It can be jarring or amusing to do a bit of investigation on the “flavor” of potato chips, while traveling the world.

In the U.S., “original”, barbecue and sour cream-and-onion flavors probably cover about 90 percent of the chips sold.

Not so in the rest of the world.

In Hong Kong, shrimp-flavored potato chips are popular.

In Japan, wasabe- or teriyaki- flavored chips are easy to find.

In the UAE, ketchup-flavored chips can be found in every grocery store.

In England, salt-and-vinegar is a very popular variety.

And in France?

Go ahead and give up the idea that the French usually attempt to avoid the worst of junk food. To wit: McDonald’s has more than 1,300 restaurants in France.

No, we have not yet seen frog- or snail-flavored chips. No canard-flavored chips.

But, in addition to “original” and “barbecue” we have found paprika-flavored chips (a current favorite), as well as varieties promising to taste like roast chicken and herbs … Emmental cheese … and, honest, hot dogs.

(See the mug shot of local chips, at the top of this post, taken at the nearest supermarket.)

Emmental is fine. I imagine chicken-and-herb can’t be bad. “Chevre” (goat cheese) flavored chips are fine, if you don’t eat more than a few.

But hot dog? That seems a little out there.

It seems likely we would prefer not to know what goes in to producing some of these flavors of chips. Just as we don’t really want to know what goes into the making of hot dogs.

We shouldn’t be eating chips in the first place — advice I am not following, at all, since arriving in France back on new year’s day.

But we do have to give some credit to the firms that sell the fat-and-greasy things we call chips … in all their varieties of regional flavors.