Handcooked sea salt - HEMA

Strolling around Madrid last week we spotted a recently opened HEMA store, actually the first in Spain. HEMA (originally an acronym for Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, "Dutch Standard Prices Company Amsterdam") is a Dutch discount retail chain that started life as a dimestore. And guess what Crisps&Critics found in there: Dutch chips!! 

These chips are sliced thick and unpeeled. Then, fried in sunflower oil, in small amounts and a bit longer than usual. This results in a hard crust with a strong, dry crunch. Its flavour is good and are, despite the packaging reading "a pinch" of salt, generously salted (1.1% of sea salt). 

Definitely a perfect match for any "herring and bitterballen" Dutch party. 

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.5 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.53 mm
Crunchiness:	103 dB
Other features:	unpeeled, salty
Origin:
Country, region	The Netherlands, Amsterdam
We got them from	a HEMA store in Madrid (Spain)
Price / gram	1.25 € / 125 g
On-line:	http://www.hema.nl/

Inside a bag of handcooked sea salt - Hema

Nature & Blue Chips - Spar Premium

Crunchy colours, mmmmm!!!

This bag has two different potato varieties: nice purple potatoes from St. Gallen (Switzerland) combined with well-known-to-us yellow potatoes. The differences in color between varieties of potatoes are basically differences in carotenoid and flavonoid content (pigments).

The yellowish potatoes in the bag are cut thick (one of the thickest we ever tried) and quite crunchy. The purple ones are just a bit thinner and feel softer, lighter, airier but still crunchy. 

These potatoes do not smell. Still taste good, feel natural and are chic.

Innovation is the key also for this Swiss potato chip manufacturer. Chips are gently fried in a vacuum with pure sunflower oil at 140ºC (regular frying is at around 180ºC). Like this, each chip absorbs 40% less fat. 

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.5 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.80 mm
Crunchiness:	96 dB
Other features:	Purple colour, flat thick cut, no curls..
Origin:
Country, region	Switzerland, St. Gallen
We got them from	Spar supermarket, Salzburg
Price / gram	1.69 € / 100 g
On-line:	http://www.spar.at/

Inside a bag of Nature & Blue chips