Marmite Flavour Potato Crisps

I'll be honest.  I'm terrified.  I don't like Vegemite (and I've tried it properly with a friend who likes it fixing me a sandwich of it) and I don't like Marmite.  Even my friends who like Vegemite don't like Marmite.  But here these chips sit.  Mocking me.

Bag open.  They smell awful.  They smell like Marmite I guess.  Potent.  It smells like an old shoe maybe?  I'm trying not to be biased against these from the start, but the smell is really not helping here.  Ok... here it goes nothin.

But what do they taste like?
I picked one without a lot of Marmite flavor on it and mostly tasted chip.  Tolerable.  A bit like eating weird tasting cardboard I'd imagine.  Time to stop mucking about - I'm going to try one that's covered in flavor.  It's not as bad as I thought, but it's not nice either.  And the chips themselves weirdly disintegrate as you eat them.  I'm actually shocked at how not awful these are.  But, let's not kid ourselves here - I am never eating them again after this.

They're very salty for the first bit and then weirdly bland.  Rarely eating Marmite, I can't verify if these taste all that much like it, but I don't think they do.  I remember a strong dislike of Marmite and I can't even muster up the energy to dislike these.  I really expected to have my socks knocked off with horrible flavors and these were just pretty meh.

Is it weird to be disappointed that chips weren't worse?  Maybe.  There's something very unappealing about the first bite - the way that weird cardboard-y flavor just hits you.  They're not as bad after a bit though - it's mostly just a weird savory salt taste that's not particularly appealing.  I could stomach eating more than one, so they don't get a 0, but barely.

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Joe Chips Sour Cream and Toasted Onion

Who is Joe?  I don't know, but he makes chips.  They're not even Joe's Chips - they are simply Joe Chips.  My dad happened to see these at the store and grabbed me a bag.  Thanks!  I'm intrigued to see how toasted onions stack up against regular onions!

The chips have an odd smell; I'm not sure if it's the toasted onions, or something mysterious and sinister.  The smell a little bit like Ramen instant soup powder.  Not the soup itself, but just the powder.  I'm also used to more seasoning nibblies on my sour cream and onion chips - these don't seem to have very many.  What does it all mean!?

But what do they taste like?
They taste a little bit like the Ramen packet smells, but also with a hint of sour cream and onion.  There's a lot a bit of a flavor which I have to assume is the toasted part of the onion.  It's strange - they both have flavor and don't have much flavor at the same time.

 

There's also a big kick of salt in that first bite before the other flavors make themselves known - and of grease since these seem to be your standard kettle cooked chips.  I also feel like part of the flavor I'm getting is the chip grease taste?  Tough to say.  If I tried these without knowing the flavor I think it'd take me a minute to figure out they're sour cream and onion.

They taste good, but they're not as sour cream and onion-y as most sour cream and onion chips.  Since I rather like that taste, I'll probably stick to other brands, but these aren't bad.  Still not sure why the onion is 'toasted', though.

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Skips Tingly Prawn Cocktail

I've heard things about Skips, but now I have them!  My friend Maggie picked these up for me a store that sells UK chips (and oh I shall be going there again) because she's awesome!  Also... tingly prawn cocktail?  I wonder how the tingly factors in...

Having tried Walker's Prawn Cocktail, I wasn't surprised to find that these smell much more like prawn cocktail sauce than actual prawns.  The flavor kinda worked with the Walker's, though so perhaps it will again!  They're strangely shaped, too... almost like little bowls or something.  The bag tells me that I should balance a Skip on my tongue and let it melt in my mouth.  Also, they make a big deal about 25% extra, but this doesn't seem like a ton of chips - I'd hate to see the regular bags.  Weirdly... the back of the bag suggests making Prawn Cocktail Flavour Tapioca Snack which just sounds awful.  I'll pass on that, thanks.

But what does it taste like?
Strange!  More salty than prawn-y and it does kinda tingle the tongue in a strange way.  They practically disintegrate the minute you close your mouth.  There's really no point in chewing them since they just sort of melt away like a chip ninja.  I'm so caught up in the strangeness of the chip itself that the flavor sort of gets lost.  They're saltier than the Walker's chips, but there's also the sweetness of the cocktail sauce.  I don't understand why they even bother putting 'prawns' on the bag since you could easily call it cocktail sauce and pin the flavor better.  I'm not sure why, but the flavor is kinda growing on me.  It's not quite cocktail sauce... it's tangier?  I'm not sure, but it's kinda nice.

