Salted chips Original - LantChips

We found another jewel in the north of Europe. 

The eldest son of the Arnegård-Hansen family had special needs. They dreamed of change and of a life centered around their family. And they created LantChips together, after coming across a small company that sold home-made potato crisps in North America. 

Small chips of authentic potato flavor in a well packaged bag full of history and good reasons. In the front of the bag Mr Alströmer is depicted, not as a Roman hero in laurels, but as the pioneer of the potato culture in Sweden. In the rear some explanations as to why these crisps crunch and taste so delicious only using sunflower oil, salt and a natural production process.

Pretty thick, partly unpeeled and small chips crunch and echo in our mouths, while we cannot avoid our hand wanting to reach the next perfectly cut and salted chip to go the same way as the previous. 

Congratulations!

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.2 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.39 mm *
Crunchiness:	82 dB
Other features:	Small potato slices, solid and thick.
Origin:
Country, region	Sweden
We got them from	a Swedish shop in Germany
Price / gram	1.99 € / 150 g
On-line:	www.lantchips.com

Inside a bag of Svenska LantChips

Original Recipe - Miss Vickie's

Our first review from Canada goes to Miss Vickie's Original Recipe.

Specially selected farm potatoes of small/medium size are cut flat and kettle cooked with unspecified vegetable oil in small batches, with a precise pinch of sea salt. Light yellow chips with some bubbles, as depicted in the package, and many bent-overs (sometimes three-fold) multiply the crunch sensation. 

Some like to eat healthy, others prefer tasty, but as consumers we want to know what we eat: Be it maple syrup or poutine. It would be great if Miss Vickie's would inform about the oil type used in her -by the way very savoury- product.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.4 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.43 mm
Crunchiness:	97 dB
Other features:	Many bent-overs, cooked in unspecified vegetable oil.
Origin:
Country, region	Ontario, Canada
We got them from	a local grocer of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Price / gram	3.67 Can$ / 220 g
On-line:	https://www.missvickies.ca

Inside a bag of Miss Vickie's Original Recipe.

Kartoffel chips Salz - Star Marke

Today we taste ruffled potato chips from "Star Marke", an own brand of the German supermarket chain Tengelmann.

The potatoes for this product are quite small, perfectly peeled and then cut in a wavy profile before being fried in abundant sunflower oil (34%). Some chips look like being literally soaked in oil. However, the crunch is good. The potato chips feel hard and brittle in our mouth but in our opinion they are oversalted.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	5.2 cm long
and has a thickness of	2.19 mm*
Crunchiness:	86 dB
Other features:	Wavy cut, abundant oil and salt.
Origin:
Country, region	Germany
We got them from	a Tengelmann supermarket in Munich.
Price / gram	1.59 € / 150 g
On-line:	http://www.starmarke.de/produkt-detail.php

* Thickness measured between top of the wave and bottom of the valley in the biggest chip we found.

Inside a bag of Tengelmann's Star Marke

Swiss Bio-Chips Nature - Bina Food

Today we test another Swiss potato chips producer: Bina Food from Bischofszell, a city between Saint Gallen, Constance and its lake. On the bottom right side of the package there's a mountain unknown to us. Can you help us recognise the mountain summit on this package?

The potatoes, as well as the sunflower oil used in this product, come from certified organic production fields. The average sized chips are cut pretty thin, have an intense yellow colour and feel a bit dry. The amount of sea salt used is very precise. 

Not the best Swiss potato chips we have tested so far, but will do the job after a refreshing bath in the Constance lake. 

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.9 cm long
and has a thickness of	0.92 mm
Crunchiness:	88 dB
Other features:	Intense yellow, thin.
Origin:
Country, region	Switzerland, Thurgau canton
We got them from	an organic supermarket named "basic"
Price / gram	2.59 € / 160 g
On-line:	http://www.bina.ch

Inside a bag of Swiss Bio-Chips Bina

Premium - Frit Ravich

The first time we reviewed the Frit Ravich Premium potato chips was in 2014. At that time the chips were cooked with a mixture of vegetable oils: 30% olive oil, 70% sunflower oil. 

