Gotta Get At This: Lay's Arabia Forno Fusion Lebanese Mix and Italian Mix, MAX Salt and Vinegar, and Paprika

Lay's Arabia, which is the Lay's arm across the United Arab Emirates, debuted 2 new Forno Flavor Fusions. The "Forno" range is what we in the states refer to as the "Baked" brand, but I don't think I've seen the "Fusion" branding before. The "Fusion" line appears to be spice mixes on baked chips. The 2 bags being released are a "Lebanese Mix" flavor and an "Italian Mix" flavor. Classic seasonings that work in almost every situation. Sounds yummm.

Arabia has also extended a new flavor in their successful MAX line..."Salt &Vinegar". Also Classic, Also, can't go wrong flavor.
MAX is what we call Ruffles here in the US; not to be confused with the MAXX collection in other Countries which is a Deep Ridged Chip (Which is called XTRA in the UAE).

Bonus:

PS. Here's a bag I missed in November. Arabia permanently added Paprika to their list of permanent flavors.


I'm not a fan of the chips in the standard Lay's Arabia line. I found most of the flavors off-putting, and I thought the potato left A LOT to be desired. It was poor quality potato and odd texture. BUT I can't say I've tried their Baked or Ruffled Offerings. Sooo, they could be better. Let us know if you try any of these in the comments section below, and HAPPY HUNTING!!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Belgium Winter Edition Naturel Oven Stars, Oven Crispy Thins Emmental Cheese and Olive Oil & Herbs, and Collection Tapas Olive and Pesto

Lay's Belgium has a lot of new releases hitting shelves recently, all of which look DELISH! Here's what's new...

Winter Edition Naturel Oven Stars is a FANTASTIC idea! In celebration of the Winter Holidays, they've released a Natural flavored (This is the same as Original or Ready Salted flavor) Star shaped chip. These are the same as Belgium's current "Naturel Oven" ridged, baked chips; but shaped like festive stars. Here in the states you can buy the regular shaped equivalent under the "Ruffles Original Oven Baked" moniker. The shape adds a little Holiday kitch to it, and that's something I'm a big fan of... but as far as being a bag worth chasing across nations, it may not be worth the hunt for just a shape change.

Belgium has also added a completely new collection to their repertoire... the "Collection Tapas". This is a collection France debuted back in 2013 composed of an "Olive" flavor and a "Pesto" flavor. The Olive flavor had some very favorable reviews online and both of them make perfect sense as potato chip flavors. If the collection is spreading, it would be great to see them hit the states, I can see them being a hit here.

Lastly, Belgium is extending their Oven crackers collection, it started with biscuits and now has reached out to include "Crispy Thins". These are just airy, thin, potato-based crackers flavored as "Emmental Cheese" and "Olive Oil & Herbs". Emmental is just a fancy way of saying Swiss Cheese which is a subtle cheese that probably compliments the cracker well. And Olive Oil and Herbs is pretty straight forward too. They sound yummy, and I assume the collection is selling well because it is expanding. What do you think? Is this beyond the scope of what you expect from Lay's? Or do they sound yummy? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below!

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.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Netherlands Oven Crunchy Biscuits and Crispy Thins

New Treats in the Netherlands! Crunchy Biscuits and Crispy Thins! The Crunchy Biscuits come in "Tomato and Spring Onion" and "Paprika and Mediterranean Herbs" and are described as "crispy savory cereal biscuits". The Crispy Thins come in "Emmental Cheese" and "Olive Oil and Herbs" and are described as "light crunchy potato crisps". Looks yummy!!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Belgium Oven Crunchy Biscuits

These aren't chips, so I don't know how I feel about them, but they are New and currently available in Belgium. They are Oven baked Biscuits and come in 2 flavors, Tomato & Spring Onion, and Paprika & Mediterranean Herbs. They've got 40% less fat than other comparable biscuits, because they are baked. I love crackers and these actually sound DELICIOUS (mmm with some nice cheese, om nom nom). But it's interesting they are under the Lay's brand. Not too far of a reach though, so who knows, if they do well in Belgium maybe we can get them here in the states ;p

Lay's Wine Pairings!

