Snackrite Thick Cut Ridged Cheese & Onion

 

Oh what a disappointment!

I just wrote about the Ready Salted crinkle cut crisp that came in this very same multi pack. And I pretty much gave that crisp 10/10. Except I don’t usually do that. But you get the picture. 

But….. oh dear. This packet of Cheese & Onion crisps from the exact same manufacturer, from the exact same multi pack bag…and yet these crisps hardly taste of anything. This is one of the top UK crisp flavours, one of our very favourites. What has happened here?

Yes this crisp has a great crunch, yes the ridges are great, and yes I absolutely was prepared to love this crisp. Where is the flavour?

I am so not impressed.

Snackrite Thick Cut Ridged Ready Salted

 Kind neighbours were going to Aldi and asked if I wanted anything. They brought home a variety pack of thick cut ridged crisps.

This is one of the Ready Salted packets. A whole 25g. Which is not very many crisps.

This is a very simple crisp. The only ingredients are British potatoes, vegetable oil and salt. And very nice too. Some of these fancy modern flavours are too complicated and weird for their own good. But a lot of the time you can’t beat going back to basics. And this is a very good basic.

Thick cut but not too thick, ridged or crinkle cut, and just the right amount of salt. This is a very good crisp.

Snackrite is an Aldi brand, exclusively available at Aldi.

Co-op Irresistible Hand Cooked BBQ Lamb Kofta & Tzatziki Flavour Limited Edition

I’ve only gone and bought yet another bag of crisps that I don’t like.

I don’t care that they’re a limited edition, I don’t find them irresistible and I can’t taste Lamb Koftas, BBQ or otherwise. 

That’s unfortunate. The Co-op, that’s the UK Co-op, usually produces a good crisp. And here we have a nice sized crinkle cut crisp, not too large, with the expected good crunch. But… whatever were the flavour scientists thinking? I know what you’re thinking; it’s probably just my weird sense of taste. But seriously, I can just barely detect the lamb and the tzatziki not at all.

What a pity. I love lamb koftas. And I’m rather partial to tzatziki. Hey ho.

I’m really sorry but I cannot recommend this crisp. Look, it’s not a nasty flavour it’s just not the flavour as advertised. Luckily, it is as I said before, a limited edition crisp and probably all the bags that were made have been sold and eaten by people less fussy than me. But remember, I am an internationally renowned taste tester. So that’s my job.

Sorry everyone.

Kurkure Masala Munch

This is a spicy crispy snack “bursting with a delicious fusion of authentic seasonings and fragrant herbs”. Kurkure (which means crunchy in Hindi and Urdu) was originally launched in India and then Pakistan, and is now a subsidiary of PepsiCo.

The snack itself is made with dal, corn and rice and seasoned with all sorts of actual spices like cumin and fenugreek. This makes a change from the usual vague “spices” or “flavouring”.

Nice and crunchy, this is a spicy snack, very slightly eggy due to the black rock salt.

A very nice change from the average snack available here in North London.

Jacob’s Tuc Sandwich Cream Cheese & Chive flavour

I was very pleased to find this packet of Cream Cheese & Chive flavour Tuc when I last made an online order from my favourite supermarket. 

I have tried Sour Cream & Onion flavour Tuc and enjoyed them immensely. In this case I found them in Switzerland, check my enthusiast review, but they are (were) also available in France. I never really thought this flavour would be available in England (or any other part of the UK come to that), but here we have a very similar looking flavour. But not similar enough.

And are these UK Tuc sandwiches as tasty as the French version? Am I as excited about this flavour? 

Oh dear. Sadly not. Oh, they are fine in their own way, and the Tuc biscuits themselves are as tasty as they always are, but I cannot detect a trace of chives in the creamy squidgy filling. I ate the entire packet. But I am disappointed. 

If you have not tried the continental version of this flavour, well after all, chives are a member of the onion family, you might enjoy this crispy snack.

Have you noticed the serving suggestion? Just pile one biscuit on top of another. Presumably on something green.

In other news, I am sorry to see that longstanding British company (but started in Ireland) Jacob’s, supplier of Cheddars and Twiglets to generations of crispy snack fans, and owned by United Biscuits, has been bought by some company called Pladis. In Britain at least. I think. Company ownership these days is so complicated I’m surprised anyone can keep track of who owns what. 

