Q: What exactly is LesserEvil Kettle Corn?
A: If you don’t know what kettle corn is, there is still a good chance you’ve had the pleasure of smelling the sweet aroma at a county fair. The signature taste of kettle corn is quite simply the taste of popcorn with a subtle saltiness AND sweetness. One thing to note is the different varieties of kettle corns out there. Before we decided on our super-secret recipes, we tried all different kinds of kettle corn from all over the country. We quickly found that the kettle corns out there are all unique in their own respect. Try some from a county fair in Northern California one weekend and then a local brand from the Midwest the next and you wouldn't believe the distinctiveness to each recipe. This variety is one of the reasons why we were inspired to create a bunch of different flavors. We absolutely love the fact that there are many different ways to kettle popcorn -- after all, isn't variety the spice of life?

Q: What the heck is a Krinkle Stick?
The unstoppable crunch of your favorite potato chip in the shape of those wonderfully greasy krinkle-cut French fries---but without the all that grease! Instead of frying them, we bake our Krinkle Sticks in sunflower oil, making them 75% less fat than potato chips!

Q: What makes LesserEvil Kettle Corn a lesser evil?
A: Naturally wholegrain and gluten free, our gourmet popcorn is air-popped and cooked in a huge copper kettle with only the best all natural ingredients. Keeping things simple, we sweeten with real evaporated cane juice, and work with genuine ingredients like ground cinnamon, natural peanut butter, chocolate liquor, and real maple syrup (and sometimes just a hint of clarified butter). Just as important as what’s put in, is what’s left out… no trans-fatty acids, no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial colors or flavors. Finally, to make sure you can enjoy guilt-free, we make sure all of our flavors are kept low fat and with a very reasonable calorie count (only 120 grams per serving!).

Q: What makes LesserEvil Krinkle Sticks a lesser evil?
A: We know just how hard it can be to break a potato chip addiction—believe us (we’re snackers too). So we were very careful in creating that same satisfying potato crunch without all the remorse that usually tags along for the ride. Instead of giving it a nasty dip in a greasy fryer, we found that baking our potato sticks in sunflower oil offered that same great crispy goodness with 75% less fat! And of course as a member of the LesserEvil family, our Krinkle Sticks are also free of trans-fatty acids, cholesterol, saturated fat, artificial flavors, preservatives, gluten, and guilt!

Q: How many different flavors of LesserEvil Kettle Corn are there?
A: This is a moving target, because we keep getting great ideas from different folks and we continue to concoct some great seasonal recipes. Currently we have five delicious mainstay flavors: Classic KettleCorn (slightly sweet, slightly salty), Black&White (a mix of our classic kettle corn with our cocoa kettle corn), SinNamon (cinnamon kettle corn? Oh yeah! It’s really good), PeanutButter & Choco (natural peanut butter & cocoa…need we say more?), and MaplePecan (maple syrup and pecans… a backwoods snack for the whole pack!).
For the holiday season, we go a little crazy and cook up some unique flavors and styles that bring out the best of the season: we even design the packaging in case you don’t have the time to wrap it! Cocoa Coal – chunks of dark cocoa-covered kettle corn – is our stocking stuffer, perfect for the Naughty & Nice, our Holiday Kettle Corn Collection – or “The Big Box” – is the alternative to those popcorn tins full of snackcidents, and it’s ripe for entertaining the holiday party with its three 10oz bags of seasonal kettle corns: PepperMint, GingerBread and Cocoa Coal.

Q: How many different flavors of Krinkle Sticks are there?
A: As of now, we’ve got the grease-less French-fry taste of our ClassicSeaSalt, a super-bowl-ready SourCream & Onion, a sweet mesquite delight called Old School Bar-B-Que, and a hot-peppered Cajun KaBOOM! While they share that same great potato chip crunch, the flavors are so different that you’ve just got to try them all, and the best way to do that? Pick up one of our 4-packs! What’s your favorite one? Or two? Or three? Or four!?! We want to know! Got an idea for a new flavor? We want to hear it! Exclamation point!

Q: Are LesserEvil Kettle Corns kosher?
A: Not yet. But we’re working on it, and hopefully we’ll be updating this very soon…

Q: Are LesserEvil Krinkle Sticks kosher?
A: You betcha yarmakule! Our Classic SeaSalt, Old School Bar-B-Que, and Cajun KaBOOM! are all OU certified, and our SourCream & Onion is OU-D certified.