These disintegrate so easily I almost wouldn't even call them chips - chips have more substance I think.  The Skips are kinda thick, thicker than normal chips, but that doesn't give them much substance.  It's definitely a unique experience eating these.  I hear they're good in sandwiches, but alas I have no sandwich handy.  They also make a bit of a mess - the seasoning doesn't stick very well to the chips so the little salt nibbles go all over when you eat them.  Not ideal.  For me, I prefer my chips to have a little more substance so I don't think I'll be going out of my way to eat these, but I certainly would happily eat them if someone offered them to me.

Rating

Lay's Dill Pickle

In my continuing quest to find pickle chips that are as good as Intense Pickle Doritos, I picked up a bag of these Lay's Dill Pickle chips from 7/11.  To be honest, I don't have high hopes.  I expect they'll taste a lot like the Pringles Screamin' Dill Pickle and hopefully nothing like the Deep River Snacks New York Spicy Dill Pickle.  Let us begin!

First off, it's a green bag.  Kind of a ... sickly green bag.  I get that it's pickle colored and pickles are a pale green-ish color, but let's at least try to make the bag look appealing!  They don't smell super pickle-y, but they do smell like pickles.  It's also a 'new bigger bag' which is weird since I can't imagine dill pickle is a super popular flavor that justifies a gigantic bag.  But who knows!

But what do they taste like?
Pretty good actually!  They're definitely not super pickle-y, though.  It's more just salty than anything else.  The first bite is pretty salty with the tiniest hint of pickle and then there's a mild pickle taste, but other than that it's really mostly salt.  And that's not a bad thing!  But it's also not what I'm looking for unfortunately.  You know, if I didn't know to begin with that they were supposed to taste like dill pickle, I'm not sure I'd know that these were supposed to be pickle flavored, unless I smelled them.

I think that's the strangest part for me.  They smell much stronger than they taste.  Also, if I eat a bunch at once I definitely get a much stronger pickle flavor, but it still doesn't last very long.  I'm not sure if this is just the new bigger bag, but some of the chips are huge.  It's kinda excessive if the chip is too big to eat in one bite.  There's also no reason for it, especially with Lay's.  Since they kinda crumble when you bite them, it just creates more mess.

Look, if you hate pickles with a the fiery passion of a thousand suns then you probably won't like these much.  But, if you like pickles, or don't have strong feelings for them one way or the other... you might like these.  These won't be my favorite pickle chips (the honor still goes to Intense Pickle Doritos), but they'll do.  They're pretty good, all things considered.

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Doritos Dinamita Chile Limon

I found these at 7/11 and decided to give them a shot!  It's confusing because the bag is small, but really heavy and it's more calories than most bags this size.  I'm not really sure what to expect from these, but hopefully they won't be too spicy.

When I open the bag everything is just redish purple.  Everything.  I have never seen this color found in nature.  What... why are these tubular?  I don't understand why someone shaped these like this! Doritos should be triangular!  And not violent purpleish!

But what do they taste like?
There's a strong spicy lemony/limey flavor that takes a minute to hit, but then burns your mouth for a bit.  It stays pretty strong actually.  I'm mostly just confused... why are these so purple?!  These should be chile limon flavored, no?  Where does purple factor in?  I'm also really not feeling the rolled chip.  When I eat Doritos I want to eat Doritos, not weirdly rolled Doritos type things.  It's a pity that the flavor is so painful because it's actually kind of good for a few seconds.  Had they been more mild I think I could have enjoyed them.  As is, the spice level isn't worth it for me.

It's really a very strong limon-y flavor, too.  It keeps burning my mouth and the back of my throat.  Water doesn't help it go away and it's a bit painful.  I can see people liking this if they're fans of spicy and chile limon flavored things, but the rolled shape and purple color might be off-putting for some.  They definitely taste like what I'd expect spicy chile limon would taste like and if you like that, I'd give these a shot.  Ignore the bright purple rolled weirdness.

