Gotta Get At This: Lay's Chile Sensaciones Collection Salmón Ahumado con Queso Crema, Queso Parmesano, Costillar con Finas Hierbas, and Original

 Lay's Chile is launching a beautifully packaged new collection called the "Sensaciones" collection. It's similar to the Sensations flavors found Globally in that the line is composed of complex and intriguing flavors. However, Chile makes the collection their own by making it a Kettle Cooked collection. This is the only Kettle Cooked Sensations line that I am aware of. The bold collection consists of a "Queso Parmesano/ Parmesan Cheese" flavor, "Salmón Ahumado con Queso Crema/Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese" flavor, "Costillar con Finas Hierbas/ Rack of Ribs with Fine Herbs", and "Original". All of these flavors, even the overly fancied up Original, sound exquisite. I'm very happy to see a Parmesan bag and the Rack of Ribs sounds epic. All in all, I'd say this collection is hunt worthy! What are you feeling? Sound off in the comments below.

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 (or not): Lay's USA Air pOps, Walkers UK pOps, and Lay's South Africa pOpped; plus a crash course in Air Popped Chips

With South Africa releasing the "pOpped" line and the UK releasing their own "pOps" line... I figured it was time to talk about our newly repackaged line of Lay's "Air pOps" and what the heck an Air Popped Chip actually is.

So to begin, here's the glamour shots...

 

The "pOpped" collection from South Africa in "Peri Peri Prawn", "Hot & Tangy Piquante Pepper", and "White Cheddar & Spring Onion".

 

The UK's Walkers' line called "pOps" featuring "Prawn Cocktail", "Melted Cheese & Crispy Bacon", "Original", and "Sour Cream & Onion".

And lastly, the lovely new packaging on the US's "air pOps", which come in "Sour Cream & Onion, "Original", "Barbeque", and "Salt & Vinegar".

So, what are air-popped chips and why are these collections pOpping up everywhere?
Air-popped chips are made in the EXACT same way rice cakes are made. Instead of grains of rice; lumps of potato flakes and starch are hydrated, pressurized, heated, depressurized, and then they fuse together. Presto! No need to fry, or bake, or anything. And while that leaves you with a chip that is 50% less fattening when compared to traditional chips, it also leaves you with a chip that strangely tastes exactly like a rice cake. And honestly, when compared to other reduced fat options, there are definitely tastier alternatives out there.
So, why are they so popular? In 2007, "Popchips" hit the market and quickly became a major competitor in the US potato chip market. The company had great packaging, loads of advertising, celebrity endorsers, and a healthier product. Not to mention a range that includes at least 7 flavors, 3 tortilla chips offerings, and some veggie chips. The company single-handedly created a niche market within chips. Brands like "Popcorners"and "Special K" followed the puffed chip fad, and it eventually led to Lay's introducing their own "air pOps". "air pOps" has done well, with the line even expanding to include another flavor. So it's no surprise that the line is appearing in countries like the Netherlands, the UK, and South Africa now.

But, is this a genuine potato chip? In my opinion, much like Pringles (or Lay's Stax) uses potato flakes and starch to manufacture their chips that aren't really chips; air-popped chips are not really chips. They are a potato snack alternative. BUT while Pringles and Stax at least pack tons of potato flavor, Popchips and Air pOps taste exactly like the name suggests... AIR.
To me, the flavor is the most important thing, and these air-popped chips are not even in the same league as traditional chips when it comes to flavor. Let's keep it REAL, if you are eating puffed up potato chips with little nutritional value and loads of sodium to save a few calories, then your eating habits are already FKD up. You are NOT going to lose weight eating salted potato puffs. Sorry. (#SorryNotSorry). Potato chips are a treat, a treat that should be eaten in moderation. When it's time for my treat, on the occasion that I'm going to indulge in potato chips, I want them to taste AWESOME. I don't want to eat chips that remind me of the real chips that I'm not eating. And I paid for too much school to be fooled into thinking that if I eat a bag of fake chips every day at lunch, that it will equate to the wonderful occasional joy of eating real potato chips.

