Lays markets both flavours as having a creamy and savoury taste with a wavy texture. The key ingredient distinctions in sour cream and onion versus regular cream and onion are buttermilk and cheese. While buttermilk is exclusive to the sour cream variant, the regular cream variant has two types of cheese.
The strange thing is that the regular cream version, with added blue and cheddar cheese, is sourer than the sour cream branded flavour, which has buttermilk instead. The imbalance of aromas and relatively mild seasoning threw me off this classic North American crisp brand.
Sour Cream & Onion
Imitation: 1/10. It’s not even sour.
Desirability: 1/10. It’s just a slight more parsley-like American-style crisp.
Crunch: 8/10. It’s pretty crispy for having a conventional shape, almost as crispy as the wavy textured cream and onion flavour. Munch on a folded over crisp for extra pleasure.
Texture: 5/10. It’s fine, not spectacular.
Appearance: 10/10. Looks great for what it’s supposed to be. Parsley specks are dotted over the deep-fried lunar landscape full of bumps and bubbles.
Total: 25/50. Conventional, not groundbreaking.
Cream & Onion
Imitation: 6/10. I’m definitely tasting the sour cream, but I’m straining to find any onion flavour in it. The ingredients on the back say there’s blue cheese and cheddar cheese in addition to sour cream, giving it that creamy off-dairy aroma. However, the parsley shavings have overpowered the onion powder they put on it.
Desirability: 1/10. Lacklustre seasoning, absence of distinct onion flavouring, and imbalanced dairy aromas makes just want to leave it behind.
Crunch: 6/10. If you like your crunches consistently mild with every bite, this is the tip for you. I was disappointed at its lack of crunchiness despite it being a wavy crisp.
Texture: 7/10. Its flavour was disappointing, but the absence of onerous volumes of flavouring powder also makes it a clean crisp to eat. My fingers aren’t covered in more oil than Saudi Arabia, and my mouth isn’t stinging from excessive dryness or uneven edges.
Appearance: 9/10. Looks pretty good. I really like how thin the waves are giving it a refined look as if it was a pinstriped suit. The parsley seasoning on top gives the plain beige crisp interesting specks of green to look at.
Total: 29/50. Unusual, but it won’t be a party favourite.