In 2016, Frit Ravich keeps on labelling these chips as Premium but using only sunflower oil. In our opinion, the use of high quality olive oil provides a soft but authentic scent to the chips. We miss that scent in the 2016 edition of the Frit Ravich Premium.

The chips have a lively yellow colour and are partly peeled. The measured crunch is reasonable for the chips' size and thickness. The flavour is good but in our opinion many other potato chips without flashy premium labelling deserve that labelling more.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.4 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.04 mm
Crunchiness:	88 dB
Other features:	Lively yellow colour
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Catalonia
We got them from	a blogger from Barcelona bought them for us ;-)
Price / gram	1,60 € / 170 g
On-line	http://www.fritravichgroup.com

Inside a bag of Frit Ravich Premium

Gourmet - Lay's

Who was first? The Lay's Gourmet potato chips packaging you see in this post looks very similar to Hacendado's Extracrujientes (to compare click on this link). And its taste does not differ that much. 

The Lay's Gourmet uses potatoes that once peeled are cut flat and thick. Then they have been unbelievably bent and slowly baked with sunflower oil.

The flavour is great, gentle and authentic, never too strong. Once in our mouth, crunching the impossible bents of each Lay's Gourmet chips gives and indescribable feel to our palate.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.1 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.12 mm
Crunchiness:	104 dB
Other features:	Flat cut, many bent chips.
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Barcelona
We got them from	El Corte Inglés supermarket
Price / gram	1,99 € /180 g
On-line:	http://www.lays.es/productos/lays-gourmet

Inside a bag of Lay's Gourmet

SÓS chips salted - Tesco

Simply salted Hungarian potato chips are difficult to find.

The next reviewed bag of chips comes from Tesco, a British retailer that opened its first store in Central Europe back in 1995 and manages 200 stores in Hungary today.

In a light blue bag from Tesco's own brand, we find 77g of flat cut medium sized potato chips that have been peeled and baked in abundant sunflower oil (36.5%). 

Taste and feel is quite basic. A soft sweet corn scent is left in our mouth at each bite. Definitely a good pick to share with friends during a bicycle ride along the Hungarian Danube shores.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.4 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.09 mm
Crunchiness:	90 dB
Other features:	Flat thin cut. Light yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Budapest, Hungary
We got them from	a Tesco store in Budapest
Price / gram	199 HUF / 77 g
On-line:	www.tesco.hu

Inside a bag of Tesco chips salted sós

Kartoffelchips Meersalz - Alnatura

Alnatura's potato chips are presented in a blue elongated plastic bag, with a BIO7initiative stamp on it. Such stamp refers to the 7 principles and values for organic and sustainable farming of the product.

Unpeeled, the bio-potatoes are cut flat and then cooked in sunflower oil (29%). Instead of being pan-fried, it seems that the chips have been oven baked, since they have a smooth, matt and dry surface. On top, they are very decently seasoned with marine salt (2%).

The colour is very light, straw yellow. Be it the baking method or the potatoes "bio" origin, these chips taste earthy and feel healthy.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.9 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.16 mm
Crunchiness:	81 dB
Other features:	elongated bag full of pale yellow chips
Origin:
Country, region	The Netherlands
We got them from	an Alnatura shop in Germany
Price / gram	1.85 € / 125g
On-line:	http://www.alnatura.de

Inside a bag of Alnatura Kartoffelchips Meersalz

北海道 ようていポテトチップス うすしお味 - Fukagawa Yushi Kabushikigaisha

"Hokkaido Mt Youtei Potato Chips soft salt" are named after the Youtei volcano. The mascot of Kutchan city, a skiing potato, presents these chips in a greenish bag with a background photo of the volcano. Kutchan is known for its proximity to the world famous snow region of Niseko and for its production of quality potatoes, hence its mascot.

