# Corn- or potato-based snacks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210 "2013-06-17T20:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/21 "2013-06-18T03:00:21Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Corn snacks are stupid, the good chips are flour tortilla, and _Fritos_? Please. > > French fries, potato chips, and tater tots are all pretty good. Yes they are, but note the OP specifies “salty, dry junk foods,” of which fries and tots are neither. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/22 "2013-06-18T03:18:42Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > …Seriously, I’ve noticed a dearth of nacho cheese-flavored potato chips. You need to find a better potato chip vendor. Mackie’s of Scotland, for instance, makes some lovely Mature Cheddar &Onion flavored chips. Haggis also. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/23 "2013-06-18T03:19:41Z")
No one mentioned Pringles yet? C’mon… ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/24 "2013-06-18T03:21:35Z")
Corn. All I need is tortilla chips and I’m happy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/25 "2013-06-18T03:26:53Z")
> [@thicksantorum](#): > > No one mentioned Pringles yet? C’mon… So, what are they made of? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/26 "2013-06-18T03:52:41Z")
> [@thicksantorum](#): > > No one mentioned Pringles yet? C’mon… Good point. Partially invented by Gene Wolfe, so they can’t be that bad. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/27 "2013-06-18T04:01:00Z")
I’m voting for corn. I can make my own potato chips; Fritos, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/28 "2013-06-18T04:21:56Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > IMHO Fritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, and Doritos offer a little more variety of flavors and textures (but not names) than potato chips. …Is it bad that I had no idea that Cheetos and Doritos weren’t considered potato chips? I’m assuming Doritos are tortilla chips? And it seems obvious now but I just never made the connection. But…what the hell are Cheetos made out of? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/29 "2013-06-18T04:51:10Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > …Is it bad that I had no idea that Cheetos and Doritos weren’t considered potato chips? I’m assuming Doritos are tortilla chips? And it seems obvious now but I just never made the connection. But…what the hell are Cheetos made out of? Satan’s cock! … Cornmeal-based. With air! And of course Doritos are corn; they’re the Ur-example. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/30 "2013-06-18T04:54:48Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > …Is it bad that I had no idea that Cheetos and Doritos weren’t considered potato chips? I’m assuming Doritos are tortilla chips? And it seems obvious now but I just never made the connection. But…what the hell are Cheetos made out of? Basically, they’re a mixture of cornmeal and water extruded through dies and hot air-puffed. > **[Cheetos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetos)** > > Cheetos (formerly styled as Chee-tos until 1998) is a crunchy corn-cheese puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the United States. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. In 1965 Frito-Lay became a subsidiary of The Pepsi-Cola Company, forming PepsiCo, the current owner ... ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/31 "2013-06-18T09:16:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes they are, but note the OP specifies “salty, dry junk foods,” of which fries and tots are neither. Well obviously I’m not capable of following directions! But still I choose potato snacks, because I don’t like any corn snacks except Cracker Jacks but I almost never eat those. I wouldn’t especially miss potato chips either though, I’m not a huge fan of salty snacks. And I would love to see corn nuts go. Those things have no right to exist. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/32 "2013-06-18T13:48:51Z")
Corn chips \> potato chips any day. But if I have to give up mashed potatoes and baked potatoes and double-baked potatoes and french fries, it’s bye-bye fritos! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/33 "2013-06-18T13:53:15Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Corn chips \> potato chips any day. But if I have to give up mashed potatoes and baked potatoes and double-baked potatoes and french fries, it’s bye-bye fritos! Worry not. The OP says that potatoes and corn will exist for other purposes. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/34 "2013-06-18T13:54:29Z")
Spuds. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/35 "2013-06-18T14:08:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Worry not. The OP says that potatoes and corn will exist for other purposes. Although that is an interesting side question. If corn or potatoes were to all disappear, period, then I think I’d keep the potatoes and bid corn adieu. I definitely use potatoes much more often in my cooking. (Well, maybe I have more meals per week with corn tortillas than with potatoes–especially this time of year–but I could at least deal with flour tortillas as a substitute.) ---
**Author:** ![ChickaPicosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@ChickaPicosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickaPicosa)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/36 "2013-06-20T02:10:30Z")
I voted potato, but I’m not overly fond of salty stuff. Take away my chocolate, though, and we have a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/37 "2013-06-20T02:33:34Z")
I’m occasionally in the mood for potato chips… But all of my favorite snack foods are corn-based. Easy decision, for me. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/38 "2013-06-20T02:41:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Basically, they’re a mixture of cornmeal and water extruded through dies and hot air-puffed. It’s my understanding, through a friend of mine who’s a chef, that that extrusion fried is Cheetos, but if you were to bake it, you would get [cheese curls](http://s1.hubimg.com/u/225004_f496.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![houseclearance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eb8c5e/32.png) [@houseclearance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/houseclearance)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/39 "2013-06-20T06:44:50Z")
Both corn and potato are carbohydrates but I go for corn. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210/40 "2013-06-20T12:07:56Z")
Before I would have agreed with the corn people for variety, but now I’m limited in the varieties I can eat. And at least there are no bad or even mediocre potato chips. BTW, Pringles aren’t potato chips. They have corn (and wheat) in them too. So they’re gone either way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-or-potato-based-snacks/661210.md?page=3)