Wilde Protein Chips – Buffalo Flavor

Bitter: 🟡🟡○○○

Salty: 🟡🟡🟡🟡○

Sour/Tangy:🟡🟡○○○

Sweet: 🟡○○○○

Umami: 🟡🟡🟡○○

Heat: 🟡○○○○○○○○○

Quick Flavor Notes: Vinegar, red pepper, chicken skin

Recommended: Yes

Texture: Crispy and dry

Ingredients: Antibiotic-Free Chicken Breast, Native Tapioca Starch, High Oleic Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil, Egg Whites, Chicken Bone Broth, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Aged Cayenne Pepper Sauce, Vinegar, Paprika Extract, Sea Salt, Spices, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Natural Flavors, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Sugar

Wilde brand of snacks is a Kentucky based producer of high-protein low-carb snack foods. I’m always on the lookout for healthy snacks to have around at work and these looked appealing. Based on chicken breast they say that they’re supposed to have a texture and flavor similar to normal potato chips. As I enjoy crunchy things and also love chicken (and things buffalo) these looked right up my ally so I was excited to try.

The front of the bag proclaims that these are made from “real” ingredients but that’s one of those nonsense claims that doesn’t actually mean anything. Looking at the back of the bag the first ingredient is in fact chicken breast and they make a point at stating that it’s antibiotic free. The overuse of antibiotics in factory farming is something that’s a concern so it’s good to see that they don’t do that here. On their website they even say that the chickens used are raised on an entirely vegetarian diet. Next comes “native” tapioca starch. Native in this case doesn’t necessarily mean domestically produced but rather it’s to differentiate it from modified tapioca starch. Modified starches are treated with various chemicals in order to make them more robust in freezing and thawing cycles and to dissolve easier while native starches are the pure unadulterated starch (and in this case from cassava). Next is high oleic expeller pressed sunflower oil. High oleic sunflower oil is made from specially bred sunflowers to produce an oil that’s primarily monounsaturated (as opposed to standard sunflower oil that’s primarily polyunsaturated). This gives benefits to heart health from much higher Omega-9 acids, higher smoke point, and higher resistance to oxidation for longer shelf life. Expeller pressing means that the oil is extracted via mechanical pressure as opposed to using chemical solvents. Egg whites and chicken broth are self explanatory (though the use of broth instead of water is nice for added flavor). In the weeds of the label in the “less than 2%” area we see the seasoning consisting of cayenne pepper sauce, paprika extract (typically used in industrial food production for color), sea salt, vinegar, unnamed spices, citric acid (which is an antioxidant and adds a sour flavor), maltodextrin (which is necessary to turn liquids like the cayenne pepper sauce and vinegar into powders), yeast extract (for added umami), sodium citrate (which inhibits mold and bacterial growth), unnamed “natural flavors”, salt and sugar.

While I’ll give them that the majority of their ingredients used would classify as “real” and natural, and I commend them on their use of high quality chicken and oil I never like to see unnamed “spices” nor unnamed “natural flavors” on a product label, as it always seems as if they’re hiding something. Similarly, while I understand the need to have an antimicrobial ingredient since these are made mostly from chicken breast, the use of paprika extract instead of actual paprika for color and yeast extract instead of actual nutritional yeast for umami flavoring boost are both strikes are “real” ingredients in my opinion.

Wilde Buffalo Flavor protein chips do have a texture that’s very similar to potato chips. They’re crispy with good crunch though with a more uniform consistency that natural potato chips they’re more similar to something like Pringles made from reconstituted potato particles. The buffalo flavor is surprisingly authentic as well (though that does seem to be one of the easier flavors to replicate in snack foods) with a very nice tang and that Louisiana style hot sauce flavor. While the chicken flavor isn’t incredibly strong in these chips there is a subtle essence of chicken and that combined with the buffalo flavor does make these taste more like buffalo wings than any buffalo flavored snack that I’ve tried before. In fact on the finish there’s an aftertaste which hints at crispy chicken skin. These do have a surprisingly meaty umami kick as well, perhaps both from the chicken and the yeast, but they’re very satisfying and savory. As can be expected with the hot sauce being less than 2% of the total ingredients the heat level is beyond minimal, more of a suggestion of something that should taste hot than actually having any heat.

If you’re looking for a high protein low carb crispy snack these are hard to beat. Looking up the company they appear to have a number of other flavors that supposedly have some spice so I may well try those in the future, though I do think that you going with buffalo flavor is about as perfect as you can get when turning chicken into a chip.