Article in The Guardian newspaper about crisp flavours (worth a look)

 

Oh dear! I hadn’t realised I had abandoned all of you crisp fans for so long. There have been so many other things to keep up with. I must write up some more crispy snacks very soon.

But forgive me and do read this article from The Guardian this weekend. It’s very interesting, well, I say very interesting, and of course to me it is…. So let’s say you might find it an interesting read. It’s about crisp flavours.

See what you think.

Pringooals Match Day Edition Pizza Flavour

I guess this is a World Cup tie in tube of Pringles.

Just the same traditional Pringles crunch but a pizza flavour. Yes, it's that packet of mini pizzas you keep in the freezer for an unexpected influx of small children.

Tech tate tester put his finger on the flavour. He was at a family party recently and small children were catered for with just such a snack. The pizza not the Pringooal.

Really very tasty.

Pringles Food Truck Flavors Cheese Burger

Artificially flavoured it says on the drum.

How odd. And rather off putting don’t you think? I mean, a great many crisp flavours are artificial, containing E numbers, citric acid (which comes with a fancy chemical name if you go looking for it), potassium chloride, disodium guanylate, smoke flavour, and basically all sorts you probably didn’t think you wanted in your food and don’t know what they’re for. So it’s usually best not to read the list of ingredients unless you’ve bought fancy “Hand Cooked” crisps which seem to include things like powdered roast pork which is very nearly a real ingredient. But perhaps the disclaimer is a legal requirement?

Well, however artificial this flavour, it was very popular with the reluctant taste testers. Those who knew what they were testing agreed the flavour is very accurate. Those who didn’t know picked the vinegary gherkin taste, and the sweet mustard. All agreed that the taste was very like the classic McDonald’s cheeseburger. Top marks all round.

Tech taste tester really enjoyed this crispy snack but wondered if they were truly Pringles? He thought they were a little smaller than usual. And I wonder if he isn’t right? Yes, they certainly are Pringles. But I have a rather small mouth. A long time ago my grandmother told me a rosebud mouth - no wider than the width of your nose - was a sign of beauty, but my mouth was too wide (although not by much). She really knew how to make a little girl feel good. Anyhow, I have usually found Pringles too wide for my small mouth. Not in this case.

These days a lot of people seem to have enormously wide mouths: especially all those women in the toothpaste advertisements, so why do these Pringles seem smaller? Maybe they have been ensmallenated.

There was another Food Truck flavour: Kickin' Chicken Taco. I think they were probably limited edition flavours in the first place (2015) but the Cheeseburger flavour has obviously been a great success. I don’t know if the Chicken Taco is still available. And I have no idea why so many flavours these days are “kickin'”. It’s not a word I ever use and honestly I don’t know what it means. So that makes me grumpy. But really, why kickin'?

A Visit to Sion in 2017 (Switzerland)

This is the crispy snack shelf in Co-op City in Sion (which is the capital of Canton Valais) in the French speaking part of Switzerland. The Co-op has quite a big food department downstairs, and upstairs they sell pots and pans, and bedlinen, and a surprising number of scented candles.

This is one of the largest packets of crisps I've seen for a very long time... and such a large pile of them too. Zweifel Nature (basically what we used to call ready salted). A really fabulous crisp but I don't think I would buy a packet this huge. Not even to please the reluctant taste testers.

There are lots of crisps in this photo from Swiss crisp giant Zweifel; can you spot the fabulous Provencal flavour which is one of my absolute favourites?

But you can also see lots of packets from UK crisp company Tyrrell's, and those Eat Real Lentil Chips? I can buy those just across the road from the office. There are Pringles tucked up in the top right corner too. 

I always find it odd that in France and Switzerland you can buy crisps from all over the place (Belgium, Spain, the UK) while in the UK it's almost entirely UK made crisps for sale. Of course here in North London I have access to a vast array of kosher crispy snacks, some of which come from the United States, and others from Israel. Then there are the local "Indian" corner shops selling loads of spicy snacks, the local "Turkish" shop, which may be Kurdish, and sells snacks from Eastern Europe, and the myriad Japanese shops. Plus Polish... don't forget the Polish shops and there are lots of them.

But I think you get my drift. For the most part the crispy snacks available in Britain are British. But since we are obviously invading the continent with British crisps it seems a shame we can't get continental crisps here.

Merry Pringles! 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar

Red-Haired Bristolian read about this crispy advent calendar in the Bristol news on her Facebook feed. I looked it up and found you can buy your Pringles advent calendar at a shop called B&M. I had never heard of B&M before (I live in the wrong place really), but by taking two buses I could acquire one of these.

