Takis Fuego Chilli and Lime

You may recall that earlier this year when we were in Switzerland I tried Takis Volcano crispy snacks. I rather enjoyed them. They are hot and spicy, but not too hot to be eaten and enjoyed. The Chef missed out on the taste test because he wasn’t feeling at all well. In fact he was rushed to hospital the next day so no wonder he didn’t fancy a piquant snack.

While the Chef was in hospital (horse casserole for lunch one day) I acquired a packet of Takis Fuego chilli and lime flavoured snacks.

Well now, I did not scrutinise the hot/piquant-ometer carefully enough before trying this Fuego snack…. and was a bit thunderstruck at how extremely hot and spicy this crispy snack is. Ridiculously hot if you ask me. I am a bit surprised that Fuego (fire) is hotter than Volcano (volcano). You might think it should be the other way around. And I am honestly not sure if I could detect the lime. Definitely could detect the chilli.

Ski Instructor taste tester tried one. I think he probably eats considerably hotter curries than I do so has a palate better accustomed to heat, but he was not at all impressed, and pronounced this crispy snack a ‘waste of time’ . Well, so it is if you can’t bring yourself to eat it.

No surprise then that we ditched the packet. Do not buy these unless you really really really love lots of chilli. I wonder if Barry from In The Chips would appreciate this snack? I follow him on Instagram and he really seems to enjoy hot flavours.

You will be pleased to know that the Chef is now recovered from the virus that laid him low. It is unfortunately easier than we think to pick up a virus so all we can do is try to be careful.

Crunchips Chilli & Lime X-Cut

Here's another packet of crisps from the little shop in Golders Green that stocks lots of European snacks. This one I thought must be Polish because we've tried Crunchips from Poland in the past Green Onions but actually these crisps are from Germany but I had forgotten about the Spare Ribs Roasted (great name) also from Germany.

This is a crinkle cut crisp with loads of flavour dust and a good rich colour. I'm not sure why German for crinkle cut should be X-cut... it seems a bit odd but it's obvious what that means.

And it turns out Cliffs of Moher taste tester was so enthusiastic about this crisp she had me describe in detail where the shop I bought them is. I hope I got it right. I do remember I’d just emerged from an annoying session with my bank (they cancelled my card twice in two weeks because they said they couldn’t contact me - which was a big lie) and I know where that is. The trouble is, typical me, I didn’t look at the name of the shop.

As I often do I took some crisps home for the Chef to try. What is this crisp supposed to be? he asked suspiciously. Chilli and lime I said. That explains it, he said thrusting the packet away. Not for him then. Not really for me either. The crunch is good, the chilli hit is good but I don’t much care for lime as a flavour. But look, Cliffs of Moher loved this crisp.

Walkers Max Strong Chilli & Lime

I have seen this new style of crisp from Walkers advertised on TV recently so it was a bit of a triumph to find it at Luton airport. Luton has always been a good source of crisps and I hope it continues to be now that the shopping area has expanded so much and got so fancy.

The packet, and indeed the ad, tells me this is a crisp that is perfect with beer. A beer magnet. It also tells me the strength of the chilli has been classified as medium. Really? I thought this was pretty damned hot with a strong hit of chilli and a terrific bite, so I am not perhaps encouraged to try the Hot Chicken Wings (hot) or Jalapeño & Cheese (extra hot) flavours.

And we tried this crisp on a plane and you know your taste buds don’t work so well at altitude.

The Chef thought the taste very hot too. But I confess neither of us attempted to pair this crisp with beer. See? Trying out pairing... and er... failing before we've even begun. Well, the Chef doesn’t drink and I don’t drink beer unless I’m somewhere very very hot like Sydney in a heatwave.

So maybe next time I should try with a beer. The back of the packet says Calling all beer lovers! We've worked with flavour experts to perfectly match Walkers Max Strong with different types of beer. We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to look any further for the perfect crisps for your pint. Walkers Max Strong: a range of ridged crisps in spicy flavours to deliver maximum flavour hit. Hum. They don’t say which beers they’ve chosen do they?

Don’t get carried away with the idea that I didn’t enjoy this crinkle cut crisp. I sort of did in a masochistic kind of way. But I can’t help feeling that without actually admitting to it, Walkers have aimed this range of crisps firmly at, you guessed, men. Because, apparently, men like it spicy.

I confess there are one or two women in the TV ad. But I don’t include a link here because it kept asking me to confirm my age before allowing me a glimpse of something I had already seen on the television. Just like the DIY checkout in the supermarket when you try and buy a bottle of wine. The shop assistant never asks to see my ID; she knows I am old enough to buy alcohol but the computer doesn’t know that. Actually I don’t know why not. It seems to know everything else about me.

Jax Coco Toasted Coconut Chips with Chilli & Lime, and with Wasabi

Tall elegant taste tester, currently at home with a horrible cold poor thing, bought those two packets while I was away in Switzerland. She asked if I would like to write these up and I said no. Because you have to draw the line somewhere.

But here I am anyway. Despite the fact that I deeply dislike coconut. And these coconut chips (not surprisingly) smell strongly of coconut. The chilli & lime flavour chips are darker and small very strongly of lime, the wasabi flavour chips are paler. You'll not be surprised to learn I have not attempted a taste test.

These toasted coconut chips are all natural, not fried, gluten free, 100% vegan, and with no preservatives, no artificial colour or flavouring. Sounds good.

I gather that both of these flavours are pretty hot. So if you like your coconut, and you like heat, maybe this is a snack for you.

Very nice resealable packaging. A lot of crisp packets could do with this technology.