Osem Popco Butterscotch Corn Snack

This is popcorn. So why call it a corn snack? That seems odd.

Tech taste tester told me he doesn't do popcorn (fair enough) and not many of the reluctant taste testers seemed mad keen but the Chef has happily snacked down most of this 75g packet without complaint. Trust me: he complains if he feels the need.

I couldn't quite grasp why I didn't really like this crispy snack. The popcorn itself is perfectly fine. Nothing odd there at all; and some popcorn can be really bad. I think it must be the butterscotch. I was expecting toffee. No matter that the label says "butterscotch" in fairly large letters I still expected toffee flavour.

If I had been expecting butterscotch I think I'd have been happy. Expectations are weird aren't they?

Kosher for passover.

Osem Apropo Sour Cream Flavour Corn Snack

So thanks to the wonderful resource that is google translate (although obviously it's not totally reliable) and a handy blog post I discovered from Daniela at  Isreveiw1, I have been able to translate something about this crispy snack in the privacy of my own home. The Isreview1 blog is about a different flavour bugle shaped snack from Osem, in fact Daniela seems to have reviewed two other flavours, but it shoved me in what I think it is the right direction. So that was a great help.

Thanks very much to Daniela although she doesn't seem to have posted anything since 2014 so perhaps she won't notice. (And how annoying! I see LinkWithin works on Isreview1 but has completely stopped working on this blog and I have no idea why.)

Anyway, I deduce that this crispy snack is made by Osem but as almost the whole of the text on this packet in in the hebrew alphabet (plus a little in arabic script) it was quite hard to tell.

And thanks to google translate (and Daniela)  I know it is a maize snack. It's hard for the non-reader of Hebew to be sure because the typeface on the packet is different from that offered by google. But luckily the Osem website comes in an English version. A savoury cone-shaped snack it says. Apropos has a delicate taste and a crispy texture and contains no cholesterol or preservatives. Thanks to its unique shape it has become the number one entertainment snack in Israel, alongside dips and spreads, but is also popular as a personal snack.

OK. What's a personal snack I wonder?

And the reluctant taste testers tested the crispiness so I can confirm that crispy is correct. And it's probably a corn snack although you can't really tell from the taste. But I'm really not at all certain what the flavour is meant to be. It looks as though it should be sour cream (see the packet) but you can't taste sour cream. And why doesn't the website have anything to say about the flavour? It really doesn't. Not helpful.

Noble Friend opined that this crispy snack tasted a little bit sweet, a little bit salty and a little bit nothing at all. But nonetheless a little bit tasty and moreish. (A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll perhaps?) But I could see what she meant. The Chef thought it tasted of nothing at all. But both of them ate quite a few.

So oddly tasteless in a strange way but quite a success.

Oh, and today is the 80th birthday of television. So let's all celebrate that amazing fact. And the first TV show was broadcast not 5 miles (not exactly sure how far it is, but not very far) from where the Chef and I live, at a place called Alexandra Palace. All us locals call it Ally Pally. Amazing eh?

Bissli Smokey Wheat Flavoured Snacks

Well now, look at that. Turns out this is my 201st post. Who knew there were quite so many crispy snacks readily available in this crispy crunchy world?

And I'm pretty sure that I haven't scratched the surface.

This 70g bag of crispy snacks from Osem were contributed to the cause by the senior member of the taste testing club.

Kosher (obviously), quite a nice crunch, and they kind of taste of ham and cheese. But the after taste is cardboard.

So it's a sort of fairly tasty cardboard snack. But don't run away with the idea that cardboard is a bad taste. It could be a great deal worse. For example the, er,  fabulous Bissli BBQ snacks which were oh so horrible (in my opinion) that I couldn't bring myself to finish the pack.

Isn't it a bit odd, don't you think, that Bissli should produced 2 crispy snacks called BBQ and Smokey? Oh well. Who can fathom the thoughts of crisp manufacturers?

So there we are. Not too bad but a bit cardboardy. Despite the cardboardiness we quite liked this crispy snack.

Bamba Peanut Snack with Hazelnut Cream Filling

Yes I know. These crispy snacks sound a lot more like miniature biscuits than a savoury snack. But I found them on the same shelf as the savoury crisps. Honest.

I put some in a bowl at work without an explanation or description and it seems that everyone thought they were getting something sweet. Well, they are sort of sweet. You get a soft crunchy corn outside which is salty, and a creamy hazelnut filling - a bit like Nutella - which is sweet.

