Lay’s could have called these potato chips pizza flavored, but instead they called them garden tomato and basil flavored. It must have been the marketing department, not the flavor scientist, that chose garden tomato and basil. The flavor is distinctly pizza. By pizza I mean this chip has a sweet malty/bread note like a pizza crust, a cooked tomato character like pizza sauce, an Italian Seasoning note (more oregano like than basil),and a cheese note. The package of Lay’s garden tomato and basil advertised the link to the soup recipe that inspired Garden Tomato Basil flavored chips: http://www.fritolay.com/recipes/recipe/garden-tomato-and-basil-soup
Comparing the recipes for tomato soup and pizza sauce; there exist similarities:
Tomato Soup: tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper, basil
Pizza Sauce: tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper, basil
The ingredient statement for the chip seasoning has reflective ingredients: tomato powder, garlic powder, spices (including basil), onion powder.
Because real tomatoes are used to flavor this chip, there is some nutrition to this snack. One serving (15 chips) has 10% of DV of Vitamin C and 6% of DV of Vitamin A. That helps me feel a little better about choosing Lay’s Garden Tomato and Basil flavored chips to snack on. With that in mind, I can understand why tomato and basil was chosen as a name for this chip. The name sounds healthy and natural, much like the label. This chip is all natural and free of MSG, trans fat, soy, gluten and pig products. So much different from my first post about microwave pig skins: a nearly exclusive pork product, laden with fat, salt and MSG.