Tayto Snax Potato Puffs Cheese & Onion (Republic of Ireland)

Cliffs of Moher Taste Tester tells me that one of her favourite Irish snacks is Tayto Snax Smokey Bacon. Unfortunately the Chef and I can’t tell you what we think of that because Cliffs of Moher sent us a packet of Cheese & Onion flavour instead. But you know I’m not complaining, because it was super kind of her to send us such a fun present while we are all in lockdown.

I was very pleased when I opened the packet because I thought we were going to be taste testing a crispy snack akin to the fabulous UK snack Quavers. But not so.

A bit too pale, the wrong texture - too fine, and the bubbles aren’t big enough  - the bubbles are important. And of course because we are such huge fans of Quavers, the Cheese & Onion flavour didn’t seem quite right. But worst of all, the bite is too soft.

So, very sorry but I wasn’t impressed. I don’t know why I found this such a disappointing crispy snack. Sometimes it’s impossible to say. And I can tell the Chef wasn’t impressed either because the bowl of snacks remained full: he’s so greedy if he likes something it’s gone in a flash!

However, apparently while this crispy snack didn’t work as a lunchtime snack for the Chef, he was much more interested post his pre-dinner shower. And I think started enjoying his snacking. In the end he ate quite a lot.

Tayto Rancheros Bacon (Republic of Ireland)

I don’t know whether to be disappointed or not that this crispy snack doesn’t look like a fake bacon rasher. I was quite expecting something more like Snacketti Bacon Strips from Swiss crisp giant Zweifel. But no.

No, what you get is a tasty, slightly bacon tasting crispy snack. Which isn’t printed with faux bacon stripes but instead has a sort of bacon style structure to it.

This is a gently flavoured bacon snack, and all the better for it. The Chef was quite impressed and ate half the packet in an absent-minded fashion while checking his emails. This is one of Cliffs of Moher’s recommendations. Although she says they are a bit weird.

Chuck Wagon photo Courtesy Library of Congress 

What I find a bit weird is the cowboy theme. What? Do cowboys only eat bacon? From my extensive research watching many westerns when I was growing up (they used to be on television all the time: it was the fashion) I had gathered that what cowboys ate was beans. When I read The Virginian, written by Owen Wister in 1902, (which spawned a Broadway play, a number of films and a long running TV series) I was struck that the characters rode across the endless empty plains of the Wyoming Territory eating tinned tomatoes straight from the tin. And then discarding the tins so they marked the trail. I don’t think I have ever noticed tinned tomatoes in a TV western.

In fact of course, a little genuine research tells me that cowboys ate salt pork not bacon at all. Obviously beans. And somewhat surprisingly, quite a lot of dried fruit.

Russian Crisp Flavours

In the current Coronavirus emergency, most of us won’t get to Russia any time soon (if at all), so here’s a fascinating article (and photograph) from Born in a Car.

I hope Cheryl of Born in a Car doesn’t mind me passing on her article to you.

It’s a gripping list of Russian crisps I really don’t fancy at all; but that doesn’t make it any the less fascinating: lobster, crab, king crab crisps, mushroom & sour cream, cheeseburger (this is obviously a flavour close to my heart), and an unusual-sounding snack called grenki in salmon & cheese or meat jelly & horseradish flavours. I’m sure the Reluctant Taste Testers would have much enjoyed getting stuck in to this exciting selection of snacks.

If you absolutely cannot wait for a ticket to Moscow or St. Petersburg to sample a Russian crispy snack, there are Ebay sellers who specialise in these unusual (to non Russians) flavours. Just from Lay’s they can apparently supply Sour Cream & Greens, White Mushrooms with Sour Cream, Crab, Lobster, Hunting Sausage (that sounds interesting) and of course Pickled Cucumber with Dill. I suppose I could order a packet or two, but somehow that feels like cheating.

