Thursday, June 26, 2014

Lay's USA Oven Baked Original

My Dad, being the sweet yet easily fooled by food shopper he is, bought a bag of Oven Baked Lay's for my mom last week. I haven't had them in a while, and hadn't ever put them on the blog, so I figured now was a good time to give you all my thoughts. These used to be marketed as part of Frito-Lay's "BAKED!" line, but recently got a makeover to resemble the "Oven Baked" chips and crackers seen internationally.  I like the re-brand... I find the packaging to be more modern, and the new name to appeal more to those looking for a baked not fried alternative. These chips tout that they offer those looking for a healthy alternative 80% less fat than regular Lay's.

To give you a better understanding of what these franken-chips actually are and taste like, lets look at the ingredients list; Dried Potatoes, Corn Starch, Corn Oil, Sugar, Salt, Soy Lechitin, Dextrose, and Annato Extract for color (a natural yellow dye from the Annato seeds).

For comparison, here is what's in a bag of regular Lay's; Potatoes, Vegetable Oil, and Salt. That's it.

Oven Baked Lay's definitely have more potato flavor than Original Lay's, likely because they aren't overwhelmed by the flavor of the oil. They also have a lighter, more airy, mouth feel. I'm guessing that has to do with the fluffy corn filler. Here's the thing, in my opinion, these aren't really potato chips. These are made the same way Pringle's and Lay's Stax are; by using Dehydrated Potato mashed bits, mixing them with tons of stuff to hold um back together, molding them, and then baking them. The difference here, is you get them in a bag, as opposed to a tube.

They are tasty, that's for sure. Much more so than the other franken-chip I just wrote about: "air pOps". I would choose this over that any day of the week. In fact, these are a nice treat. But, do I consider these 'potato chips'? Hell no.
If you like Pringles, give em a taste. If you're craving chips yet you want something a bit lighter, they are worth a try. But, I don't think they are worth going out of your way to try.

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