Lay’s has done it again and come up with four new flavours thought up by Canadians for their Do Us A Flavour Contest.
The company was kind enough to offer to send me the chips themselves but with the house hunting trip and the move, it was just so complicated. So, when I saw the four flavours on display waiting for me at the store, I had to get them!
The Product
I personally think that the flavour for tzatziki chips is genius. The chips include “extractives of cucumber, dill & yogurt” and they also added sour cream which really coated them with flavour.
The Problem
Unlike the other chips, they are kettle cooked so they are extra crispy and I love how tiny they were. These are all good things but there is one big problem that ended up making these my least favourite of all the contenders.
They tasted like fish! Yup, there was an off-putting flavour that just ruined everything. I did not mention it to Reg when he did his taste test and after eating one he said, “Is there fish in these?”
I personally have never made tzatziki with anchovy paste and now I know I never will. I have no idea what happened to make them taste so “wrong” but it is such a shame.
Foodie Conclusion
I am so sorry Denise Vella (Cambridge, ON). They took the flavour you love and screwed up somehow.
“I fell in love with Greek food and flavour twice. First while backpacking through Europe after University and then again when I lived on the Danforth in Toronto. The flavours in Tzatziki take me back 20 years… Yummy!”
We usually do a taste-testing challenge of the 4 new flavours at work — perhaps next week? I’ll let you know which ones I like best. I can already tell you I won’t like these — not a fishy taste fan.
Oh I hope you do do the challenge Debra! Yes, would love to hear your opinion on them. Somebody told me her tzatziki chips were totally tasteless so maybe there is a production issue?
This contest bugs me… I like the concept but the actual chips NEVER taste like the flavours that they should. All of the last batch of flavours (from last year) tasted overly chemically and I had to throw two flavours out (whole bags!) after just one bite. Tzatziki should never ever have anything fishy about it. I googled recipes and couldn’t find a single one that called for anchovies. If Lays is going to go through all the trouble of making unique flavours they should at least get those flavours right.
Sorry for the rant. I’m a lover of potato chips and have been incredibly disappointed by Lay’s. That and they now seem to put onions and garlic into 99% of all of their flavours so I can’t eat them anyway anymore. Sigh.
Michelle, they did try their best with natural ingredients in this one, as I mentioned (I am sure there are artificial flavours too of course). I guess I never expect chips to taste natural unless they are unflavoured, LOL. Oh I’m sure there never has been a tzatziki with anchovies! Which is why it is so weird. I’m so sorry you have been so disappointed, that is a bummer and yes, garlic and onions are in just about everything. Foodie hug!