Walkers English Bangers & Mash

 

This is the only World Cup tie in crisp that I have found this year. There nearly always seems to be a World Cup tie in. Not for the Olympics which seems to feature hundreds of sports, with more added every time, but for football which I think is one of the most boring sports in the world (just my personal opinion). Are crisps only eaten by football fans?

Anyway, yes I am aware the tournament is over, and that Spain won. Well done Spain! But I didn’t find these crisps until it was all over. And then I had to buy a multi pack.

So, what do we have here? English Bangers &Mash; oh, excuse me, the flavour is inspired by bangers and mash. Hmm…I’m not sure. The aroma is of something that might be sausage (bangers), but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the mash. 

Graffiti Artist taste tester tried a packet. He said he quite liked them. But his reaction was really tepid rather than enthusiastic.

I gather from the internet that I might also have bought Spanish Queso Wavy crisps, Portuguese Chorizo &Onion, or Wotsits Golden Balls Smokin’ Cheese. Only I haven’t seen any of these and I don’t propose to buy them off eBay. But you could if you wanted to. Probably for a limited time only.

You all know what Walkers crisps are like. Usually very reliable. I’m not sure this is one of their best offerings. I didn’t like them.

PS Unbelievable but true, my silly crispy snack blog which I only began because the weather on our summer holiday was very wet, has hit over one million views. 

Butterkist Sweet & Salty Microwave Popcorn

 I made a mistake.

I went to the local shop that sells the most interesting selection of snacks, and I fancied microwave popcorn. Did they sell it? Yes they did. And there it was on the shelf. I used to love microwave popcorn; nothing wrong with the cold stuff that comes in a bag, but the microwave kind is a different beast.

So after looking at the selection I grabbed a box. 

I grabbed the wrong box. In recent years my tastes have changed and while once upon a time I probably would have very much enjoyed the Sweet & Salty flavour, it’s not for me these days. Just too sweet. But absolutely nothing wrong with the popcorn itself.

Except that time when I allowed the microwaveable bag to open too far while the corn was popping, and then it gets stuck against the sides of the microwave instead of going around and around. And then it starts to burn. I should have tried to stop that.

Anyway, not for me. Maybe for you.

Serious Pig Giant Corn Scratchings

 

I was seduced by the effusive comments on the Serious Pig website. This giant corn snack is a vegetarian substitute for pork scratchings. Everyone seems to love it so I bought a small 35g packet.

Nope. Sorry. Not for me. Too hard. I don’t like the taste and I don’t like the smell. 

Do you think I should give up reviewing crispy snacks? I don’t seem to like very much of anything these days. 

Vegetarian though.

Co-op Limited Edition Dill-icious Dill Pickle Flavour Crisps

This is a wonderful crinkle cut crisp with a great bite and lots of good crinkles for the flavour dust to stick to.

Unfortunately the flavour is all wrong. I really enjoy dill pickle as a flavour, I love dill. But these crisps are far too vinegary for my taste. Far too vinegary. And I don’t like the way they smell. What a shame. And disappointing because Co-op crisps are usually very good.

Pretty packaging though.

The Fine Cheese Company Lemon, Sea Salt and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Crackers

 

Yes, OK, I admit it. This product from The Fine Cheese Company in Bath is not really a crispy snack. As it says on the packaging, it’s a cracker. To go with your cream cheese or goats cheese or whatever else you fancy. But this is my blog and I like the packaging design.

I’m not sure you can tell that these crackers have been made with extra virgin olive oil, but you can definitely tell they’re made with lemons. Very lemony. A bit more lemony than I was expecting to be honest. Perhaps the extra virgin makes a difference. It’s hard to tell. Maybe it’s one of those ingredients that you notice if it’s not there. And of course everything needs salt.

These crackers are very thin but with a serious crunch, so they hold up better to buttering, or cheesing, than some much better known crackers. 

The only problem is that I don’t like them very much. And I don’t have any reluctant taste testers staying just now to offer a different opinion.

Made for Drink Baron Bigod Cheese & Onion

This flavour of Made for Drink (premium bar snacks) crisps was created in partnership with English Heritage. I visited my local English Heritage property recently by myself, pottered around the garden and landscape for a while, and then I fancied a drink and a snack.

I found these crisps. Cheese and Onion flavour. Made with fancy Baron Bigod cheese (a British artisan cheese made by Fen Farm Dairy). And very nice too. Properly cheese and oniony.

