Kettle Sea Salt and Black Pepper Tortilla Chips, 140g

Kettle Tortillas are tortilla chips from Kettle, made from whole white corn and seasoned with flavours from the Kettle crisp range. Sea Salt and Black Pepper is the peppery one. This is the 140g sharing bag, which the listing says holds four servings. The full product name on the pack is tortilla chips with seeds, beans and a sea salt and black pepper seasoning, and the maker on the label is Kettle Foods Ltd.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from whole white corn flour, vegetable oils (rapeseed and sunflower, in varying proportions), a multi-seed mix of millet, brown linseeds and sunflower seeds (4%), black turtle beans, potato starch, potato maltodextrin, ground black pepper, sea salt, dried yeast extract, sugar, citric acid and black pepper extract.

Whole white corn

Whole white corn flour leads the list. White corn is the pale corn used for many tortillas, and whole means the flour is milled from the whole kernel. The chip is fine and even, closer to a restaurant tortilla chip than a thick corn crisp.

Seeds and grains

The multi-seed mix makes up 4% of the chip: millet, a small, pale grain; brown linseeds, the seed of the flax plant; and sunflower seeds. They show as dark specks in the corn and add a nutty bite.

Black turtle beans

Black turtle beans are the small black beans used across Latin American cooking. Here they go into the dough with the corn and seeds, and they give the chip a little earthy depth.

Potato starch

Potato starch helps bind the corn, seeds and beans into a dough that fries into an even, crisp chip, and potato maltodextrin carries the seasoning so it spreads evenly.

Black pepper twice

The pepper goes on twice: ground black pepper, for the specks and the bite, and black pepper extract, for a rounder, longer warmth. It is a peppery chip rather than a hot one.

Sea salt and yeast extract

Sea salt seasons the chip, and dried yeast extract adds savoury depth behind the pepper. It is naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether; there is no added MSG on the list.

Sugar and citric acid

A little sugar and citric acid round off the seasoning. The label gives 1.8g of sugars per 100g, the least of the three Kettle Tortillas we stock.

Rapeseed and sunflower oil

The listing says the chips may be fried in rapeseed oil, sunflower oil or a blend, depending on the supply of each, which is why both appear on the list. The label gives 2.3g of saturates per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale.

Signature flavours

The listing says these tortillas carry signature Kettle flavours on a fine tortilla chip, crafted with the chef Rachel Khoo. The crisp counterpart, Kettle Sea Salt and Crushed Black Peppercorns Potato Chips, is in our range too.

Numbers per 100g

The label gives 487 kcal (2033 kJ), 23.9g of fat, 2.3g of saturates, 56.3g of carbohydrate, 1.8g of sugars, 9.3g of fibre, 6.9g of protein and 0.5g of salt per 100g.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 23.9g is red. Saturates at 2.3g are amber. Sugars at 1.8g are green. Salt at 0.5g is amber.

Salt

At 0.5g of salt per 100g, this is the saltiest of the three Kettle Tortillas we stock, just ahead of Mature Cheddar and Red Onion at 0.45g and Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream at 0.43g.

Fibre

The label gives 9.3g of fibre per 100g, the most of the three Kettle Tortillas we stock, from the whole corn, the seeds and the beans.

Four servings

The listing says the bag holds four servings but gives no figures per serving, so a serving is about a quarter of the bag. Tip it into a bowl rather than eating from the bag.

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 vegetarians and gluten free; there is no vegan statement. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Natural ingredients

The front of the pack carries two ticks: natural ingredients and nothing artificial. There is no colour on the list at all.

Tortilla chips and dips

A tortilla chip is sturdier than most crisps, so it holds its shape in a thick dip. Salt and pepper is the plainest of the three, the one to pair with a guacamole, a bean dip or a spiced salsa.

The pack

The black bag carries an orange brush stroke, the white Kettle name, the two ticks, an orange triangle reading tortillas and sea salt and black pepper, a single chip, and drawings of a bowl of dip and a pepper mill.

Who it suits

A peppery tortilla chip suits anyone who likes the Kettle salt and pepper crisp flavour on a corn based chip, and the vegetarian and gluten free statements suit many tables.

Serving ideas

Serve the bag with a guacamole, a black bean dip or a smoky tomato salsa, and a cold beer or a lime soda.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the chips make a peppery crumb for fish or chicken, or a crunchy topping for a bowl of chilli or a bean soup.

Storage and packaging

The listing 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 Tortillas

In the same 140g bag we stock Kettle Tortillas Mature Cheddar and Red Onion and Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream.

Other 140g packs of Kettle Tortillas 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.