#rye chips

[satellites-will-fall]

.been getting really into rye chips lately

[crag-dreams]

This may be controversial, but I think Chex Mix should have far more Rye Chips.

[chexmix]

[sour-cream-n-onion]

Linkosuo Ruissipsi (Finland)

Now, because of the previous review you might be thinking this bag is just a rebrand of these bad boys from a few months ago. But no, it's a different product with more rye and some other minor changes. Weird that.

Now let's see if the world's first rye chip reaches the same heights as its oat counterpart.

As expected from rye chips, they are rather hard to bite down on. Borderline too hard, but I think it's a purposeful design. There are other Finnish rye products you can crack your teeth on if you so choose. My mouth might feel under attack and yet I'm sure there are big rye heads out there who love this feature.

Just like the structure, there is a STRONG rye flavor right off the bat. Is there sour cream & onion? I guess? You have to lick it off of the chip if you want to taste any of it though, because the rye is overpowering and will keep you in its grip far into the aftertaste. Whether you enjoy that is up to you, but putting sour cream & onion on these feels like a complete waste in that case. Screams they are not.

4 / 10 ________________________

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Vaasan Koulunäkki Snäkkis (Finland)

I had to search for these. Really dig into the rye chip aisle (yes we have those here) of multiple big stores. But I got them, so let's test them.

For context, Koulunäkki is a popular brand of crispbread and often served in school cafeterias. So these chips are basically smaller, flat versions of the normal crispbread product with sour cream & onion flavoring on them. They also have way more rye than any other rye chip I've compared them to - 76% instead of the more common 40-50%.

In the niche category of rye chips I'd say Snäkkis is high up on the list. They have a headstart in the sense that the crispbread taste is already familiar to most Finns. No part of the structure or aftertaste feels out of place, because almost everyone here has had crispbread growing up. Slap some sour cream & onion on top, why not. It works.

The flavoring isn't very strong and they don't have a lot of salt (as advertised) but the structure and rye taste are the best out of all the rye snacks so far. I could use a more potent experience but they're nice regardless. Still rye chips tho. They can only go so high.

My one gripe is the graphic design, because they've decorated the bag with chives (not onion) and on the backside there's a picture of an apple. Just for fun I guess.

7 / 10

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Wasa Crunchy Bites (Sweden)

Sorry about the small delay with this review. My second mistake was not reading the back of the bag in the store: they are described as cookies. Luckily the pieces themselves are identical to other rye chips so I'll give them a pass.

The structure of these is identical to Linkosuo Oat/Lentil snacks as these hollowed out half-pillows with smooth outer surface and rougher texture on the inside. They're pretty easy to chew so I have to give some points for not tearing my gums to shreds. The bites are just thin enough to not give you trouble while remaining crunchy.

The taste is in the middle of the same conflict as all other grain chips. The flavoring is alright and they're decently salty, but after the chip mass melts in your mouth it just tastes like flour. The wet bread aftertaste is a sour note to end the experience on.

3 / 10 ________________________

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[sour-cream-n-onion]

Kotimaista ruis sipsi and Vaasan ohut ruissipsi (Finland)

I bought these at the same time, they have the same shape and the ingredient list is completely identical. The bags have the same size, same material and open the exact same way.

Unsurprisingly, turns out they're manufactured by the same company, Lantmännen Cerealia Oy. These are the same product. Kotimaista costs around 30% more in the store compared to Vaasan.

The structure is pretty good. The pieces are the perfect size and thinness while being very crunchy. Nothing to complain about there.

The spices are unusually strong for rye chips. These might actually hit the spot when craving proper potato chips in that regard. They're saltier than the average rye chip too.

I'm a little disappointed that they're literally the same thing, but if the product is good then it's good. Just remember to buy the Vaasan one since it's so much cheaper.

7 / 10

[sour-cream-n-onion]

Linkosuo Rye chips (Finland)

I originally tasted these a year ago but the bag got a new design and they added that little "thin and crispy" tag to the corner, so I decided to give them another shot. Turns out they're a little better now!

Rye chips often tend to have the texture of dried rye bread (the sour Finnish kind) but not these. They've made them extremely thin with a smooth surface - very similar to some potato chips. Enjoyable structure overall.

Compared to when I previously tried these, they have much more flavor. Not enough to cover the bready aftertaste but enough that they don't feel like a niche health product anymore. Average yet balanced scream mix.

As rye chips they are are quite good, but as chips overall they're mid. The grain being 50% wheat also doesn't help its case, making the bread flavor more generic rather than actual rye.

5 / 10