Q: Is there any dairy in LesserEvil Kettle Corn?
A: The Original KettleCorn, Black&White, MaplePecan, and SinNamon do contain some clarified (the most pure) butter, but our PeanutButter&Choco is completely free of any dairy products.

Q: Is there any dairy in LesserEvil Krinkle Sticks?
A: While SourCream & Onion does contain dairy, our other Krinkle Sticks (Classic SeaSalt, Old School Bar-B-Que, and Cajun KaBOOM!) are completely dairy-free.

Q: How many calories are in a single serving of Kettle Corn? Krinkle Sticks? And what constitutes a “single serving” anyway?
A: Our Kettle Corns have 120 calories in a 30 gram serving, and our Krinkle Sticks have 110 in a 28 gram serving. This serving size translates into about 1 cup: about 3 big-ol’ fistfuls of our Kettle Corns, and about the size of a potato in our Krinkle Sticks. We had our most recent E.S.T.s (Emergency Snacking Technicians) sit down with a measuring cup and an abacus, and a whole lotta snacks, and their estimates were between 55 and 65 for Kettle Corn kernels, and 38-42 for Krinkle Sticks. Either way, you’re getting a whole heap of guilt-free goodness.

Q: Where did Foosball originate?
A: There is a highly charged debate on the creation of the original foosball table, some believing it was first crafted in France by a guy named Lucien Rosengart, who lived from 1880 to 1976 and called the game "babyfoot." The other side of the debate is that it was created in Germany in the 20’s & 30’s explaining how we got to the name “foosball” (The German word for field soccer is "football" spelled FuBball. The funny-looking "B" is pronounced like two S's). Those of us at LesserEvil have not taken an official side in this debate, but we do love talking trash to each other when we play on our table.

Q: How are LesserEvil Snacks made?
A: We’ve got our super secret recipes locked up in a high-security underground vault with one of those 3/8" thick, triple reinforced plate steel doors, retinal scans, heat-sensitive rooms, spiked booby-traps…the whole works! Actually, while our exact recipe is classified, our process is almost as simple as our ingredients; we air-pop premium grade corn, heat up natural sugar and a touch of butter, drop the popped corn in and mix vigorously. Then we heat up these mammoth copper kettles and add our gourmet ingredients and this huge stirring thing mixes them all up while they are cooking. Finally, everything is cooled down a bit and sealed up in our freshness bags. This is exactly how we did it in our own kitchen the first time we made it, just now it’s in a "kitchen" designed for a 40-foot chef.
(OK, so we don’t keep our recipes behind a 3/8" thick, triple reinforced plate steel door, but we are secretive).

Q: What is the shelf life of LesserEvil snacks?
A: A lot shorter than a Twinkie. We use quality ingredients you can actually spell and unlike many snack products, LesserEvil snacks have NO preservatives. From when our Kettle Corns and Krinkle Sticks come off the production line (and directly into our metallicized freshness bags), we print an official “best before date” right on the front of the bag, one year from its creation—but c’mon, who can keep a box of our delicious snacks unopened for that long??

Q: What are trans-fatty acids anyway?
A: Trans fatty acids are found in many foods - especially in commercially packaged goods such as cookies and crackers, commercially fried food such as French fries from some fast food chains, other packaged snacks such as micro-waved popcorn as well as in vegetable shortening and some margarine. Indeed, any packaged goods that contain "partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils" or "shortening" most likely contain trans fats. Trans-fatty acids increase LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) and lower HDL cholesterol (the Good cholesterol) therefore increasing the risk of heart disease. Some studies also showed that a diet high in trans-fatty acids might be linked to a greater risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

Q: What is Gluten, and why are your products Gluten-free?
A: Gliadin and glutenin together form what’s known as Gluten, which is often used to leaven baked goods and give some snacks their chewy texture. While there is nothing specifically “evil” about Gluten itself, for many Americans (as much as 1%!), it can spell trouble. Growing epidemics like Celiac disease affect more Americans every year, and for those who can’t safely consume Gluten, our snacks are a savory savior. BOOYAH.

