'How do you reduce a national dish to a powder?': the world of crisp flavours | Hacker News Reader

'How do you reduce a national dish to a powder?': the world of crisp flavours

theguardian.com

As an aside, seeing all these Lay packets, I'm always impressed they managed to make the Lay (เลย์) Thailand logo just about readable in both Thai and English _at the same time_:

https://importfood.com/media/zoo/images/lays-miangkam-main_7...

The character that reads as the A in English is actually the L (ล) in Thai, and vice-versa, given that เ is pronounced after the consonant it's written

(also, those https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miang_kham flavoured-chips look lit)

Awesome script fact, thanks.

I live in Switzerland nearish (35 minutes) to the German border. I need to drive to France (~1 hour) to get decent flavours. I'm a big fan of Brets. And I'm absolutely sick of Ungarisch, I'll never buy paprika crisps for myself ever again.

When I was a kid in Ireland, the only two flavours (Taytos) you could depend on getting at the shop for your 8 to 12p (the price at the time) was Salt & Vinegar and Cheese & Onion. I preferred the former and I still like them but the acid will burn your tongue for a few hours, so I don't have them often.

Taytos invented flavoured crisps... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayto_(Republic_of_Ireland)

Not even Salt & Shake?

As a Frenchman, I'm shocked our country is selling so many crisp flavours (particularly Lay's).

Having an aisle dedicated to crisps is something I would only associate with nations with poor appreciation of food. It is junk and you should stay away from it.

Thanks for policing my snacks. I like to munch on something occasionally of a weekday afternoon while working, or when watching a movie at home in the evening.

If it wasn't crisps it would be something very similar: savoury, unheated, not requiring a fridge, and can be put aside for later consumption when I've had enough.

I can't tolerate nuts and I don't like pretzels and similar salty grain products. So crisps it is.

I can't comment much on Lays since I don't buy them, never been a fan.

I get you Chips is I think one of tastiest, most satisfying snack out there.

I don't buy them, because I can't control, will just finish the bag.

Off late been just thinly slicing potatoes and throwing them in the oven with some good oil. Needs between 40-60 minutes, but same levels of satisfaction.

I am fully aware that developers tend to have bad eating (and even lifestyle) habits.

I'd recommend drinking water (cold and filtered, potentially fizzy) instead of always reaching out for food, especially since most of your activities seem to revolve around sitting. You could also explore tea or even coffee, which are both fun hobbies as well.

You done policing people yeah?

What does your comment add to this conversation?

I like my water warm, flat, and straight from the kitchen sink. You gonna tell me thats unhealthy too?

Lmfao

The data suggests that increased water consumption is an effective mean to reduce snacking, and that making the water cold helps improve its attractiveness for most populations.

Now if you've found something else that works for you, that's great too.

France is a multicultural society and the food available in shops reflects that.

We have a lot of bad junk food in France. Like the French tacos that consist of French fries and random things from the freezer of a junk food truck, all wrapped in a tortilla.

I don’t think we should brag loud about French food culture. But we can still judge UK and Germany, that’s okay.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_tacos

> But we can still judge UK and Germany, that’s okay.

As a Brit that made me chuckle

Totally agree

It's funny how "French tacos" are most similar to what we called "American sandwich" when I was young.

I am fond both of French food and strange crisp flavours - what would recommend as an authentic French snack?

Snacking is bad for you, so I would recommend that you don't snack at all.

Otherwise the obvious French products would be charcuterie, bread and cheese.

France has more McDonalds per capita than anywhere else in Europe

McDonald’s is quite different in France. I recommend this video:

https://youtu.be/zmIczg6a0WQ

I live in Japan, we also have "good" McDonalds here with the same macarons, hip high school students spend hours studying in the well-designed, inviting interiors, etc.

It's still factory fast food that someone who is "shocked [their] country is selling so many crisp flavours" would be appalled by. I'm not ragging on their McDonalds I'm ragging on GP's elitist nationalism.

Pringles are owned by Kellogs since about 2012. Wouldn't it be absolutely against the image of 'healthy' cereals if they sold 'junk'? Yum Yum fruity loupz!

Bon Appétit

Just want to say as an Irishman in the Netherlands I'm glad I'm not alone in this experience.

BTW what Lay's call paprika and bolognese are similar to what tayto call smokey bacon and roast chicken respectively.

Sometimes I get overwhelming feelings of sadness when I go to the shop and that's all they have, maybe some Dorito's.

As an American the thought of multiple other countries being within driving distance is completely foreign and bizarre to me. I have to drive 3 hours to see family and I don't even leave the state.

I think that's mainly just a odd thing about the US and Canada - other, sometimes larger, countries have many places where you could easily access multiple other countries.

