la.foodblogging

I was offered these tastly little delights at my good friends John and Marianne’s place recently and I just couldn’t get enough of them! Light and crispy, with just the right amount of salt, these slender snacks have a distinctly nutty (legume-y) flavour and are irresistible. There’s a slight greasiness to them, too, but that’s fine. It just makes them even more appealing.

Over all, I am impressed by this snack’s magnificent pea-ness.

I hunted down a couple of bags of Snapea Crisps at my local Trader Joe’s store. They say there’s 3.3 servings per bag, but it’s really more like two at the most. I can certainly see myself devouring a whole 3.3 oz bag in one sitting if I’m not too careful. Actually, consuming a whole packet would give me the same fibre that a single slice of wholewheat bread offers (which is typically only 2 grams).

Snapea Crisps are affordably priced at $1.39.

Here’s the thing — everyone seems to think they’re just dried pea pods that have been magically rendered utterly delicious. I am convinced they are pureed peas mixed with rice, then shaped and baked.

How else would they all be uniform in size?

Has anyone else tried these crunchy morsels? What’s your take on how they’re made?

POST SCRIPTUM

Okay, so I went to their website for some answers (what a concept!)

Here’s what they say about how their product came about:

“…the SnackSalad brand was born in California, U.S.A. In the latter part of the 1990s, the company was started by two Americans and a Japanese who met by chance. When we look back at this encounter, we can see that this was also a meeting between the abundant agricultural products and fundamental techniques of the United States and the ingredient culture and application techniques of Japan.â€?

Also, in California you purportedly can find them at –
Albertson’s; Andronico’s; Bristol Farms; Cost Plus; Gelson’s; Ralph’s; Safeway; Scolaris; Trader Joe’s; Von’s / Pavilions; Whole Foods and Wild Oats stores.

I still reckon they’re fried, not baked, though they’re probably doused in plenty of oil and run through a hot conveyor belt until they puff up.

By MaxMillion (see more of her posts). Max Million is the nom de 'net of Pauline Adamek. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pauline has lived in Los Angeles for the past thirteen years and finds it agrees with her. She has been reviewing films and filing celebrity-based interview articles since 1991, and has filed stories from various international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She completed a family cookbook and has also written novels for 8-12 year olds. She is the creator and host of ArtsBeatLA.