Smiths Chipsticks Salt'n'Vinegar Flavour

Hmn... Chipsticks eh? Well, the local newsagent run by the amazingly cheerful man has been refurbished recently but the builders didn't install the new step for several months. But there it was, on Thursday, and suitable for wheelchair users too, so I went in to celebrate and came out with these.

What a lot of salt and vinegar flavour crispy snacks you can buy. And "did you know that Chipsticks have been around since 1971 and these crispy crunchy sticks, full of your favourite Salt & Vinegar flavour, are as delicious now as they have always been!" or so the packaging tells me.

These are reconstituted potato and maize sticks. I suppose they are extruded out of a stonking big machine and then fried to create pretend chips. And they're not bad.

Quite a soft crunch. A sort of vaguely fluffy texture although that's the wrong word. Similar texture to Monster Much but not quite so crunchy. A little bit dry in the mouth but not too bad. And, hurrah!, they come in a 37g packet; I get so fed up with all these crisps that only seem to come in gigantic "sharing" bags.

The salt and vinegar flavour is subtler than I was expecting. Opening the packet and having a good hard stare at the Chipsticks I thought maybe they'd taste rather harsh as some salt and vinegar snacks can do. But no. A lovely soft flavour. I enjoyed these and would have finished the packet only I had another crisp to taste test - yes I know, the trials of being a food writer! Isn't it sad?

Packaging quite traditional; nothing fancy. Suitable for vegetarians.

If I see Chipsticks in another flavour I will certainly give them a try.