Sunday 5 January 2014

Phileas Fogg Cheese & New York Deli Relish American Style Bubble Chips

I'm not attracted by the bright mustardy yellow packaging but the crisps themselves are very tasty. When I opened the packet I really wasn't sure so I sealed it up and came back to it a week later. And? You know what? These are really rather good.

I've not tried American style bubble chips before although increasingly I see them around, so I was interested to see what makes them different.

And what you get is an oblong crisp with bubbles in. The crunch is pretty good, the colour a bit more orange than your average crisp with a good bit of flavour dust some of it quite dark. I was disappointed that there was quite a lot of breakage; these crisps look robust but seem to be quite delicate and not as many as I would have liked survived the bus journey home from the supermarket.

Not at all sure what effect the twice cooking has. Make them more expensive?

And I'm not certain what sort of flavour Cheese and New York Deli Relish is. Is it a dip? Is it a thing you put on a burger to create a cheeseburger? Or a hot dog? Is it a... well I don't know. Well, anyway, it really has a good taste.

These crisps contain no artificial colours or flavours, and no MSG. Made with 100% sunflower oil. Suitable for vegetarians. And Phileas Fogg crispy snacks (obviously named for the hero of Around the World in 80 Days) are made by United Biscuits (UK) Limited.

It is a bit annoying that the ingredients list includes dried bell pepper. Why can't it say dried red pepper? As shown on the packaging. No-one in this country talks about bell peppers. I can only suppose that the brand is trying to make this UK crisp sound as if it is a US potato chip.

4 comments :

  1. You used to get bubble crisps by mistake back in the old days of Smiths and Golden Wonder, but as an avid crisp watcher like yourself I have also noticed them making a comeback in their own right. Not tried them yet and as a boring "plain" man I am not tempted by New York Deli Relish

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    1. These bubble chips are a completely different texture from accidentally bubbled "ordinary" crisps. I'll see if I can finder a plainer flavour that might tempt you.

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  2. As an American I can tell you I've never heard of "bubble chips". I have asked several friends in other parts of the U.S. and they have not either. There are a couple of brands made from potato flakes rather than raw potatoes, but they don't have bubbles in them.

    Incidentally the origin story of potato chips in the United State was that U.S. Diner served UK style chips (what in the United States are called french fries - not crisp, and cut into straws or maybe wedges.) A customer was being a pain and kept complaining demanding they be sliced thinner, salted more and cooked longer. So the irritated chef sliced them as thin as possible, cooked them until crisp, and poured the salt on. To his surprise the custom er loved. According to Wikipedia this was probably a myth, and they were invented much earlier than the story tells. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip

    But as far as I can tell, bubble chips, at least done on purpose, are a UK invention! They certainly are not the original type of American potato chip!

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    1. In my experience when something is described as "French style" it will never have been seen in France, so the fact that you have your friends in the US have never heard of "American style bubble chips" is really no surprise. I think a lot of people like to think they are eating something foreign and thus more glamorous than your average crisp!

      I guess you won't have tried these bubble chips but can you comment on what New York deli relish might be? Or is that a UK invention too?

      Yes, I've read the Wiki page. It was updated only the other day I see. In fact I'm fairly sure their researchers read some of my posts which is rather gratifying. Thanks for your comment.

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