Kettle Krinkle Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Ridged Potato Chips, 130g

Kettle Krinkle is the ridged range from Kettle: thick, deep ridged chips hand cooked in Norfolk. Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is the sweet and sharp one, made with the protected Italian vinegar. This is the 130g sharing bag, which the label suggests serves five. The full product name on the pack is hand cooked ridge cut potato chips with sea salt and Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, and the pack names Kettle Foods Ltd as the maker.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from select potatoes, vegetable oils (rapeseed and sunflower, in varying proportions) and a seasoning with sea salt and balsamic vinegar of Modena (balsamic vinegar of Modena, sugar, potato starch, potato maltodextrin, natural flavourings, sea salt and citric acid).

Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP

The full product name names the vinegar as Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP. IGP is the Italian form of Protected Geographical Indication, which means the vinegar has to come from Modena and be made in the recognised way. Balsamic vinegar is made from grape must, which is why it is sweeter and softer than malt or spirit vinegar.

Sweet and sharp

Balsamic vinegar leads the seasoning, with sugar to round it and citric acid to sharpen it, so the flavour is fruity, sweet and tangy rather than harsh.

Citric acid

Citric acid sharpens the balsamic, and sea salt brings the flavour forward, though the salt figure stays low.

Hand cooked and ridged

The pack says the chips are hand cooked in Norfolk. Hand cooking in batches gives a harder, crunchier chip than continuous frying, and the deep ridges make each chip thicker and sturdier still.

British potatoes

The pack says the chips are made from British potatoes, listed as select potatoes.

Absolutely nothing artificial

The pack says absolutely nothing artificial: the flavourings are natural, and there is no colour on the list.

Potato maltodextrin

Potato starch and potato maltodextrin carry the vinegar as a powder so it can be dusted evenly onto the chips, and both come from potato.

Numbers per 100g

The label gives 520 kcal (2170 kJ), 30.1g of fat, 3g of saturates, 54.9g of carbohydrate, 2.5g of sugars, 4.1g of fibre, 5.4g of protein and 0.38g of salt per 100g. The listing gives no serving size, so the figures on this page are per 100g; the pack suggests five servings.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30.1g is red, as it is for fried crisps generally. Saturates at 3g are amber. Sugars at 2.5g are green. Salt at 0.38g is amber, only just over the 0.3g line.

Salt

At 0.38g of salt per 100g, this is one of the least salty flavoured bags we stock, and among the least salty Kettle bags.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients, and the published listing gives no may contain advice. The pack says the chips are suitable for vegans and gluten free. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Vegan and gluten free

With no animal ingredient and no gluten containing cereal on the list, and both statements on the pack, one bowl of these suits vegans and coeliac guests at the same table.

The oils

The chips are cooked in rapeseed and sunflower oils, in varying proportions.

The pack

The magenta and blue bag carries the Kettle Krinkle name in white, a ridged chip, a new bold crunch flash, a sketch of a bottle of balsamic vinegar and the words hand cooked in Norfolk.

The Kettle Krinkle range

Kettle Krinkle is the ridged range from Kettle. The bags we stock are Lightly Salted, Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream, all 130g, all hand cooked in Norfolk, and all with 0.35g to 0.38g of salt per 100g.

A sharing bag

At 130g, the bag is made for sharing. Tip a handful into a bowl rather than eating from the bag, and clip it shut between servings.

Who it suits

A sweet and sharp, thick ridged chip suits anyone who finds salt and vinegar too harsh, and the vegan and gluten free statements suit most diets.

Serving the bag

Balsamic and sea salt goes with a cheeseboard, a Mediterranean platter of olives and cured meats, or a glass of red wine.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the ridged chips make a sweet and sharp crumb for a tomato salad or the top of a goat's cheese tart.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place away from bright light. The published recycling guidance says the whole packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

Other Kettle Krinkle

In the same 130g bag we stock Kettle Krinkle Lightly Salted and Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream.

Other 130g packs of Kettle Krinkle we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.