Why Lay's Chips Taste Better In Europe

Lay's chips are well known around most of the world and are produced by PepsiCo, which was created in 1965 when Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola merged (via PepsiCo). PepsiCo is one of the biggest companies in the world and has over 500 brands in its arsenal; in the United States, you may be familiar with Doritos, Sun Chips, Cheetos, Fritos, and Lay's, of course. PepsiCo supplies these brands to most of the world, but some countries have their own brand.

For instance, Latin America has its own local brands subsidized by this company, such as Gamesa, Mafer, and Kero Coco. Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia have Chipsy, Simba, and Kurkure, while Europe has Walkers, PepsiCo writes. When munching on a bag of classic Lay's chips, do you ever wonder what they taste like in other countries? If you're from the United States, you may be surprised to find that they taste better in Europe.

Lay's chips in Europe contain fewer processed ingredients

For example, Lay's chips from France contain potatoes, olive oil, and salt. In contrast, Lay's chips from the United States contain potatoes, vegetable oil (canola, corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oil), and salt (via Lay's). It's interesting to note that on its United States label, Lay's says the vegetable oil can be made up of various other oils, so the exact oil you're eating in one bag could be different from the next. Time received some insight on all the cooking oil types from the author of The Big Book of Healthy Cooking Oils, Lisa Howard, and registered dietitian Liz Weinandy.

"Vegetable oil is guaranteed to be highly processed. It's called 'vegetable' so that the manufacturers can substitute whatever commodity oil they want — soy, corn, cottonseed, canola — without having to print a new label. Processed oils have been pushed past their heat tolerance and have become rancid in the processing," Howard says. Weinandy highly recommends using olive oil whenever possible because of the lack of nutritional value in vegetable oils. Olive oil, especially extra virgin, is minimally processed and better for you, explains Time.