Lay’s Artesanas Olive Oil Potato Chips

Price: €1.50 for 1 small bag
Serving: 2/3 bag, 25 grams
Calories: 130 per serving
Fat: 13%, 8gg
Sodium: 13%, 300mg
Protein: 1.8g
Carbohydrates: 4%, 12.8g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 0g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 per serving

Nabisco says: Su crujiente textura y su exceptional sabor son fruto de la perfecta union entre el aceite de oliva y la sabiduria de nuestros expertos.

Abi says: If you don’t speak Spanish, here is my crude translation of the product blurb:

These crispy, flavorful chips are the product of the perfect union between olive oil and our expert chip-makers.

I purchased these Olive Oil chips in Spain, so everything on the package is in Spanish. I enjoy that because it gives me a chance to practice my language skills. Also, it is fun to imagine how the text could be translated literally by a non-English speaker.

But this review isn’t about learning a second language. No, this review is about Olive Oil potato chips. That’s right, brilliantly yellow, thick, crunchy, salty chips that pretty much leap from the bag and into your mouth. Okay, so they aren’t that fantastic. They are an olive oil version of a kettle chip: a bit more heft than your average Lay’s chip. And while the Olive Oil taste is interesting, it certainly isn’t the essential, nutty, grassyness of truly fantastic olive oil. One can’t eat a lot of these chips (a selling point perhaps?) and they definitely lack the light airiness of a standard, sunflower-oil friend potato chip.

I think that America will continue to operate just fine without the Olive Oil chip. Or this olive oil chip, but foodies may be up in arms. How else will they be able to produce Ferran Adria’s Egg and Potato Chip Tortilla?

Yeah, the answer would be ‘go to Spain and get some chips’ but once you’re in Spain, fantastic tortillas de patata abound and the reason for these crisps becomes null. What a conundrum!

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Posted on October 2, 2007
Categories: Vegan, Vegetarian, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Frito Lay, Three Stars, Potato Chips

Utz Kettle Classics Smokin' Sweet BBQ Flavored Potato Chips

Price: $0.99
Serving: 1oz., 20 chips
Servings Per Container: About 2
Calories: 150 per serving
Fat: 14%, 9g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 4%, 100mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 5%, 15g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 per serving

Utz says: Utz’s Smokin’ Sweet BBQ Potato Chip is the newest addition to our hugely popular Kettle Classic potato chip family. Flavored with a combination of spices and sweetness, our Classics are kettle-cooked in 100% Peanut Oil to give them that true Pennsylvania Dutch Tradition of extra crunchy potato chips. We at Utz like to describe them as “Spicy heat with a kiss of sweet!”

We say: We purchased these potato chips because we thought that they would be awful. We were expecting the chip version of Dannon’s Light and Fit Smoothie: egregiously colored and loaded with artificial flavors.

Thank God we were wrong. Sure, these chips have too much sweet and not enough spice, but at least the bright red color comes from tomato powder, not carmine. You can tell we’ve had some bad snack experiences when we praise tomato powder.

Our favorite ingredients in this chip include parsley, paprika, turmeric, and natural hickory flavor. Now if only there was a bit more paprika, a dab of cayenne, and a lighter hand with the sugar. We’re looking for a chip that truly displays spicy heat and just a touch of sweet. Let us know if you find one.

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Posted on August 28, 2007
Categories: Four Points, Three Stars, Sweet and Spicy, Utz, Potato Chips