by Bottom Line: These all-natural chips bring the heat while also delivering a good crunch and good flavor.
There are plenty of chips out there that promise to deliver the heat, but not enough coming from the major companies live up to that. Kettle Brand is not quite the mega-corp that Frito Lays is, but it is owned by Campbell Soup Company, and their products are fairly widely available. But their Krinkle Cut Habanero Chips buck the trend of “spicy” snacks not bringing the heat and they deliver a product that will satisfy chiliheads.
All of their potato chips are kettle cooked and these are the wavy version bringing a good crunch (a big plus for me). They have a strong lime flavor, but it is not overwhelming. It delivers more tang than sour with a nice bit of sweet in there as well. They don’t have a distinct habanero taste, but you definitely know that chili pepper is there because of the heat. These could be called habanero salsa lime chips as far as I am concerned as they are similar to other salsa flavored chips I have had (though hotter). I’m typically not a fan of lime flavor added to chips, but it works here and they are quite addictive. And as bonus, because of the lime they have less salt than your average chip. (Well, that’s a bonus for those of us watching our salt intake.)
So often the major brands promise a spicy product, but since they cater to the average consumer it comes up short on the heat (I’m looking at you, Frito Lays). But Kettle Brand’s Habanero Lime chips pack a punch! At first it seems to be Medium heat, but before long that starts building and these get into the Hot heat level. And this is a burn lingers and lets you know you have been eating something spicy. The average mortal will struggle with these, but chiliheads will gobble them down.
Kettle Chips use all-natural ingredients, and as I recall were often usually found in health food stores and specialty markets when they first stated off. But these days you can find them in most grocery stores (though they are still popular with the health food crowd). They tend to be a bit more expensive than other chips on the shelf, but perhaps worth the extra cost. They cycle through flavors pretty frequently, so I don’t know how long the Habanero Lime flavor will be around. So I highly recommend that chiliheads get out there and give these a try while they are still on the shelves.
Tale of the Tape:
Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola, Sunflower, and/or Safflower), Salt, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Paprika, Onion Powder, Spices, Habanero Peppers, Lime Juice Concentrate Solids, Paprika, Citric Acid, Lime Oil, Habanero and Chili Pepper Extracts
Serving Size: 28g (About 9 Chips)
Calories: 140
Fat: 8g (0.5g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 15g
Sodium: 130mg