Q: Why do some people prefer Evaporated Cane Juice over the “High Fructose Corn Syrup” that’s in so many other things we consume?
A: Maybe for that very reason! Soft drinks, cereal, candy, cookies, ice creams, jams/jellys, syrups/sauces, etc., combined with the growing idea that too much of any one thing may not be good for you? Others avoid HFCS for other reasons, the mono/di-saccaride factor, the “natural” factor, political reasons, etc.. We avoid it because we want our products to be as natural and simple as possible. KISS: Keep it Sweet, Salty.

Q: Are there nuts in any LesserEvil snacks?
A: Yes, LesserEvil PeanutButter & Choco and MaplePecan do contain nuts and while we clean the kettles after each of the recipes we cook up, there is a possibility some nuts escape and find their way into another flavor. It's very unusual and if we catch them, our quality control crew eats them before they leave the plant.

Q: Where can I find LesserEvil snacks?
A: You mean they aren’t in your pantry already?!? Quick, get yourself to your local natural/gourmet grocery store! We can also be found in some larger conventional grocery stores (usually in the natural aisle). If you can't track us down then try asking the store manager to order some for you. Oh, and of course you can also order it directly through our online shop... We’re currently working on a LesserEvil locator to help out, but until then feel free to hit us up directly at talk2us@lesserevil.com.

Q: How can I sell or distribute LesserEvil snacks?
A: We are always looking for companies to sell or distribute our tasty products. If you are interested in selling LesserEvil snacks, complete the form on the Talk section and a LesserEvil Snack representative will contact you shortly.

Q: When will LesserEvil snacks be in my store?
A: Our goal is to make LesserEvil snacks available to everyone. We hope to have our snacks in specialty shops in major U.S. cities (which we’re doing – see above!) and soon after even in the smallest towns (e-mail us if you have a question about availability). Of course, our online shop is open for business 24/7, 365 days a year….

Q: Where is LesserEvil located?
A: LesserEvil is headquartered in the Village of Tuckahoe, New York. Before we moved into our office, it was a fully functional indoor playground. The disco ball in the conference room is just one piece of evidence of our predecessors. Come by for a visit and we’ll show you a bunch more (and maybe even bust a move!).

Q: Who owns LesserEvil?
A: LesserEvil is a small business owned by just a few entrepreneurs who are passionate about great snacks.

Q: What is a Snackcident?
A: You’re on your way to the dry cleaners and an ice cream truck playing that mesmerizing song lures you in for a triple-decker cone. SNACKCIDENT! You’re in the office at 3pm and the four jelly donuts left over from the morning meeting find their way onto your desk. Minutes later the only thing left is a slight jelly smear on your status report. SNACKCIDENT! You pack a nice little baggie of carrots to hold you over on your road trip and at mile 134 the carrots are flying down route 60, replaced by a super-sized candy bar and a foot long beef stick. SNACKCIDENT! Simply put, Snackcidents are snacking occasions gone bad -- high fat, tons of preservatives, healthy but awful tasting. These all qualify. Part of LesserEvil’s mission is to prevent Snackcidents from happening by sending out our Snackcident Prevention Team to patrol cities across the nation. It’s a tall order, but we’re committed to doing our best. Grab a box or bag today to avoid a Snackcident tomorrow.

Q: How do I get help for my Snackcident Problem?
A: Well, if things get bad enough, there’s always the Snackcident Prevention Hotline…give a Dan ring at 866.874.4715.

Q: What are the best times to snack on LesserEvil?
A: If you were to ask our West Coast EST Andrea, she’d say while watching "The Crimson Tide", but the truth of the matter is there are a ton of great LesserEvil occasions -- watching movies, during that "I'm a zombie" late afternoon at work period, when you're fending off a Snackcident, as a perfect side with a sandwich, while hand gliding over Mount Rushmore… oh the possibilities! Stop it now! LesserEvil Time!

Q: Krinkle Sticks look like french fries…can I dip them in things?
A: Krinkle Sticks currently come in four distinctly delicious flavors: SeaSalt, SourCream & Onion, Old School Bar-B-Que, and Cajun KaBOOM!, and are as delicious as any potato chip all on their own. That said, what could be more American than taking something delicious and dipping it in ketchup (HungryGirl is a big fan of this idea)? Or you could go all European on it with some mayo. Hey, if you wanted to lose the “Lesser” part of our name altogether, some ChiliCheese Krinkle Sticks could probably be a full-out meal…

Q: What is LesserEvil's biggest challenge?
A: Keeping plants alive in their office.