And you can imagine I was really keen to try.

But. But it has only 12 days/doors. What kind of advent calendar is that? Usually they have 24 doors, sometimes 25. But 12? I didn't set out to write a blog on comparative religious practices but it does seem that someone has muddled the 12 days of Christmas ( you know: 🎶on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... 🎶) with the tradition of the advent calendar. So not that impressed.

And extra not impressed: you only get 4 different flavours of Pringle. Apparently there are 34 flavours in America (although I read that on a website and it isn't clear whether America means the USA or includes Canada or South America or what), and I know that without even trying I have sampled 5 different European flavours, so why restrict the calendar to a mere 4 flavours?

Original, Sour Cream and Onion, Salt & Vinegar, and Texas BBQ Sauce. Hmmm. Not super Christmassy flavours. 40g tubs eh? Just like you can buy at your local petrol station or corner shop.

Last year the reluctant taste testers tried a Pigs in Blankets flavour Pringle (pigs in blankets in the UK means little cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon which people buy - or make - to go with their Christmas turkey). Which obviously qualifies this as a Christmassy flavour. But this is not included.

With 4 classic flavours, the countdown to Christmas has never been this exciting! 

What a shame Pringles couldn't be a little more imaginative. What a lot of kudos they would have got for including el weirdo flavours we don't usually get the opportunity to try here in the U.K. What a great Christmas present that would have been for us all.

I read online that these advent calendars are flying off the shelves. Which is great. Maybe Pringles will bring them back next year with more Christmassy flavours, and maybe more doors. That would be very exciting.

And if you're a fan of advent calendars you may like this article from The Guardian on the ridiculous rise of luxury advent calendars...  or perhaps 2017's best advent calendars? Get yours while you can!

Pringles Emmental

We found this tube of Emmental Pringles in a small supermarket in rural France. And bore them home in triumph for the reluctant taste testers to try.

And guess what? They were quite popular. Especially with Tech taster who said he hoped this variety of Pringles was available in the UK because it was the best flavour ever!

Sadly I don't know where they are available, or where they were manufactured. Because it seems I threw away the vital part of the packaging that would give me the country of origin. Although I don't remember seeing that information. Possibly France though.

Anyway, these Pringles were positively loaded with cheesy flavour dust and tasted positively cheesy. Possibly even Emmentaly. It's hard to say. Myself, I thought them a little over-cheesy but they seemed a bit hit with the taste testers.

We went to Reims where there are almost no postcards available that don't show the famous cathedral. But it's a handsome town and there are other things to see. And some very pretty houses.

Pringles Original "Perfect Flavour in Every Bite"

I had to go into the hospital yesterday morning for an echo bubble test on my heart (I think that's what they call it), and have a blood pressure monitor fitted. This is horrible. I hate having my blood pressure taken; it's really painful. So I was feeling rather gloomy and in need of cheering up.

Luckily the hospital has a small shop. Quite a nice shop with lots of useful stuff for patients like extra pants and hand cream. It sells a selection of less than healthful drinks and snacks not ideal in a hospital (but also healthy fruit) and lucky for me I spotted some small tubes of Pringles at the back.

Pringles have recently been advertising an updated version of their crispy snacks featuring "perfect flavour in every bite". I don't eat Pringles very often so I honestly cannot remember how patchy, if at all, the flavour was before.  Basically "original" is quite a strong salty taste and as always with Pringles they leave a tingle in your lips. But tasty.

Do beware that this extremely tasty taste comes from 9% of the recommended daily intake of an average adult. And this in a a 40g tub of snacks. Really a lot of salt. But only the plus side; suitable for vegans.

Whether it's the case or not it seemed to me that these updated Pringles are slightly finer than before which I think is an improvement. And the Chef agreed. Certainly there were more broken bits of Pringle in the tube so maybe they are slightly thinner than before. I really do think this gives a nicer snack.

Pringles were recently named and shamed by the Recycling Association because their packaging is almost impossible to recycle. I see you can recycle the plastic lid but the metallic/card tube must be a nightmare. Come on Kellogg's, you bought this brand is 2012. Isn't it time to redesign the tube?

Back to the hospital today for a 72 hour heart scan. Oh joy.

Pringles Pigs in Blankets

🎄Merry Pringles🎄says the tube. I couldn't find a holly symbol so I used the Christmas tree instead. It's not the same I know, but we have to work with what we've got.

