It’s crunch time! Salt and vinegar crisps come to Israel

There were sighs of rapture from British immigrants to Israel this week as a local version of Walker’s salt and vinegar crisps went on sale. One woman even posted on Facebook: “Moshiach [Messiah] has come!”

Lay’s-Pepsico, which makes Walker’s in the UK, has licensed Tapuchips, a subsidiary of Israel’s Strauss food company, to produce the snack in Israel. Anton Delin, administrator of the “Brits Living In Israel” Facebook group, said members of his nearly 8,000-strong group had been beseeching Strauss for months, trying to persuade the company to produce salt and vinegar and cheese and onion crisps as a way of introducing new flavours to the Israel market.

“We heard nothing”, he said, “but suddenly, on Monday, these crisps hit the shelves — and ecstasy ensued.” The crisps, priced at “a very reasonable 80p to £1.50 a bag”, were “flying off the shelves”, according to Mr Delin, and were available all over the country.

Mr Delin, who lives in Caesarea, northern Israel, said the taste was “very close” to the Walker’s original. “Not only are they tasty, but they are kosher, too,” he added.