Lay's Sea Salt & Vinegar Kettle Cooked Potato ChipsReview
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Nutrition
Bag Calories Fat Saturated Salt Sugars
28g 150 9g 1.5g 130mg 1g
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Verdict
Bag
Lay's have taken a similar design route to most Chips manufacturers with their Kettle Cooked range of bag designs. The broad flavor color coding is welcome and often seen. The style of frying dominates in big letters. And there is an image of the Chips you will hope are inside, along with a flavoring hint - in this case, a little pot of Salt and a bottle of Malt Vinegar. What we like most about this design is Lay's have actually taken a less is more approach to the logo. It is smaller, but it stands out more than their huge screaming logo on the traditional Chips packaging. This design is not original or inspiring, but it does the job in a modern, attractive and presentable fashion.
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Crunch
In many respects these were the perfect thickness for a Chip manufacturer. They were not so thin that they were brittle, but not so thick that Lay's couldn't maximise a potato's Chip output. The crunch was good, solid and rewarding, and there were plenty of complete Chips in the bag to crunch on.
Texture
These Chips were invariably medium sized, curly, sometimes even bent in two, firm and rigid. There were not many oil bubbles, but those that did live on the fried potato slice surfaces remained intact. They were a sort of golden yellow color, with lots of pale seasoning powder on them. This managed to coat fingers without the aid of grease, which is always a plus with Kettle Cooked Chips.
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Taste
Okay, these Chips hit and they miss. First off, the level of flavors is pretty feeble. There is Vinegar and there is Salt. They are however very mild. With so many customers to please and so many shareholders to keep happy, it is perhaps important for Lay's to create middle of the road Chips. If all of that is however regarded as a miss, the hit is the balance. The vast majority of US companies are unable to recreate the British standard flavor, preferring to over Vinegar the seasoning. Lay's in their less is more approach, have created a good balance that will not be too far away from Walker's Crisps' (the UK's largest Crisps company, that Pepsico. also own), popular recipe.