Rubio Pijo Patatas Fritas en Sartén Sabor Limon y Pimienta

We went to the rather wonderful Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern and after admiring some art (Paul Klee obviously, and some Bridget Riley), we sat down for a snackish style of lunch. And picked up these lovely crisps. 

What a lovely crisp! The lemon and pepper work perfectly together and the Chef and I snacked down the whole packet all too quickly. 

Quite a fine cut, a good bite and a great flavour. What more could you want? Well, perhaps it would be nice to find a shop where we could buy these Spanish crisps again.

Delicious!

Zentrum Paul Klee

Vico Extra Craquantes Nature

Another choice from a French motorway service station. They look kind of dull don’t they? And it’s true this simply salted crinkle cut crisp isn’t that exciting. But, it is a simple flavour extremely well executed.

Fabulous crunch, just the right amount of salt. Yum yum.

There really is nothing else to say, except if you like crunchy, salty crisps you will like these crisps.

Very simple. Very good.

Salty Dog Sea Salt

At last another chance to try a crisp from niche UK crisp company Salty Dog. I say niche because I have only ever seen their crisps for sale at Luton airport (which I have not passed through since August 2014) although it could be they are sold all over the place - just not in North London, or France or Switzerland where I do most of my crisp shopping.

Here we have the basic flavour: sea salt.

And? These are really good. A lovely texture with the skin left on for good looks and added taste, great crunch and just the right amount of saltiness. And a wonderfully old-fashioned - make that retro - taste of fried potatoes.

So many brands are keen to point out that their crisps are baked not fried for a healthier crisp. I'm sure I've said it before but I'm going to say it again; the secret to a healthy lifestyle isn't to eat baked potato crisps rather than fried but not to eat crisps at all. Too much salt, too much fat, and in many cases far too much sugar do not a healthy snack make.

However, some of us just love crisps. So the answer is not to eat too many. And luckily for us Salty Dog have put their crisps in a sensibly small 40g packet. But still, I'm going to share with the Chef to make sure I don't overdose on the first day of my holiday. Because (oh dear) I managed to buy 6 packets of crisps at Luton airport and another on the plane!

I'm not sure these crisps quite reach the summit of fabulousness but they certainly get way past base camp and some distance up the mountain. And I do love the little dog on the packet.

Update: I discovered yesterday (7 July 2022) that you can buy Salty Dog crisps on La Suisse, a Belle Époque paddle steamer, on Lake Geneva. Which probably means you can get them on other boats in the CGN fleet. Still a very tasty crisp.

Originally published on 12 March 2015.

Co-op Naturaplan Chips Herbes des Alpes

Made for the Co-op by Swiss crisp giant Zweifel; this packet of gluten free, suitable for vegans crisps looks about as healthy as a packet of crisps can get. Unless you bake them instead of frying which obviously means it’s not a proper crisp.

For myself, these crisps seem extremely herby; there’s a bit too much taste. The Chef , on the other hand, thinks there isn’t enough flavour. Apparently you can’t please everyone. A good thin crisp with a light crunch.