Lay's France Chips à l'Ancienne Nature

I waited a longgg time to try this bag... and it was well worth the wait! Here's a bag of Natural flavored chips from Lay's France's Traditional line. The hallmark of these chips is that they are light and crispy and have rich, authentic potato flavor. You'll notice a difference right away when you open the bag. The chips are a bit smaller, and all the edges are curled. The cooking process puts a natural wave into the edges of the chips. They have intense potato flavor, the flavor that lingers in your mouth for a few minutes after a bite. Interestingly, these reminded me of Hawaiian style kettle chips in flavor. When you started eating a chip, a light, flavorful oil would fill your mouth. Almost, like the chips were sponges that had overfilled. But the oil wasn't heavy or greasy, it was flavorful and shared some of that potato taste. The salting was perfect and complimented the potato and oil used. I would prefer this cut and cooking method above the standard Lay's France bag any day. The chips just tasted more flavorful, and the texture was heads above the standard chips. This bag is definitely one of the best natural/original/salted bags I've ever had. Yumm!

Lay's Denmark Salted

Here's a bag of plain salted Lay's I picked up in Denmark. Denmark actually had quite a nice line up of flavors available, but I only got to try 3 of them... scratch that, 2 of them. My sister ate the third bag and didn't save me a single chip... so I forced her to do a guest blog on the flavor lol. Expect that soon haha.
Anyways, just for reference, the other flavors Denmark had that I didn't get a chance to taste were Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and Cheese & Onion. So, Ill have to try those on my next trip :)
But for now, we have the humble salted potato chip. These are made for the Scandinavian market, very much so, the Danes LOVE salty food and these chips don't let them down. They are RIDICULOUSLY salty. Almost too much so, but it's a little bag so I powered through it. My Danish friends LOVED them though, so what do I know? The potato was wonderful, perfectly crisp, nicely yellow, no burns, excellent crunch, and a nice potato flavor. But you really have to be comfortable with a high salt taste to enjoy these, I couldn't do a medium size bag if I had to. These probably pair well with the cold fish dishes that are really common in Denmark. So, just know that before you try. They suit the locale well, and for that reason I don't think it was a bad bag of chips. I also found these for sale in Sweden, so you may be able to buy them across Scandinavia if you are looking.


Note, if you do go looking to taste these, they can be bought individually in medium size bags or in a 6 pack of small bags. The 6 pack carries 3 flavors. The 6 pack was spotted in both Denmark and Sweden.

Lay's Arabia Salt

I was SOO stoked to get these chips. The logo is so cute! These little baggies are from Lay's Arabia... which I guess you can find in many of the Emirates, my cousin grabbed me a few from Abu Dhabi when he went to visit his family for Christmas. So basically, it was Christmas for me too, YAY! First off, the bag is itty bitty. Its like the size of those really small bags that come in the giant Costco variety pack boxes. I love that they are rockin English and Arabic at the same time.

Alright; the point. These taste almost exactly like US Lay's. The salt is more invasive, almost like the potatoes were soaked in salt water pre-fry. Invasive is probably a bad word, but I can't think of a better one. These had a really great Salty flavor... I think a noticeable amount more than what we are used to. Since it's not a highly complex flavor, I'll talk more about the potato. It had a nice potato flavor, but it had a texture similar to the US stuff. I noticed that these, as with the US ones, seem to get LOTS of air bubbles in them. The bubbles make like 2 thin layers of chip separated by air, which make them feel flakier in your mouth. If you love the smooth texture of Walkers, you'll immediately notice the textural difference. Unlike the US ones, these have more potato taste (a little bit more) and less oil taste (way less) which ultimately make them tastier. I think people who don't eat chips often will think these taste EXACTLY like Lay's, so honestly, if you are in the middle east and looking for your Lay's fix, these will satisfy... otherwise, no need to hunt these down, unless it's for the fun looking bag :p