Home > Categories > Food > Snack Foods > Proper Free Range Sage and Onion Crisps review
We've thought outside the box with a stuffing-inspired crisp packed full of our not-so-secret natural herbs and spices. Enjoy the subtle notes of sage, onion & sprinkle of maple sugar, while nutritional yeast gives the crisps an umami note!
Why Free Range, you ask? Well, we're just having a bit of fun playing on the stuffing-inspired flavour! But rest assured our potatoes are Free Range too, and are free to roam in the paddock!
Available in 35g Compostable Bag or 150g Non-Compostable bag
• 100% Natural Ingredients
• GMO-Free Corn
• New Zealand Potatoes
• NZ Grown High-Oleic Sunflower Oil
• Suitable for Vegans
• Gluten-Free
• No Added MSG
Product reviews...
Proper crisps are a well-known chip product in our house that If I was to check the pantry I could almost guarantee that there would be at least one packet in there that is unless the kids have already dealt with them. These Sage and Onion crisps are a stuffing inspired chip coated in natural herbs and spices and they are Gluten-Free, Vegan friendly, Made from 100% natural ingredients and contain no added MSG.
The packaging is a 35g Compostable bag which is excellent for the environment and will please the turtles.
I opened up the bag and an aroma of herbs and spices wafted out which surprised me with how potent they smelt. I took out one of the crisps and ate it and the flavor matched the smell with a bold sage and onion taste that lingered on so you could savor the taste. The crisps are very thin but still pack a great crunch to them when bitten and they are light and fluffy at the same time. They don't seem to carry the same oil content which I have come to see in some of the other branded lighter chips which is great as that puts me off of them fairly fast as they are too oily which can taint the flavor.
At $3 a 150g bag of crisps, they are on the higher price side of what is mainly offered at supermarkets but they are very much worth it and easily show they are of a higher quality so value for money I find them great for that price. If you are a Potato chip fan them there is no reason why you shouldn't give these a shot if you haven't already. As I mentioned before we seem to always have Proper crisps at home because everyone here loves them and they cater for everyone in my household.
Since I first encountered Proper Crisps at a food show, I have been hooked. I have tried every flavour and while not all of them were 'my kinda thing' none of them were 'yuk' at all. So it was with some curiosity but no hesitation I finally gave in to the urge to give these a try.
With a 3.5-star Healthy rating, they are a good snack to have on hand, and the flavour was really quite surprising in the best way possible. From the first crunch, I could get the sage flavour and then the onion came through on the after-taste - exactly the right amount of flavour delivered in the right order for maximum #nom. However, a 35g bag simply isn't enough, despite being classed as "1 serving".
It took a lot of self-control for me to refrain from gobbling down the whole pack in one brief sitting, however I really wanted to try something I remembered from my childhood - a crisp butty. Two slices of wholegrain bread, some real butter (not margarine), a thin spread of marmite, and a generous layer of chips. Mashed down flat, and take a bite... pure bliss! Alas, not enough in the bag for a second sandwich, but that wasn't a problem - I plan to buy more at the supermarket when I next visit.
Overall, these are a sure-to-buy-again, but I might just buy them directly from Proper's online store, as I can get a box of 36 packs for $90 - that works out to $2.50 each - a saving of $18. Still more expensive than your regular chips at the supermarket, but top quality demands a top price, and these are worth every cent.
The bag was the first thing I really noticed about this product. Given it was clearly marked "compostable" I was expecting it to be quite flimsy and easier to get into. It was actually quite robust and a bit harder to open than I was used to for chippies. The bag is well made and protected the chips really well. Given the travel they had, they were pretty big. There was not a lot of little bits at the bottom
The smell was lovely and very onion-like (think of the spring onion chippie scent of your childhood). I was quite excited about the sage and onion flavour as I have always found the strong taste lovely. My husband on the other hand was not a regular consumer of onion flavouring and found this had quite a strong aftertaste for him.
I wasn't entirely sure what the sage was adding but that might be a reflection of my herb knowledge rather than it not being there. I loved the flavour and was sad when they were done - I would totally buy them for the flavour.
The texture was great, good crunch, good solid feel. They didn't disintegrate, they held their shape and didn't shatter when you bite them. Eat them slowly! I tried them without anything else and I would say they were a good chippie for that but if you had a fresh creamy dip it would be fab too. I wondered how they would go with classic onion dip as I think that could be a real hit.
