Potato chips or crisps are a pricy delicacy these days. But I’m not complaining – it means my husband brings home less of them and we face fewer conflicts of the “we should be eating healthier” variety (even though I’m often the first to rip the bag open). Since they’re truly a treat now, I’m very picky about the flavours I do agree to chow down on. While my personal favourite remains plain salted, I’ll agree to the occasional adventure. That’s easily done in Latvia as the variety is huge! I recently asked my friends and readers to recommend their preferences. Here’s what came up!
Dill
The taste of the countryside, dill is one of the more adventurous spices in the average Latvian kitchen. Naturally, it makes a wonderful crisp flavour that invites memories of gardening, pickling and other pursuits carried out in the company of your grandparents as they looked after you over the summer holidays.
Mushrooms & cream
The taste of the woods. This flavour is designed to remind the munching gourmet of the thick and creamy wild mushroom sauce we Latvians devour from late summer well into winter, layered over potatoes, buckwheat or these days also pasta or couscous.
Shashlik and toasted onion
The taste of summer. I imagine this is a hit all across the region as it conjures associations with all the greatest outdoor parties of your life. As soon as the sun makes a longer appearance after the doom and gloom of winter, the barbecues are out and the air thick with the scent of chargrilled marinated meat. This is an attempt to capture that smell and flavour.
Long Chips
Contrary to what one might think, Long Chips are not made from square potatoes. They are actually made from dried potato flakes blended into a mash before being flash fried. The result is less oily than the average crisp. Today, these moreish tattie thins come in something like 20 flavours, including wasabi, Thai sweet chilli and bbq! How extravagant!
Hemp Crunch
I’ve gone and lied in the title! Not all eight of the recommended chips are made from potato… These dare-I-say-it innovative snack bites are powered by hemp protein. Don’t be confused by the leaf on the packaging – they’re not intoxicating!
Jersika Chips
Lots of adventurous flavours to try from these local producers but the jellied beef and horseradish seems to be the more “Latvian” of them all. Anyway, you might feel better about munching your way through all the varieties once you know they’ve not been fried in oil.
O’byte
I’ll hype most products made in Madona – I’m biased because that’s where my husband’s from and we spend many of our weekends. But I really do find these rice and lentil snacks very satisfying. Besides, they do feel ever so slightly healthier than their potato counterparts. Of course, the flavours include dill, as well as mushroom!
Chazz
Forgive me for these are Lithuanian, not Latvian-made delights. However, I find them a very fitting addition to our supermarket shelves and this list since we neighbours do share a lot of culinary similarities.
If you enjoyed this post, you might like to continue with Mouthwatering Things to Eat in Riga. And, if you’d like to support the blog, our culinary and otherwise exploratory adventures, you can always leave us a tip! Thanks.
