4:37pm Monday 17th November 2008
Christmas is on its way and it will soon be party time. If you want to bring out the crisps, how do supermarket versions shape up?
A PARTY wouldn’t be a party without at least one bowl of crisps to stave off hunger pangs or soak up alcohol.
Britain’s obsession with food has even got as far as the potato-based snack.
There’s no longer just cheese and onion, prawn cocktail and salt and vinegar to choose from.
Wandering around the crisp aisle of any supermarket you are bombarded with a dazzling array of “posh crisps” with flavours from chilli to chicken.
Here at Shopper Towers we are traditional creatures so we decided to go back to basics by trialling the plain salted crisp.
It seems so simple but it is a tough one to get right. Too salty and you taste it for the rest of the day, not enough sodium chloride and it is in danger of being too bland.
And what about the all-important crunch factor?
So our Three Whiches, Carole Hoggan, Alison Masters and Helen Backway, pulled up a pew in the Shopper kitchen and sampled the best crisps five supermarkets had to offer, minus a chilled glass of vino, sadly.
So which one got the Shopper vote and which one didn’t do itself any flavours?
Read on and find out.
Morrisons
The Best Sea Salted Hand Cooked Crisps £1.59 (pack of six)
AM: This average-tasting snack felt a little greasy and was quite hard, perhaps a result of being fried too much. In its defence, it wasn’t too salty like some of the others. 2/5
HB: This was my least favourite, it was quite greasy and tasteless but in terms of crunch factor it got 10 out of 10. 1/5
CH: These were small and hard but also quite crunchy. Greasy and a bit tasteless. 2/5
Waitrose
Hand Cooked Sea Salt, Malt Vinegar Crisps with a Twist of Lemon £1.49
AM: This delicious crisp was by far my favourite. A citrusy twang gave it that extra kick without being overpowering — certainly no “plain” crisp. 5/5
HB: I am not a big fan of salt and vinegar crisps but this was light, salty and you could taste the lemon. Like fish and chips in a crisp. 4/5
CH: Crunchy, light and not too strong, I also loved the combination of the lemon twist. My second favourite of the five we tasted. 4/5
M&S
Handcooked Lightly Sea Salted £1.49
AM: As someone who rarely salts food, I was pleased with this crisp, as it wasn’t too salty but at the same time avoided being bland. With a softer texture, it was less effort to eat and definitely ranked higher than most of its competitors. 4/5
HB: Lightly salted and also quite delicate, unfortunately it was let down by a lack of much flavour. I just demand more from a crisp. 3/5
CH: Nice size, bigger crisps and very tasty, crunchy and just the right combination for me. They left me wanting more. The winner for me. 4/5
Tesco
Tesco Finest Lightly Salted Crisps £1.18
AM: The flavour of this crisp was dominated by an oily taste, and some were even a bit burnt around the edges. I was not left wanting more! 2/5
HB: The humble spud was too much in evidence in this one which just tasted of potato and oil. Disappointing. 2/5
CH: They were very small, greasy, and you could taste the oil. I wouldn’t be in a big rush to eat them again. 2/5
Sainsbury’s
Taste the Difference Gourmet Crisps Sea Salt £1.07
AM: A substantial crisp bursting with flavour but also very salty, which meant I was unable to sample too many. Now that’s saying something! 3/5
HB: My favourite. Crunchy, crisp and with a smattering of salt. I could easily have finished off the whole bowl. 5/5
CH: Crunchy with a nice taste but they just lacked that “something”, putting them in third place for me. 3/5
In the end it was Waitrose’s take on the plain crisp with the vinegar and a hint of lemon which won us over.
- What would you like the tremendous trio to test? email your ideas.
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