I rather liked these. And it seems most of the taste testers did too. Even though they felt cheated at not getting a mini sweet biscuitty thing.

But I wish I had read the ingredients list more carefully before this 60g packet was finished (it didn't take long). I failed to notice the rosemary. I didn't notice any rosemary in the taste. Either I must remain forever baffled or I have to buy another packet. As if the house wasn't full enough of crisps as it is.

Another ingredient, and one which sounds a bit dodgy to me, is cellulose. Which  is used to produce paper. And glue. And mainly produced from wood pulp and cotton! OK, let's not suppose that these peanut snacks are made of wood pulp. Of course not. But it does sound odd doesn't it?

Suitable for vegetarians, no cholesterol, no food colouring. Kosher. Contains 0% Vitamin A and C, 0% calcium and 0% iron. Isn't that a strange thing to have in your Nutrition Facts? Contains genetically modified cornstarch and soybean.

I wonder about the long and obviously complicated process used to make these crispy peanut snacks. Not to mention the food miles. I think perhaps I won't get a second packet.

Made in Israel by Osem which is owned by the Swiss multinational food and beverage company Nestle. They get everywhere don't they?

Bissli Pizza Flavoured Wheat Snacks

I never thought I'd write this of a Bissli snack, but these are extremely good. Previous attempts at trying Bissli snacks started with me refusing to eat more than one out of a packet and throwing the rest away. Now I'm saying these are yummy. Well, I guess they're doing something right.  Or I'm getting used to them. Or something!

And indeed the reluctant taste testers at work noshed down most of a packet with great enthusiasm and speed. Even Ruth who won't eat Bissli snacks ate several. She likes Bamba crunchy crispy snacks so she's allowed not to like Bissli. Even David who is the harshest of critics when it comes to taste testing asked me where he could buy them. For some reason he had got hold of the idea these pizza flavour wheat snacks are Polish in origin. Not a bit of it. These square crispy snacks are made in Israel by Osem, and of course, are kosher.

A very neat shape. A little bit like a small piece of lego maybe. Nice feel in the mouth. We like the squarey cubey thing going on here. They don't really smell of pizza and they don't really taste of pizza (perhaps a little) but we all liked the taste anyway. Not too wheaty which I felt was a bit of a problem in Bissli's other snacks. Yes, (nods head approvingly) these are OK.

But I see that Bissli are still using the weird cartoon guys to front this crispy snack brand. Is it just me? I'm not sure about the cartoon guys.

Suitable for vegetarians. Kosher - of course. Contains wheat gluten and soy. No preservative, no food colouring. And don't forget to protect from the sun (still strange!). And perhaps a little oddly, I haven't seen this flavour in any of the local kosher shops. These came from the Turkish shop. I'm going back there to check out the rest of their crisp selection.

Bissli Onion Flavour Wheat Snacks

How interesting. I bought this bag of crunchy onion rings some months ago but I put off opening it because one of Osem's Bissli products I have tried tasted really horrible. To me. You might think I was a bit of a masochist buying the bag in the first place... but you  know me: I'll try anything once.

So here we go.  Well. Quite a good crunch and a nice soft onion taste. In fact not bad. Not bad at all.

Here we have 70g of quite large wheaty rings. It's a small packet (good) and the rings are quite big so you don't get very many. The rings are quite ridged on the outside; the packet photo is a pretty good representation of this oniony snack, and the rings are quite bubbly on the inside.

I'd usually take a photo myself but the reluctant taste testers at work liked these so much that I didn't get the chance. I put a bowlful in the kitchen and when I came back there was only one ring left. So I think we can judge these a success.

We felt these were a little bit like Shreddies. "Shreddies and garlic," said one taster who does not normally comment on the crispy snack selection, "Quite nice for a change of crisp". Another taster suggested they were more of a crouton than a crisp. Not a bad reaction.

I like Shreddies as a breakfast cereal although not for every day (simply because they are too tasty), so the wheaty, slightly malty taste overlaid with onion worked quite well for me. Although perhaps not for every day.

No preservatives, no food colouring, suitable for vegetarians. Koshe Parve from (if that's the word) both Rabbi Jacob Moshe Charlap and the Chief Rabbinate Shderot. Could this be two branches of the same thing? I'm very ignorant about the kosher system so I can't answer that. And you have to protect these onion rings from the sun. This seems really odd. How will the sun damage them I wonder?

As ever Osem have used the dynamic duo of slightly bearded red-haired guy with an earing, and nerdy guy with glasses on the Bissli packaging. I still think they are a weird pair to advertise a crispy snack.