I avoid seafood, and the seafood flavour crispy snacks so beloved by the Russians, but I did buy M&S Ever So Posh Lobster Cocktail (mostly because I really liked the packaging design), and a packet of Tyrrell’s Lobster Cocktail crisps. Although I couldn’t bring myself to try the Reluctant Taste Testers seemed quite keen.

And then here’s a piece from rtbh.com on 7 flavours of famous snacks you’ll only find in Russia. It only features one crisp but serves to illustrate how strongly the Russians feel about dill, and seafood.
I know it’s not a crispy snack but quite fancy the cucumber flavour Sprite.

Finally, a list fromThe Daily Meal includes Lay’s Caviar at #5. Of course! I knew there was something missing.

KP Velvet Crunch Cheddar Cheese & Onion Gourmet Bites

Well now. For some reason I thought this crispy snack was going to be a potato crisp. But no. It’s made with tapioca and cassava and is more of a very fine-grained Popchips style of snack, or perhaps the texture of a Bunny Bites. You will have noticed that this misconception is entirely my fault because obviously I failed to look at the picture on the packet: patently not a crisp. However, it wasn’t just me. The Chef thought the same.

So, this fine, and perhaps velvety, snack from Ireland seems to be made on the same premises as Tayto snacks. Now, Tayto is owned by Intersnack as is KP Snacks, but for some reason the Tayto and Velvet Crunch brands don’t want to advertise this. And so far as I can tell, Tayto hasn’t gone down the KP Snacks route. But the ownership of crisp companies is often convoluted and complex, so let’s move on to the taste.

So what did the Chef and I think? A bit more oniony than cheesy. And the texture is so oddly light you rather eat them without noticing. I think I would prefer a snack with more substance. A bit more of a crunch. This crispy snack may have 60% less fat than standard crisps but (a) it isn’t a crisp, and (b) it has a fair percentage less crunch. And I think crunch is important.

Velvet Crunch was relaunched by KP in 2017 to reflect its new “healthier positioning”. I suppose that’s why the number of calories features so large on the front of the packet. Interestingly, the two other flavours, Thai Sweet Chilli and Salt & Vinegar, have 1 less calorie each than today’s snack.

Tayto Mighty Munch Hot & Spicy (Republic of Ireland)

Goodness gracious! What terrifying creatures we create to convince the children to eat crispy snacks. As if we need to. Mighty Munch, made to scare the mightiest of appetites, these hot and spicy flavour snacks will stomp all over your taste buds. As a mighty muncher, you don’t scare easily. You’re not afraid of what goes bump in the night or crunch in the dark. Boo.. see, you didn’t even flinch!

Very similar to the U.K.’s much loved but terrifying-tasting Monster Munch, this maize based snack is amazingly tasty. Mmmn... yum yum! Obviously they gum themselves to your teeth just like every other maize based snack but that is only to be expected.

 I’m not sure what they actually taste of (I mean, you know, spice extract? What is that exactly? Which spices? Who knows?) but I’m not sure it really matters. And apparently these crispy snacks have been dunked in a volcano for maximum tastiness. Do they have volcanoes in Ireland?

If you’re looking for a full frontal bonkersly tasty snack this could be the one for you. I got mine posted to Switzerland by a friend (amazing!) but perhaps you could visit Ireland for a holiday one day? Or get yourself some Irish friends.

And if you haven’t seen one of those TV programmes about the making of crispy snacks and can find an online video of a machine extruding maize snacks, it’s definitely worth taking a look. Unfortunately I am writing this in a country where none of the videos I’m thinking of is available so I can’t choose a good one one for you. But I know they’re out there. It’s a very exciting process!

The Chef wasn’t quite prepared to admit to enjoying his Mighty Munch; but he did say it’s a very moreish snack and if you have a bowl of them set right in front of you, you won’t be able to stop yourself. And he did eat quite a lot.

Suitable for vegetarians.

