We took a wee break last week from A Matter of Taste, or You Could Never Sell That in the U.S. But I have four -- count them -- four disgusting crisp flavors for you this week! Ignore the IRN-BRU; it's just there for effect.
I'm used to eating smelly foods. I love a ripe French brie that smells like unwashed sweaty feet on a hot day. I happily munch on raw onion, garlic olives, sardines and wasabi peas.
But if you're looking for an easy route to bad breath ... these potato crisps are the way to go. Here's the rundown (clockwise from top left).
1. Walkers’ German Bratwurst Sausage flavour. Disgusting. Tastes like how I imagine dog food tastes. Vaguely meaty and weirdly oniony. Couldn’t finish them.
2. Walkers’ Pickled Onion flavour. Oniony, vinegary, on the strong side, but not distinctive. As it says on the package, you will cry tears of pickled onion joy. Sounds so... appealing, doesn't it?
3. Brannigans’ Roast Lamb and Mint flavour. Tasty, and a good hearty texture. The flavour was kind of subtle, but they were good, and no funny aftertaste like with the Walkers. I wouldn't necessarily choose these, but they were pretty edible.
4. Walkers’ Prawn Cocktail flavour. Not as bad as expected. Kind of vinegary; they've gone completely overboard on the potassium chloride. I’m eating them but I feel a stomach ache coming on if I keep going.
The verdict: For me, the quality had more impact than the flavour itself. The Walkers' crisps were thin, heavily seasoned, and had a strange, chemical aftertaste. The Brannigans', in contrast, were thick-cut, gently flavoured and tasted more natural.
I don't think these bizarre flavors would sell in the U.S. but I could be wrong... there are plenty of artificially flavored products sold there. It might just be a case of needing the right approach.
In fact, Walkers' flavoured crisp list includes 'American Cheeseburger' which I intentionally avoided. Some things sound too repulsive even for me.
Would you try these?
I'm used to eating smelly foods. I love a ripe French brie that smells like unwashed sweaty feet on a hot day. I happily munch on raw onion, garlic olives, sardines and wasabi peas.
But if you're looking for an easy route to bad breath ... these potato crisps are the way to go. Here's the rundown (clockwise from top left).
1. Walkers’ German Bratwurst Sausage flavour. Disgusting. Tastes like how I imagine dog food tastes. Vaguely meaty and weirdly oniony. Couldn’t finish them.
2. Walkers’ Pickled Onion flavour. Oniony, vinegary, on the strong side, but not distinctive. As it says on the package, you will cry tears of pickled onion joy. Sounds so... appealing, doesn't it?
3. Brannigans’ Roast Lamb and Mint flavour. Tasty, and a good hearty texture. The flavour was kind of subtle, but they were good, and no funny aftertaste like with the Walkers. I wouldn't necessarily choose these, but they were pretty edible.
4. Walkers’ Prawn Cocktail flavour. Not as bad as expected. Kind of vinegary; they've gone completely overboard on the potassium chloride. I’m eating them but I feel a stomach ache coming on if I keep going.
The verdict: For me, the quality had more impact than the flavour itself. The Walkers' crisps were thin, heavily seasoned, and had a strange, chemical aftertaste. The Brannigans', in contrast, were thick-cut, gently flavoured and tasted more natural.
I don't think these bizarre flavors would sell in the U.S. but I could be wrong... there are plenty of artificially flavored products sold there. It might just be a case of needing the right approach.
In fact, Walkers' flavoured crisp list includes 'American Cheeseburger' which I intentionally avoided. Some things sound too repulsive even for me.
Would you try these?
Most of those Walkers crisp flavours are special editions to celebrate the World Cup. We all hate them too, but love trying them just to see how bad they taste :-)
ReplyDeleteNow I want to know what American Cheeseburger tastes like!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have as many meat flavored chips in the US.
Yum, prawn cocktail. Glad to see my other favourite, Worchester sauce, didn't make your list.
ReplyDeleteJackie, I guess it's a successful marketing strategy then, make a product sound so awful that people will buy it out of curiosity. It worked for me!
ReplyDeleteJ* - maybe I'll send you some.
PW, Is that really your favourite? :) I'll have to try the Worchester flavour now.
see this is why I dont eat crisps, my friend was eating the roast dinner one the other day which she wasnt too impressed with.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to justify buying any of these when salt and vinegar and cheese and onion are so good.
ReplyDeleteTomato Ketchup was one British flavor I was totally unwilling to try, but there are plenty of US Dorrito flavors that sound vile.
The Denver "Black Arts Fest" is this weekend, and it strikes me as something whose name wouldn't travel-- actually not so sure it works here. Coordinating the Botanic Gardens booth for the Black Arts Fest (African-American Arts) used to be on my resume and it was hard to explain that it was not about Voldemort or Voodoo.
And Irn Bru. Eeeesh.
ReplyDeleteJessica and SS - There are so many good crisp flavors out there (mmmm, salt and vinegar) it doesn't make any sense to eat the vile ones.
ReplyDeleteA Black Arts festival does indeed sound a little bit sinister!
Argh, these recent Walkers crisp flavours are barf-worthy at best! I tried one of them and urgh! They ended up in the bin about two crisps later. I think it was roast lamb or beef or something. The meaty ones have never been good.
ReplyDeleteI really wish they'd bring back the marmite and lemon and chilli flavoured ones though. They were really nice. Yum yum.
My favourite still is, and always will be good old salt n' vinegar.