Snack attack

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Posted at 3:30PM, 26 February 2009 by Andy Lynes - Food writer

The UK's snack market is worth £2 billion a year, according to the FSA, and dedicated snackers even have their own website, where the merits of chicken tikka crisps and Marmite rice cakes are debated with the sort of obsessive zeal usually reserved for gourmet restaurant meals. Perhaps it was that level of passionate interest that prompted chef Heston Blumenthal of three Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck to get involved in Walkers Crisps' current Do Us A Flavour campaign, whereby the general public were invited to suggest new crisp flavours. A team of judges headed by Blumenthal whittled down the 1.2 million suggestions to a shortlist of six, which are now on sale. A second public vote will decide on an overall winner which will then go into full production.

It all sounds pretty revolting but, bearing in mind that Blumenthal's snail porridge is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, I decided to organise a family taste test

It's unsurprising that the man who brought you Mustard ice cream with red cabbage gazpacho would also be behind Cajun Squirrel and Chilli & Chocolate flavour crisps. It all sounds pretty revolting but, bearing in mind that Blumenthal's snail porridge is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, I decided to organise a family taste test to see if any of the new flavours deserve shelf space alongside old favourites like cheese and onion, or my particular guilty pleasure, Worcestershire Sauce Wheat Crunchies.

The blind tasting was conducted by Alice (11), George (15), Gill (age not important) and me (younger than you'd think), trying each flavour in turn, scoring them out of 10 and recording our tasting notes. We also tried to guess what each flavour was.

Bottom of the pile was Fish and Chips with 11/40. Chilli & chocolate was rated "OK", while Cajun Squirrel fared better ("Nice, but tastes like roast chicken flavour" - George; "Spicy, harsh heat. Not a cleanly defined flavour." - Andy). But Onion Bhaji was the Lynes family taste test winner, with a total of 21 points. George gave them a whopping 9 out of 10, while I awarded 7 points for the "nice onion flavour and good spices". This was in marked contrast, however, to curry-loving Alice's "blurgh yuck" comment and paltry 1 out of 10. Gill was also unenthusiastic, awarding just 4 points, saying that "they taste just like all the others".

Despite women tending to have more taste buds than men, it was the male members of the Lynes family who came out on top in the flavour identification stakes. Both George and I successfully identified all six flavours, while Alice mistook Fish & Chips for Chilli & Chocolate and Gill thought Crispy Duck was Onion Bhaji flavour.

Apart from illustrating exactly how subjective taste can be, our deeply unscientific exercise was great fun. But with bizarre snacks ranging from octopus flavour crisps to vanilla cream-filled pretzels already on the market, I'm not sure how desperately the world needs yet more odd snack food.

Did someone say doner kebab crisps? Now you're talking...

Comments

Aedara

26 February, 5:06PM
Aedara

I think these novelty crisps might be popular for a while but then people will go back to their old favourites because after all did anyone really feel there needed to be more flavours as far as I know most people are happy with the flavours there are until suddenly someone gives them something different. But novelty value will sell (says the girl who bought her boyfriend the fat duck cookbook for christmas which, despite great interest at first is now sitting unread on the shelf) and perhaps some of these flavours will become good old fashioned favourites in time but they'll have to taste significantly different from the others.

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Chris Pakett

26 February, 5:36PM
Chris Pakett

Maybe I'm too old for all this nonsense, but crisps are crisps. All these flavours taste synthetic anyway. I'm still waiting for "Curried Lemon", as mentioned in Monty Python.

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Leamac83

27 February, 8:37AM
Leamac83

Whats wrong with just cheese and onion, or salt and vinegar! good old faves!! I mean realistically why would you want to eat bacon and egg ice cream anyway, id much rather it on a butty!!! Im sure they are delicious but i think i will save the onion bhaji to have with my curry and not as a crisp!

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Ellie Reade

27 February, 1:39PM
Ellie Reade

I love snacks, I love crisps of many and varied flavours...the problem is I'm not even going to try the new Walkers crisps. Why? All the Walkers crips I've looked at of late contain MSG, something we have to avoid as my husband has bad reactions to it. We shouldn't be promoting a product that many kids everyday that contains MSG. However, as to the argument about which is better....old or new, I don't think it matters we all have our favourites ......chocolate covered pretzels....hmmm anyone else remember those?

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Aedara

27 February, 3:23PM
Aedara

I actually had two of the flavours today (not a whole bag just one crisp from each). Cajun squirrel just tasted like cajun and pretty much like many other crisps on the market and builders breakfast tasted vaguely like bacon flavour with an unpleasant whiff of egg, I certainly won't be buying that one. I'd still be tempted by hoisin duck and onion bajhi (is that how you spell it?) but I suspect they don't taste much different from other ones.

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Paul

1 March, 8:40PM
Paul

Stick with cheese and onion! These new flavours are just awful! The Duck one was ok, the rest were shocking assaults upon my tastebuds. The best 'new' flavour of the last few years was Lamb and Mint, however Walkers have withdrawn those now, much to my annoyance!! So, for a guilty pleasure its going to remain Walkers Cheese & Onion that go in my white bread butties!

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shez

25 April, 5:07PM
shez

Had a quick taste of all and disgusting! I'm a tradionalist when it comes to my crisps!

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