New Zealand Crisps

You have probably noticed a sudden, very welcome, influx of Irish snacks on the blog. Which is very exciting and just what we needed. But since I already wrote this I’m going to post it anyway.

Because New Zealand is so far away for most readers, we don’t get to try their crispy snacks, and indeed have no idea what’s on offer for the crispy snack or chip fan. Interestingly, New Zealand, like the U.K., doesn’t have Lay’s crisps. What they have instead is Bluebird, which is owned by the mammoth PepsiCo which also owns Lay’s. Of course. But there’s also Heartland (100% Kiwi owned to the bottom of the bag), and no doubt many more.

I have only ever  tried one packet of crispy snacks from New Zealand: my lovely friend Dutch taste tester and her husband Vinyl Collector brought back a packet of Bluebird Burger Rings from their honeymoon and the reluctant taste testers and I liked this snack a lot. Very tasty!

In fact, my friends visited New Zealand again earlier this year. Possibly simply to sample the crispy snacks. They sent me this photo ⬆️ just to make me jealous. Because that’s what friends do.

However, I have a mystery packet of New Zealand crispy snacks waiting for me in Mallorca. The Chef has a skiing friend who recently visited New Zealand and very sweetly brought me back a packet of ... I don’t know what. But instead of returning to Verbier where he sometimes lives, Skiing Friend decided to go to his house in Mallorca instead. Well, that would normally be just fine, only the local post office there has decided against accepting any international parcels for the time being. Apparently it’s all packed up in a jiffy bag ready to post, but there is still a danger that Skiing Friend might succumb to temptation, break in to the parcel and snack them all down in the middle of the night. 

While we wait for the Mallorca post office to change its mind, and perhaps the world to get back to normal, here’s a (very long, 122 varieties of crisps long) list of New Zealand crispy snacks ranked by Madeleine Chapman for The Spinoff : she really does seem to have a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of her native crisps. So many New Zealandish crisps, indeed, that you may feel the need to scroll through to the top 10.

I confess I have a weakness for the Bluebird packaging design. Why a penguin? It’s weird. But who cares? It’s fun. If I ever visit New Zealand you can tell I will be in the nearest shop looking for the crispy snack aisle.

Tayto ChicKatees ChicKen (Republic of Ireland)

I know I have discussed this chicken flavour maize puff snack with Cliffs of Moher Taste Tester because I was so stunned to discover a maize puff that didn’t taste of cheese. I distinctly remember standing beside her desk one lunchtime at work and saying, “Chicken? Who on earth thought of that?

Well, apparently Irish crisp giants Tayto thought of chicken flavour, so here we are with a bright blue packet covered in slightly hysterical cartoon chickens. Obviously.

Feelin’ peckish? asks the packet, inside this bag are Mr Tayto’s delicious ChicKatees prime for a kickin’. What are you waiting for? Don’t just sit there reading the back of this packet, dive on in there and show those chickens who’s boss! Why a capital K in the middle of the word I don’t know.

Well, yes. Hmm. It’s a typical maize based snack. Or is it? The traditional Cheesy Wotsits style snack is cheesy. The Danish crispy snack Kims Ostepops which the reluctant taste testers learned to love after a single bite is cheesy. The ever fabulous M&S Cheese Tasters which, obviously is a cheesy snack.

Or, yes OK, the rather different Tesco Sausage Roll flavour... but that was a Christmas special so you could argue it doesn’t really count. Oh, er, and Cheetos Spirals Cheese & Tomato Ketchup from Poland. Oh alright then. I have argued myself out of my own argument. But do admit that chicken flavour is a little out of the ordinary for a maize puff snack.

Slightly unfortunate: it’s not a very chickeny taste. After a bit of practice you can convince yourself it’s a chicken flavour, but it isn’t very strong. I thought the most chickeny bit was the left over flavour dust at the bottom of the packet. Do not neglect the flavour dust.

It’s quite tasty as snacks go though, and the Chef and I had no trouble snacking down this little packet in double quick time.

