KP Hula Hoops

I tried a selection packet of Hula Hoops.

I hadn't had a Hula Hoop for years so it was interesting to try them again. We used to have them all the time and for some reason it seemed really cool to put a hoop on to the end of each finger and then eat them off my fingers - instead of just eating them out of the packet. Of course that was a long long time ago.

And guess what? They taste just as I remember. And also guess what? Apparently everyone else in the world used to eat Hula Hoops off the ends of their fingers. Well well.

It turns out that although there is nothing at all the matter with Hula Hoops I find I'm not terrifically impressed. Perhaps it's because they seem to be exactly the same as they were back in 1973 which is of course a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... But in 1973 we didn't have such a wealth of crispy snacks to choose from. Or indeed so many fascinating flavours to try.

I read on the website that Hula Hoops currently come in BBQ Beef, Cheese and Onion, Original, Salt and Vinegar, Roast Chicken, Smokey Bacon, Sour Cream and Chive, and Sweet Chili flavours. I haven't actually seen most of these as our local Waitrose has quite a small crispy snack section and tends not to stock the more exciting flavours. This multipack has Cheese and Onion, Original and Salt and Vinegar; the classics.

Hula Hoop Facts: did you know it would take over 250 million Hula Hoops to weigh the same as the Angel of the North! Hula Hoops in a hole world of their own. Not, I have to say, something I had ever considered but you never know what thrilling info will be printed on the back of a crisp packet.

I started with Cheese and Onion. The cheese and onion-ness is quite pleasant. Not too strong, not too oniony, but weirdly you can suck the cheese and onion flavour off and then you just have an original flavour Hula Hoop.

And then I moved on to Original. Quite tasty, a little bit salty, not very exciting but OK. As always, quite a hard crunch. And of course these crunchy potato snacks are little hoops. What else? Not convinced I would want to eat more than a very small bag at one sitting but perfectly good as a crispy crunchy snack.

Finally Salt and Vinegar. Which is a little bit too sharp for my taste. A little bit too vinegary. Not too bad but I far prefer the Original flavour. In fact I'm inclined to think that Original is best.

I can see why they still sell of course. These small multi pack bags seem to be aimed at the packed lunch market. Little children (and let's admit it, not so little children too) will always enjoy eating them off the ends of their fingers.