Patatas fritas en aceite de oliva - Espinaler

The Riera family opened a little tavern named Espinaler back in 1896. Today everyone can enjoy a vermouth and savour excellent cockles standing next to wine barrels with views of the Mediterranean sea in Vilassar de Mar (a few km from Barcelona). Apart from its traditional sauce the Espinalers have also very good potato chips.

Selected potatoes from Soria are peeled, cut thin flat and baked with a generous amount of olive oil (34% of final product). Plus a tiny pinch of salt (0.2%). Nothing else is needed to result in an excellent combination: natural yellow colour chips with a great juicy potato flavour and an intense mouth feeling with many little crunches of each curled and bent potato chip.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.4 cm long
and has a thickness of	0.98 mm
Crunchiness:	91 dB
Other features:	Thin, brittle chips with many bent-overs and curls.
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Catalonia
We got them from	a Crisps&Critics follower sent them from l'Espinaler tavern in Vilassar de Mar.
Price / gram	2.30 € / 150 g
On-line	www.espinaler.com

Inside a bag of Espinaler

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

Rillies - Bravo

 

Rillies chips could be considered the ruffled sister of our last Bravo review. Apart from the Rillies' wavy cut, these are thicker and tastier. 

Middle sized potatoes have their skin removed, cut undulated and baked in sunflower oil. This results in chips that are much savoury and juicier compared to its reviewed "light" predecessor.

A pity with the Rillies undulated chips share with its sister: the huge amount of salt used doesn't allow us appreciate its true potato flavour.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	5.6 cm long
and has a thickness of	2.05* mm
Crunchiness:	91 dB
Other features:	Wavy cut, peeled, pale yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Germany, Schleswig-Holstein
We got them from	a Penny market in Hamburg.
Price / gram	0.99 € /200 g
On-line:	http://www.wilkbonbon.de/

* Due to the wavy cut, with very small and close undulations, the thickness has been measured between the top peak and the bottom of the valley.

Inside a bag of Rillies

"tatas" Patatas Fritas Artesanas - La Madrileña

Inside a sort of brown paper grocery bag we are presented with two separate transparent bags (140g each) of very thick, big and round chips. Such dimensions are not often found in packed potato chips bags and it provides a slight rough feeling, like home made potato chips. 

Cut flat and partly unpeeled, the potato chips are fried in sunflower oil. Then the chips are spiced with salt (1.4%). Enough dressing?

Depicted at the bag rear we find a picturesque drawing of a woman dressed up in a "chulapa", a typical costume from Madrid, a wink to the company name: La Madrileña. The word "chulapa" derives from the word "chulo" which, at least in Madrid, means well dressed. Very well dressed chips by a group of coworkers that refloated a company lashed by the economical crisis in Spain.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	9.8 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.22 mm
Crunchiness:	98 dB
Other features:	Partly peeled, thick, pale yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Madrid
We got them from	a local shop in Madrid
Price / gram	2,80 € / 2 x 140 g
On-line:	http://www.comercialdeaperitivos.es

Inside a bag of "tatas"

Kartoffel Chips Salz - Bravo

Bravo chips took our attention from the supermarket shelf: a matt bag with "SALT" glossy letters simulating lightbulbs, the packaging additionally reading "30% less fat". 

These chips allegedly contain less fat than regular potato chips (sunflower oil is 22% of total weight). Such low fat may feature at the expense of a faded potato taste. For us the chips felt dry, less juicy than other chips. On top of that the chips felt very salty (we calculated a 2% salt in weight). 

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.4 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.01 mm
Crunchiness:	85 dB
Other features:	Flat cut, peeled, light yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Germany, Schleswig-Holstein
We got them from	a Penny market in Hamburg.
Price / gram	0.99 € /150 g
On-line:	http://www.wilkbonbon.de/

Inside a bag of Bravo Kartoffelchips Salz

Tsakiris Chips - Τσακίρης πατατάκια με αλάτι

Welcome to the first Greek review at Crisps&Critics: Tsakiris Chips.

George Tsakiris was the first to elaborate potato chips in Greece. It was back in 1954, and the delivery van was a very nice Ford truck.

Nowadays, the potatoes are processed in modern facilities: The chips are washed, its skin perfectly removed, cut flat, fried in palm oil and salted. This process results in a uniform and intense yellow colour. The chips are medium size, taste fresh and have a regular crunch. The amount of salt is normal.

Tsakiris potato chips with salt are presented in a flashy orange packaging.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.5 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.11 mm
Crunchiness:	86 dB
Other features:	Flat cut, intense yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Greece, Phthiotis
We got them from	a kiosk in Athens.
Price / gram	0.78 € /72 g
On-line:	http://www.tsakirischips.gr/

Inside a bag of Tsakiris salt chips.

Patatas fritas estilo Churrería - Frit Ravich

Estilo churrería -“frying stall” style - is the name the Frit Ravich's marketing department has chosen for these potato chips. At Crisps&Critics we have tried crisps whose flavour matched better such labeling.

Still, these chips are cut thin and translucent, with some interesting curls and many bubbles. They crunch very nicely in our mouth, feeling light and good. Really. Fried with enough sunflower oil and a bit over salted, we can only guess a well selected potato flavour.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	8,5 cm long
and has a thickness of	0,94 mm
Crunchiness:	103 dB
Other features:	Golden yellow colour, thin cut, bubbles...
Origin:
Country, region	Spain, Catalonia
We got them from	a Carrefour supermarket
Price / gram	1.10 € / 150 g
On-line	http://www.fritravich.com

Inside a Churreria Frit Ravich bag

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

Chipsy salt - ملح شيبسى

The Chipsy salted (Chipsy mihl) are produced with medium size fresh potatoes from Egypt. Since 1961, Egypt's irrigated potato production from the Nile delta has been increasing until Egypt became Africa's number 1 potato producer in 2007.

Chipsy in Egypt, as for Walkers in the UK, belongs to Lay's, a PepsiCo owned company since 1965.

Very well peeled - no skin traces - the potatoes are sliced flat and thin. Then each chip is baked in (unspecified) vegetable oil and generously salted.

An intense flavour arises from the interior of the bag at opening. The potato chips are of a light yellow uniform colour, almost translucent, and have a subtle crunch, as expected due to its fineness.

A splendid choice to enjoy on any of the fantastic Egyptian spots on both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Features:
The biggest potato crisps is	6.6 cm long
and has a thickness of	1.10 mm
Crunchiness:	90 dB
Other features:	Flat cut, light yellow colour.
Origin:
Country, region	Egypt, Cairo
We got them from	A lovely family from Cairo and Alexandria.
Price / gram	? £ /93-103 g
On-line:	http://chipsyegypt.sarmady.net/

Inside a bag of Chipsy salt

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