The potatoes chosen for this delicacy are of the Danshaku type. The chips are flat cut, partly unpeeled and, once baked in a mix of palm and rice oils, get a pale yellow colour. The crunch is thud, short and slightly muffled, probably due to the reduced quantity of oil used in the baking. This provides an intense potato flavour maybe at the expense of a mouth dry feeling.

On the bag rear, there's plenty of information about the mountain region with national parks, museums, trekking routes, etc... an interesting use of a potato chips bag as a leaflet to promote touristic spots in the Hokkaido area. 

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.2 cm long
and has a thickness of	N/A
Crunchiness:	86 dB
Other features:	Pale yellow, mix of palm and rice oil.
Origin:
Country, region	Japan, Hokkaido
We got them from	a YoursLIVI supermarket in Hiroshima, Japan.
Price / gram	151 ¥ / 75 g
On-line:	http://kumachan.co.jp/shop

Inside a bag of Hokkaido Mt Youtei Potato Chips soft salt.

Bio-organic potato chips - Trafo

The potatoes used for these Trafo chips are grown in organic land, then selected, cut flat and fried in 100% non-hydrogenated sunflower oil, very rich in polyunsaturated linoleic acid. The oil has been produced using certified organically grown sunflowers.

The flavour is invigorating, with a scent of green fresh cut grass. Each chip is very thin, producing only a dimmed crunch, ideal to eat while watching a movie and still listen something... The first chip feels dry. Grab a handful of them and altogether will feel pleasantly oily and juicy.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.0 cm long
and has a thickness of	0.95 mm
Crunchiness:	76 dB
Other features:	Flat thin cut. Soft crunch. Organic oil and potatoes.
Origin:
Country, region	Wolvega, The Netherlands
We got them from	a bio-shop in Allach, Germany
Price / gram	1,99 € / 125 g
On-line:	www.fzorganicfood.com

Inside a bag of Trafo bio-organic potato chips natural

Hand cooked chips sea salt - Kettle brand

Big, thick unbroken chips is what we find inside the Traditional Hand Cooked Kettle brand chips bag. Probably unbroken due to the ultra resistant sealed bag, so far the toughest bag of chips to open before any review.

The potatoes for this Kettle chips are peeled and later flat cut in quite thick slices. Then hand cooked in small batches in sunflower oil. This results in a hard crust chip, slightly brittle, and a harmonious crunch. Several chips are stuck together, what still increases the hardness and thickness sensation. 

Very simply seasoned with a pinch of fresh sea salt, the whole ensemble is definitely a runner-up to be amongst the best of its class. Simple is better: Crisps&Critics can only agree with Kettle's commercial.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	8,6 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.31 mm
Crunchiness:	96 dB
Other features:	Big chips, double (stuck together).
Origin:
Country, region	Norfolk, UK
We got them from	a Hit supermarket near Allach
Price / gram	2.79 € / 225 g
On-line:	US & Canada : http://www.buykettlechips.com EU & Middle East: http://www.kettlechips.eu

Inside a bag of Traditional Hand Cooked Sea Salt Kettle Chips

Potatischips saltade - Ikea

Who would have said that a Scandinavian furniture manufacturer can also sell such good snacks? The food market in every Ikea store is really worth a visit. For this review we bought Potatischips saltade, Ikea's salty potato chips.

These Ikea potatoes are small and medium sized, some brown skin edge left, cut flat and well baked in unspecified vegetable oil. The chips are thick, hard, with different toasting levels and colours. Once in our mouth the taste is quite good, abundantly salted and with a slight rancid flavour that does not take away the pleasure of crunching the chips one after the other. Fully recommendable as a reward after successfully mounting some of their furniture...

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.2 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.42 mm
Crunchiness:	94 dB
Other features:	Brown skin edges, well toasted
Origin:
Country, region	Sweden
We got them from	an Ikea store in Germany
Price / gram	1.30 € / 150 g
On-line:	www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20129672/

Inside a bag of Potatischips Saltade, Ikea