Long awaited development gives British and Irish olim something to smile about as mask restrictions ease
In a development that has sent English-speakers in Jerusalem and elsewhere into furious excitement, popular consumer food group Elit (עלית) has launched a brand of salt and vinegar crisps (American English: ‘chips’).
This is believed to be the first budget-friendly supermarket salt and vinegar crisps that have launched on the Israeli market. Their absence has been a longstanding bone of contention among Israel-based expats who often pine for products from their origin countries.
News began circulating on English-speaking Facebook groups several days ago that the crisps were sprouting up in stockists throughout the city.
One Secret Jerusalem commenter, Nati Israel, provided a link to Strauss Group’s online lookup tool. By entering the barcode number 7290115676990 users can call up a map displaying current official stockists in the Jerusalem area — although I tracked down the product in a supermarket that wasn’t on the official list.
At the time of writing I was able to track down 41 stockists throughout the city:
As news of the product’s arrival spread among English-speakers, some posters expressed bemusement about what all the fuss was about. Those from countries with strong salt-and-vinegar crisp-eating traditions, however, appeared to harbor little doubts about the significance of the development.
How are the crisps?
Some commenters said that they compared favorably with Tayto’s salt and vinegar crisps — a popular brand in Ireland. Others, however, expressed disdain for the new fixture on the culinary scene. One disgruntled poster likened salt and vinegar crisps to “eating salad dressing.”
Israel-based English-speaking expats post their first moments enjoying salt and vinegar crisps
Gabrielle Markowitz from Jerusalem shares: “photo below shows my treasure being delivered from Beit Shemesh by a friend. Heaven! I’ve waited 29 years for this.” Gabrielle subsequently decided to invest in 20 packets from Rami Levi, Talpiot. She says that she paid 3.50 NIS each.
Where did you enjoy your first packet of salt and vinegar crisps? Where did you find them? How much did you pay? Sent your photos to: [email protected].
Daniel Rosehill is an oleh hadash who moved to Jerusalem from Ireland six years ago. Daniel founded AfterAliyah to host information useful to the post-aliyah community. To contact Daniel,click here.
Article ID: 905
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Daniel Rosehill is an oleh hadash who moved to Jerusalem from Ireland six years ago. Daniel founded AfterAliyah to host information useful to the post-aliyah community. To contact Daniel,click here.
