Although my sweet tooth seems to be growing with age I'm still more a savoury than a sweet man and that is definitely the case with snacks. If I'm in need of something to get me through the afternoon it will always be a bag of crisps (Salt & Vinegar McCoys, Worcestershire Sauce Wheat Crunchies, Steak Roysters) that I buy over a chocolate bar. Salt, oil and crisp potato is one of cooking's finest trilogies. Add to this my love of new tastes and I was delighted when Walkers launched their range of six new flavours.
My quest to try them all was nearly stopped at first base with the
fairly revolting Chili & Chocolate. I've got nothing against chili
and chocolate, in fact it's a wonderful combination which the folk in
central America realised eons ago. It's just chili, chocolate and
potato, well chocolate and potato really, that I have trouble with. I
realised that these sounded horrible and tasted horrible though and as as the rest
of the flavours sounded great then hopefully they'd carry on the taste
like they sound theme and be a delight.
Cajun Squirrel were all cajun and no squirrel, a plus for the
vegetarians but a negative for a patron of St John - not bad but not great. The Crispy Duck & Hoisin
all five spice and no game, again not bad but not gold medal material. Onion Bhaji were fantastic, definitely
reminiscent of the real thing and the Builder's Breakfast my favourite
of the bunch so far, I really felt like I could pick up the different
flavours from a fry up, well egg, bacon and beans/tomato anyway. One of the things I kept tasting was burnt feathers, something I know is associated with the maillard reaction on egg white protein, specifically an amino acid called cysteine, something present in egg, human hair and bird feathers - they're a resourceful bunch those flavour scientists. I wasn't sure if I was imagining it though due to my knowledge of its use in egg flavourings.
This all happened weeks ago but I didn't want to write about them until I'd had the Fish & Chips too, mainly as I thought they might nip top spot. I had them today and whilst they were good they faltered compared to other fish based snacks - like Scampi Fries and the fond memories of Scampi and Lemon Nik Naks - and so the winner is Builder's Breakfast.
What was yours?
I love crisps, they really are a vice of mine but I am a bit of a purist; ready salted Hula Hoops are my favourite. I'll occasionally stretch to salt n' vinegar mccoys or french fries, but it's rare.
I tried a few of the new ones - the hoisin duck one tasted quite a lot like cucumber as well as 5 spice. The chocolate chilli ones were pretty rank, as were the fish n' chip ones. Leave well alone, I say!
Posted by: Lizzie | March 05, 2009 at 04:34 PM
I, like you, am a savoury fanatic and frequently kneel at the crisp altar. I found these a little disappointing too. Such a shame! They had so much promise.
Interesting that my top crisps are yours too, I'd need to add bacon fries and Irish taytos to the mix though :-)
Posted by: Niamh | March 05, 2009 at 11:10 PM
I'm a crisp addict too and I'm yet to try any of this new range. I'm slightly perplexed by the cajun squirrel! The Builder's Breakfast flavour sounds very interesting. My faves are scampi and lemon nik naks and Jonathan Crisps cheese and onion. Have you tried them? They do some interesting flavours like horseradish and sour cream.
Posted by: Boo | March 06, 2009 at 02:08 PM
I really expected more from Chilli & Chocolate, but all I could really taste was spices, and to be hones, it feels like I've tasted Cajun Squirell before....
In a nutshell I voted for Fish & Chips.
Posted by: Kevin | March 26, 2009 at 06:37 PM