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Veggie straws are pretty popular food items, now. They're non-GMO, no trans-fat, and a whole bunch of other good stuffs. They're also certified kosher by the OU.

What bracha should one snacking on these straws make? They're made of vegetable matter, but they're shaped funny.

Bag of Sensible Portions brand Garden Veggie Straws

The ingredients list reads:

Veggie straws (potato flour, potato starch, corn starch, tomato paste, spinach powder, salt, sugar ....) canola oil .....

(I can add more ingredients if necessary, but it's too annoying to type from the small print on the package. Please leave a comment if more information is necessary.)

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    how are they different from Pringles which are made from Potato Flour? ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/64/Q1
    – rosends
    Jan 14, 2015 at 17:40
  • @Danno I don't know how they're made. Why not post an answer and see what everyone else thinks of it?
    – MTL
    Jan 14, 2015 at 17:41
  • To be fair, I sent an email to the OU, and I'm waiting to hear what they have to say; they, if anyone, will know how they're made.
    – MTL
    Jan 14, 2015 at 17:41
  • I think it would be a good idea if kosher products mentioned the bracha on them. For those as the veggies have changed state a lot I would guess shehakol, although you might say it's a "normal" way of eating those veggies nowadays and if someone did say "ha-adama" it would probably also be ok b'di eved.
    – CashCow
    Jan 14, 2015 at 17:54
  • @CashCow I agree, that's a great idea. Some of the Jewish brands of cereal do this already, but that's from the manufacturer, not the kashrus-certifier.
    – MTL
    Jan 14, 2015 at 17:57

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Where the product is made directly from the whole vegetable as with Kellogg's corn flakes the brocho is Hoadomoh. Where the vegetable has been mashed and reconsituted the brocho is shehakol. (see p 31 of the Handbook for the Halochos of Brochos).

You can see this from the different brocho for Kellogg's and Kemach corn flakes at Star-K online and the brocho on Pringles crisps.

Veggie straws are made from vegetable flours (and there is none of the five species of grain) so the brocho should be shehakol.

And see Hakhel Email Community Awareness Bulletin which says:

A product sold with the OU, under the trade name ‘Sensible Portions’, produces ‘Garden Veggie Chips’ and ‘Garden Veggie Straws’, which are intended to compete with potato chips products. We contacted the OU as to the appropriate bracha on these Veggie products. The OU responded that the appropriate bracha is a Shehakol.

The OU responded to the OP by email, essentially agreeing with the reasoning above, regarding the comparison to Pringles:

It would be the same as the bracha on Pringles. Some say Shehakol and some say Ha’odama. We suggest that you discuss this matter with your personal orthodox rabbi.

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  • (I found the material from Hakhel after I had composed the first part of the answer.)
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Jan 14, 2015 at 18:30

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