The Swedish brewery St. Erik’s wanted to create something truly unique, that would complement the taste of their high-quality beer. They ended up creating the most expensive potato chips in the world.
Apparently, St. Erik’s did not find Lays or Pringles a suitable match for their ale. Thus, the brewery decided to create their own exclusive snack. Announcing the new snack, the brand manager for St. Erik’s, Marcus Friari said:
“St. Erik’s Brewery is one of Sweden’s leading microbreweries and we’re passionate about the craftsmanship that goes into our beer. At the same time, we felt that we were missing a snack of the same status to serve with it. A first-class beer deserves a first-class snack, and this is why we made a major effort to produce the world’s most exclusive potato chips. We’re incredibly proud to be able to present such a crispy outcome.”
The ultra-luxury potato chips come in a stylish black box containing five individually placed chips. Each of these potato chips is handmade by a chef. Five special Nordic ingredients were used to prepare these potato crisps by St. Erik’s including the Matsutake mushrooms that grow in the northern pine forests in Sweden, truffle seaweed collected from the Faroe Islands, Crown Dill picked from the Bjäre Peninsula, Leksand Onion from the Leksand, and India Pale Ale Wort. The India Pale Ale Wort is also used to make Pale Ale beer, a unique brew made by St. Erik’s.
Even the potatoes used for making these chips are nothing short of special.
“[They are collected] from the potato hillside in Ammarnäs, a steep, stony slope in a south-facing location where almond potatoes are cultivated in very limited numbers. The slope is difficult for modern agricultural machines to access, which means that all potatoes are planted and harvested by hand.”
The famous chef Pi Le, who was involved in the making of this exclusive snack says:
“All of the chips have been made by hand. It took a delicate touch, a finely honed sense of taste and time to ensure that each chip would achieve a perfect balance between the various ingredients. The taste is a very Scandinavian one. … Most people recognize potatoes and onions, but what stands out is the quality. All of the ingredients are of a stature that not many will have tried before. These chips are an excellent accompaniment to craft beer, or simply enjoyed on their own.”
A batch of 100 potato chip boxes by St. Erik’s was put up for sale last week. In spite of hanging a price tag of whopping $56, the boxes sold out instantly. Each $56 box contains five chips.
Would you pay such a steep price for potato chips? Let us know in comments!