Weird & Wonderful Crisp Flavours: What Have Other People Had to Say?

Quite a lot of people (and webpages) have their own ideas about what constitutes a weird flavour from a crispy snack. It all depends where you come from, and who you are writing for.

Take this article from BBC America: 31 Wacky and Weird Flavors of British Potato Crisps. Speaking (writing) as a Brit I'm quite offended by this selection. I can only suppose it was written for an American readership, and OK, I thought a few of these choices were a bit unusual, but the reluctant taste testers and I have tried many of these crisps and I don't think we thought they were wacky. Or particularly weird either.

What's so odd about Worcester Sauce and Sundried Tomato crisps from Tyrrell's? I haven't tried that one, but I have tried at least four different Worcester Sauce flavoured crispy snacks, and one popcorn. I think they were all pretty tasty. Even delicious. This popcorn was certainly pretty good.

And the Kent Crisps. Roast Beef & Spitfire Ale, not tremendously unusual I would think, Oyster & Vinegar more so, but these crisps are made in Kent and people eat oysters in Kent; in fact they actively go to Kent to eat oysters so an oyster flavoured crisp seems like a natural progression. But wacky and weird? The reluctant taste testers and I have tried all the Kent Crisps flavour we could get our hands on. I don't think these two flavours were our favourites but I also don't think any of us would describe them as wacky. Maybe Americans won't know about Worcester Sauce, but if they are travelling to Europe perhaps they won't mind trying something new?

And seriously Walkers Prawn Cocktail? That's a really common flavour, been going for years, and no-one in the UK thinks it's at all weird. Look, the reluctant taste testers and I tried this posh version from Marks & Spencer.

I guess this article was aimed at Americans but hey, there are loads of wacky and weird flavours of crisps available in the United States, Canada too.

Here's another article, slightly more recent and from The Daily Mirror: British Crisp Flavours are Baffling Tourists Because The Are Too Fancy. Are they indeed? Well, you might say, so what? I never heard of anyone coming to the UK specially to try our crisps, but if they did, maybe they'd like to try something unusual rather than the same old crisp flavours that have been around since the 1960s.

Guess what? I've tried crisps from France and Switzerland that seemed a bit weird. Lots of crispy snacks from Israel too. They have flavours you just can't get in the UK - or not made by UK manufacturers.

So what is The Mirror writing about? Kettle Chips Chef's Signature Gressingham Duck, Plum Sauce & Spring Onion. Now that's a flavour I looked for but failed to find. I really wanted to try this crisp because it sounded so interesting. The article describes the flavour as "barely believable". Really? But even Tesco has sold Hoisin Duck crisps. And Tesco (a huge supermarket chain) can hardly be described as niche.

What else qualifies as a barely believable flavour? Here we are, Kettle Chips Chef's Signature Yorkshire Wensleydale and Cox Apple Chutney. Definitely sounds worth trying. I'm sorry I never spotted this flavour on the supermarket shelves. Does it really sound so bonkers?

All this froth from the Mirror was inspired by a Reddit post from bink_uk who posted that British crisp flavours are out of control, it seems he (she?) worries that crisps are now "a whole food experience". Well, yes, regular readers of this blog will know that has been the case for some time. But you can still find perfectly ordinary flavours of crisp. The complicated flavours are much harder to find than the simple ones.

Here's a post from AVclub.com way back in 2009: Cajun Squirrel Potato Chips, Chilli and Chocolate Chips and more.... This writer doesn't get the Walkers crisps on offer at all (he doesn't get British spelling either but that's another story). And he offers his workmates the chance to comment on all six Do Us a Flavour flavours of the day. I don't think they're that impressed!

I am not going to complain too much because that's how the reluctant tatse testers and I carry on. But it seems that people who decide to write a blog called something like "This is My Blog And it's About Crisps" (not a bad title actually - why didn't I think of that?) tend to be a whole lot more positive about slightly wacky crisp flavours than those who look around for something they find weird or annoying.

And to illustrate that, here are some thoughts from Boredpanda.com. There are some very interesting crisps on this post including Lay's Cappuccino which I thought were horrible! But Bored Panda seems interested in trying new flavours which makes a big difference. Some of the choices sound really good... some of them not so much. But you know, if you really don't like your weird crispy snack you don't actually have to finish the packet.

You don't have to buy a packet in the first place.

And if you would like to read more about crisp flavours you could do worse than check out Taquitos.net (the crunchiest site on the interweb) which features many many reviews of many many crispy snacks. They don't say much, but what they do say is full of interest. If you are at all interested it's well worth taking a look.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't step back in horror when you see a fancy new crisp flavour. Maybe give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised and go back for more.

And how ever much you don't like it.... for goodness sake... it's only a packet of crisps not the end of the world!

Badatz Paskesz Nosh.kes Falafel Crisps

I have no idea why this crispy snack which is shaped like worms is called a crisp. It doesn't make any sense at all. Except, I suppose, that calling it "Nosh.kes Falafel Worms" probably wouldn't lure the average punter into giving them a try.

