#lentil chips

[sour-cream-n-onion]

Taffel Linssips Sourcream & 3xOnion (Finland)

3x onion means three times the onion, RIGHT? Well not according to Taffel, because the ingredients list onion, garlic and wild garlic, with the last one so far down the list that I wonder if it truly even exists in there. These ain't no Gårdchips is what I'm saying.

Not a bad texture when it comes to lentil chips. The chips come in these long rectangular pieces with varying levels of curvature. The size is just small enough that the corners don't poke your mouth and they managed to also avoid being too soft or mushy. Just the right amount of cruch.

Their second biggest crime (right after not having three times as much onion) is lack of consistency. You can visibly see which pieces are properly flavored and which ones will taste like bread. Even the best bits are quite mild in both salt and onion, but it's the sour cream that's completely lacking. What a miss.

Such a contrast between a good texture and a disappointing taste. Makes them hard to rank, but I struggle to put them above the average.

4 / 10 ________________________

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Pändy (Sweden)

Most likely Sweden. Or "within Europe" as their website says. Shrugging my way forward over here.

The old Sour Cream & Onion Pändy bag boasted 50% less fat and 15% protein. This new design says 40% less fat per bag (double asterisk) and 13% protein. Per bag. I wonder if the recipe changed of if an EU product supervisor wagged their finger at Pändy. I'll never know either way.

In the category of lentil snacks Pändy are very soft, almost mushy. I'm sure someone out there likes it, but it's a bit of an odd mouthfeel for someone who bought these as chips. They also have hands down the biggest "lentils are sweet" problem. Many other lentil snacks try to cover that aspect with flavoring but not Pändy. Doubling down on the base material and sprinkling some scream seasoning on top just doesn't do it for me.

3 / 10

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Green Star Lentil Hearts (Lithuania)

More Lithuanian lentil chips! These almost slipped me by when I ordered one of the last two bags from the only online store that had them on stock.

Ah! They're tiny! From the cover I expected them to be over an inch long but these little guys are more like cereal. The brittle texture reminds me of OLW Ringar. Overall very similar that way.

Taste-wise they share another feature with the Ringar and that is sweetness. And yet, Lentil Hearts don't have enough flavoring otherwise to make up for that. So they end up being primarily sweet - sour cream & onion comes after.

Some pros, some cons. Somehow they cancel each other out and you end up with a forgettable mid experience.

5 / 10 ________________________

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Eldorado Linssnacks (Lithuania)

Eldorado has a good track record and I hadn't seen lentil chips (or any chips for that matter) with this kind of shape, so I was excited to try these out.

So interesting. One could describe the mouthfeel of these like they're just cheetos. The more structured zigzag shape is just more fun than that. Structure-wise they are quite similar. Lentils behave in a specific way when they crumble in your mouth and it works really well in this format.

Eldorado does it again with the strong flavor. They're really showing that you can be a cheap brand without cheaping out on taste. But is it sour cream & onion? It's hard to describe... It might just be the sweetness of the lentil-corn mix that pushes through, but the overall profile is quite different from the norm.

Can't give too much shade though, because they are very creamy. We all know that's what I'm all about. They're different and not in a bad way.

8 / 10

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[paulpingminho]

[paulpingminho]

[sour-cream-n-onion]

Estrella Linssisnacks (Sweden)

The munchy, the tasty, the addictive Linssisnacks. Lentils done right.

Why haven't other companies considered turning their lentil snacks into the cheetos shape? Linssisnacks are slightly thinner than the average of this type, but have a similar texture. Being thinner is a perk in my books, allowing comparatively more surface area for all the flavor.

And boy do they have flavor. Strong and lasting. I had never considered cheddar as a buddy with scream, but it's a perfect fit. Cheese powder brings in that creaminess that many screams lack, and onion gives a little bit of a punch to otherwise mellow flavor profile of cheese snacks. Perfect couple.

However it's hard to say whether it's the cheddar or the sour cream and onion doing the heavy lifting here. Can I really give them a 10 when it could just be my love of cheese elevating these above what they deserve? But then again, it's my blog. And these are easily the hardest to put down once I've started.

10 / 10

[sour-cream-n-onion]

Snack Day Lentil Chips (Germany)

Snack Day, the Lidl brand, strikes again. This time with lentil chips.

In the category of lentil chips, Snack Day has a pretty good structure. They're not overly hard and there is a slight curve that makes them fit comfortably in your mouth. Being munchy is a plus in my book, especially after Estrella made their lentil chips so hard.

But what is this taste?? It's mild, SO mild. Primarily maybe a hint of garlic...? Certainly no sour cream or onion even though they're listed in the ingredients. There is supposedly more salt than in average chips but I certainly don't taste it. More than anything it is the chips themselves that push through in the flavor. Lentil for sure, but the rice flour is also quite potent.

The competent lentil chip producers use flavoring with a heavy hand. Lentils themselves have a stronger taste than cooked potato does, so they need something to balance it out. Snack Day said why bother.

I could have given them a 2 but they simply aren't sour cream & onion at all. So what's the point.

1 / 10