Tayto Wheelies Bacon (Republic of Ireland)

 

Wheelies says the packaging, that crispy bacon flavour that makes you want to do a few heel clickers before free styling down the hill, hoping that your brakes still work. Or crazier still, attempt your new superman seat grab. Man that’s extreme snacking!

Well, that all sounds very exciting but, being the world’s most unlikely motorcyclist (reluctant taste testers are you surprised?) I have no idea what it’s about. Of course this is a dirt bike or trail bike or something, designed for bouncing around hillsides in mud. Which doesn’t make it any more attractive to me. A failed ex-boyfriend thought it a good plan to make me ride a motor scooter down a Spanish cliff with no edges. Guess what? Not a good idea. It was absolutely terrifying. He said I was cowardly, I said I was being sensible. I would far rather walk than plunge to my doom because I had never ridden a scooter on the flat let alone down a cliff.

Anyway, I am quite a fan of crispy bacon, and very partial to a maize based snack. So when an exciting parcel of crispy snacks arrived from Cliffs of Moher Taste Tester and her mum in Ireland (Hello!) I picked this to try first.

Right, step one: don’t sniff the packet. This snack smells disgusting! But I poured them all, not very many because it’s only a 20g bag, into a bowl and put them on the window cill to rest. And? Actually they taste pretty good. There’s that strange granular texture you get with maize based shapes, and obviously they stick to your teeth as though they’ll be there forever and get the better of your dental hygienist, but the taste is savoury and quite a bit bacony (albeit suitable for vegetarians) and the Chef and I had no difficulty in snacking down these wheel-shaped snacks.

Plus! There’s a little guy throwing his rubbish away responsibly. We haven’t had one of them for a while have we?

5 Midwest-Made Potato Chip Brands

You can imagine that with half the world in lockdown it’s been a bit of a struggle to discover new crispy snacks to share with the Chef, and write about for you lot. So I thought I would have a look and see if I could find any suitable reading for crispy snack fans who can’t get out and about.

This was a lucky find: an article from Feast Magazine (click here for the original article) about the 5 best potato chips from the Midwest (of the United States - just in case you weren’t sure) that you really ought to know about. NB I posted this article on 20th April and now, 31st July, I find it’s no longer available to read in some parts of the world for “legal reasons”. 

So here’s a link or two... Old Vienna of St Louis  If you scroll down the page they even sell shower curtains!

The Billy Goat Chip Company

Guy’s Legendary Potato Chips

I have never been to the Midwest, and quite likely won’t ever get there (there are far too many fabulous places in Europe that I have yet to visit) but it’s always interesting to read about crispy snacks, and Americans really know how to make a great snack. If only I could send off for a care package.

But thank you Feast Magazine for drawing these tasty sounding snacks to our attention.

Don’t forget to check my earlier posts where I write about crispy snacks I have actually tried.

Gran Pavesi le Sfoglie Classiche

Here’s another crispy snack from our little local Co-op in Switzerland. It’s a crispy Italian cracker for serving a fancy apéro snack... or for dipping in my handy homemade sour cream and chive lockdown dip (see the previous post).

Not a lot of taste apart from a faint air of water biscuit: a harder bite than that and a hearty satisfying crunch. But they do taste good with the dip. I’m sure if I could be bothered to decorate one of these crackers with a slice of cucumber, some salmon mousse and a caper that would work pretty well too. Although I don’t fancy salmon mousse, and the Chef won’t eat capers (he’s so picky!) so we might swap out (as they say these days), or perhaps change up, our own choice of ingredients.

I wonder how they make the not quite square shapes come out apparently random? Probably squirted out of an extruder.

2024 Update: More recent packaging features cream cheese with fig and basil leaves, and hummus with avocado and a scattering of sesame seeds. I find these little crispy snacks work extremely well with unsalted butter and a little honey sriracha drizzle. Very nice.