Unfortunately I don’t remember these crisps very well because I was grumpy that my bank card was rejected* at the café till. It was rejected again at the garden shop, for no reason that I could think of, but that rather overshadowed my visit. I might try the Dorset Sea Salt next time. Not the Truffle because truffle is disgusting. 

*I called my bank and they said they only allow £300 of contactless payments before you have to use your PIN number again. They do not tell you this. This information is not on the letter that comes with your new PIN. The man I spoke to admitted that a lot of customers get in touch because they had their cards deactivated too. And they didn’t know about the £300 limit any more than I did. Apparently this information is in the terms and conditions. But where are they? 

Anyway, nice crisps.

Walkers Quavers Red Leicester

I,  and more than 4,000 other people, were extremely offended by an Instagram post recently where a family of Americans thundered round a UK supermarket and basically mocked everything in the shop for being “wrong”. Because everything was a UK product or a UK flavour… well, of course: they were in the UK. The family had much to say about Walkers having the wrong name (because they aren’t called Lay’s in the UK) and criticising the flavours for being wrong. Doh! Products in different countries have different names and different flavours. Imagine that.

So I hope if any readers visit an American (German/Icelandic/Peruvian/Korean) supermarket any time soon they will be polite enough to notice that the products are different, and not wrong.

And here’s a snack from Walkers who are, yes we admit it, owned by Lay’s: Quavers. A much loved snack in the UK. Yes, I think we are probably all prepared to admit that they are made of 100% expanded polystyrene (not actually), but basically the main ingredient, potato starch, has been manipulated into a crispy snack that pops on the tongue and might just as well be polystyrene (not really). So they’re definitely not a crisp. Or chip. Look, don’t @ me.

Although Quavers claims to be a cheesy snack, and does have a nice crunch, and a lovely pop, they really only taste of pretend ultra processed not really cheese. Not to worry, I like them very much despite this. And they’ve been going for quite some time so I guess a lot of other people like them too.

Anyway, I saw a packet of Red Leicester Quavers the other day, so I thought why not. A bit more cheesy than the original flavour I think. Rather tasty. 

I would definitely eat another packet of these.

NB Don’t forget Leicester is pronounced Lester.

Walkers Sensations Oven Roasted Peanuts Honey and Salt Flavour

Here we go again, another year, another snack to write about, and just for a change (not) here’s another packet of nuts. Because I wanted to compare Honey Roast Peanuts with Honey and Salt flavour nuts.

You might suppose that they would be pretty nearly identical but you would be wrong. The Honey and Salt are much less sweet than the Honey Roast, and considerably more salty. Much more to my taste. Lots of delicious flavour dust. Very nice. 

But sadly the peanuts are not so good. Smaller and harder than KP nuts usually are. 

However, this is a good option if you fancy a sweet and salty nut.

I wonder why Walkers chose Californian honey? Surely there is plenty of honey produced in the UK, or failing that, Europe?

KP Honey Roast Peanuts

I am continuing my quest to see if I really like any flavour of peanut better than the regular salted kind. And I think it’s possible that I don’t.

This Honey Roast flavour (source of protein, high in fibre) is quite sweet (made with glucose syrup - no wonder it’s so sweet), and I am not sure that’s what I want from a peanut. Oh dear, I seem to be a lot pickier than I used to be.

I read that grief can cause changes to your sense of smell and taste, but a year after my dear husband died, although I am still grieving, I am not sure this is a good excuse. I guess I just don’t like the sweetness anymore. Maybe age also affects your sense of taste?

Honestly, I’m sure I remember enjoying Honey Roast peanuts. And the peanuts in this case seem pretty good. So don’t pay any attention to me not enjoying them as much as I once did. Even though I don’t even feel like finishing the packet. 

Maybe I will try another flavour… and there are some flavoured peanuts on sale in my local supermarket that I have never attempted. 

Y’all know what peanuts look like, so no extra photos.

The Chef 
He changed my life forever and never tried to change me
1951 - 2024

Serious Pig Snacking Cheese

The packet says pure cheese baked to a crunch, but there is noticeable rosemary in the recipe.

I wasn’t sure about trying this crispy snack but it is quite tasty. Not just cheese, which can be quite overwhelming, but rosemary too. Although it’s still very rich, so don’t try to eat the whole packet at once, a few at a time are quite nice.

I probably wouldn’t buy another packet though. Not sure I am the biggest fan of this style of snack. Maybe the time has come to go back to potato crisps. 

Serious Pig Sausage Flavour Crisps

I love sausages, and you know I love crisps, so I was excited to try a packet of sausage flavour crisps.