Even after I've stopped eating the chips, had some water, and finished writing this my mouth is still burning.  The fact that I do like the flavor for the split second before the spiciness sets in gets these a star, but otherwise... not for me, Doritos.

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Deep River Snacks Sweet Maui Onion

Of all the Deep River snacks chips I've tried I think my hopes are highest for these.  Will they live up expectations?  Who knows!  I'm not sure where the Maui factors in, but I like onions and I like... sweet?  I dunno, but I'm intrigued all the same.

The chips themselves are pretty generic.  They look like kettle cooked chips that have a flavor.  They smell kinda onion-y, but nothing too overpowering.

But what do they taste like?
They're salty, a little bit onion-y and almost kinda sweet at the same time.  And hey!  They're pretty damn good!  And, unlike the BBQ chips I tried, it's a fairly unique flavor!  I'm not sure if it's just my bag, but the chips are also absolutely covered in seasoning which is a bonus on my book.  It's a bit like they're covered in onion salt.  It also works really well with the kettle cooked-ness of these chips.  They're really crunchy in a good way, thanks to the kettle cooking.

A lot of onion chips have a really strong onion flavor that can be kinda gross after awhile, but that doesn't happen with these.  The salt, onion and sweetness all balance really well.  I ate the entire bag and would happily have eaten more if I'd had any.  I almost would have liked the flavor to be a bit stronger.  For all the seasonings they were covered with they were pretty mild considering.

These chips probably taste even more delicious because I ate them after watching the Men's Individual Sabre during the Olympics where Hungary won the gold and I was super excited!

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Walkers Prawn Cocktail

I got these in the same aisle I got the Hula Hoops and for the same reason.  International chips woo!  I've also always been intrigued by prawn cocktail flavored chips because... what the heck?  Who thinks this would be a good flavor?  In the International Chips post, Ciara and Gemma said they have a fishy smell and I believe they enjoyed them.  What could go wrong?!

These pretty much look like Lay's which isn't surprising really.  Weirdly, they kind of smell like ketchup.  They smell a lot like ketchup.  Have to say I wasn't expecting that!  What other surprises do these chips have in store I wonder!

But what do they taste like?
Wow they are salty.  I mostly just taste salt and kind of a strange sweetness.  It's hard to describe the saltiness of these because they aren't traditionally salty.  It's the kind of salt that burns your mouth - you feel it rather than taste it.  And I really taste a very strong salty ketchup flavor.  It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea what prawns taste like, but I'm fairly certain they should be fishier than this.  This is such a strong flavor - like a punch to the mouth really.  But weirdly, it doesn't last very long. 

There's a slight burning on my tongue still, but other than that the ketchup is basically gone.  The chips themselves are also extremely flimsy... kinda like Lay's.  You know, I think this isn't so much 'prawn' flavor, but more the actual prawn cocktail sauce flavor.  It's not the worst flavor, but it's strange.

Ciara tried the Tayto brand and these are Walkers so perhaps that's the difference.  I'm also really amazed by this ketchup-esque flavor.  It's not quite ketchup, but it's not prawns.  I don't really like the flavor, but I don't dislike it either.  They're not chips I would buy again, though that weird sweetness is kinda growing on me.

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Deep River Snacks Mesquite BBQ

These are definitely the most normal of the Deep River chips graciously provided by my mom.  But, since Deep River is a brand I don't see most places, I figure they still qualify.  Let's see how they do!

What I've noticed about Deep River chips is they don't seem to smell like their flavor.  These maybe, maybe have a hint of BBQ flavor, but they mostly smell like kettle cooked chips.

But how do they taste?
They taste like BBQ!  I'm not really surprised by that of course, but it's good that they taste like what I'd expect them to taste like.  Interestingly, the BBQ flavor doesn't last very long and I start tasting the flavor of the base kettle cooked chips more.  That's a big change from the painful Aged Cheddar and Horseradish and Zesty Jalapeno chips where it hurt to even eat them.  These are much much sweeter in comparison - I actually like my BBQ chips to have a bit more of a kick, but I'll take these over mouth burning pain any day.  I'd prefer to have the BBQ taste last longer before tasting the chip flavor I think.  These are pretty standard as far as BBQ chips go.

