Crunch Time: Tasting LAY'S

We walk past the array of Lay’s chips on the shelves of Karangahape Rd’s Lim Chhour Supermarket every day. The line-up seems to constantly change, its shiny, colourful packets emblazoned with delicious-looking hot dishes that serve as the inspiration for the unique (and sometimes amazingly specific) flavours like Roasted Garlic Oyster and Numb and Spicy Hot Pot.

This sort of generational flavour innovation is the work of food scientists and advancement in this field — a complex matter of lab chemistry which figures out the aroma, bitterness, saltiness and texture of a certain taste. The flavours come from extracts, essential oils, chemicals; some companies (colloquially known as ‘flavour houses’) will also sell their own concoctions of common flavours (think all types of apple, vanilla or strawberry), promising to add a certain profile to the food you’re trying to create or recreate.

To some extent, the technology has been there for a while — the big breakthrough was the invention of the gas chromatograph, post-World War II, which was a tool for figuring out what chemical compounds were present in food items that contributed to their flavour — but our appetite for the new and the weird, alongside an increase in production, means the tech has evolved to meet demand.

In my research into this topic (fascinating), I unearthed the existence of a non-profit organisation called the Society of Flavor Chemists, whose sole purpose is to advance the field of flavour creation and technology. It appears to be a very serious business. Alongside the difficulty of contending with people’s sense memories and nostalgia, using artificial techniques to create something for real humans to enjoy can be tricky. The most extreme method being explored to enhance flavours, gene editing, is particularly ethically fraught. In a world where ‘unnatural’ flavours are sometimes positioned as the enemy (think about the big MSG debate, or how many products you find in the supermarket that declare they’re made with ‘All Natural Flavours’), getting consumers to accept a flavour made in a beaker, rather than extracted, can be a challenge.

I like to imagine that the first thing flavour chemists do when setting out to replicate something for their clients is to eat the ideal version of that thing, whatever it is. If it’s a cucumber, they’ll eat a cucumber. If it’s a Numb and Spicy Hot Pot, then I expect they’ll be sitting down to a Platonic hot pot together: dipping their raw beef slices into the red, cumin-y soup and umm-ing and ahh-ing around the table about what hit their taste buds first. Apparently, that’s not so far from the truth — food scientists have been known to contract chefs to create that first perfect example, so they can work backwards from there. It must be strange to taste something and go, “Ah, the spiciness is reminiscent of [insert chemical compound here].”

Lay’s potato chips come in all shapes and sizes, designed to appeal to the taste buds of consumers in many different markets. The most common ones found in Auckland are imported from China and India, reflecting the tastes of these two influential ethnic groups, so that’s what you’ll find in this taste test. And, finally, the usual disclaimer: our list is not exhaustive. You will be able to find more flavours if you try (and you should try!).