A few weeks ago…

we found ourselves at some friends’ house for a small gathering. Surveying the snacks, we spotted a bowl overflowing with small bags of chips.

“Ahhh, some chips would go well with our libations!”

We scrutinized the bags like snack sommeliers: potato chips of several varieties, pretzels, Fritos, even some popcorn—basically, the Mount Rushmore of American munchies.

BUT WAIT—what’s this lurking among the red, white, and blue snacks? Something… different.

Hmmmmmmmm, the only crisps we knew of were British, and even then, we weren’t entirely sure what a “crisp” actually was. We certainly had no idea what an “aspic” flavor could be in a crisp.

Being of a curious nature, we decided to look on the back of the bag for more information.

The bar code alone deserves a slow clap—stylized as a wheat field, because why should UPCs be boring?

But hang on a minute,

the descriptions and ingredients might be a bit of a challenge.

We may have been consuming adult beverages, but we determined categorically that it is definitely NOT English.

As we occasionally are want to say,

“I don’t think they’re from around these parts!”

In fact, upon closer inspection, there were several languages—and only a microscopic scrap of text that could pass as English (if you squinted).

Our hosts were unable to shed any light on their origin, other than to say they didn’t come out of the same box as the other chips. ‘Best guess was they may have been picked up at another party or maybe a VRBO that had been visited.

Truly, a mystery!

Naturally, the bag came home with us for further scientific inquiry. Our elite research team (read: us, opening ChatGPT) sprang into action!

We discovered

Flint Crisps – Aspic with Horseradish are a popular Ukrainian wheat-and-rye bread snack (similar to crunchy rye croutons or rusks), not potato chips. They’re seasoned to imitate the flavor of aspic (also called meat jelly or jellied meat) with horseradish.

Here’s what they taste like:

Rich, savory, and meaty (like beef broth or roast meat)
Peppery with a noticeable horseradish kick
Slightly garlicky and onion-like
Salty and very crunchy
More of a deli or roast-beef flavor than a spicy snack

If you’ve never had aspic, imagine a combination of:

Beef bouillon
Horseradish sauce
Garlic
Black pepper
Toasted rye bread

They’re a common snack in Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe and are often eaten with beer.

Mystery solved… well, most of it solved anyway.

Wow… Ukrainian… these crisps are seriously far from home! Our scientific sampling confirmed the flavor is unlike anything you’d find in your average potato chip aisle—definitely not crafted with the American palate in mind.

“So, where can they be bought?” you ask.

The best our crack investigative team could come up with was eBay. They are not available anywhere local to Tampa, FL, even in Russian/Ukrainian grocery stores around the Tampa Bay area.

The mystery of the origin of our little bag of chips continues to this day.

And, to close, a design/ marketing question:

Inquiring minds want to know: Why is the front of the bag in English, while the back features a different language– the language of its origin? If Flint Crisps are a regional Ukrainian favorite, why is the major advertising of the bag, the part that everyone would see on a display shelf, in far-far away English?

Editor’s Note

We considered mentioning that our consumption of Flint Crisps supports the courageous Ukrainian people in their struggle against Russian aggression. However, we felt this might be perceived as overly dramatic.

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Thanks for visiting!

August 7, 2026

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