Chio Oven Jumpys Sea Salt

 

I was quite excited to see another flavour for the fabulous Jumpys. 

Of course the Chef and I first discovered Jumpys in 2013 (so long ago!) and I thought the taste a bit dull. After years of testing: just me and the Chef, or with the Reluctant Taste Testers, I have discovered that the simple flavours work the best. For me anyway, and I think for a lot of other people too.

So what we first tried were a Sunny Paprika flavour (although I have never worked out what makes it sunny), and I think the little kangaroos were fried. Look how picky I was back then! Goodness me. I had no idea at all. Because actually the Sunny Paprika Jumpys are fabulous, not to mention pretty cute (I wonder who ever had the idea for a miniature crunchy kangaroo?), and these oven cooked Sea Salt flavoured Jumpys are much less nice. Oh don’t get me wrong; I did finish the packet but I feel these little kangaroo shaped snacks weren’t as tasty as they might have been.

The crunch is still the same but somehow the sea salt flavour isn’t quite interesting enough. Yes oven cooked with 40% less fat is probably a healthier option, but there’s very little point in healthy if it isn’t tasty. 

Yes. There is little point in a crispy snack if it isn’t tasty. But a healthy crispy kangaroo is more intriguing than fried slices of potatoes. Well m there you are.

Found in Switzerland.

Chio Flips Peanut

I never had a peanut flavour crispy snack (that wasn’t an actual peanut) before my friend Giraffe Fan Taste Tester (who is Jewish) bought me a packet of Bamba peanutty snacks from the local Jewish deli. I learned these are a staple for Jewish children, certainly in North London, probably all over the world. And the ex-chairman of my ex-work told me he was convinced eating this crispy snack prevented Jewish children from suffering the really nasty peanut allergy that afflicts so many British kids. Who knows? It’s just his theory.

Then I discovered the French also fancy a peanut snack like this one from Carrefour. And here’s another from Serbia. And here’s a great big guess: it’s likely there are lots of peanutty crispy snacks produced all over the world. So why can’t you buy a peanut snack in the UK? (Unless you have access to a source of kosher food.) Well, gosh! Probably because we are all so set in our ways there isn’t any danger we might try something a bit different.

So here’s a peanutty snack from Germany which the Chef and I found in Switzerland.

It looks as though it would be the same as a Bamba snack, but it has a harder bite. The Chef thought it would be saltier, but it wasn’t. He also thought it would be sweeter like the fabulous M&S Cheese Tasters, but it wasn’t. And obviously it wasn’t cheesy either. Oh dear. I have discovered that quite a lot of the reasons why you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) a crispy snack are about expectations. The Chef expected something else and so he didn’t really like this peanutty snack. 

I rather enjoyed it. So long as you expect a peanutty taste and a crunchy bite you might enjoy this too.

Chio Roasted Chicken

This great big packet of crisps from Euro snack giant Intersnack was quite a success with the reluctant taste testers. This fine cut crisp comes from Romania but Intersnack has tentacles everywhere.

So, a fine cut crisp such as you get from Zweifel in Switzerland, or maybe Golden Wonder here at home. Quite a light crunch and a great roast chicken taste.

Tech taste tester and Slightly Red Haired Bristolian both like meaty flavoured crisps, so they were happy, but I think pretty much everyone was happy. Including, unusually, Managerial taste tester, who doesn’t usually comment (and didn’t this time) but I spotted him snacking as he wandered through the kitchen which he doesn’t normally do. I wonder what attracted him to this old fashioned style crisp?

Anyway, someone was snacking hard (probably several someones) and almost all this 140g packet had disappeared by the time I went home. A good sign in an office where there’s almost always cake or biscuits or falafel left over from a meeting. I don’t know why we aren’t all frightfully fat.

Very nice. If you spot this big red packet, metallic red on the back, do give this crisp a try. I know you can find them in Golders Green.

Chio Minions Maisstangen/Sticks de Maïs Gesalzen/Salés

This interestingly vegan crispy snack has Universal Studios' minions (or should that be Minions?) on the packet. And Minions, as you see, is the name of the snack. Considering how loud and shouty the Minions are (I’ve only seen clips not whole films) it is a bit odd how subtle the packaging design is. I can’t help feeling if this were a UK snack the packaging would be a whole lot gaudier.

I haven’t seen this crispy snack from Chio before so I don’t know if they’ve always produced a snack like this but called something else. It’s quite a common style, and the reluctant taste testers and I have seen a number of different versions, as I dare say you have too although usually cheesy, so you’d think they might have. Although having said that, this is not as orange as most crispy snacks of this type usually are. In fact they are downright colour free.

And fairly taste free too. Not even particularly salty (and of course the flavour is salt). That sounds like a really bad thing but maybe not.  All the taste testers said this snack tastes of nothing much... but couldn’t stop eating it. Almost all this huge packet got eaten with no trouble at all: always a sign of a successful crispy snack.

I feel there is a slight design problem here; this snack looks more like a packaging material than a snack. The reluctant taste testers fully agreed with that. But again, it didn’t stop them snacking enthusiastically.

A surprisingly successful snack.

Chio is owned by Intersnack Switzerland so it’s anybody’s guess why it’s made in Austria. Ours not to question why. Well done Intersnack because the plastic packet is recyclable, but less well done because the snack is cooked in palm oil.

