Bet'cha Can't Eat Just One

In order to draft this paper I had to do research on Lays potato chips. I needed to figure out the history of the potato chip. I thought that it was easy to state the facts about potato chips, but I think it may have made my paper a little boring. I found it especially dull in the paragraphs where I talk about what the ingredients of the different types of chips. For example when I said, "The baked chips are made of potatoes, olestra, salt, alphaTocopheryl acetate, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin D."  I don't really know what most of these ingredients are, so I can bet that the reader won't really be interested in that paragraph either. In these few sentences I think that I can find a better more intriguing way to draw the reader into compare and contrasting the chips.

It was kind of hard to explain our experience of trying the different kinds of potato chips. It was difficult to convey my feelings and put the taste of all of the chips into words. This was really frustrating to me. I think I did a sufficient enough job to get the point across on comparing the chips, but I can add more detail and specifics. I need to go back to the packet we took notes on during our taste testing experience and add a few comments that I notices while actually experiencing the tasting.

I used many different techniques in my paper. I used definition writing, description, compare and contrast, as well as listing. I defined what potato chips were based on their history and what the dictionary describes them as. I think instead of saying, According to yourdictionary.com, a potato chip is defined as A thin slice of potato fried in deep fat until crisp then usually salted and flavored,” I can give the reader my definition of what a potato chip means to me when I think of it. This will add much more personality to the paper and allow the reader to see my opinion about chips.  I then described how the different kinds of Lays chips tasted, looked, and the ingredients they contained. Then compared and contrasted the kinds of chips. Doing this allowed me to analyze the taste testing experience and develop my paper.
One of my favorite lines in this paper is when I say, "When I tasted the baked I was very surprised. I have had the baked kind before and thought that they were pretty good. After eating the classic kind beforehand, the baked kind was very disappointing." I think that the reader can relate to this. When you compare something very bland and boring to something salty and tasty, there is no real comparison.  The food that is unhealthy for you is most likely tastier. 

Throughout my paper I used block-by-block comparisons to make sure the reader could tell the difference between the kinds of chips. I also stated my opinions and facts based on what I found in my research. I let the reader know what I thought about the different chips and which ones I like and didn't like. Not only did I tell them my thoughts. I tried to convey my experience to them.

I really liked my introduction after re-reading my paper. I think I did a good job of giving the reader an insight about what the paper would be about without giving away all of the aspects. I thought that because I started out by telling the history of potato chips, it caught peoples attention. I didn't know how potato chips were first started and how they thought about the airtight sealed packaging we see in stores. The middle of my paper is kind of boring. Especially in the parts I stated above.  I need to add less factual data and more creative compare and contrast techniques. I think that I could do a better job of using imagery to describe the different potato chips and how they looked and tasted. Although I said, "You could actually see the grease discoloration on these yellow and almost transparent circular slices of fried potatoes," I can make my descriptions more detailed and clearer for the reader to imagine this.  I like how I incorporated the slogans of Lays. I People can really relate to this. Most people have heard the "Betcha can't Eat Just One" slogan. This is why I made it my title. I think it really sums up the whole Lays Company and their products.

      My partner said that my introduction really showed how Lays started and became popular. He also said that the introduction grabbed his attention. He said that I did a good job of introducing the paper and my experience during the taste test. One thing that my partner said that I could add was more of my opinions. If I added my opinion, I would give the reader something to compare their opinions about Lays. It will also give the reader something to think about and possibly make them think about the aspects of a potato chip in a different way. I totally agree with what I could improve on in my Food Paper. Adding more of my opinions and less facts will make it more interesting.

“Bet’cha Can’t Eat Just One”

            There are many different brands of potato chips and many different flavors of potato chips. What is the definition of a potato chip? According to yourdictionary.com, a potato chip is defined as “A thin slice of potato fried in deep fat until crisp then usually salted and flavored.” The history of the potato chips is that a restaurant owner, George Crum was fed up with a customer who kept complaining that the fried potatoes were too thick. After Crum getting upset and frustrated at this customer, he decided to slice the potatoes so thin that you can’t eat them with a fork. He did this just to prove a point and satisfy the customer. To his surprise, the customers who came to his restaurant loved this new phenomenon of a sliced potato also known as the potato chip. Not until 1920’s were potato chips being massed produced. This was started by Herman Lay, who eventually started the brand of Lays potato chips. When you go to the store they sell the lays potato chip bags in airtight bags. Before this they stored the potato chips in big barrels. The problem with this was that the chips at the bottom became soggy and stale. The airtight seal began when women began to ironing two pieces of wax paper together to create a seal and maintain freshness.

            In class we tested different products and were to compare the taste, smell, texture, feel, look, and overall products. We were given the task to try different kinds of Lays potato chips. We were given samples of the classic, natural, light, and baked. My group decided to try the classic potato chips first. These are the most greasy, salty, and unhealthy of course. You could actually see the grease discoloration on these yellow and almost transparent circular slices of fried potatoes. In every bite of this kind you had a mouthful of salt. Personally it was just a little too much for my liking. You could taste all of the grease and oil almost dripping from each chip. When I tasted the baked I was very surprised. I have had the baked kind before and thought that they were pretty good. After eating the classic kind beforehand, the baked kind was very disappointing. They almost tasted like cardboard. They had a strange aftertaste and were lighter. The chips were thinner and although they were salty, they were not oily or greasy at all. We tried the natural kind next. They seemed very earthy and natural. They had less of a salt taste and more potato taste. The natural kind looks the most like the original minus the many transparent grease and oil stains. For the light kind, they were very crunchy. You can still taste the salt, but obviously not as much of a dominant taste as the classic.

            I was not really surprised about how the different kinds of chips actually did taste very different, but I was stunned when I looked to see what ingredients are in the different kinds. According to lays they make their original classic chips with potatoes, sunflower oil, corn oil, and salt. The baked chips are made of potatoes, olestra, salt, alphaTocopheryl acetate, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin D. The natural chips are made of dehydrated potatoes, modified food starch, sugar, corn oil, salt, soy, dextrose. The light chips are made up of Potatoes, Olestra, Salt, alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) Vitamin A, Palmitate, Vitamin K, Vitamin D, and Tocopherols. As you can see, the classic kind has the least amount of products. To make up for the flavor that you are missing from the baked, natural, and light kinds they add other ingredients. 

            Not only have they developed different kinds of chips and flavors over the past years, Lays have come up with different slogans to promote their products. From the 1960s to 2006, their slogan was “Bet’cha can’t eat just one!” In 2006, it was “Lays, Get your Smile on”, 2007 it was “Food for the Fun of It”. In 2009, they developed the slogan of “Simply Made. Simply Good.” as well as “Happiness is Simple.” As you can tell, these slogans have evolved over the years. They had the “Bet’cha can’t eat just one” slogan for a long time. This was directed more towards the advertising aspect of the company. They make the slogan a challenge for people. If it says “Bet’cha can’t eat just one” then the will try to do the challenge and then fail because no one can actually only eat one potato chip when they have a whole bag. The slogans have developed over the years and are now geared more towards the quality of the product. In 2009, all of the slogans have to do with the chips being simple and natural.

            There are flavors and kinds of Lays for everyone. To think that they started out just because a customer complained about the fried potatoes and now they have developed many different kinds of the same original chips. When tasted and compared the classic, natural, baked, and light potato chips you can really tell the different between them. The baked kind tasted the most different from the Original classic, but they all have their pros and cons. The baked chips looked the most different from the other kinds. The light and natural resemble the most to classic chips. With all of the different flavors and kinds of chips, it allows everyone who eats Lays chips to be satisfied.