And Pigs in Blankets as a flavour for Pringles? Well, apparently, yes. And the Pringle on the tube is shown wearing a Christmas bobble hat, skiing on actual pigs in blankets (that's mini sausages wrapped around with bacon for those of you not in the know), and with a string of Christmas lights wrapped around its neck. It must be hard to ski with no arms or legs.... and no head either. Life is so tough when you're a Pringle.

Slightly oddly the tube also says Immagini a scopo dimostrativo (for illustrative purposes only - so they don't actually expect you to believe in a skiing Pringle). Which is Italian. Also Snack Salé au Goût Chipolata et Bacon. Which is French. I've got used to the fact that Bacon is apparently a French word, but Chipolata? Very strange.

I have the say the Chef is a bit horrified. "I thought it was real pigs in blankets" he said sadly. He doesn't like Pringles.

So let's find out what the reluctant taste testers have to say.

"Delicious".
"Lovely".
"Just like crackling".
"I could taste the bacon".
"These are really good". They said.
Except Tall taste tester who said, "Well, they just taste like Pringles don't they?" He doesn't really like Pringles either.

A success then. Not unqualified, but definitely a success.

Pringles Flame Grilled Steak Flavour

The tall elegant taste tester bought these to eat at home but then discovered she really didn't like them. She thought they were just too strong. Rather than throw them away she offered them for the reluctant taste testers to try.

And as you know, we have several keen fans of meaty flavoured crisps amongst the taste testers so there were plenty of takers interested to try these cast offs. And they do taste surprisingly steaky. It really is a very accurate flavour. No wondering if might be meant to represent roast lamb, or perhaps turkey with stuffing. So most of the reluctant taste testers unreluctantly tucked in.

 

But I did see what the tall elegant taste tester meant. I had the tub on my desk - with the lid on - but somehow the very strong aroma seeped out. The flame grilled steak flavour does stick to your fingers a bit, but at least there's no orange dye to colour your finger tips.

 

This would not be my most favourite Pringles flavour but they were pretty popular with everyone else here. Except of course the tall elegant taste tester.

Pringles Xtra Kickin' Sour Cream & Onion

"Uma explosão de sabor", "Barstensvol smaak", "Une explosion de saveurs", "Wybuchowy ładunek smaku" and sadly I cannot find a cyrillic font so you don't get what is either Russian or Bulgarian. Sorry about that.

I haven't bought a tube (can?) of Pringles for ages. I quite like Pringles but I always have this weird idea you have to put them into your mouth whole. I have no trouble biting into other kinds of crisp if they are too large to fit in all at once, but for some reason I have this thing about not biting into a Pringle. Only they are quite big. My mouth isn't really large enough - maybe I mean wide enough -  to fit in a whole Pringle comfortably so I struggle them in and hope I'm not going to cut the corners of my mouth. Which I have done in the past.

I know they are specially manufactured like this to fit neatly into the tube and thus prevent the usual breakages, but who has a mouth this wide? Why not make them a bit smaller, the tube a bit narrower? OK, yes, it's only me isn't it?

So anyhow, I tried this, er, "kickin'" flavour out of interest. And you know what? I have the same trouble with the size of the Pringle and the apparent smallness of my mouth, but this favour is rather fabulous.

It starts out all sour creamy (which is interesting as all the other creamy flavours I've tried have kept the cream taste to the end), and then there's the onion, and then there's a great kick of.... something hot. The list of ingredients includes the somewhat vague "flavourings". But the drawing on the front of the tube shows onion, spring onion and chilli. So I guess the kickin' part of the flavour is probably chilli. The real problem, of course, is that so much of the Pringle flavour comes from chemicals and not from real ingredients. Nowadays so many varieties of crisp trumpet the virtue of their real ingredients so a crispy snack crammed full of MSG is rather a disappointment.

I am interested to see that in French this savoury snack is an aperitif. Which to the English mind is a drink. Here I guess it is a crispy snack to go with a drink, although what drink I'm not sure; the taste is kickin' enough to defeat most drinks.

Pringles come in a number of weird flavours and this Huffington Post article has some very strange ones for us to consider. Read about them here. Old American Circus flavour anyone? I know. It makes sour cream and onion sound dreadfully pedestrian.

I mustn't forget to tell you that this crispy snack gives an Intense Xperience and is "Bursting with Flavour" which is pretty much correct. I think they taste pretty good. But I also think that all that MSG, disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate cannot be a good thing. Oh, and I never knew Pringles belonged to Kellogg's. did you? Yup. Proctor & Gamble sold the brand to Kellogg's in 2012. And these Pringles were made in Belgium.