Ich einfach unverbesserlich or Moi moche et mechant which I’m guessing is German and French for Despicable Me.

Chio Bull's Heads Wild Paprika

Chio make the fabulous Jumpys (which I didn't fully appreciate when I first tried them because in those far off 2 years ago times I didn't know any better) which are shaped like little kangaroos.

Now, you might suppose that any company having a success with a kangaroo-shaped crispy snack might move on to... oh I don't know.... an echidna (spiny anteater) or duck-billed platypus shape. Maybe a possum, or perhaps a kookaburra? Anything Australian...

But no. Chio has gone with the Bull's Head. In English. Which is a little odd. Because this interesting crispy snack is made in Germany but marketed by Intersnack Switzerland. Intersnack is a pan-european crispy snack conglomerate so I suppose you can buy these Bull's Heads all over Europe (except the UK of course). And I do find it a little disappointing that the snack name is in English. Come on guys! You ought to be naming your snacks in German or something.

Anyhow, I found the the angry bull face (maybe it's not meant to be angry) on the packet, and the "wild paprika" flavour quite aggressive.  Well, they don't present a very friendly picture. So it is easy to get put off. But, as ever, I found that my opinion (formed on the spot in the Conthey Co-op) was quite wrong. And the reluctant taste testers agreed that I was wrong.

The shape of this crispy snack comes as a bit of a surprise, and people who didn't know they were tucking into a Bull's Head can be (again) a little surprised at what they are trying.

But the shape of the snack is pretty true to what you might expect from the description, and the taste is pretty tasty. Wild Paprika sounds a bit strong, a bit hot, a bit tough perhaps, but in fact this crispy snack (although a little bit hot) has a lovely rich mild flavour, and a great crunch, and is really good. The reluctant taste testers and I liked this crispy snack a lot.

Obviously those of the taste testers who remember Jumpys were as puzzled as me by this new departure... but hey! who knows what a crispy snack manufacturer will get up to next?

Chio Oven Chips Sour Cream

As far as I can tell (reading the packaging) these crisps are made in Germany. So why the product description "Oven Chips Sour Cream" is in English is anyone's guess.

Chio is owned by Intersnack and judging from the ingredients list Chio products are available  in Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia, and Bulgaria. But not Britain. Which is a shame because they're rather tasty. And I can't help feeling that the residents of Slovenia, Romania, Hungary etc etc would not object to the product description being in German.

Weirdly it looks as though you can buy this Intersnack product almost all over Europe except in the UK or (for some reason) Slovakia. I say for some reason when it comes to Slovakia but not for the UK because I am accustomed to almost everything about the UK being different for some silly reason. And mostly we wish it wasn't different. But there we are.

Ah.... it seems Intersnack has a special brand, or perhaps brands, for Slovakia. But I can't seem to access the Slovakian part of their website. So no further information available on this gripping fact I'm afraid.

Anyhow, this is a rather good fine crinkle cut crisp with a light sprinkling of little green herby bits (parsley and chives). The crisps themselves are, just as shown on the packaging, mostly not very crisp-shaped. It's quite an odd shape which doesn't look like a slice of potato, and in fact, as these are made from potato starch and maize starch there really is no reason why they shouldn't be a completely fake shape.

A very good flavour crisp that tastes just like a top quality sour cream and chive dip. Recommended.

Chio Jumpys Sunny Paprika

Sunny paprika flavour Jumpys anyone? 

Yes, this really is a kangaroo-shaped potato snack. I thought I was getting small flat kangaroo-shaped biscuity things. But no. This is a reconstituted potato thingummy in the style of a quaver or a cheesey whatsit. They are very small and 3D, and weirdly look more like a breakfast cereal than a savoury snack. 

The flavour, alleged to be "sunny paprika" (what makes the paprika sunny exactly I'm not certain) is quite tasty. In a sort of a way. Quite more-ish I suppose but nothing exciting. And they do kind of grow on you. Actually, as these are a German product I really don't know why the paprika should be sunny. Maybe snacks just come in English. Although, they are "knusprigkeit" which means crispy or crunchy (don't get back to me on incorrect use of German please: I gave it up to do Ancient Greek) which is massively important in the modern snack.

But the Jumpy is so tiny you have to eat loads more than you normally would in order to feel the benefit. Perhaps it's a cunning plan to use up calories moving your hand endlessly from packet to mouth and thus luring you into believing that Jumpys aren't as bad for you as they probably are. 

Would I buy them again? Not sure. Maybe. They might work well for little children who are allowed salty snacks. But put it like this: I didn't finish the packet. Verdict? Meh.

Two little Jumpys with the Chef's watch. 

A whole load of Jumpys

Chio has a very thrilling all singing all dancing website but sadly mostly in German so it doesn't mean much to me. The French version of the website seems to be rather different. I couldn't find any of the pages I'd been looking at in German but, you know, maybe I didn't look hard enough.

Jumpys update: it turns out that the rest of the family is rather more enthusiastic about Jumpys than I am. After I came home from Switzerland the Chef carried on eating them but left the unfinished bag on a table. Then I got a phone call from my brother-in-law who was staying in the flat with his family: they'd found a bag of miniature kangaroos. Could they finish them and where could they buy more?

Obviously I am quite wrong and Jumpys are far more exciting a snack than I thought. Maybe I should give them another try.