Pret a Manger Sweet n Salt Popcorn

Whenever I go somewhere different there’s always a chance that I will come across a new crispy snack. So last week Noble Friend and I went to the V & A to see the Winnie the Pooh exhibition (wonderful to see the original drawings), and on the way home Noble Friend had to top up her Oyster card so I wandered into Pret a Manger to see if they had any new varieties of crisp. Well they didn’t, but then I thought why not try a packet of popcorn instead?

Why not indeed. The reluctant taste testers haven’t tried popcorn in ages.

Perfectly popped. It’s much harder to perfect the art of popping corn than you might think. The type of corn, the seasoning... even the humidity, all play a part in this surprisingly tricky balancing act. So says the packaging, and it’s quite interesting especially considering how not very nice some commercially produced popcorn is.

And the blurb on the packaging is quite correct. I was very impressed with this popcorn. Very nicely popped, lovely and fluffy, pretty much just right. And the flavour is just right too. Just enough sweet and just enough salt. Not a strong taste but... just right.

I liked this popcorn, the reluctant taste testers (except those that generally don’t like the concept of popcorn) liked this popcorn, and I suspect Goldilocks would have liked this popcorn. Because it’s just right.

Passionately popped. Very nice flavour.

Pret a Manger Vegetable Crisps Parsnip, Sweet Potato & Beetroot

I don't normally buy vegetable crisps because there are simply so many potato snacks of all kinds that life seems too short to branch out into vegetable snacks. I mean, I've posted about 800 mostly potatoey crispy snacks. Seriously 800? That seems an awful lot doesn't it?

Yup. Just boasting. And you know what? I really haven't scratched the surface of available crispy snacks.

Well, I may not buy vegetable based crispy snacks but Tall Elegant taste tester doesn't follow my rules and she picked up this packet when she rushed out to Brent Cross at lunchtime. You've got to eat lunch after all, and I was pleased to try a sample of her choice.

I think I tried a bit of parsnip. It was wonderfully tasty. Nicely crunchy and pleasantly salted. Very nice indeed. And Tall Elegant taste tester thought this was a pretty good packet of (not actually) crisps.

Pret a Manger crisps are usually vepppaand (what do you suppose my iPad meant here? I have forgotten what I wrote yesterday and am quite baffled at this weird word!) Tall Elegant taste tester and I decided this was no exception. (No. No clue what we decided.)

Well, baffled by the above I may be, but there's still time to tell you that the packaging here is tip top. Very simple, very clever. Very handsome snail.

Pret a Manger Smoked Chipotle

I bought this little packet of crisps when I went to St Paul's Cathedral the other day to see pre-blog friend (which is to say I suddenly have to invent a taste tester name for her) India Traveller and her sweet little daughter who at 6 months is very chatty even if there aren't any actual words involved.

I hadn't seen this flavour from Pret before but the woman behind the cash desk obviously thought I was mad when I asked if it was new. It seems they've had it since last year. Hmmm. But I usually only visit the Luton Airport Pret and I haven't flown from there for a while.

Very dark red crisps, lots of chilli aroma and an extremely nice chilli taste. Not too hot, a bit of a kick but somehow just right. I think all the taste testers approved. Jam Maker and Cliffs of Moher taste testers thought them pretty well prefect.

Not bad eh? Fun packet design too.

Pret a Manger Maldon Sea Salt

Here's a packet of crisps that was bought at Luton Airport for a snack on the flight to Switzerland but not eaten and brought home again to London.

So we thought we had better eat them before they took to the road again.

A small packet of basic sea salted crisps. Good crunch, and a pale golden colour. We thought these were more lightly salted than salted but they were tasty. And they all got eaten - quite quickly.

Pleasant but not amazing.

The clever packaging design is simple but tells you everything you need to know.

The reluctant taste testers have got a bit fed up recently about the complicated flavour of so many modern crisps. So when Noble Friend was out and about the other day she picked up this packet of crisps from Pret à Manger. Which is why I am reposting this.

Malden Sea Salt. I love the taste of salt (I know, I know; we know it's a bad thing these days but hey! I was brought up in the 1960s sp give me a break) but Maldon salt is the tastiest. THE best salt. It comes from Essex and they have been collecting salt since 1882 (before my grandfather was born) and it really is fabulous. If you can find it give it a try. And although these crisps are not labelled "lightly" salted, it does seem that the taste is just right. Not too salty.