How does that song go? Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm going down the garden to eat worms. Something like that. Well, perhaps not such a top advertising jingle for a crispy snack.

These "crisps" have a very hard crunch, and they're quite hard to pick up. But the taste, the falafel taste, is very nice indeed. Once again I ask, why no falafel flavour crisps on offer to the great British public? Because not everyone has access to a kosher deli.

Walkers Sensations Californian Honey & Salt Oven Roasted Peanuts

Another packet of ostentatiously oven roasted peanuts. Just how are old style (you know, what we grew up with) nuts cooked? Tossed in a giant frying pan or something?

Here's a recipe explaining how to make salted peanuts at home. I never thought about soaking the nuts in brine but now I know. There are also recipes that explain how to do it without the oil, but where's the joy in that?

I wonder. Do you suppose that products labelled oven baked are cooked without oil, but those labelled oven roasted are cooked with oil while still managing to sound a little bit healthy. What do you think? There is certainly oil involved in this recipe, but perhaps there is no difference between baked and roast.

One of my cousins makes a really tasty Christmas Day treat of fresh almonds fried in butter and sprinkled with salt. It's really good. Hot buttery saltiness makes almonds so easy to eat with a glass of fizz. And I don't really like almonds much. I guess you could try this with other nuts too.

Anyway, these peanuts are a lot more complicated than ordinary salted peanuts, and thus, I daresay, even less good for you. Look at all the honey and salt, and the second ingredient after peanuts is sugar. No real surprise there, but remember to restrict your intake because they won't do your diet any good.

They do taste good. And I think the sweet/saltiness works very well.

But both the Chef and I thought the nuts are rather harder than we were expecting. I don't know why they should be quite so hard.

Tesco Finest Hand Cooked Norfolk Bronze Roast Turkey with Sage & Onion Stuffing

You know, I've been putting off trying these crisps because I don't like turkey. But I was quite wrong because these are great crisps.

This is a Tesco Christmas special crisp. And, in fact, as I try them today they are well past their sell-by date. But hey! It's a crisp. It's not going to kill me is it? (Certainly hope not.) It's a shame though that I didn't get around to recommending them before because I don't suppose they are still available. But if you are reading this, Mr Tesco; please make these again next Christmas because seriously, this is a great crisp.

You may have read my reviews of other Christmas specials from Tesco and some of them were distinctly... unusual. But this flavour? Oh yes. I approve.

These are truly yummy potato crisps. Really quite big. Great crunch, not too soft, not too hard. A little bit of dark flavour dust with a few little herby bits. And a great flavour. What more could you want? They smell good too. Yum. Oh yes, yum. Lipsmackingly yum. You know what? I could probably eat a whole packet.

This is another crisp flavour that suffers from five star restaurant menu-itis. There's a bit too much going on in the flavour description I think. But it is still a very good flavour. I don't know if it makes any difference that the turkey comes from free range Norfolk Bronze turkeys but.... maybe.

However, the sage and onion flavour is concocted from a thing described as "stuffing and onion gravy flavour seasoning" which seems a bit odd. Where does the gravy bit come from you ask? Well, on the back of the packet the crisps are described as "roast Norfolk turkey, stuffing and onion gravy flavour" which is a bit different from the front page. Why? I don't know.

Not suitable for vegetarians because there is real turkey in these crisps. Which is a good thing. The potato variety is Hermes and they were grown in Devon in a field named Roundwood.

I'm sorry to see there is celery included in the seasoning; I am intolerant to celery and in larger doses it makes me feel quite unwell. The only thing I can say is that as a flavouring in a crisp it doesn't affect me in the same way it would if it was included in a stew or a soup. But I see it regularly included as an allergen these days so there must be people out there seriously allergic to it. In which case, why is it so routinely added to so many things? Not good.

This is a Christmas crisp from 2013. I don't know why so few of you out there read about this crisp so I'm going to post it again. Just for fun. You can see I thought it was a pretty good crisp.

And I was just reading one of the many "present giving" articles which appear in newspapers and magazines at this time of year. In this case several famous people (although I had only heard of one of them) gave their ideas on what to give at Christmas. One (designer Molly Goddard) had such a sensible idea, and you will see why it appealed to me; if you have a hard-to-buy-for friend why not give them a little hamper? A nice bottle of wine, she suggests, some good cheese and a packet of interesting crisps. Why not? I see our local branch of Marks & Spencer has a pile of baskets on sale to make your own DIY hamper but you could just as well use a pretty paper bag.

Gesher Snow Flakes Falafel Flavored

Another little packet of snow flake/flower shaped crisps snacks from Israel. And these ones are falafel flavoured.

I have probably said it before but I do wonder why we don't have falafel flavoured snacks in the UK? Or not that I have seen. Perhaps it's because even these days there may be parts of Britain where the wonder of the falafel has yet to penetrate?

Obviously, coming from North London as I do, I have access to all sorts of exotic foods at the drop of a hat, and I've not felt that I needed to drop many hats to find a falafel around here. Maybe if I were shopping in Cumbria or Orkney or Lincolnshire (no offence meant, honestly - I've simply chosen places I have never visited) maybe falafel might not be so easy to find.