China (larger than the US but smaller than Canada) has 16 tripoints and Russia (larger than the US and Canada) has at least 11 tripoints:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripoint

edit: I misread the list of countries by area on Wikipedia - US is slightly larger than China....

Or any island country, which is most countries in South-East Asia and Oceania.

I assume you're referring to the contiguous 48 states, because the total land mass of the USA is 2% larger than China, not smaller.

Thanks for the correction - I wasn't particularly careful looking at the list on Wikpedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependen...

You were actually correct. See note [e] in that table.

This is incorrect. China's landmass is larger than the US (including Alaska). The US is only larger if you include coastal and territorial waters, clearly not landmass area.

On the other hand, the USA has a semi-enclave, which is rather unusual; you have to cross Canada if you want to get from Washington to Alaska by land. Russia has Kaliningrad but that's not quite on the same scale. From a British perspective, though, these distinctions are rather hard to make - Britain has between the largest number of semi-enclaves in the world and none, depending on how you count the many former imperial territories.

Nitpick, I think you mean exclave

FWIW those tripoints in China are mostly very far away from population centers. If Mexico was 10 countries it would still take GP 3 hours to drive to family and not leave the state.

It was so exciting as a young kid being driven on to a train, travelling under the sea, then in 30 minutes being in a different a totally different country - France - with a different language, time zone, currency, etc! It even smelled totally different.

Then continuing the journey around Europe, there were even more currencies and more languages and different cuisines.

Ah the nostalgia!

I know how you feel. As an European living in Beijing, China, it really blows my mind that, depending on where I go within the city, it can take me a 3h drive here. Not even talking about remote rural areas or state/province distances...

The continuing popularity of “Ungarisch” or “Paprika” crisps/chips in Germany is a total mystery to me. The flavor is between bland and annoying, and there are so many better varieties available.

A Lithuanian company produces some rather unorthodox flavours:

https://chazzchips.com/en/ready-to-gift-a-box-with-pussy-fla...

Details from an ebay page about the same product:

> Ingredients: 56% potatoes, rapeseed oil, maltodextrin, salt, onions, garlic, sugar, cream powder, yeast extract, natural flavoring, sodium acetate, lemon powder (lemon juice powder, natural flavoring), parsley, black pepper, natural sour cream flavoring, antioxidant (citric acid), bay leaves.

What is “natural flavoring”?

Depends on the local laws, I'm sure, but basically anything that wasn't cooked up in a lab, but extracted from something natural. As such, natural strawberry flavour doesn't have to be from actual strawberries, but can be from anything that can provide a similar flavour.

I had such a hard time reading that article… shes in leicester, then on computers, then in india… ending every paragraph with a rehashing of the same questions she asked in the introduction. Love the topic, but couldn’t get through.

I strongly agree. There was so much information left on the wayside, a little bit of location jumping in the beginning.

The images needed flavour/location foot notes.

A deep dive, which flavours combine (surely they could find an ex-industry for this?) To get a rough approx.

There were parts - where they were talking about splitting oils(?if I remember correctly) that I'd have liked more info on.

Long form /short detail. I'll end up researching it myself, which is good for me, but only me.

It’s a bit irritating that they don’t include captions below the images. I want to know what flavour and from where each of those bags is from.

It's a shame that the tyranny of volumetrics referenced in the article means that in the UK some of my favourite crisp flavours have been brief one-off novelty runs - coronation chicken, baked bean, and numerous flavours rolled out for world cups in the form of nationality-themed assortment bags.

Fun fact: Walkers (Lays in the UK) sell a Crisp Advent calendar:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Calendar-Christmas-Multipack-Flavou...

Walkers is Walkers in the UK.

Yeah, that’s what he’s saying. That Lays are called Walkers in the UK.

Walkers is the brand PepsiCo uses in the UK for what is Lays in most countries.

Aldi have recently brought back their 'spiced tikka' flavour ridge-cut crisps and they are excellent.

I really miss Lays Magic Masala

Why not just get a spice shop to mix up the various spices for you, and then you can just sprinkle the masala mix on any generic crisps?

Because all the effort involved in everything you just described.

Adding paprika to ready salted crisps is pretty effective. I bet it would work with other spices too. The thing is that you can buy one big bag, and then tune the flavours, for example if one person doesn’t like paprika.

If I wanted to put that much effort I to eating something, I wouldn't be eating crisps

Which spices to use and in what ratio is proprietary and I have not been able to create that flavour mix on my own.

I would like to see crisps that don't break when you fold them.

You’re probably on to something... you might be close to inventing the hinged crisp to great success!

Why would you want that? The whole point of a crisp is that it is... Well, crisp. What you are describing is, for want of a better term, a soggy.

I don’t get why the subjects of the article need to be anonymous.

salt, sugar, acid, alkali, milk powder, onion powder, tomato powder - these in varying amounts account for 99% of all "flavours"

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