Proper Hot Sauce House Lentil Chips, 85g

Proper Hot Sauce House puts the flavour of a bottle of chilli hot sauce on a lentil chip. This is the 85g sharing bag, which the label divides into four 20g servings. The full product name on the pack is Lentil based chips with hot chilli sauce flavour seasoning.

What is in the bag

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from lentil flour (28%), potato starch, vegetable oils (rapeseed and sunflower), corn flour, rice flour, salt, natural flavouring, sugar, garlic, onion, cayenne chilli pepper, tomato, jalapeño chilli pepper and spirit vinegar powder.

The base is lentil flour with potato starch, corn flour and rice flour, which is why the pack can carry a gluten free claim. The seasoning is short and reads like a hot sauce recipe: two chillies, garlic, onion, tomato, a little sugar and vinegar.

A hot sauce, built dry

Hot sauces are mostly chilli, vinegar, garlic and salt, and this seasoning follows the same pattern in powder form. Cayenne chilli pepper gives a quick, sharp heat; jalapeño chilli pepper adds a greener, fruitier warmth. Spirit vinegar powder, dried so it can go on a chip, brings the vinegar tang that defines a hot sauce, and garlic, onion and tomato give it body. A little sugar balances the acid and heat.

How hot is it

The label gives no heat rating. Two chillies are listed, after salt, flavouring, sugar, garlic and onion. Expect a warm, sauce like heat with a vinegar edge rather than an extreme burn. Anyone who avoids chilli should choose Proper Sea Salt or All the Cheese instead.

Spirit vinegar

Spirit vinegar is a clear vinegar made from grain alcohol, sharp and clean rather than malty. Dried to a powder, it gives the seasoning the bright vinegar note of a bottled hot sauce without making the chips soft.

Two chillies

Cayenne and jalapeño bring different kinds of heat. Cayenne is a thin red chilli, ground dry, with a quick, sharp burn. Jalapeño is a fleshier green chilli with a fruitier, grassier warmth. Using both gives the seasoning a heat that arrives quickly and then lingers.

Protein and fat

Per 100g the label gives 10g of protein and 20g of fat, against roughly 6g to 7g of protein and 29g to 31g of fat for the fried potato crisps in our range. The carbohydrate, 62g per 100g, is higher, reflecting the starches in the base.

Numbers per serving

The label gives, per 20g serving, 94 kcal (394 kJ), 3.9g of fat, 0.3g of saturates, 12g of carbohydrate, 0.3g of sugars, 0.5g of fibre, 2.1g of protein and 0.43g of salt. That serving is about 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 7% of the salt. Per 100g it is 469 kcal, 20g of fat, 1.6g of saturates, 62g of carbohydrate, 1.5g of sugars, 2.3g of fibre, 10g of protein and 2.13g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 20g is red, just over the 17.5g line. Saturates at 1.6g are amber, only just. Sugars at 1.5g are green. Salt at 2.13g is red. As with the other Proper lentil chips, salt is the number to watch, so the 20g serving on the label is a sensible portion.

Allergens and diet

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

How the chips are made

The published listing does not say how the chips are cooked. They are formed from a mix of lentil flour and starches rather than sliced, and the seasoning is applied afterwards. The pack says the bag is packaged in a protective atmosphere, and names Proper as the maker.

Serving the bag

A hot sauce chip wants something cooling: a vegan yoghurt dip, guacamole or a bean dip. It also suits a cold beer, a burrito night or a plate of vegan nachos, and it is a useful bag for a mixed group, since it is both vegan and carries a gluten free claim.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the chips make a spicy, gluten free crumb for the top of a bean chilli or a baked sweet potato. Add them just before serving.

The Proper range

In the same 85g bag we stock Proper Sea Salt, Barbecue, Salt and Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail and All the Cheese. All the ones that list no milk carry a vegan statement; All the Cheese contains milk.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Clip the bag after opening and finish it soon, because lentil chips soften in damp air like any crisp.

Other 85g packs of Proper Chips we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

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