Popchips Sea Salt Crisps, 85g

Popchips are popped rather than fried: small pieces of a potato dough are heated under pressure until they puff up into light, crisp chips. This is the plain sea salt flavour in the 85g sharing bag, which the label suggests serves three to four. The full product name on the pack is sea salt flavour popped potato snacks, and the pack gives a freepost address for KP Snacks.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from dried potato, rice flour, potato starch, sunflower oil, a sea salt flavour (natural flavouring, salt, potassium chloride, yeast extract, sea salt and citric acid), and salt.

Plain, lightly seasoned

The seasoning is short: salt, sea salt and potassium chloride for saltiness, a little yeast extract and natural flavouring for a savoury depth, and a touch of citric acid to brighten it. The taste is the potato dough and the salt.

How a popped chip is made

The dough of dried potato, rice flour and potato starch is heated under pressure in small pieces, which pop into light, airy chips. The pack sums it up as popped, not fried, and the texture sits somewhere between a crisp and a rice cake.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium, so it seasons the chips without adding to that figure. The label gives 0.73g of salt per 100g.

Rice flour

Rice flour appears twice, in the chip and in the seasoning. It contains no gluten, and with dried potato and potato starch in place of wheat, the pack can carry a gluten free claim.

Sunflower oil

The only oil on the list is sunflower oil, a light oil with a neutral taste, and the label gives 1.6g of saturates per 100g.

The numbers

Per 100g the label gives 429 kcal (1806 kJ), 13g of fat, 1.6g of saturates, 69g of carbohydrate, 1.2g of sugars, 4.4g of fibre, 5.7g of protein and 0.73g of salt. The pack says a 23g serving gives 99 kcal (415 kJ), about 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 13g is amber rather than the red of a fried crisp, and saturates at 1.6g are amber, just over the 1.5g line. Sugars at 1.2g are green. Salt at 0.73g is amber, in the lower part of its band.

Allergens and diet

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

What the pack leaves out

The pack says there are no artificial flavours or colours; the flavouring is natural and there is no colour on the list. Yeast extract, which is on the list, is naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether.

A plain chip for several diets

With dried potato, rice flour and potato starch in place of wheat, and no dairy, egg or meat on the list, a bowl of plain popped chips suits vegans, vegetarians and anyone avoiding gluten.

The texture

Popped chips have a light, airy crunch that dissolves quickly, gentler than a thick fried crisp. They are not greasy to the touch, and the open surface makes them good for scooping.

Three to four servings

At 85g, the bag suggests three to four servings of 23g. Tip a serving into a bowl rather than eating from the bag, and keep the rest in an airtight container.

Compared with the other flavours

Sea salt has 0.73g of salt per 100g, less than Popchips Sea Salt and Vinegar at 0.9g and more than Popchips Barbeque at 0.64g.

Who it suits

A plain, light chip suits anyone who prefers no strong flavour, younger children and anyone who finds a thick fried crisp too heavy.

Serving the bag

Plain popped chips are made for dips: houmous, guacamole, a tomato salsa, a tzatziki or a soured cream and chive dip. They also suit a picnic or a cheese board.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the chips make a light, gluten free crumb for fish or chicken, or a topping for soup or salad. Add herbs, lemon zest or spices to flavour the crumb.

Storage and packaging

The pack advises a cool, dry place and, once opened, an airtight container. 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 Popchips packs

In the same 85g bag we stock Popchips Sea Salt and Vinegar, Barbeque and Sour Cream and Onion, and there are five bag packs of Popchips Barbeque, Chargrilled Steak and Sour Cream and Onion.

Other 85g packs of Popchips 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.