Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips

Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

It would seem that chips of all kinds are one of the more popular items for companies to offer the public in a gluten free form and this is often because traditional tortilla chips don't usually have any wheat flour in them anyway unless it's in the flavor mixture. 

Notice I say "usually" as a lot of seemingly innocent tortilla chip manufacturers toss soy sauce in their mixture and this ingredient has wheat - so always look on the label of any tortilla type chips to confirm ingredients and even then, consider asking the company itself whether its chips contain any gluten or wheat, even if the listing of ingredients suggests they don't.

But generally speaking and as far as snack or tortilla chips are concerned, a company can usually come up with a tasty topping for the chips that is naturally gluten-free or isn't really missing anything significant if substitutions are made. The nice thing about a number of these chip varieties is that they often taste almost the same as a general snack for anyone to eat whether they have problems with wheat and gluten or not.

Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

And often such chips can also be considered copies of mainstream gluten-filled options such as Doritos (who would have thought Doritos would have wheat?) as often the texture and taste of a lot of these chips will tend to mimic more well-known varieties and brands.

(Note that Frito Lay suggests on their website that several varieties of their Doritos DO NOT contain wheat. The original flavor of Doritos - Nacho - DOES contain wheat)

Copying well known manufacturers is fine in most cases as there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Since ranch tastes good on everything (personal observation but likely an opinion held by anyone who has ever tasted ranch dressing), it's not surprising that a gluten-free style chip would be created in this flavor.

Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Regarding Late July Dude Range Multigrain Snack Chips, these chips are likely trying to imitate the popular Doritos flavor "Cool Ranch," as they are not only triangle in shape but are a tortilla-style chip that's ranch-flavored. And generally speaking, the taste of these chips does come close to what an actual bag of Doritos would taste like although the Late July chips seem to be a little thicker overall.

Taste-wise, there aren't any real complaints to be had outside of the general note that these chips are somewhat impressive in their ability to come visiting your senses for hours after you actually eat them. You might have popped a few of these during lunch, but you'll definitely be left a stark reminder in your nostrils hours later when you sit down for dinner. 

Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

One of the better aspects of these chips though is that they've got significantly lower calorie and fat content than Doritos as 28g of chips from Late July (which is approximately 12 chips) has 120 calories and 5 grams of fat while Cool Ranch Doritos pack 150 calories for the same weight and a heavier 8 grams of fat. 

Even if you're not looking specifically for gluten free products (which, realistically you could actually eat the Cool Ranch Doritos if you chose and had gluten-free requirements), the calories and fat on the Late July chips are a lot more attractive.

Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips Report Card

The Good Stuff:

There are a lot of chip varieties that you wouldn't think would have wheat, but do indeed contain a type of gluten and so if you're a fan of ranch chips, this snack should do the trick. The calories and fat, as pictured above, are also pretty respectable for a bag of snack chips.

What Could be Better:

These chips won't knock your socks off and you probably won't fall to your knees thanking the heavens above that you've been granted some ranch flavored chips, but they do the job admirably and anyone who enjoys ranch flavored tortilla chips and requires gluten-free food should be plenty satisfied with a bag of Late July Dude Ranch Multigrain Snack Chips.