Well, the Chef and I had tried these crisps back in March 2015 and quite enjoyed them, but the reluctant taste testers had not. And? It's a lovely crisp, a little thicker than your basic crisp, and a beautiful taste of hand cooked potato with a fabulous lightly salted taste.

What could be better than that?

Once again we ask ourselves, are complicated crisp flavours what we are all looking for? Architectural taste tester, the most discerning of testers, thinks plain in best. Lots of the other taste testers think so too. So probably not. And this flavour? Lovely. Simple and tasty.

OK then. Come on crisp manufacturers, listen to the taste testers we all like the simple flavours best (the crisp makers won't read this - probably).

Pret a Manger Mature Cheddar & Red Onion

I know there are branches of Pret a Manger all over the place but pretty much the only one I ever patronise is at Luton Airport. Yes, this is another crisp from Luton.

I must tell you that I set out on my journey with almost nothing in my handbag: a book, my passport, my purse, and the house keys. By the time I got on the plane to Geneva I had added a magazine, a sandwich and bottle of water for lunch, a bottle of perfume from Duty Free, a fancy new hub accessory thingy for the Chef's iMac Air, and 6 packets of crisps.

And when I arrived here the Chef said "Oh yes, I tried those the other day. I thought they were very good". He even saved the packet for me, which was thoughtful. Although not a great help as you can't taste test an empty packet although I must say the aroma even from the empty bag is very pleasant.

So. This is a very nice crisp. Just the right thickness, a little bit of skin left on, good crunch, and a lovely dark golden colour. They have a great cheesy taste and I'm really impressed that the red onion doesn't leap to the fore as it so often does; nice and subtle. Red onion can be a real thug if you aren't careful. Not here.

Pretty good. And the charming cheesy mouse on the packaging is pretty good too.

Yes. We liked these crisps.

Pret a Manger Kale Crisps

Noble friend at work bought a healthy half size sandwich (you only get one) and a packet of Kale crisps from Pret. The lunchtime sandwich looked healthy but very tasty; and the crisps?

I'm not sure Kale crisps were created with me in mind. And noble friend wasn't that impressed either.

I wrote about M&S Kale crisps some time back. I wasn't that impressed. And I really wasn't that complimentary. Sorry M&S. And very sorry Pret but I wasn't mad keen on your effort either.

We tried them out on the reluctant taste testers at work and mostly they felt the same as we did.

The thing is that these vegetarian and vegan (my second packet of vegan crisps in a week!) taste a little bit yummy at first bite. I'm guessing it's the onions. But then you get get a crispy crunchy (good crunch by the way) taste of cabbage stalk. And then there are loads of little bits of cabbagey stuff left behind in your mouth.

I'm sorry. I know these are a healthy option crisp with healthy flax seeds and buckwheat and sunflower seeds. And no sugar. Not to mention kale is the healthiest food in the universe. And they come in a tiny 30g bag which can only be a good thing. And the picture on the bag is really handsome. But I can't bring myself to like them.

Pret a Manger Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar

Bags of obsession says the blurb on the bag.

Apparently Pret a Manger have a Crisp Cook called Mrs Julie and she is obsessed with getting her crisps extra special.

She selects only the finest potatoes, sharpens her blades to guarantee a super thin cut, cooks the crisps to an enviable tan, tumbles the potatoes in the seasoning and pops them in the bags. OK. But that's what lots of crisp manufacturers want me to think (apart from the Mrs Julie bit)

However, in my opinion these aren't bad. So maybe the blurb is correct and not just blurb.

There isn't a Pret near where I live or work so I picked these up at Luton Airport. Well, there isn't a lot to do at an airport apart from shop. Obviously some people will be after a new bikini or a different brand of aftershave. But me? I'm on the look out for exotic crisps.

Very nice crisps these. Good crunch; a little harder than some but not too much. Normal size crisps, normal colour. So normal I didn't take a photograph. And a lovely light salt and vinegar flavour. Very nice indeed.

40g of crisps in this bag and they went very quickly. I would certainly buy these again.

And a great small bag! I approve.