There's something about the burlap bag. It can turn heads, for sure. Maybe it's even a little gimmicky, as one blogger put it. But it's hard to deny how good what's inside tastes. And if it weren't for the distinctive potato sack, Covered Bridge chips might not have made it to P&C Market.
"I was enamored by the burlap bag," our in-house gourmet Brett will tell you. "Turns out, the contents were outstanding, and I knew we had to have them."
P&C Market directly imports Covered Bridge potato chips and tortilla chips from New Brunswick, Canada. This province that borders Maine has most of its agriculture around the upper Saint John River Valley, and potatoes are the most important crop.
Since the 1920s, the Albright family has been farming in New Brunswick. Over the years, generations of the family have moved and acquired more farmland. Now, the fourth generation of Albrights - cousins Ryan, Matthew and Shaun, all around 30 years old - is running the show, and in 2009 began turning their family's 500 acres of potatoes into chips.
Based in Hartland, the smallest town in New Brunswick, Covered Bridge takes its name from the town's claim-to-fame: it's home to the world's longest covered bridge, built in 1901.
P&C Market directly imports Covered Bridge potato chips and tortilla chips from New Brunswick, Canada. This province that borders Maine has most of its agriculture around the upper Saint John River Valley, and potatoes are the most important crop.
Since the 1920s, the Albright family has been farming in New Brunswick. Over the years, generations of the family have moved and acquired more farmland. Now, the fourth generation of Albrights - cousins Ryan, Matthew and Shaun, all around 30 years old - is running the show, and in 2009 began turning their family's 500 acres of potatoes into chips.
Based in Hartland, the smallest town in New Brunswick, Covered Bridge takes its name from the town's claim-to-fame: it's home to the world's longest covered bridge, built in 1901.
What makes Covered Bridge potato chips so good? That's easy: the potato. The Albrights farm the Russet Burbank variety, which is the potato most commonly associated with Idaho, and more commonly used for french fries (chips, on the other hand, typically are made with the Maris Piper potato). Russet Burbanks are high in sugar content, and carmelization during cooking accounts for Covered Bridge chips' darker color.
There's not much else to explain. All that goes into a bag are the russets, canola oil, and sea salt. They start with a satisfying crunch and gently melt in your mouth. The salt is balanced by a light char, and like any good chip, it's difficult to put down the bag until it's empty. The flavored varieties are just as hard to put down. Smokin' Sweet BBQ is reminiscent of some really good ribs. Creamy Dill Pickle tastes like biting into the fried gherkins you might find in the South.
And as odd as it sounds for a Canadian chip-maker to be making Mexican-style corn tortilla chips, they pull it off. These small, salted triangles that have enough crunch and heft to handle the chunkiest salsa. You might even find yourself eating the lime-flavored version as a standalone chip.
For a company that's only a few years old, it could be brazen to declare their product is "The Way Chips Should Taste." Could be, but isn't, because they're right.
And don't forget to save that burlap bag! The crafty among us have found ways to keep using it.
There's not much else to explain. All that goes into a bag are the russets, canola oil, and sea salt. They start with a satisfying crunch and gently melt in your mouth. The salt is balanced by a light char, and like any good chip, it's difficult to put down the bag until it's empty. The flavored varieties are just as hard to put down. Smokin' Sweet BBQ is reminiscent of some really good ribs. Creamy Dill Pickle tastes like biting into the fried gherkins you might find in the South.
And as odd as it sounds for a Canadian chip-maker to be making Mexican-style corn tortilla chips, they pull it off. These small, salted triangles that have enough crunch and heft to handle the chunkiest salsa. You might even find yourself eating the lime-flavored version as a standalone chip.
For a company that's only a few years old, it could be brazen to declare their product is "The Way Chips Should Taste." Could be, but isn't, because they're right.
And don't forget to save that burlap bag! The crafty among us have found ways to keep using it.
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