The pricing was not clear and the 35g would not be the size I would normally buy (we only tend to buy family bags for sharing with groups at events/socialising. This is reflected in my ratings which would be different if I saw them on special (good value) and had a family bag to share.
Overall these chips were a bit of a treat for me as they felt quite unhealthy and a bit oily so I would probably not have them too often - I do think a dip would solve that problem. The pricing would probably lead to me buying them as a treat rather than a regular thing too as usual proper crisps pricing is a bit higher. Proper crisps are high quality and this was a good example of their products and I would buy again for an occasion.
Crisps are something I really enjoy and my husband and I like to buy more special ones for us to enjoy without the children around! Whilst these were a small sample type size, for me and hubby these were a good snack. Only definite downside was that it was all over too quick!!
I adore that Proper Crisps are a New Zealand company and source and use ingredients from here as much as possible. What I really love is the compostable bag, however, there is no real time frame as to how long it takes, or how to compost them. Knowing that they can go into the compost bin is fantastic though, and another step in the right direction for our planet.
On to the actual chip and its flavour! I was excited to try these, and the description invoked a good strong and flamboyant flavour with a hint of sweetness. To be honest I really did not taste anything except a chicken type flavour. That is not to say that the flavour is not nice, it really is, but I did not really feel the sage and onion were strong enough. The chips are delicious - light, fluffy, crunchy and crisp. They are not too oily either and have no added flavour enhancers. I did note that they are GF too - which is great, as they do taste good, which some GF things do not!!
I am on the fence as to whether I would buy these again, they are not my favourite Proper Crisps flavour, but for a change, or if someone offered them to me, I would say yes!
I always know I'm in for a treat when I get a bag of proper crisps they are such high quality and always have such great flavours. In fact the whole family love proper crisps so I was very keen to keep this packet hidden so I didn't have to share I definitely feel the 35gram packets are a single person only serving when it comes to proper crisps. I had never tried a sage and onion potato crisp before but was anticipating something similar in taste to a traditional stuffing.
When I opened the package that was exactly the aroma that greeted me. It reminded me of a roast chicken without the actual chicken. The crisps themselves were packed with flavour and we're very moreish I made pretty light work of this packet and could still of eaten more if I had some on hand. For this reason they have already been put on the shopping list as I would love to eat them again. I did allow my husband to have a couple from my packet and he agreed it was a great flavour and different to any potato crisp flavour he'd tried before.
I had never before seen proper crisps in the smaller 35g packets but really liked them I thought they would be a great size for packing in lunchboxes and a lot healthier than other potato crisps on the market. These crisps don't have a lot of extra stuff added like flavour enhancers or preservatives just proper crisps the way they should be. What is even better is that even the packaging is better for you as it can be composted how awesome is that.
I love Proper crisps and the whole family shares my sentiments. There were a few sad faces when they saw the 35g bag as they knew there would be slim pickings. Unfortunately for hubby, he went out for the night, so I decided it was the perfect time to sample them. The Sage & Onion crisps come in a compostable bag which is a great way of helping the environment. Proper hand-cooked crisps are hand-cooked in small batches and my batch was made by Bishnu, a nice personal touch in my opinion. The ingredients list doesn't contain anything that I wouldn't find in my pantry, no E numbers or preservatives.
Upon opening the crisps, my 2 daughters, who had been watching a movie in another room, suddenly appeared like vultures and I had to share the pack with them. I did notice that the crisps weren't particularly large and did wonder if there would be larger crisps in the bigger packets. I didn't mind though as it meant there were more crisps to go around. The sage and onion flavour was divine and got the family thumbs up. The combination of maple sugar, yeast extracts, onion, raw sugar, pepper, and sage and been mixed to perfection and wasn't too sweet. The smell and taste reminded me of home-cooked roast chicken dinners and I'm guessing that's why there is a play on the words "free range crisps" on the front of the packet.
Needless to say, hubby was gutted when he came home and realised we'd eaten the packet without him, but our girls did proceed to tell him how lovely there were! Because they were so delicious, we will be buying more, although realistically, in a much bigger bag and with a 3.5-star health rating, I'm hoping this means that they are healthy for you!
Sharing a 35g bag between four people wasn't an easy task, but given that I had three children who were all very keen to try out something new, we all got a small amount to try. I have to say that while I love the thick feel of these compostable bags, they aren't always the easiest to open without requiring the use of scissors. Opening it up, they each passed the bag around so we could give it the good old sniff test, three kids approved of the aroma that came out of the bag, whilst I wasn't won over, however, we all know that smell is just a part of the food journey.