If you're in the market for some really delicious BBQ chips you could do better than these, but you could do worse, too.  The chips are a pretty greasy and the BBQ seasoning has a tendency to get everywhere (as all BBQ chips seem to).  Some of the chips are practically orange with flavoring and others don't seem to have much, but the flavor is consistent either way.  These are the first Deep River chips I've eaten happily and without a constant mouth burn.  It's a refreshing change!

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Pringles Blastin' Buffalo Wing

Since I'm not the biggest fan of super spicy things I was a little hesitant to try these Blastin' Buffalo
Wing Pringles.  Will they just taste like spicy pain?  Maybe!  But you know what?  I'm going to give them a shot.

The can tells me they they are level 3 out of 4 on the Pringles Spiciness Scale.  Level 3 is apparently a fire raging out of control, while level 4 is a fire extinguisher.  Will I need to use one?  Doubtful, because these are potato chips and not actual flames.

But what do they taste like?
Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin.  They taste like buffalo wings.  Well, to be fair, they taste like buffalo wing sauce because there's no chicken flavoring here.  They are kinda spicy, but they're helped by the fact that I love buffalo wings.  Buffalo wings are a place I expect spice and these chips deliver.  They leave my mouth burning, but it works.  My mouth burns after eating buffalo wings.  It goes with the territory.

I think the biggest difference between these chips, and other spicy chips I haven't liked, is that they they're spicy, but they've got flavor.  It's not just painful spice for the sake of having it be spicy.  The only downside is that it gets harder to taste them as I eat more of them.  I get sort of desensitized to the flavor and just taste the spiciness.  Still, even though I can't taste them as much... I can't... stop... eating them.  Mmmm.  Buffalo wing-y.

Also, you know what I like about Pringles?  If you buy a tube of Pringles you know how many you're going to get.  No matter the size of a bag of chips, the amounts you get always seems to be some random number, but at the end of the day, it's always way less than you think.  So props to you, Pringles, for actually giving the amount of chips the size of your packaging promises.

Rating:

Deep River Snacks New York Spicy Dill Pickle

Now these Deep River chips I'm looking forward to trying.  I'm wary of the 'spicy' in the title, but I've been trying to find new pickle chips for ages (ever since the amazing Intense Pickle Doritos I tried in Montreal).  Could it be that I've finally found a replacement pickle chip?  These even have 'New York' in the title... will it also taste like NY somehow?  I'm intrigued.

These smell pretty pickle-y so I'm feeling pretty confident they'll actually taste like what they're supposed to.  I'm just not sure how the 'spicy' is going to factor in at this point.  It also looks like they're covered in little dill nibblies and a healthy coating of flavor.  We shall see.

But what do they taste like?
Kinda strange.  At first I tasted mostly salt, then a hint of pickle, and then spiciness.  Deep River snacks seem to enjoy making my mouth burn.  Another weird thing that I don't know quite how to describe is that the flavors are very strong, but don't necessarily seem like they're coming from the chip.  It's very odd.  I eat a chip and then the chip is sort of boring tasting, but there's all sorts of salt and pickle flavors and then the roof of my mouth is burning.  Looking at the chips, they seem to be covered in seasoning.  I guess it's possible that the minute I eat them, all the seasoning falls off, leaving a plain chip and all the other flavors everywhere else.  The 'dill' in the dill pickle is also pretty intense... I taste much more dill than pickle in that brief moment when I actually taste it, before the spice starts up.  And, a less than even flavor coating leaves some chips ridiculous salty which is unpleasant.

The problem I've had with the spicy Deep River flavors so far is that they focus too much on the spice.  Pickles shouldn't be this spicy.  I really only taste the dill pickle flavor for the first few seconds and then it's just spicy.  I would much rather taste the pickle flavor rather than the spice.  Also, where is the 'New York' in all of this??  It's like Deep River decided 'New Yorkers like pickles... we should name our pickle chips 'New York' so they buy them... genius plan!'  False.  There is nothing 'New York' about these chips.

These are better than the Aged Cheddar and Horseradish and the Zesty Jalapeno, but they're still not good is the problem.  The search continues for a pickle chip I can easily find in the US.

Rating