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

Potato Chips with Salt - Tiger

Our first Danish review comes from Tiger. The first "Flying Tiger Copenhaguen" store opened in Munich and an avid Crisps&Critics follower approached us with a beautiful bag full of potato chips from the T-stores.

The packaging imitates a brown paper grocery bag and is fun-labelled with a sort of handwritten font type. When we open it we feel a good flavour and find medium sized chips with orange aureoles and a few dark spots. The chips crunch a lot, they are hard and thick. Cooked in abundant sunflower oil, we presume an overall good taste, the chips being generously salted. 

Produced in Sweden for the Danish company Zebra, the parent company of the Flying Tiger Copenhagen.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.9 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.79 mm
Crunchiness:	93 dB
Other features:	Thick potato chips with orange colour aureoles.
Origin:
Country, region	Denmark, Copenhagen
We got them from	an enthusiastic C&C fan bought them at a Flying Tiger shop.
Price / gram	1.50 € / 150 g
On-line:	www.flyingtiger.com

Inside a bag of Flying Tiger potato chips

Potato Stix - Utz

Our first review from the USA is finally here, let's taste Utz's Potato Stix!

At the time of writing this post it is almost 100 years that William and Salie Utz started making fresh potato chips in a tiny kitchen. Today Utz produces chips in 395 flavours and iterations.

The potato sticks we tasted are peeled, cut in sticks and then baked in cottonseed oil. This results in a soft dampened crunch and a certain floury sensation in our mouth when chewing the sticks. 

To pack these sticks in a can not only looks good and keeps the sticks intact: it is space efficient. In a volume similar to regular 150g flat cut potato chips, Utz's barrel is capable to hold almost half a kilo of potato sticks!

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	5.1 cm long
and has a thickness of	2.32 mm
Crunchiness:	74 dB
Other features:	Plenty of potato sticks packed in a 15 oz can.
Origin:
Country, region	Silver Creek, NY, USA
We got them from	Walmart in Novi, Michigan.
Price / gram	3.98 $ / 425.2 g
On-line:	www.utzsnacks.com

Inside a can of utz Potato Stix.

Xips de verdures - Ve de gust

Today we bring you potatoes of the sweet type. Together with extremely thin slices of yucca, beetroot and platain that complement eachother very well. All are cut flat and carefully fried in sunflower oil. The ensemble provides a crunchy symphony and subtle flavour mix in our palates. Sweet and salty never went along so well. The package transmits purity and luxury.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	4,2 cm long
and has a thickness of	? mm
Crunchiness:	95 dB
Other features:	Very thinly sliced sweet potatoes with yucca, beetroot and platain.
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Catalonia
We got them from	a butcher in Mataró.
Price / gram	4,50 € / 130 g
On-line:	http://www.xipsvedegust.com

Inside a bag of Xips de Verdures of Ve de Gust.

Deep blue sea salt - John John

John the farmer and John the sailor decided to combine what they knew better -potatoes and exotic spices- and established John&John back in... MMXI! Nice made up story by the marketers of a German company producing potato chips in Britain, isn't it?

Old English potato varieties are cut thick and flat, traditionally cooked in high oleic sunflower oil and then salted with pure, fine sea salt from the Middle East coastlines.

The flavour when opening the bag reminds us of a haystack. The chips have bubbles, crunch hard and are pretty oily. The chips seem to be randomly salted and toasted at scattered areas.

Great package design line featuring a number (one) and an animal (seashell) depending on the potato chips flavour.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.0 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.12 mm
Crunchiness:	99 dB
Other features:	Thick, hard chips with bubbles seasoned with deep blue sea salt.
Origin:
Country, region	UK
We got them from	a Butlers shop in Munich
Price / gram	2.99 € / 150 g
On-line	www.john-crisps.com

Inside a bag of a John&John deep blue salt

Lightly sea salted crisps - Tyrrells

According to Tyrrell's elegant explanation on the packaging, the potatoes are cut flat "leaving the jacket on" (unpeeled), and then hand-cooked in sunflower oil in small batches.  

It's crunch is noble, allegedly achieved through a sophisticated spun in the baking process. The chips are thick and feel hard, have a pale yellow colour and are really very slightly salted (0.5% salt), what lets Crisps&Critics appreciate the flavour of the finest Herefordshire potatoes. Some potato skin traces are scattered over the chips, leaving a rustic impression to the customer. 

All in all, a royal celebration to the humble potato.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	7.0 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.34 mm
Crunchiness:	87 dB
Other features:	Unpeeled, pale yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	England, Herefordshire (UK)
We got them from	a Hit supermarket in Germany
Price / gram	2,19 € /150 g
On-line:	https://www.tyrrellscrisps.co.uk

Inside a bag of Tyrrells lightly sea salted crisps

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

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.

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

3 Dutch Farmers Crisps - Hoekschechips

Have you ever seen crisps tulips? Have a look at the plastic bag on today's post. A simple and excellent eyewink to these potato crisps' origin: The Netherlands. We like the creativity and original packaging design, and not only for the tulips, keep on reading: 

Gerrik, Henk and René, the 3 Dutch farmers, started growing and cooking their own potatoes in 2004 from a Dutch national landscape named "The Hoeksche Waard", The Netherlands. And despite their relatively short experience, they are doing really well.

Selling for the international traveller under the name "3 Dutch farmers", local stores in Holland offer them as "Hoeksche Chips".

The transparent foil bag let's us see what we are buying. No catches, no tricks.  A good sunflower oil aroma is felt when opening the bag.

Crisps&Critics tasted these delicious crisps, personally hand-baked by Astrid (see her name printed on the package). Once washed and cut, the potatoes are cooked in pure sunflower oil with its own skin what probably gives a slight, yet pleasant, bitter taste.

An unanimous opinion at Crisps&Critics on the quantity of salt: a tiny pinch of sea salt that empowers an authentic potato flavour.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	8.5 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.50 mm
Crunchiness:	101 dB
Other features:	Nice packaging
Origin:
Country, region	The Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
We got them from	a Crisps&Critics reader in transit at Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam)
Price / gram	? € / 75 g
On-line:	http://www.3dutchfarmers.nl/

Inside a 3 Dutch Farmers Crisps bag

Boxerchips - Savagely Salted but not indecently so

Definitely a plus point for the Boxerchips: The original and patented cardboard packaging keeps all chips unbroken. Additionally the packaging can be used as a tray, very practical for sharing the snack with others. However, the cardboard’s smell mixes a bit with the crisps flavour, what can be weird for those that like us, at Crisps&Critics, open the potato bag and take a deep breath...

Boxerchips thickness and curl is very varied. We also find chips partly unpeeled. It gives the impression the potatoes have been manually processed.

Positively surprised, and contrary to expectations (packaging reading “Savagely Salted”), these crisps are just right salted with marine salt, allowing us to enjoy the great taste of these selected potatoes fried with sunflower oil.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	5 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.42 mm
Crunchiness:	104 dB
Other features:	Flat cut potatoes. Packaging is patented under: EP2358595
Origin:
country, region	UK, England
We got them from	Easyjet flight GWA - BCN
Price / gram	1,80 £ pounds / 40 grams
On-line:	http://www.boxerchips.com/pages/where-can-i-buy

Boxerchips open package