Taylors Brie, Bubbly & Orange flavour potato crisps

I wasn’t sure I wanted to carry on writing about crispy snacks because the Chef, always an enthusiastic taste tester, is no longer with us.

But this packet of crisps was a Christmas present so I thought I ought to post about it anyway.

To be honest, I don’t remember ever having heard of Taylors (no apostrophe) who seem to be based in Perthshire and Dublin, but this packet of their crisps was bought in Colchester. Interesting. Anyway, pretty much the whole family has tried these “thick cut” crisps: Ski Instructor, Farmer’s Daughter, Family Vegetarian, Graffiti Artist, even Cliffs of Moher … and we all thought they are a bit too weird.

Now you all know I don’t like being mean about crispy snacks. But honestly, this is not a good crisp. Sorry, but it’s not. For a start it isn’t thick cut. And then it doesn’t taste of Brie, it doesn’t taste of Bubbly (presumably Champagne was not involved in the manufacturing process), and it doesn’t really even taste of orange. Anyway, who wants a potato crisp that tastes of oranges?

Really sorry Taylor family: none of us enjoyed this crisp. The flavour was just wrong.

The Chef: 1951 - 2024
Very much missed by all who knew him

Scott Farms Orange, Purple & White Sweet Potato Chips

Tall Elegant taste tester visited the health food store and came back with this 100g packet of extremely handsome sweet potato crisps. And by extremely handsome I mean very pretty.

It's strange how a vegetable called a potato is not a potato. And sometimes it's called a yam... but this is a different vegetable in the South Pacific and New Zealand. Which is why you should never rely on "common names" but go straight to the Latin if you can. So your actual potato is a member of the Nightshade family Solanaceae along with tomatoes, and the Sweet Potato is a member of the Convolvulaceae like the morning glory flower, or bindweed. And hey! word fans, the word for potato comes from the Quechua (spoken in Peru) which a friend of mine speaks. Along with French, English, Spanish and very likely German.

Anyway, sweet potato crisps tend to have quite a dull crunch compared to potato crisps. but they certainly are attractive when you get three different colours in the same packet.

Nicely salted too. And a pretty packet. Spot the convolvulus flower?

Scott Farms products are made in North Carolina and imported by Scott Farms International based on the wonderfully named Asparagus Way in Evesham. Evesham is the heart of UK asparagus growing industry but it's still a wonderful name for a road.

M&S Fizzy Fangstastic Popcorn Orange Flavoured

OK so Tall Elegant taste tester discovered a truly weird Hallowe'en product at Marks & Spencer. Fizzy orange popcorn. Really? Apparently yes.

No tricks just treats says the packet.

Only this popcorn isn't very fizzy and it isn't very orangey. So it is a bit of a trick. At least, the flavour seems to be a bit changeable: some bits of popcorn have a lot more taste or fizz than others. This is something you might expect because it does happen quite a lot. Trouble is, the popcorn isn't really top notch so I thought it was a little disappointing. Not nearly enough lovely light puffy kernel and rather too much of the kernel skin.

I didn't say much to the reluctant taste testers but as always they made up their own minds. Not much of this popcorn got eaten so I draw my own conclusions. This weird flavour was never going to be a favourite for the taste testers. And the popcorn isn't very fangtastic (quite apart from anything else: no fangs). It doesn't even smell very orangey.

Hey ho. You can't have everything.