Proper Crisps always manages to provide a real lovely crunch to their chips and this time was no different. We all tried a couple of chips and savored the taste and crunch. While I thought that the flavour was ok, I wouldn't really want more than a couple, so if there were other choices on the table, this wouldn't be my go to flavour. The three kids, however, all thoroughly enjoyed the chips and split the remainder between themselves, all most dissapointed that it was only a small bag and all three in firm agreement that we should buy a big bag next time we go shopping.
What I love the most with these Sage and Onion Chips was each chip I had, regardless of the size or the shape, was full of flavour so my taste buds never missed out on this yummy delectable snack. Taking my first bite I was automatically reminded of Roast Chicken stuffing and my mind was exploding with happiness. This exceeded my expectations in every way.
Not only is eating this packet great for the planet, as the bag itself is compostable - but I am also supporting a New Zealand made product which is great for the economy, so even though the packet itself only gets a 3.5 heath star rating I feel the good definitely is outweighing the bad and even though my hips probably will not be thanking me I know my lips definitely are.
Since receiving my bag of goodies everyone in the family have had their eyes set firmly on this packet of chips. I have had to wait for the perfect time to open it so as not having to share with anyone, made almost impossible with school holidays. I finally seized the opportunity when my husband was at work and both girls were having to clean their rooms. I am surprised I managed to open it without being sprung as no matter how quiet I am the packet does make rather a lot of noise. In all honestly I did plan to only take a couple and leave the rest for my husband to try but they are too good to just have one and before I know it a couple led to a handful and then a few more handfuls and the packet was gone. Also, they definitely do live up to their reputation of crisp-ness as I found each mouthful had me crunching down on them.
Would I recommend these - absolutely. Will I be buying them again - yes, especially if I can find them in a bigger bag. Will I be sharing them in the future absolutely not. An absolute yummy winner in my eyes.
Our whole family enjoys the Proper crisps range. They are always fresh and tasty, and offer lots of extra bonuses like home compostable bags (for selected varieties) and natural ingredients. Because this was a single-serve bag, my partner and I decided to share it rather than offering it round. I made up a supper tray with two dips (hummus with mashed avocado; and cream cheese with black pepper) and added a few slices of plain avocado. Because we wanted the flavour of the crisps to come through, I deliberately kept the other items as plain as possible,
The crisps met our expectations for freshness and crunch; they are a light crisp without the heavier texture of some other Proper varieties, and they looked good on the plate. However, there was one thing that we had not expected. There was very little flavour - in fact, they tasted more like a plain, lightly salted crisp. We both started off with a crisp on its own, then commented on this at the same time, surprised that they did not pack more punch. Even the smell we got when we had first opened the bag was that of a solid but plain crisp; there was none of the sage effect we had expected, given that they are stuffing inspired. This is easily remedied, of course; increasing the proportion of sage (and possibly the onion as well) would probably be enough, and it would make the difference.
Having noted this, we tried the crisps with the two dips in turn and then with a little avocado. The best effect was when they were combined with an avocado slice; this time there was a hint of sage, although still not enough to be identifiable had we not known what the ingredients were. All the same, the combination was very pleasant and we enjoyed the rest of our dish.
It is hard to be negative about these crisps however, because apart from the lack of flavour they offered the same delicious treat that this brand has always delivered. We are both conscious of unnecessary food additives and try to buy natural whenever possible. Proper invariably ticks all the boxes in this area; although crisps are an occasional treat for us, I never feel that we are eating junk food when the Proper label is attached. In fact, I consciously seek them out when I am buying because I have the assurance that I am getting a quality product. The Best Before date is always well into the future so products can be stored for several months.
When I see the Sage and Onion variety on sale at my local supermarket, I will buy another couple of packs and ask some of our junior family members to try it too. I will be interested to get the children's feedback as young people often have more sensitive taste buds. And I would like to try them again myself!
Random listing from 'Food'...
We all love a good toasted sandwich. But sometimes we can't be bothered making them. Now Watties has solved that problem with their new range of pre-prepared Toasties. These are a true heat and eat snack. Simply take one out of the freezer, drop it in the toaster and you're away laughing. Toasties come in a range of flavours including Baked Beans; Ham, Cheese & Onion; Cheese & Onion; Corn & Cheese; and Cheese Lovers.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Computer games don't affect kids. I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."
Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989