But falafel are very tasty. And I do enjoy the taste. And I do enjoy the taste in a crispy snack. Especially in a lightly crunchy flower shaped crispy snack.

Very nice.

Tesco Mini Snackers Turkey & Stuffing

A little packet of crispy crunchy biscuits from Tesco... actually make that quite a big packet. 150g. And I don't think they come in a smaller size.

Another Tesco snack where the packaging design mysteriously looks like a 1960s Christmas card, these little biscuitty snacks actually taste pretty good: not at all like a leftover from the 1960s.

Yes, these are rather nice little biscuits, albeit rather dry, with a good crunch and texture. And a very nice taste of turkey and stuffing. I'm not actually mad about turkey, although I do like stuffing, I'd far rather have a proper free range chicken than a turkey. However, it seems that turkey & stuffing makes a very nice flavour for a crispy snack.

At Christmastime all sorts of snacks appear featuring so-called seasonal flavours, and they're not always that successful. But somehow the turkey & stuffing flavour seems to work rather well.

All the reluctant taste testers approved of this little biscuit. And you get lots in the box.

Hippeas Sweet & Smokin'

What? Tall Elegant taste tester went to the local health food shop and discovered organic chickpea puffs. Which look just like Cheesy Whotsits (Cheetos for those of you outside the UK). They also look very like Bamba Peanut Snacks from Israel or even Cheeky Monkey Peanut Butter Puffs.

I must say that from the look of the snack I was expecting a soft crunch (Wotsits) or a velvety texture (Bamba) but what you actually get is quite a hard crunch. A bit of a surprise.

And the taste is slightly sweet, slightly smokey, a little bit oniony, and also a little bit fugitive. Not a whole lot of taste to test. But quite nice and rather different.

The packet says We don't follow the rest of the snack pack. We go our own way. We think 'tastes good' and 'do good' can be in the same sentence. And we like, totally, love snacks. Join us to change things for the better, one chickpea at a time.
Peas, Love & Giving Back.

For every Hippeas bag sold, we give back. Find out about our social mission online. This company obviously has its heart in the right place, so check out their website and read all about how they support Farm Africa.

And there's an interesting new departure on the little guy throwing his rubbish away responsibly front. The scan got a little bit blurry so you may not be able to see that this guy is not only sporting a CND sign but making a V sign too.

Tesco Finest Mature Cheese Oat Nibbles

Obviously a posher snack than your average because there's more packaging involved. Always the way. And obviously you get fewer snacks.

Hand baked, melt-in-the-mouth oat nibbles from a small family-owned bakery in Aberdeenshire. They use an all butter recipe, locally milled Scottish oats and freshly mature cheddar cheese, then bake them in small batches at a low heat for a beautifully soft texture. Says the packet.

Mmmnn.... these little nibbles look surprisingly dull but taste surprisingly good. Certainly very cheesy. And with an oddly cool mouth feel - that must be something to do with the oats. I can't say that they melt in my mouth but I do find them rather tasty.

Nice.

The Chef, who is mixing our Christmas cake as I write, thinks the is a pretty OK crispy snack too. He says the cheesiness kind of creeps up on you. And suddenly these little biscuits turn out to be really very cheesy indeed.

If you feel these little oaty biscuits are a little dry (which I don't) it works very well indeed to add a little application of butter. Probably works nicely with a little extra cheese too.

REAL Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar

REAL The BAG with a bit more character says the packet.

Noble Friend found this packet of crisps at the BBC when she went to the recording of a radio comedy show. And while she enjoyed the show, what she brought back for me and the reluctant taste testers to try was this little packet of salt & vinegar crisps.

REAL crisps are a little bit thicker cut than average, nicely hand cooked, a pretty good crisp. And a very pleasant old fashioned style salt & vinegar flavour.

This is a nice crisp. But I don't know about you; I really don't admire the packaging design.

Scott Farms Orange, Purple & White Sweet Potato Chips

Tall Elegant taste tester visited the health food store and came back with this 100g packet of extremely handsome sweet potato crisps. And by extremely handsome I mean very pretty.

It's strange how a vegetable called a potato is not a potato. And sometimes it's called a yam... but this is a different vegetable in the South Pacific and New Zealand. Which is why you should never rely on "common names" but go straight to the Latin if you can. So your actual potato is a member of the Nightshade family Solanaceae along with tomatoes, and the Sweet Potato is a member of the Convolvulaceae like the morning glory flower, or bindweed. And hey! word fans, the word for potato comes from the Quechua (spoken in Peru) which a friend of mine speaks. Along with French, English, Spanish and very likely German.

Anyway, sweet potato crisps tend to have quite a dull crunch compared to potato crisps. but they certainly are attractive when you get three different colours in the same packet.

Nicely salted too. And a pretty packet. Spot the convolvulus flower?

Scott Farms products are made in North Carolina and imported by Scott Farms International based on the wonderfully named Asparagus Way in Evesham. Evesham is the heart of UK asparagus growing industry but it's still a wonderful name for a road.