I liked them, but I would choose to eat Doritos if given the choice. 7/10