Have you ever been snacking on potato chips and wished you had a sommolier in your pocket to guide you on which wine to best pair it with? ME TOO!
Now Lay's Netherlands has taken the stress out of wine pairing your chips by creating this fun and useful guide! This guide pairs the 5 flavors of baked Lay's available in The Netherlands with complimentary wines.
These will probably be comparable to the baked offerings in whatever country you live in also, but because the potato flavor is so different between Baked and Fried I couldn't really tell you if they would pair well with regular Lay's.
So here is what they came up with...

-Barbecue flavored Baked Lay's pair well with Solid Reds such as Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon
-Cheese and Onion flavored Baked Lay's pair well with Round and Full Whites such as Alsace or Chardonnay
-Bell Pepper flavored Baked Lay's pair well with Fragrant Whites such as Pinot Grigio or Viognier
-Plain Salted Baked Lay's pair well with Crispy, Fresh Whites like Sauvignon Blanc or Rueda
-Mediteranean Herbs flavored Baked Lay's pair well with Dry Rosés such as Languedoc or Navarra

Have you ever paired Wine and Potato Chips? Let us know what combo worked for you in the comments below!

Baked! Lay's Canada Ketchup

Saw that sister had brought me Ketchup chips from Canada and was like:    < : D wooohooo.

Saw that sister had brought me Baked Lay's from Canada and was like:    O_o  really?

Here's a bag of Baked Lay's from Canada. I could care less about Baked Lay's. They are a throw away to me.
They taste like sad Pringles.

However, last night at like 3am when I was starving, these started to look yummmm.
The chip is the same as every other Baked Lays chip. It has that texture like it was made out of potato paste and put on a cookie sheet.
The Ketchup flavor was amazing! Sweet, but not too sweet. Tangy. Complimented the potato flavor well. Simple yet intriguing. I liked it.

Its actually is a nice snack... but I just prefer the old school fried chips more. If you like Baked though, I think you'll enjoy these!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Arabia Forno and Lay's Cyprus Στό Φούρνο

Here's a little update on some new international lines. Lay's Arabia is currently promoting their new Lay's Forno line, which is their baked chips. Looks like they are starting off with 2 flavors, Authentic Cheese and Black Pepper. These started showing up online last month but they just started their big push on Facebook recently and are finally sharing commercials for it... if you like Baked Lay's check it out.

 

Also showing off their Baked line right now is Lay's Cyprus. Their Στό Φούρνο or "In The Oven" line consists of Barbecue, Mediterranean Herbs, Salted, and Oregano (Ive also seen Paprika but its not listed on their FB). I know the Salted and Med Herbs are older in the line, so my guess is they are expanding the collection right now. If you like Baked chips, Oregano sounds delish!

Photoshoot: Lithuania

Here are some photos of Lay's on the shelf in Lithuania from my friend who just got back from there. Just fun to look at and see what flavors they've got over there... enjoy!


Pickles


Oven Baked - Mediterranean Herb and Natural


Grilled Bacon


Spring Onion


Caviar and Creamy Spicy Tomato


Red Pepper and Ketchup Stix


Chili & Lime


Cheese (looks like French Cheese)


Creamy Forest Mushroom (this might be a soup flavor)


and finally Fromage (looks like sour cream and onion, but fromage means Cheese, so IDK)

I am all about that Caviar bag, it looks awesome. Also the Creamy Forest Mushroom and the Grilled Bacon. They all sound delish. Sadly they don't come in small bags (or are hard to find in small bags) and the big bags are hard to carry in luggage, so I couldn't get any. I'm gonna try to track them down online anyway, but for now it's kind of fun just to see what they've got :)