What a disappointment. These crisps are covered in lots and lots of flavour, but I don’t think any of it adds up to sausage flavour. 

Now, you will probably think I am being far too picky, because I said the last Serious Pig crisp I reviewed (the dill pickle flavour) didn’t have enough flavour, and here I am moaning that this crisp has too much flavour. Never satisfied, eh? 

Also these crisps are quite big, which is weird, because the dill pickle crisps were quite small.

What a shame though. A missed opportunity. Could do better. See me after class.

KP Dry Roasted Peanuts

I thought I would try probably the most well known peanut company in the UK: KP.

And what do I think? Actually, I’m wondering if I ever liked Dry Roasted Peanuts in the first place. Did I used to like them? I can’t really remember. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.

Oh, this is a fine peanutty snack, no doubt about it, but I’m going to be just as picky as I was with the last two Dry Roasted options I have tried recently. And in this case, I think there’s too much dried yeast extract. And thus these nuts are too Marmitey for me. Although I do love Marmite, the flavour of these nuts is just too marmitey.

I am not going to abandon this 250g packet of very nice nuts. I will eat them all, but slowly. And I think perhaps I will attempt a different style of nuts next time.

I must say though, I really do applaud KP’s reseal system. Quite a lot of other companies offer resealable packaging these days, and quite a lot of the resealing just doesn’t work, or hasn’t worked for me. I hope all these resealing systems will work better in the future.

Serious Pig Pickle with Dill flavour crisps

I rather like the flavour of dill pickles but I don’t terribly like the texture. Tiny little cornichons are fine, but the big pickles not so much. So you might suppose that these pickle with dill flavour crisps would be just right for me.

Here we have nice crisps, perhaps a little small, skin on which is always a plus, nice crunch, all in all quite a good crisp. But the taste! Where is the punchy taste of dill pickle? I really think the people at Serious Pig need to add a lot more flavour to warrant the pickle with dill flavour label.

Not bad but a little disappointing on the flavour front. There really is not enough pickley pop. I’m a bit sad.

Johnny Cashew, Honey Seasalt

This 100g packet of cashew nuts from Johnny Cashew tells us something I genuinely didn’t know: cashew nuts grown in Africa are exported to Asia to be shelled. Where in Africa? I don’t know. And where in Asia? No sorry, I don’t know that either. 

But in any case, why?

Does this sound a bit like the C19th gold miners in California sending their dirty clothes off by sailing ship to Hawaii to be laundered? I mean seriously, does the technology to remove the cashew shells from the cashew nuts not exist in any African country in the 21st century?

Well, yes, apparently if it didn’t before, it does now. Because Johnny Cashew, the company, boasts that it has (gasp!) bypassed the long 12,000 km trip to Asia and shelled its nuts in Africa. Which we can only suppose must be a good thing (hurrah!).

Very tasty. I do enjoy a cashew nut. And the honey sea salt flavour is pretty good. Very easy to eat. I finished the packet with no trouble at all, and put a lot of effort into poking my finger into all the corners so as not to waste any tasty flavour dust. I can’t remember where I found these nuts but I would definitely be happy to try another packet. Seek them out nut fans.

And have I any explanation for paragraph 2 being inset? No. No, no idea at all. I tried hard to do something about it but with no success. I do not know how this happened. Computer programmes have minds of their own.

M&S British Hand Cooked Hot Maple Pigs in Blankets Crisps

 

Oh no! Two crispy snacks in a row that I really don’t like.

But not to worry crisp fans, just the other day I watched Cliffs of Moher Taste Tester eat two bowls of these Hot Maple Pigs in Blankets crisps. I managed one. One crisp. 

I don’t like the smell and I don’t like the taste. I think there are just too many flavours battling for supremacy, and really and truly I prefer simpler flavours. 

I’m not sure I would want to eat pigs in blankets with hot maple syrup even before they became a crisp flavour. I don’t really like pigs in blankets. Even without hot maple syrup, chilli, and oak smoked sugar. What is this conspiracy to flavour absolutely everything with smoked salt or smoked sugar these days?

Put your trust in Cliffs of Moher and ignore my pickiness. In any case, as ever, try for yourselves.

Edited to add: much to my surprise I recently discovered that in the United States the recipe for pigs in blankets appears to be mini hot dog sausage wrapped in an enriched dough and baked. In the UK they are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. A totally different recipe. This crisp is from the UK.