Serious Pig Snackingham Chorizo

You may recall that I have tried Serious Pig products before. Their Snackingham Classic is delicious. So I thought I might try the Snackingham Chorizo.

Still in a small 17g packet, still made with outdoor reared British pork. But this time with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. And what do you get? A smoky flavour which is very nice, but I think I still prefer the Classic.

Also still not a crispy snack but slices of air dried pork.

Seabrook Lattice Food Heroes Three Little Pigs Chorizo

And another exciting flavour from Seabrooks. Oh dear I really don't like chorizo very much. I just adore salamis and eat them all the time, as often as possible, but chorizo really isn't for me; it's far too oily. And I am not convinced that chorizo works at all well as a crispy snack flavour. Mind you, the Chef & I tried a salami flavoured crisp in Italy and were very unimpressed.

As always with Seabrooks crispy snacks the bite is very nice and light and the texture wonderful. I just really disliked the flavour. I think Slightly Red Haired Bristolian quite enjoyed this flavour but I am sorry to say that most of the reluctant taste testers were pretty reluctant when it came to this flavour.

Very sorry but we didn't enjoy this crispy snack much.

Three Little Pigs is a proud artisan operation, fully committed to their happy free range pigs and making food the slow way in the stunning Yorkshire countryside. I read that Charlotte & Jo started when they were given a rare breed sow as a wedding present. Their chorizo wins wards. Honestly, I cannot think what I would do if anyone gave me a sow (rare breed or no) as a wedding present! but since I live in North London I suspect this is an unlikely occurrence. 

Kettle Chips Limited Edition Chorizo Feta & Olive

I have a feeling this limited edition crisp will remain a limited edition. Somehow this flavour doesn't really work very well. It doesn't seem to taste of chorizo or feta, or olive either.

There's a huge long list of ingredients including chorizo, feta and olive, along with raw cane sugar, chilli, oregano, lemon juice, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but I don't think you would be able to say exactly what this crisp tastes of.

The actual crisps are large, richly coloured and have a great crunch. And a strong flavour. Which was OK. But none of the reluctant taste testers were convinced by this flavour.

Sorry Kettle Chips. We really didn't feel this combination of flavours worked well for us.

Plus and I think you can see it on the scan if you peer closely, the packaging has a pattern like Victorian floor tiles... but also gives the effect that you get when your crisp packet gets a bit old and it starts to leak oil. Or whatever it is that crisp packets do. If you keep them for any length of time you'll have seen this weird effect.

Not a total success we felt. But look: the crisps are wonderful.

Pipers Crisp Co Kirkby Malham Chorizo

Noble friend went to the Ideal Home Exhibition the other day and brought me and the reluctant taste testers this new (to us) flavour from UK crispeteers Pipers.

This was extremely nice of her - but she is nice - and the only thing wrong with her kind gesture is that she was sold crisps in the old packaging and not the new. The new packaging for this flavour is a fabulous rich purple. It would have been fun to see that. But let's be honest. That's just me being super picky.

I was a little anxious about trying this flavour because I don't usually like chorizo much; it tends to be too oily for me. Maybe I've been given the wrong kinds of chorizo.

Anyway, you can see I set out a bowlful at work (if you have been paying close attention you will recognise this bowl and tabletop which often feature when the taste testers are involved - OK you probably aren't so nerdy as I am) and sat back to see what everyone thought.

And everyone thought these crisps were just delicious. The crisps themselves are perfect; the right sort of crunch, the right texture. And the flavour is fabulous. A wonderful smoky paprika aroma, and a truly great smoky chorizo taste.

The flavour comes from Oxford Sandy and Black pigs raised in the Yorkshire Dales. They are butchered on the farm and turned into delicious Yorkshire Chorizo Sausage. Which is then used to makes these crisps.

What could be better than that?

Update: here's the newer packaging courtesy of the senior taste tester. Unusual colour isn't it? But rather wonderful.