Hippeas Salt and Vinegar Vibes Chickpea Puff Snacks, 5 x 15g

Hippeas are puffed snacks made from chickpeas, light and airy like a corn puff, and Salt and Vinegar Vibes is the sharp one. This is the multipack of five 15g bags, 75g in all, sized for lunchboxes. The full product name on the pack is chickpea based puffs with salt and vinegar flavour.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the puffs are made from chickpea flour (39%), quinoa flour, tapioca starch, sunflower oil, a salt and vinegar seasoning (11%) and rosemary extract. The seasoning lists natural vinegar flavouring, sugar, citric acid, rice flour, sea salt, potassium chloride as a salt replacement, maltodextrin, sunflower oil and rosemary extract.

Chickpeas

Chickpea flour is the first ingredient, 39% of the recipe. Chickpeas are pulses, the same beans used in houmous, and as a flour they give the puffs a mild, nutty flavour; the label gives 12.7g of protein per 100g.

Quinoa and tapioca

Quinoa flour adds a nutty note, and tapioca starch, from the cassava root, helps the dough puff up light and crisp.

How puffs are made

Puffs like these are usually made by extrusion: the dough is pushed through a die under heat and pressure, and it puffs as it leaves, which gives the airy, melting texture. The puffs are then seasoned.

The vinegar

A natural vinegar flavouring and citric acid give the sharp salt and vinegar tang, and a little sugar rounds it off.

Potassium chloride

Potassium chloride is listed as a salt replacement. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium.

Rosemary extract

Rosemary extract is listed twice, in the seasoning and in the puffs, as an antioxidant that keeps the sunflower oil fresh.

Numbers for one bag

The published label gives 59 kcal (250 kJ), 2.2g of fat, 0.18g of saturates, 7.7g of carbohydrate, 0.9g of sugars, 0.8g of fibre, 1.9g of protein and 0.17g of salt for each 15g bag.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 396 kcal (1664 kJ), 14.7g of fat, 1.2g of saturates, 51.1g of carbohydrate, 6g of sugars, 5.1g of fibre, 12.7g of protein and 1.1g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 14.7g is amber, saturates at 1.2g are green, sugars at 6g are amber and salt at 1.1g is amber.

A note on the pack front

The front of the pack in our photo says 63 kcal per bag, from a different print of the pack. The nutrition table published for this barcode, which we use on this page, gives 59 kcal for each 15g bag. Check the label on the pack you receive.

Small bags

At 15g, each bag is smaller than a standard 25g crisp bag, which is why a bag gives 59 kcal.

Sugar

A little sugar is in the seasoning. The label gives 6g of sugars per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale, and 0.9g in a bag.

Fibre and protein

The chickpeas and quinoa give 5.1g of fibre and 12.7g of protein per 100g, and 0.8g of fibre and 1.9g of protein in each 15g bag.

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the only oil, in the puffs and in the seasoning.

Maltodextrin and rice flour

Maltodextrin and rice flour carry the seasoning, so the vinegar and salt coat each puff evenly.

After school

A 15g bag is a small after school snack, with a glass of milk or water.

Tapioca starch

Tapioca starch, made from the cassava root, helps the puffs expand and gives them their light, crisp texture.

Energy

The label gives 396 kcal (1664 kJ) per 100g, and 59 kcal (250 kJ) in each small bag.

A lighter bag size

At 15g, a bag holds a little over half the weight of a 25g crisp bag, which suits a small appetite or a young child, and the five bags keep each portion sealed until it is wanted.

Allergens and diet

No allergen is listed in the ingredients, and the published listing gives no may contain advice; it notes the puffs are free from cereals containing gluten. The listing says they are suitable for vegans and gluten free. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Palm oil free

The listing says the puffs are palm oil free; sunflower oil is the only oil.

No MSG

The listing says there is no MSG and no artificial preservatives.

Chickpeas and the soil

Chickpeas are legumes, which take nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil, and the brand's copy makes much of that.

In a lunchbox

A 15g bag of puffs is a light lunchbox snack beside a sandwich and fruit, and five bags cover a school week.

For children

The puffs melt quickly in the mouth, and the salt and vinegar is sharp but not hot.

With a dip

The puffs are too light to scoop a thick dip, but they suit a bowl beside houmous and vegetable sticks.

Who it suits

Hippeas Salt and Vinegar suits vegans, anyone avoiding gluten, and anyone looking for a light snack in a small bag.

Storage

The listing, in the brand's playful voice, asks for a dry and cool place.

The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.